if miss bowers had been the kind of woman who enjoyed creating a sensation, she would have

been richly repaid by the result of her action.

a look of utter astonishment passed over colonel race's face as he picked up the pearls from the

table.

"this is most extraordinary," he said. "will you kindly explain, miss bowers?"

"of course. that's what i've come to do." miss bowers settled herself comfortably in a chair.

"naturally it was a little difficult for me to decide what it was best for me to do. the family would

naturally be averse to scandal of any kind, and they trust my discretion, but the circumstances are

so very unusual that it really leaves me no choice. of course, when you didn't find anything in the

cabins, your next move would be a search of the passengers, and if the pearls were then found in

my possession it would be rather an awkward situation and the truth would come out just the

same."

"and just what is the truth? did you take these pearls from mrs doyle's cabin?"

"oh, no, colonel race, of course not. miss van schuyler did."

"miss van schuyler?"

"yes. she can't help it, you know, but she does - er - take things. especially jewellery. that's really

why i'm always with her. it's not her health at all; it's this little idiosyncrasy. i keep on the alert,

and fortunately there's never been any trouble since i've been with her. it just means being

watchful, you know. and she always hides the things she takes in the same place - rolled up in a

pair of stockings - so that makes it very simple. i look each morning. of course i'm a light sleeper,

and i always sleep next door to her, and with the communicating door open if it's in a hotel, so that

i usually hear. then i go after her and persuade her to go back to bed. of course it's been rather

more difficult on a boat. but she doesn't usually do it at night. it's more just picking up things that

she sees left about. of course, pearls have a great attraction for her always."

miss bowers ceased speaking.

race asked, "how did you discover they had been taken?"

"they were in her stockings this morning. i knew whose they were, of course. i've often noticed

them. i went along to put them back, hoping that mrs doyle wasn't up yet and hadn't discovered

her loss. but there was a steward standing there, and he told me about the murder and that no one

could go in. so then, you see, i was in a regular quandary. but i still hoped to slip them back in the

cabin later, before their absence had been noticed. i can assure you i've passed a very unpleasant

morning wondering what was the best thing to do. the van schuyler family is so traditional. it

would never do if this got into the newspapers. but that won't be necessary, will it?"

miss bowers really looked worried.

"that depends on circumstances," said colonel race cautiously. "but we shall do our best for you,

of course. what does miss van schuyler say to this?"

"oh, she'll deny it, of course. she always does. says some wicked person has put it there. she

never admits taking anything. that's why if you catch her in time she goes back to bed like a lamb.

says she just went out to look at the moon. something like that."

"does miss robson know about this - er - failing?"

"no, she doesn't. her mother knows, but she's a very simple kind of girl and her mother thought it

best she should know nothing about it. i was quite equal to dealing with miss van schuyler,"

added the competent miss bowers.

"we have to thank you, mademoiselle, for coming to us so promptly," said poirot. miss bowers

stood up.

"i'm sure i hope i've acted for the best."

"be assured that you have."

"you see, what with there being a murder as well -"

colonel race interrupted her. his voice was grave.

"miss bowers, i am going to ask you a question, and i want to impress upon you that it has got to

be answered truthfully. miss van schuyler is unhinged mentally to the extent of being a

kleptomaniac. has she also a tendency to homicidal mania?"

miss bowers' answer came immediately: "oh, dear me, no! nothing of that kind. you can take my

word for it absolutely. the old lady wouldn't hurt a fly."

the reply came with such positive assurance that there seemed nothing more to be said.

nevertheless poirot did interpolate one mild inquiry.

"does miss van schuyler suffer at all from deafness?"

"as a matter of fact she does, monsieur poirot. not so that you'd notice it any way, not if you were

speaking to her, i mean. but quite often she doesn't hear you when you come into a room. things

like that."

"do you think she would have heard anyone moving about in mrs doyle's cabin, which is next

door to her own?"

"oh, i shouldn't think so - not for a minute. you see, the bunk is the other side of the cabin, not

even against the partition wall. no, i don't think she would have heard anything."

"thank you, miss bowers."

race said, "perhaps you will now go back to the dining-saloon and wait with the others?"

he opened the door for her and watched her go down the staircase and enter the saloon. then he

shut the door and came back to the table. poirot had picked up the pearls.

"well," said race grimly, "that reaction came pretty quickly. that's a very cool-headed and astute

young woman - perfectly capable of holding out on us still further if she thinks it suits her book.

what about miss marie van schuyler now? i don't think we can eliminate her from the possible

suspects. you know, she might have committed murder to get hold of those jewels. we can't take

the nurse's word for it. she's all out to do the best for the family."

poirot nodded in agreement. he was very busy with the pearls, running them through his fingers,

holding them up to his eyes.

he said: "we may take it, i think, that part of the old lady's story to us was true. she did look out

of her cabin and she did see rosalie otterbourne. but i don't think she heard anything or anyone in

linnet doyle's cabin. i think she was just peering out from her cabin preparatory to slipping along

and purloining the pearls."

"the otterbourne girl was there, then?"

"yes. throwing her mother's secret cache of drink overboard."

colonel race shook his head sympathetically.

"so that's it! tough on a young un."

"yes, her life has not been very gay, cette pauvre petite rosalie."

"well, i'm glad that's been cleared up. she didn't see or hear anything?"

"i asked her that. she responded - after a lapse of quite twenty seconds - that she saw nobody."

"oh?" race looked alert.

"yes, it is suggestive, that."

race said slowly: "if linnet doyle was shot round about ten minutes past one, or indeed any time

after the boat had quieted down, it has seemed amazing to me that no one heard the shot. i grant

you that a little pistol like that wouldn't make much noise, but all the same the boat would be

deadly quiet, and any noise, even a gentle pop, should have been heard. but i begin to understand

better now. the cabin on the forward side of hers was unoccupied - since her husband was in dr

bessner's cabin. the one aft was occupied by the van schuyler woman, who was deaf. that leaves

only -" he paused and looked expectantly at poirot, who nodded.

"the cabin on the other side. in other words - pennington. we always seem to come back to

pennington."

"we will come back to him presently with the kid gloves removed! ah, yes, i am promising

myself that pleasure."

"in the meantime we'd better get on with our search of the boat. the pearls still make a convenient

excuse, even though they have been returned - but miss bowers is not likely to advertise that fact."

"ah, these pearls!" poirot held them up against the light once more. he stuck out his tongue and

licked them; he even gingerly tried one of them between his teeth. then, with a sigh, he threw

them down on the table.

"here are more complications, my friend," he said. "i am not an expert on precious stones, but i

have had a good deal to do with them in my time and i am fairly certain of what i say. these pearls

are only a clever imitation."