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corner of the house. He went around toward the front and I came up toward the back. That took me past the garages. That was when I heard the sound of the motor running."
    "How about the chauffeur – what was his name Jim Brandon?"
    "That's right."
    "Could it have been the chauffeur?"
    "Not unless he was wearing Sam Laxter's hat."
    "Whom else have you told about this?" Mason asked.
    "I've told Frank."
    "You usually call him by his first name?" Mason asked.
    She turned her eyes quickly from Mason's, then, after a moment, raised them to stare defiantly at him. "Yes," she said. "Frank and I are very close friends."
    "What did he say when you told him about it?"
    "He said there was no way exhaust fumes could start a fire; that I'd just make trouble if I said anything about it, and to keep quiet."
    "Whom else did you tell?"
    "I told Winifred's boy friend – not Harry Inman – but the other one."
    "You mean Douglas Keene?"
    "That's right – Douglas Keene."
    "Who's Harry Inman?"
    "He was a boy who was rushing her. I think she favored him, but, as soon as he found out she wasn't going to get any money, he dropped her like a hot potato."
    "What did Douglas Keene say when you told him?"
    "Douglas Keene said he thought it was evidence of the greatest importance. He asked me a lot of questions about where the different pipes led, and wanted to know if the pipe into which the tube was running ran up to Peter Laxter's bedroom."
    "Did it?"
    "I think it did."
    "Then what?"
    "He advised me to tell the authorities what I'd seen."
    "Did you do it?"
    "Not yet. I was waiting for… a friend… I wanted to get his advice before I did anything which would cause trouble."
    "What time was this that you encountered Sam Laxter in the garage?"
    "About half past ten, I guess."
    "That was several hours before the fire."
    "Yes."
    "Do you know whether Sam came in the house immediately after that?"
    "No, I don't. I was so angry when he made that crack I walked out to keep from slapping him."
    "But he must have returned to the house before the fire because he was in pajamas and robe when you were aroused by the fire."
    "Yes, that's so."
    "And he was fully clothed when you saw him there in the car?"
    "I think so, yes."
    "Now, you say that you turned on the lights?"
    "Yes. Why?"
    "The lights in the garage were off?"
    "Yes."
    "The door was closed?"
    "Yes."
    "Then the last person driving a car into that garage must have closed the door behind him, is that right?"
    "Yes, of course."
    "And the light switch was near the small door."
    "Within a few inches of it. Why?"
    "Because," Mason said slowly, "if Laxter had driven his car into that garage, he must necessarily have left the car, gone to the garage door, closed it, switched off the lights and then returned to his own car. After all, one doesn't drive cars into garages through closed doors."
    "Well, what of it?"
    "If he was so drunk he couldn't shut off the motor, but was just sprawled over the wheel, letting the motor run, it would hardly seem possible he'd have been able to get up, close the garage doors, switch out the lights and return to his car."
    She nodded slowly.
    "I hadn't thought of that."
    "You're expecting this friend who is going to advise you what to do?"
    "Yes, he's due at any minute."
    "Would you mind telling me his name?"
    "I don't think that needs to enter into it."
    "Is it Frank Oafley?"
    "I refuse to answer."
    "And you aren't going to tell the authorities about this unless your friend tells you to?"
    "I'm not going to commit myself on that. I'm not putting myself entirely in this friend's hands. I'm only asking him for advice."
    "But you feel that in some way the fire was started through the exhaust fumes?"
    "I'm not a mechanic; I don't know anything about automobiles. I don't know anything about gas furnaces. But I do know there's a flame in that gas furnace all the time, and it seemed to me if the mixture in the carburetor had been rather rich and some gasoline fumes had been thrown into