"I picked this up, about a hundred feet from the
house," he explained. "A man's watch. It was partly crushed into
the ground, and, as you see, it's stopped running."
The detective took the object and examined it carefully. A man's
open-face gold watch, crushed and battered in as if it had been
trampled upon by a heavy heel.
"Yes," he said thoughtfully. "Stopped running at ten-thirty."
Beresford went on, with mounting excitement.
"I was using my pocket-flash to find my way and what first attracted
my attention was the ground--torn up, you know, all around it.
Then I saw the watch itself. Anybody here recognize it?"
The detective silently held up the watch so that all present could
examine it. He waited. But if anyone in the party recognized the
watch--no one moved forward to claim it.
"You didn't hear any evidence of a struggle, did you?" went on
Beresford. "The ground looked as if a fight had taken place. Of
course it might have been a dozen other things."
Miss Cornelia started.
"Just about ten-thirty Lizzie heard somebody cry out, in the grounds,"
she said.
The detective looked Beresford over till the latter grew a little
uncomfortable.
"I don't suppose it has any bearing on the case," admitted the
latter uneasily. "But it's interesting."
The detective seemed to agree. At least he slipped the watch in
his pocket.
"Do you always carry a flashlight, Mr. Beresford?" asked Miss
Cornelia a trifle suspiciously.
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