in again immediately with a key, went to his room,
made himself up, and played the part of Benedict
Farley.
I "And so we come to this afternoon. The oppor-
176
Agatha Christie
tunity for which Mr. Cornworthy has been waiting
arrives. There are two witnesses on the landing to
swear that no one goes in or out of Benedict
Farley's room. Cornworthy waits until a Particu-larly
heavy batch of traffic is about to pass. Then
he leans out of his window, and with the lazytongs
which he has purloined from the desk next door he
holds an. object against the window of that room.
Benedict Farley comes to the window. Corn-worthy
snatches back the tongs and as Farley leans
out, and the lorries are passing outside, Corn-worthy
shoots him with the revolver that he has
ready. There is a blank wall opposite, remember.
There can be no witness of the crime. Cornworthy
waits for OVer half an hour, then gathers up some
papers, conceals the lazytongs and the revolver
between thea and goes out on to the landing and
into the next room. He replaces the tongs on the
desk, lays down the revolver after pressing the
dead man's fingers on it, and hurries out with the
news of Mr. Farley's 'suicide.'
"He arranges that the letter to me shall be
found and that I shall arrive with my story--the
story I hearl .from Mr. Farley's own lips--of his