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"Hm!... So the only evidence for the defence is that they were

beating one another and laughing. That constitutes a strong

presumption, but... How do you explain the facts yourself?"

"How do I explain them? What is there to explain? It's clear. At

any rate, the direction in which explanation is to be sought is

clear, and the jewel-case points to it. The real murderer dropped

those ear-rings. The murderer was upstairs, locked in, when Koch

and Pestryakov knocked at the door. Koch, like an ass, did not

stay at the door; so the murderer popped out and ran down, too;

for he had no other way of escape. He hid from Koch, Pestryakov

and the porter in the flat when Nikolay and Dmitri had just run

out of it. He stopped there while the porter and others were

going upstairs, waited till they were out of hearing, and then

went calmly downstairs at the very minute when Dmitri and Nikolay

ran out into the street and there was no one in the entry;

possibly he was seen, but not noticed. There are lots of people

going in and out.