29Garth Albany came knocking on Miss Silver's door before she was dressed next morning. She opened it in a warm red flannel dressing-gown trimmed with hand-made crochet, her hair rather flat but perfectly neat in spite of the absence of a net. He slipped inside, shut the door behind him, and said,
"Ezra Pincott has been found dead. The milk boy brought the news--Mabel has just told me. I thought you ought to know at once."
"Yes--yes, indeed." She stood quite still for a moment. "I felt very apprehensive. I had asked that he should have police protection."
"Well," said Garth, "at any rate they can't say Madoc did it--can they?"
Miss Silver said, "No--" in rather an absent voice. And then, "Pray give me any particulars you may have learned."
"I didn't see the boy myself. He's about sixt
