She finds him inexorable--we know his reputation for obstinacy
when he had once made up his mind. She reproaches him--she is already
desperate, remember--and he answers with that stinging sarcasm for
which he was noted. In an ecstacy of anger, she snatches up the knife
and stabs him; then, in an agony of remorse, endeavors to check the
blood. She sees at last that it is useless, that she cannot save him,
and leaves the office. All this is plausible, isn't it?"
"Very plausible," I assented, looking at him in some astonishment.
"You forget one thing, however. Rogers testified that he was
intimately acquainted with the affairs of his employer, and that he
would inevitably have known of any intrigue such as you suggest."
My companion paused for a moment's thought.
"I don't believe that Rogers would so inevitably have known of it," he
said, at last. "But, admit that--then there is another theory.
Holladay has _not_ been supporting his illegitimate child, who learns
of her parentage, and goes to him to demand her rights. That fits the
case, doesn't it?"
"Yes," I admitted. "It, also, is plausible."
"It is more than plausible," he said quietly. "Whatever the details
may be, the body of the theory itself is unimpeachable--it's the only
one which fits the facts. I believe it capable of proof.
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