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and make everybody think he came in the later one⁠—the 4.50 from Paston Oatvile?"

"By Gad, that sounds more promising. Then the murderer could prove an alibi by showing that he travelled on the three o'clock, eh?"

"That would be about the size of it. Let's see, had we any other reason for assuming the 4.50 train?"

"The watch⁠—the wristwatch, that is. It had stopped at 4.54."

"You mean that it stopped at a moment when its hands were pointing to 4.54. But obviously it would be the simplest thing in the world to fake a watch. And⁠—I say, Gordon, we can prove it!"

"Prove it?"

"Yes, from the other watch, the stomach-watch. Don't you remember it was still going when we found it, only an hour fast? Well, the reason why it was an hour fast was that the murderer, at 3.54 on Tuesday afternoon, deliberately took it out of the pocket and turned it on to 4.54."

"You mean⁠ . . . "

"I mean that the murderer naturally assumed it would stop, like the wristwatch. And if it had stopped, it would have registered 4.54, like the wristwatch. But by the accident of its not stopping, we can prove what the murderer did!"

"I say, this is a day! but I feel as if there was something else we were held up over about the time⁠—oh yes. Look here, we've now got to explain why Brotherhood ordered himself a sleeper for Wednes-