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An Introduction to Numerical Methods A MATLAB
Approach Third Edition Guenther Digital Instant
Download
Author(s): Guenther, Ronald B.; Kharab, Abdelwahab
ISBN(s): 9781439869000, 1439869006
Edition: 3rd ed
File Details: PDF, 3.64 MB
Year: 2011
Language: english
 Mathematics THIRD
EDITION

An Introduction to Numerical Methods

An Introduction to Numerical Methods

A MATLAB®Approach

A MATLAB®Approach
THIRD EDITION
An Introduction to Numerical Methods: A MATLAB® Approach, Third
Edition continues to present a wide range of useful and important algorithms
for scientific and engineering applications. The authors use MATLAB to illustrate
each numerical method, providing full details of the computer results so that
the main steps are easily visualized and interpreted. The accompanying CD-
ROM contains simple MATLAB functions that help readers understand how the
methods work.
New to the Third Edition
• A chapter on the numerical solution of integral equations
• A section on nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs) in the last
chapter
• Inclusion of MATLAB GUIs throughout the text
The book begins with simple theoretical and computational topics, including
computer floating point arithmetic, errors, interval arithmetic, and the root of
equations. After presenting direct and iterative methods for solving systems of
linear equations, the authors discuss interpolation, spline functions, concepts
of least-squares data fitting, and numerical optimization. They then focus on
numerical differentiation and efficient integration techniques as well as a variety
of numerical techniques for solving linear integral equations, ordinary differential
equations, and boundary-value problems. The book concludes with numerical

Kharab • Guenther
techniques for computing the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a matrix and for
solving PDEs.
Written in an easy-to-follow, simple style, this text improves readers’ ability
to master the theoretical and practical elements of the methods. Through this
book, they will be able to solve many numerical problems using MATLAB.

K13161

K13161_Cover.indd 1 10/14/11 11:11 AM

 THIRD EDITION

An Introduction to
Numerical Methods
A MATLAB®
Approach
This page intentionally left blank
 THIRD EDITION

An Introduction to
Numerical Methods
A MATLAB®
Approach

Abdelwahab Kharab
Abu Dhabi University

Ronald B. Guenther
Oregon State University
MATLAB® is a trademark of The MathWorks, Inc. and is used with permission. The MathWorks does not warrant the
accuracy of the text or exercises in this book. This book’s use or discussion of MATLAB® software or related products
does not constitute endorsement or sponsorship by The MathWorks of a particular pedagogical approach or particular
use of the MATLAB® software.

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Taylor & Francis Group
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Contents

1 Introduction 1
1.1 ABOUT MATLAB and MATLAB GUI (Graphical User Interface) 1
1.2 AN INTRODUCTION TO MATLAB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.1 Matrices and matrix computation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2.2 Polynomials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.3 Output format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2.4 Planar plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.5 3-D mesh plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2.6 Function files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.7 Defining functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.8 Relations and loops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.3 TAYLOR SERIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2 Number System and Errors 23

2.1 FLOATING-POINT ARITHMETIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.2 ROUND-OFF ERRORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.3 TRUNCATION ERROR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.4 INTERVAL ARITHMETIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

3 Roots of Equations 39
3.1 THE BISECTION METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.2 THE METHOD OF FALSE POSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.3 FIXED POINT ITERATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
3.4 THE SECANT METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.5 NEWTON’S METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.6 CONVERGENCE OF THE NEWTON AND
SECANT METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
3.7 MULTIPLE ROOTS AND THE MODIFIED
NEWTON METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3.8 NEWTON’S METHOD FOR NONLINEAR
SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

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4 System of Linear Equations 95

4.1 MATRICES AND MATRIX OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
4.2 NAIVE GAUSSIAN ELIMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
4.3 GAUSSIAN ELIMINATION WITH SCALED PARTIAL
PIVOTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
4.4 LU DECOMPOSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
4.4.1 Crout’s and Cholesky’s methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
4.4.2 Gaussian elimination method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
4.5 ITERATIVE METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.5.1 Jacobi iterative method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
4.5.2 Gauss-Seidel iterative method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
4.5.3 Convergence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

5 Interpolation 153
5.1 POLYNOMIAL INTERPOLATION THEORY . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.2 NEWTON’S DIVIDED-DIFFERENCE INTERPOLATING
POLYNOMIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
5.3 THE ERROR OF THE INTERPOLATING
POLYNOMIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5.4 LAGRANGE INTERPOLATING POLYNOMIAL . . . . . . . . . 171
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

6 Interpolation with Spline Functions 181

6.1 PIECEWISE LINEAR INTERPOLATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
6.2 QUADRATIC SPLINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
6.3 NATURAL CUBIC SPLINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

7 The Method of least-squares 207

7.1 LINEAR least-squares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
7.2 LEAST-SQUARES POLYNOMIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
7.3 NONLINEAR least-squares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
7.3.1 Exponential form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
7.3.2 Hyperbolic form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
7.4 TRIGONOMETRIC LEAST-SQUARES POLYNOMIAL . . . . . . 229
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

8 Numerical Optimization 235

8.1 ANALYSIS OF SINGLE-VARIABLE FUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . 235
8.2 LINE SEARCH METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
8.2.1 Bracketing the minimum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
8.2.2 Golden section search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
8.2.3 Fibonacci Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
8.2.4 Parabolic Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

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8.3 MINIMIZATION USING DERIVATIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

8.3.1 Newton’s method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
8.3.2 Secant method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

9 Numerical Differentiation 257

9.1 NUMERICAL DIFFERENTIATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
9.2 RICHARDSON’S FORMULA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

10 Numerical Integration 273

10.1 TRAPEZOIDAL RULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
10.2 SIMPSON’S RULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
10.3 ROMBERG ALGORITHM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
10.4 GAUSSIAN QUADRATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

11 Numerical Methods for Linear Integral Equations 317

11.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
11.2 QUADRATURE RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
11.2.1 Trapezoidal rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
11.2.2 The Gauss-Nyström method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
11.3 THE SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION METHOD . . . . . . . . 330
11.4 SCHMIDT’s METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
11.5 VOLTERRA-TYPE INTEGRAL EQUATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . 334
11.5.1 Euler’s method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
11.5.2 Heun’s method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

12 Numerical Methods for Differential Equations 343

12.1 EULER’S METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
12.2 ERROR ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
12.3 HIGHER-ORDER TAYLOR SERIES METHODS . . . . . . . . . . 355
12.4 RUNGE-KUTTA METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
12.5 MULTISTEP METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
12.6 ADAMS-BASHFORTH METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
12.7 PREDICTOR-CORRECTOR METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
12.8 ADAMS-MOULTON METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
12.9 NUMERICAL STABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
12.10 HIGHER-ORDER EQUATIONS AND SYSTEMS
OF DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AND SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . 393
12.11 IMPLICIT METHODS AND STIFF SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . 400
12.12 PHASE PLANE ANALYSIS: CHAOTIC DIFFERENTIAL
EQUATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407

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13 Boundary-Value Problems 415

13.1 FINITE-DIFFERENCE METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416
13.2 SHOOTING METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
13.2.1 The nonlinear case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
13.2.2 The linear case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

14 Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors 439

14.1 BASIC THEORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
14.2 THE POWER METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
14.3 THE QUADRATIC METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
14.4 EIGENVALUES FOR BOUNDARY-VALUE PROBLEMS . . . . . 456
14.5 BIFURCATIONS IN DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS . . . . . . . 458
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

15 Partial Differential Equations 465

15.1 PARABOLIC EQUATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
15.1.1 Explicit methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
15.1.2 Implicit methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
15.2 HYPERBOLIC EQUATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477
15.3 ELLIPTIC EQUATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
15.4 NONLINEAR PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS . . . . . 489
15.4.1 Burger’s equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
15.4.2 Reaction-diffusion equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
15.4.3 Porous media equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493
15.4.4 Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
15.5 INTRODUCTION TO FINITE-ELEMENT METHOD . . . . . . . 496
15.5.1 Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
15.5.2 The Finite-Element Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
APPLIED PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Bibliography and References 510

Appendix 515

A Calculus Review 515

A.1 Limits and continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
A.2 Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516
A.3 Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516

B MATLAB Built-in Functions 519

C Text MATLAB Functions 523

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D MATLAB GUI 525

D.1 Roots of Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
D.2 System of Linear Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
D.3 Interpolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
D.4 The Method of Least Squares . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
D.5 Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529
D.6 Differentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
D.7 Numerical Methods for Differential Equations . . . . . . . . . . . . 530
D.8 Boundary-Value Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
D.9 Numerical Methods for PDEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532

Answers to Selected Exercises 535

Index 565

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Preface

This is a textbook designed for an introductory course in numerical methods. It

deals with the theory and application of the most commonly used numerical meth-
ods for solving numerical problems on microcomputers. It is intended for students
in mathematics, science, and engineering who have completed the introductory cal-
culus sequence. In addition, the reader is assumed to have taken a structured
programming course. The thrust of this text is to assist the students to become
familiar with the most common numerical methods encountered in science and en-
gineering. The content material of this book has been designed to be compatible
with any introductory numerical textbook that exists in the market. Students will
be able to examine and solve many numerical problems, using MATLAB R1
in a
short period of time.
Due to the rapid advancement of computer technology and software developments,
we have used MATLAB as the computing environment throughout all the chapters
of the book. Each numerical method discussed in this book is demonstrated through
the use of MATLAB which is easy to use and has many features such as:

1. Powerful matrix structure,

2. Powerful two- and three-dimensional graphing facilities,

3. A vast number of powerful built-in functions,

4. MATLAB’s structured programming style that resembles FORTRAN and BA-

SIC.

The goal of this present third edition is the same as the previous one. The book
introduces students to a wide range of useful and important algorithms. Computer
results are presented with full details so that the main steps of the algorithm of each

1 MATLAB
R
is a registered trademark of the MathWorks, Inc.
For product information, please contact:
The MathWorks, Inc.
3 Apple Hill Drive
Natick, MA 01760-2098 USA
Tel: 508-647-7000 Fax: 508-647-7001
E-mail: info@mathworks.com Web: www.mathworks.com

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numerical method are visualized and interpreted. For this reason, a supplementary
CD-ROM, attached at the back of the book, has been developed for students’ use
with MATLAB. The CD-ROM contains simple MATLAB functions that give a clear
step-by-step explanation of the mechanism behind the algorithm of each numerical
method covered. Emphasis is placed on understanding how the methods work.
These functions guide the student through the calculations necessary to understand
the algorithm(s). The main feature of this book, beside the use of MATLAB as its
computing environment, is that the style of the book is easy, direct, and simple.
This is likely to boost students’ confidence in their ability to master the elements
of the subject.
The book is organized in a fairly standard manner. Topics that are simpler, both
theoretically and computationally, come first; for example, the root of equations
is covered in Chapter 3. Chapter 2 contains an introduction to computer floating
point arithmetic, errors, and interval arithmetic.
Both direct and iterative methods are presented in Chapter 4 for solving systems
of linear equations.
Interpolation, spline functions, concepts of least squares data fitting, and numer-
ical optimization are the subjects of Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8. Interpolation forms
the theoretical basis for much of numerical analysis.
Chapters 9 and 10 are devoted to numerical differentiation and integration. Sev-
eral efficient integration techniques are presented.
In Chapters 11 and 12 a wide variety of numerical techniques is presented for solv-
ing linear integral equations and ordinary differential equations. An introduction
for solving boundary value problems is presented in Chapter 13. Chapter 14 is de-
voted to some numerical techniques for computing the eigenvalues and eigenvectors
of a matrix.
The last Chapter 15 provides a basic introduction to numerical techniques for
solving partial differential equations.
In each chapter we have attempted to present clear examples in every section
followed by a good number of related exercises at the end of each section with
answers to some exercises.
It is the purpose of this book to implement various important numerical methods
on a personal computer and to provide not only a source of theoretical information
on the methods covered, but also to allow the student to easily interact with the
microcomputer and the algorithm for each method using MATLAB.
This text should provide an excellent tool suitable for teaching numerical method
courses at colleges and universities. It is also suitable for self-study purposes.
In this third edition all suggestions from the expert reviewers were addressed.
They all deserve our sincere thanks and appreciation.

Features in the Third Edition

There have been some minor changes in some sections. Major new features are
as follows:
• A new chapter on numerical solution of integral equations.

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• A new section on nonlinear PDEs has been added in Chapter 15.

• MATLAB GUI has been incorporated as an integral part of the text.

Acknowledgments
We wish to thank the many persons who have helped us in the creation of this
book. They are: R. Baker Kearfoot of the University of Southwestern Louisiana,
Rachid Kharab of the University of Rouen, A. Laradji of the King Fahd University
of Petroleum & Minerals, A.R. Kashani of the Sahand University of Technology,
Z. Khiari of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, and H. Cheded of the
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, who encouraged us to submit a
book proposal.
Special thanks is due to Dr. B. Khoshandam of Semnan University for his keen
interest and suggestions in this edition and careful work on the use of MATLAB
GUI. His work was extraordinarily detailed and helpful to us.
We also thank the Anonymous Reviewers who made useful recommendations for
the third edition.
The authors remain very grateful to the editorial and production staff of Chap-
man & Hall/CRC who have been helpful and available at all stages. Among them
are Sarah Morris, Project Editor, who was in communication with us during the
preparation of the final version of this third edition, and Sunil Nair, mathematics
and statistics publisher, for his assistance and encouragement.
Finally, the authors are grateful for the financial and facilities support provided
by Mr. H. Hassnaoui, General Director of the GFP in Muscat.
Suggestions for improvements to the book are always welcome and can be made
by e-mail at: awkharab@yahoo.com.
Abdelwahab Kharab
Ronald B. Guenther

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Chapter 1
Introduction

The Taylor Series is one of the most important tools in numerical analysis. It
constitutes the foundation of numerical methods and will be used in most of the
chapters of this text. From the Taylor Series, we can derive the formulas and error
estimates of the many numerical techniques used. This chapter contains a review
of the Taylor Series, and a brief introduction to MATLAB R
.

1.1 ABOUT MATLAB and MATLAB GUI (Graphical User Inter-

face)
MATLAB (MATrix LABoratory) is a powerful interactive system for matrix-
based computation designed for scientific and engineering use. It is good for many
forms of numeric computation and visualization. MATLAB language is a high-
level matrix/array language with control flow statements, functions, data structures,
input/output, and object-oriented programming features. To fully use the power
and computing capabilities of this software program in classrooms and laboratories
by teachers and students in science and engineering, part of this text is intended to
introduce the computational power of MATLAB to modern numerical methods.
MATLAB has several advantages. There are three major elements that have
contributed to its immense popularity. First, it is extremely easy to use since
data can be easily entered, especially for algorithms that are adaptable to a table
format. This is an important feature because it allows students to experiment
with many numerical problems in a short period of time. Second, it includes high-
level commands for two-dimensional and three-dimensional data visualization, and
presentation graphics. Plots are easily obtained from within a script or in command
mode. Third, the most evident power of a MATLAB is its speed of calculation.
The program gives instantaneous feedback. Because of their popularity, MATLAB
and other software such as MAPLE and Mathematica are now available in most
university microcomputer laboratories.
One of the primary objectives of this text is to give students a clear step-by-step
explanation of the algorithm corresponding to each numerical method used. To

1
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2 INTRODUCTION

accomplish this objective, we have developed MATLAB M-functions contained in

a supplementary CD-ROM at the back of the book. These M-files can be used for
the application or illustration of all numerical methods discussed in this text. Each
M-function will enable students to solve numerical problems simply by entering data
and executing the M-functions.
It is well known that the best way to learn computer programming is to write
computer programs. Therefore, we believe that by understanding the basic theory
underlying each numerical method and the algorithm behind it, students will have
the necessary tools to write their own programs in a high-level computer language
such as C or FORTRAN.
Another future of MATLAB is that it provides the Graphical User Interface
(GUI). It is a pictorial interface to a program intended to provide students with
a familiar environment in which to work. This environment contains push buttons,
toggle buttons, lists, menus, text boxes, and so forth, all of which are already famil-
iar to the user, so that they can concentrate on using the application rather than on
the mechanics involved in doing things. They do not have to type commands at the
command line to run the MATLAB functions. For this reason, we introduced GUI
in this edition to make it easier for the students to run the M-functions of the book.
A readme file named ”SUN Package readme contained in the directory NMETH”
of the CD attached at the back cover of the book, explains in details the steps to
follow to run the MATLAB functions using GUI. In addition, Appendix D shows
the use of GUI for solving several examples.

1.2 AN INTRODUCTION TO MATLAB

In this section we give to the reader a brief tutorial introduction to MATLAB.
For additional information we urge the reader to use the reference and user’s guides
of MATLAB.

1.2.1 Matrices and matrix computation

MATLAB treats all variables as matrices. They are assigned to expressions by
using an equal sign and their names are case-sensitive. For example,
>> A = [4 -2 5; 6 1 7; -1 0 6]
A=
4 −2 5
6 1 7
−1 0 6
New rows may be indicated by a new line or by a semicolon. A column vector
may be given as

>> x = [2; 8; 9] or x = [2 8 9]’

x=

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AN INTRODUCTION TO MATLAB 3

2
8
9
Elements of the matrix can be a number or an expression, like

>> x = [2 1+2 12/4 2^3]

x=
2 3 3 8

One can define an array with a particular structure by using the command

x = a : step : b

As an example

>> y = [0: 0.2 : 1]

y=
0 0.2000 0.4000 0.6000 0.8000 1.0000

>> y = [0: pi/3 : pi]

y=
0 1.0472 2.0944 3.1416

>> y = [20: -5 : 2]
y=
20 15 10 5

MATLAB has a number of special matrices that can be generated by built-in

functions

>> ones(2)
ans =
1 1
1 1
a matrix of all 1’s.

>> zeros(2,4)
ans =
0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0
a 2 × 4 matrix of zeros.

>> rand(2,4)
ans =
0.9501 0.6068 0.8913 0.4565
0.2311 0.4860 0.7621 0.0185

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4 INTRODUCTION

a 2 × 4 random matrix with uniformly distributed random elements.

>> eyes(3)
ans =
1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
the 3 × 3 identity matrix.

The diag function either creates a matrix with specified values on a diagonal or
extracts the diagonal entries. For example,

>> v = [3 2 5];
>> D=diag(v)
D=
3 0 0
0 2 0
0 0 5
a 3 × 3 diagonal matrix with v on the main diagonal.

To extract the diagonal entries of an existing matrix, the diag function is used:

>> C=[2 -4 7; 3 1 8; -1 5 6];

>> u=diag(C)
u=
2
1
6
The linspace function generates row vectors with equally spaced elements. The
form of the function is

linspace(firstValue, lastValue, numValues)

where firstValue and lastValue are the starting and ending values in the sequence
of elements and NumValues is the number of elements to be created. For example,

>> evens = linspace(0,10,6)

evens =
0 2 4 6 8 10

The most useful matrix functions are

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AN INTRODUCTION TO MATLAB 5

eig eigenvalues and eigenvectors

inv inverse
lu LU decomposition
qr QR factorization
rank rank

A component-by-component addition of two vectors of the same dimensions is

indicated as

>> x = [1 5 8];
>> y = [2 4 3];
>> x + y
ans =
3 9 11

Multiplying a vector or matrix by a scalar will scale each element of the vector
or matrix by the value of the scalar.

>> C = 2*[1 3; 4 2]
C=
2 6
8 4
>> v = 3*[1 4 -5 7]
v=
3 12 − 15 21

The component-by-component multiplication of the vectors x and y is indicated as

>> x. * y
ans =
2 20 24

The inner, or dot, product of two vectors is a scaler and can be obtained by mul-
tiplying a row vector and a column vector. For example,

>> u=[5 7 -1 2]; v=[2; 3; 10; 5];

>> u*v
ans =
31

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6 INTRODUCTION

The transpose of a matrix or a vector is denoted by a prime symbol. For example

>> x’
ans =
1
5
8
The matrix operations of multiplication, power, and division are indicated as

>> B = [1 3; 4 2];

>> A = [2 5; 0 6];

>> A*B

ans =
22 16
24 12
>> A^2
ans =
4 40
0 36
>> A/B
ans =
1.6000 0.1000
2.4000 −0.6000
>> A.*B
ans =
2 15
0 12
Note that the three operations of multiplication, division, and power can operate
elementwise by preceding them with a period.

1.2.2 Polynomials
MATLAB provides a number of useful built-in functions that operates on poly-
nomials. The coefficients of a polynomial are specified by the entries of a vector.
For example, the polynomial p(x) = 2x3 − 5x2 + 8 is specified by [2 -5 0 8]. To
evaluate the polynomial at a given x we use the polyval function.

>> c = [2 -5 0 8];
>> polyval(c,2)
ans =

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Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 “I see your point of view. I ought to have thought of it in that
light.”
Wraxall considered for a moment or two before speaking again.
“I think I see what’s in your mind,” he said, going back to the
earlier subject. “You’ve reason to suspect somebody in particular—
one of the maids, perhaps—and you don’t want a fuss?”
“I don’t suspect any of the maids—or any of the servants,” Rollo
Dangerfield replied instantly. “That’s quite out of the question. I can
tell you why. We have a number of old habits at Friocksheim, and
fortunately one of them has enabled us to clear our servants of any
suspicion in this affair.”
He took out his case and lit a cigar before continuing.
“The servants’ quarters are all in the west wing of the house, and
there is only one door communicating between their section and the
other part of the building. That door has a special lock, of which only
the butler has a key, and it is his duty at half-past eleven every night
to see that that door is secured. After that, no servant can get into
this part of the house without his knowledge.”
“And the butler himself?” demanded the American.
“The butler’s great-grandfather was born on the estate and for
four generations we have known absolutely everything about the
family. This man has been in our service since he was a boy, and a
more absolutely honest man you couldn’t find anywhere. You may
put him completely out of your calculations, Mr. Wraxall. I say that
definitely, because the man can’t speak for himself. Not a trace of
suspicion could attach to him. Now are you satisfied?”
Wraxall nodded his acquiescence. Then he asked a further
question.
“How did you hear that the Talisman had gone?”
“The butler told me this morning. His first business is to go round
the house after he has unlocked the communicating door. When he
went into the Corinthian’s Room he noticed that the Talisman case
was open, and the jewel was gone. He came at once and told me.”
“And you suspect nobody, then?”
Rollo Dangerfield raised himself slightly in his chair and looked
round directly at Wraxall’s face. For the first time, the American saw
a keenness in the old man’s blue eyes, though their expression was
inscrutable.
“No, I suspect nobody. I have no evidence, and I do not wish to
collect any. The Talisman will be back in its place within a week; and
that is the only important thing in the case. For all I know, the whole
affair may be a practical joke. Some of these young folks may have
taken it into their heads to test the Dangerfield legend.”
His eyes scanned the American’s features; but Wraxall betrayed
nothing under the scrutiny. Rollo Dangerfield pulled at his cigar
before continuing.
“I can imagine one of these youngsters playing a practical joke
like that. Take away the Talisman and see what old Dangerfield will
say! It’s quite possible that somebody”—he glanced again at the
American—“may even now be wishing he had left the thing alone
and may be looking for a chance to replace it under the bell. It’s an
awkward thing to have in one’s possession—even innocently. Well,
they can easily put it back again, if they wish to do so. Nobody’s
watching the Corinthian’s Room.”
A faintly sardonic expression crossed his face.
“Don’t distress yourself unduly about the Talisman, Mr. Wraxall. It
will come home quite safely in the end; you may take my word for
that.”
With a gesture as though asking permission, he picked up his
newspaper again. Wraxall accepted the tacit dismissal and wandered
out into the sunlit gardens. The interview had given him a good deal
to think about, apparently. He avoided the other guests and spent a
considerable time in going over old Dangerfield’s words, so far as he
could remember them.
“I wonder,” he said to himself at last. “I wonder if the old man
suspects anything. One or two of these remarks might have been
directed to my address, though he was clever enough to give them
an inoffensive turn. If he really suspects me, it looks like being a
pretty kettle of fish. It certainly looks like that.”
He thought it tactful to absent himself for the rest of the day,
taking his car and visiting some of the local antiquities which he
wished to see. It was dinner-time before he met his fellow-guests
once more.
Eileen Cressage had returned, and Westenhanger came into the
room immediately after her. As they sat down, Freddie Stickney’s
eyes travelled round the table, obviously counting the number, and a
certain disappointment appeared in his face when he found only
twelve persons present. Eric Dangerfield and Mrs. Brent were still
away.
“You and Mr. Westenhanger came up by the same train, didn’t
you, Miss Cressage?” asked Mrs. Dangerfield.
Westenhanger caught the question which Eileen had missed.
“Yes. I happened to run across Miss Cressage just as she was
coming out of Starbeck, the jewellers. We had just time to get to the
station.”
Freddie Stickney’s sharp ears caught the careless remark.
“Starbeck’s?” he said, lifting his voice to make it carry down the
table. “That’s a convenient firm. They’ll give you a reasonable
advance on any little bit of jewellery you don’t happen to need for a
time. Sort of superior brand of West End Uncle, aren’t they? I’ve
dealt with them once or twice myself and always found them
generous.”
Freddie was quite shameless in money matters. But his
deliberately pitched sentences reached Eileen Cressage’s ears; and
Freddie, keenly on the look-out, noticed that the girl flushed
uncomfortably.
“That shot went home,” he reflected, complacently. “One can
always get the information one wants if one goes about it tactfully.
She’s been doing a bit of quiet pawning this afternoon. That’s
interesting. I wonder what she put away in store. She never wore
any jewellery here.”
He ruminated on this problem for a time, keeping his sharp eyes
on the girl’s face; but nothing further of interest fell into his net
during the meal.
As they passed into the drawing-room after dinner, Mrs. Caistor
Scorton picked up a telegram addressed to her which was lying in
the hall. At the sight of it, Morchard’s face lighted up with interest
and he examined her closely while she read it. He edged himself up
to Eileen and put a question in a low voice:
“The Scorton’s got her telegram about your cheque. Is it all
right?”
“Quite all right, thank you,” said the girl, coldly.
She moved away from him immediately, and as she sat down,
Conway Westenhanger came up.
“Have a game at bridge, Miss Cressage? They’re making up a
table and I’ve reserved a place for you.”
“No, thanks. I’d rather not play.”
Mrs. Caistor Scorton passed close to them and Eileen made a
gesture to catch her attention.
“You found my cheque all right, Mrs. Scorton?”
Westenhanger, to his surprise, detected more than a tinge of
irony in the question. Mrs. Caistor Scorton seemed taken aback for a
moment; but she recovered herself almost at once:
“Oh, quite all right, quite all right,” she confirmed shortly, and
passed on to the bridge-table.
Eileen Cressage knitted her brows slightly as she looked after her.
At any rate, she had got out of that difficulty. Morchard had been
quite right. The woman had obviously sent the cheque off to her
bank and asked them to wire if it had been met. That apparently
inevitable scandal had passed over safely. She glanced across at
Morchard and an angrier flash came into her eyes. She knew what
sort of a person he was, too.
Freddie Stickney drifted over and sat down between her and
Westenhanger.
“Heard the news, you two? The Talisman’s out of print, it seems.
No copies available for the public. Somebody’s taken a fancy to it
and simply lifted it. That’s a fine end to all the Dangerfield talk, isn’t
it?”
With a certain ill-suppressed maliciousness, he gave them all the
information he had collected during the day.
“Just as well you were away last night, Westenhanger,” he wound
up. “You’re clear of suspicion. But all the rest of us are in it up to the
neck. Servants exonerated without a stain on their character. Strong
suspicion attaches to every guest. That’s how the land lies.”
“Oh, indeed, Freddie,” said Westenhanger. “Then, if we must
suspect somebody, we may as well begin with yourself. What about
it? Anything you say will be used against you at the trial, without
regard for age or sex. Where’s my notebook?”
“It’s all very well for you,” protested Freddie. “You’re out of it all.
But what about the rest of us? It’s a nasty idea to feel that the
person sitting next to you in this room may be a thief.”
Westenhanger looked him up and down for a moment before
replying.
“If I were you, Freddie, I don’t think I’d begin flinging words like
‘thief’ about quite so early in the day. These things are apt to be
resented by some people. Isn’t there any other possible
explanation?”
Freddie pondered for a while in silence, then he made a half-
hearted suggestion:
“It might be a practical joke.”
Westenhanger considered the idea and rejected it almost
immediately.
“I shouldn’t like to have the taste of the man who played a joke
of that sort. Who’s your humorist? Douglas is the funny man of the
company, but Douglas wouldn’t play a trick of that sort on anyone.
That’s certain. Morchard hasn’t that kind of mind. The American has
a sense of humour, but not that sort, I’m sure. You don’t attribute it
to one of the girls, do you? No? Well, then, that leaves us with . . .
let’s see . . . with Mr. Frederick Stickney as the only possible culprit. I
don’t think much of your taste in humour, Freddie, and that’s a fact.”
“All the same,” said Eileen Cressage, “I’d prefer it to be a case of
practical joking rather than the other thing. Perhaps it will all come
right and we shall find the Talisman back again in a few days, just as
Mr. Dangerfield said.”
Freddie had recovered from Westenhanger’s attack.
“Well, I’m going to find out who did it,” he declared. “As things
stand, we’re all under a cloud. I’m going to get the whole lot into the
billiard room later on, if I can, away from the Dangerfields; and I
shall put it to them straight that each person ought to account for
his doings during the night. Nobody could object to that.”
He glanced at the girl for support and was surprised to see her
flush and turn away as though to conceal her face.
“I don’t think you’ll be altogether popular if you start that kind of
thing, Mr. Stickney,” she said.
Freddie’s bright little eyes fastened themselves on her face; and
his well-trained mind automatically set to work to draw inferences
from what he saw. As his friend had said, Freddie’s inferences
always tended to discredit somebody or something. He had sense
enough, however, to leave his conclusions unspoken.
“It’s a silly idea, Freddie,” said Westenhanger, abruptly.
He also had noticed the girl’s flush; but the only inference he had
cared to draw was that Freddie was making her uncomfortable.
“I can’t agree with you.” Freddie was emboldened by the girl’s
embarrassment. “I think everyone would be only too glad to
exonerate themselves from suspicion. We oughtn’t to be left under a
cloud if we can clear ourselves straight off. Decidedly not. I shall
insist on it; and I’ll point out what it will look like if anyone refuses.”
He got up and walked away from them without waiting for a
reply.
Westenhanger looked across at Eileen and was puzzled by the
distress which he still found in her face.
“That little beast will make trouble unless he gets his way. Miss
Cressage, I think I’ll have to attend his proposed inquest myself. It
seems to be the occasion where an impartial and disinterested
person might be useful.”
Eileen glanced at his face for a moment. He was relieved to find
that she met his eye squarely and showed no signs of flinching.
“I think that would be a good plan, Mr. Westenhanger.”
“Well, I suppose we shall have to go through with it if he gets his
way. And he’s pretty sure to arrange it, you know. That suggestion
that it will look black if anyone refuses is pretty sure to rake in most
of them, and the rest can’t stand out after that, even if they wished
to.”
 Chapter VI
“Now,” said Freddie Stickney, “I think we can begin.”
He had been as good as his word. Each guest had been
approached by him apart from the rest; and the appropriate hint,
insinuation, or appeal, had been skilfully employed. They had all
come, willingly or not, and Freddie had them at his mercy. His beady
little eyes, bright as those of a mouse, glanced from face to face in
an attempt to read the expressions. Already, he judged, most of
them were uncomfortable; and the production of discomfort was
Freddie’s strong card. He cleared his throat gently in preparation for
his opening statement of the case as he saw it; but just at that
moment the door clicked and Westenhanger stepped into the room.
“Look here, Westenhanger, you can’t come in just now,”
protested Freddie, who augured little good from the engineer’s
presence. “This is a private affair.”
Westenhanger stared at him with admirably acted surprise.
“Are you getting up a charade to amuse the Dangerfield family,
or something like that? I don’t think much of the notion, but I’m
quite game to join if all the rest of you are in it. Go ahead; don’t let
me interrupt.”
He selected a chair near Eileen Cressage and sat down. Freddie
bit his lip in vexation. Westenhanger’s entrance had taken him
aback; he had not bargained for the presence of anyone except
those who came under suspicion. For a moment he thought of
arguing the point and contesting Westenhanger’s right to be there at
all; but a glance at the engineer’s face showed him the uselessness
of any such attempt. Quite obviously Westenhanger meant to sit
through the business.
“Get on with it, Freddie,” directed Douglas Fairmile, impatiently.
“You can’t expect us to sit here all night merely to look at you, can
you?”
Freddie cleared his throat again, and launched into his
exposition; but the two interruptions had flustered him a little and
he failed to make his points tell as heavily as he had hoped.
“You all know the Dangerfield Talisman’s disappeared. The
burglar alarms were all found correctly set in the morning, so
obviously nobody could have got into the house from the outside.
That limits the thing down to the people in the house. I think that’s
plain.”
“Quite plain,” commented Westenhanger. “Self-evident, in fact.
Proceed, Freddie.”
“The inmates of the house can be divided into three . . .”
“Just like ancient Gaul, eh?” Douglas explained.
Freddie scowled at the interruption and repeated his phrases.
“The inmates can be divided into three groups. First, there’s the
Dangerfields themselves; second, the servants; third, the guests—
ourselves. The Dangerfields don’t come into the matter. There’s no
reason why any of them should take away the Talisman. Then it’s a
fact that none of the servants can be suspected. At least, so the
Dangerfields say, and they ought to know. That leaves ourselves.
One of us must have taken it.”
He glanced round the group in the hope that, even at this early
stage in the inquiry, someone might betray himself. Morchard was
leaning back in his chair, lazily following the movement of a smoke-
ring which he had blown by accident. Mrs. Caistor Scorton was
obviously bored. Nina and Cynthia were trying to repress smiles—
evidently the results of some whispered aside by Douglas which
Freddie had failed to catch. As for Wraxall, even an expert poker-
player could have made nothing of his inscrutable mask. Eileen
Cressage looked white and tired; and there was something in her
face that encouraged Freddie to think that here he had found the
weak point in the circle. Quite evidently she dreaded something to
come, but she seemed to be hoping that the danger might yet be
averted. Westenhanger, of course, showed nothing, since he was the
solitary individual whose innocence was beyond doubt.
 “Now there are two possible explanations of the Talisman’s
disappearance,” Freddie continued. “One is, that it’s due to a
practical joke. We all know how the Dangerfields boast about taking
no precautions with the Talisman. Somebody here may have wanted
to give them a lesson about that. That’s a possibility. But if that’s the
explanation, I think we have something to say. Joke or no joke, the
thing’s gone, and until it turns up again, every one of us is under
suspicion of theft. Everyone of us!”
He glanced round the faces once more, but still no one betrayed
any definite sign of guilt. Eileen Cressage’s expression puzzled him.
She looked up and caught his eyes for a moment, but it was he who
turned away first, so manifest was the dislike in her glance. Quite
evidently the girl had something to conceal, and Freddie grew more
determined to bring it to light, whatever it was.
“Just a moment, Mr. Stickney!” the American interrupted as
Freddie was about to continue. “Let’s be accurate, if you please. You
said ‘Everyone of us.’ That’s not correct. Mr. Westenhanger can’t be
included. He couldn’t have had any hand in the affair, on your own
showing.”
The engineer acknowledged the American’s statement with a
quick smile. Wraxall, evidently, was a kindred spirit, bent on spoiling
Freddie’s little effects.
“Very well,” snapped Freddie. “Then it’s one of us here, excluding
Westenhanger.”
Rather to Westenhanger’s surprise, Morchard joined the critics.
“Wrong again,” he declared, weightily. “Mrs. Brent was in the
house that night; and she isn’t here. I agree with Mr. Wraxall. Let’s
be accurate.”
“Well, well,” snarled Freddie, “have it as you like. The main point
is that everyone here, bar one, is under suspicion. And whether it’s a
practical joke or not, it looks like plain theft. And that’s a very
unpleasant business, very unpleasant to us all—to myself at any
rate. It’s very unfair. And if this thing isn’t cleared up as soon as
possible it’ll leave a permanent stain on our characters. You know
how people talk.”
 “I hear you, Freddie,” interjected Douglas, and Freddie was
annoyed to see Nina Lindale’s lips twitch in a repressed smile.
“It’s no laughing matter,” he said, indignantly. “Far from it.
Somebody in Friocksheim took the Talisman, that’s certain. Now all I
suggest is that we should each voluntarily account for our time
during the period when the thing was stolen. That’s no hardship to
anyone. I’m quite glad to do it myself; and I’m sure everyone else in
my position will be just as glad. If anyone here took the Talisman, let
him say so now and we won’t need to go any further.”
He fixed his eye on Douglas Fairmile as he spoke, more by
accident than design.
“Meaning me?” inquired Douglas. “Try again, doggie. You’re
barking up the wrong tree. I never touched the thing in my life.”
Freddie ignored the interruption.
“Nobody admits they did it as a joke?” he demanded. “Then it’s
much worse. It’s theft, pure and simple. We owe it to ourselves to
clear the thing up. At any rate, that’s my view, and I think it will be
the view of everybody in my position to-night.”
To Freddie’s surprise Morchard came to his assistance.
“There’s something in that,” he admitted. “I doubt if it’ll lead to
anything; but since the thing’s been allowed to go so far, I don’t see
any harm in letting anyone who wishes it, do as you suggest.”
Freddie, looking at Eileen Cressage, saw her shoot a glance at
Morchard; but as she turned her head to do so, he could not see her
expression. When she turned back again he had no difficulty in
reading consternation in her face. She detected that he was
watching her and endeavoured, with very little success, to assume
an indifferent attitude. Westenhanger also had caught the by-play,
and his face clouded.
“Suppose you begin, then,” Freddie suggested to Morchard.
Morchard seemed rather annoyed at being directly attacked, but
he gave a nod of acquiescence.
“Most of us went upstairs together, you remember. That would be
about a quarter to twelve or so. I didn’t look at my watch, so I can’t
make it closer. Anyway, it must have been about then. We’ve always
been pretty early at Friocksheim. Then I undressed and went to bed
—midnight, say. And I woke up as usual in the morning. That’s all.
Help you much, Stickney?”
Freddie ignored the query and glanced round to see if anyone
else would volunteer. Mrs. Caistor Scorton sat up in her chair.
“I went to my room as usual—about a quarter to twelve, as Mr.
Morchard says. Some people came up a little later. I heard steps in
the corridor and the sounds of doors shutting. There was some
talking in low voices and more doors shut. Then the whole house
was quiet. I looked out of the window for a short time, wondering if
the storm was coming at last. Then I heard a noise as if someone
had stumbled on the mat outside my door. I opened the door quietly
and looked out. It was Miss Cressage. She was carrying a lighted
candle and by the time I got the door open she was a good distance
down the passage. I didn’t call after her, but just shut my door
again. I looked at my watch to see how late it was, and I remember
it was a quarter past twelve. After a time I undressed and went to
bed. The next thing I can remember is waking up as usual.”
Westenhanger was completely taken aback by this evidence.
What could a girl be doing, wandering about the house at that time
of night? Almost without thinking, he swung round on Mrs. Caistor
Scorton and put a question.
“You’re sure it was Miss Cressage?”
“Quite sure,” said Mrs. Caistor Scorton, composedly. “She was
wearing her dressing-gown and bedroom slippers. No one else has a
silk dressing-gown of that shade.”
Eileen Cressage had gone very white during Mrs. Caistor
Scorton’s evidence, but she made no comment. Westenhanger,
looking at her momentarily, saw that she had been completely
surprised. At the same time, her attitude suggested that she might
have something in reserve though she was not very confident about
it. Freddie Stickney in his turn put a question to Mrs. Caistor
Scorton.
“You said she was ‘going down the passage.’ What does that
mean?”
“Miss Cressage’s room is beyond mine. She was going away from
it when I saw her.”
 “Oh, I see,” said Freddie. “You mean that she was going along
the corridor in the direction of the bachelor’s wing?”
Westenhanger saw Eileen start in her chair at this elucidation by
Freddie, but she evidently held herself in with an almost physical
effort.
“Why on earth doesn’t she say something?” he wondered to
himself. “I’d stake my money that she’s straight, and yet she lets
that little swine go on unchecked with his insinuations. I can’t
understand it.”
Whether she wished it or not, Mrs. Caistor Scorton had changed
the whole atmosphere. Up to the moment when she began to speak,
the affair had been handled in an almost frivolous spirit. Freddie
Stickney had been making a fool of himself, and no one liked him
sufficiently to feel troubled by that aspect of the matter. Even the
Talisman theft had not weighed over heavily as a personal thing, for
nobody had any formulated suspicions in his mind. But Mrs. Caistor
Scorton, in half a dozen sentences, had brought them face to face
with a new problem, and the silence of the girl made it difficult to
find innocuous explanations. Something ugly had reared up in the
midst of what, to most of them, had been little more than a joke.
Eileen’s white, strained face, and her attitude of a creature at bay,
had taken away all humour from the situation. Freddie Stickney had
achieved a masterpiece in the creation of discomfort. Westenhanger
could see Douglas Fairmile’s face, and in its expression he read the
twin of his own feelings.
The American broke the silence, before its awkwardness grew
too obvious.
“You mean that Miss Cressage was going towards the head of the
main stair-case, I suppose?”
Mrs. Caistor Scorton nodded without speaking.
“I understand it better when it’s put in that way,” said Wraxall,
bluntly.
Eileen Cressage threw him a glance in which Westenhanger
recognised gratitude. The American had taken the edge off the
situation, to some extent, by his intervention. But a moment’s
reflection showed Westenhanger that Wraxall had merely turned the
matter into a fresh and difficult channel. Down the stair-case was
the way to the Corinthian’s Room and the Talisman.
Before anyone else could interpose comments, Wraxall again
threw himself into the breach:
“My tale’s more elaborate than these two. It’ll take longer to tell,
I expect. I went upstairs to bed with the rest of the party, but I
didn’t undress just then. I felt that storm coming up, and I like
storms. I wouldn’t miss one. So I just sat at my window. My room’s
the second on the corridor in the bachelor’s wing, as you go along
from the stair-case. Yours is the first, isn’t it, Mr. Westenhanger?”
“Yes, I’m next you.”
“Your room was empty, that night, so anyone going along the
corridor had to pass my door before they got to any other room. I
was wide awake, at my window. I’ve pretty sharp ears, and I was
listening hard for the first of the thunder. I heard nobody pass my
door. I’d have heard anyone in the corridor. Make a note of that, Mr.
Stickney. It seems important.”
He broke off and glanced contemptuously at Freddie.
“At almost exactly half-past twelve,” he went on, “the storm
broke. I looked at my watch at the first thunder-clap. It was a good
storm. I’ve seldom seen better. But from my point of view it was
rather a failure, just then. I couldn’t see well enough out of my
window. I was losing half of it. So I got up—I hadn’t undressed—and
I took my candle with me because I didn’t know where the corridor
switches were. Nor the switches in the hall below. I’d failed to make
a note of them.”
He paused for a moment as though expecting comments, but no
one said anything.
“I went downstairs. I wanted to get outside if I could. I didn’t
mean to lose any of that storm. At the main door, I had a glance at
the burglar alarm. It’s the same pattern as I use in my own house,
so I put it out of action and opened the door. It was quite dry
outside then. The rain hadn’t started. So I went out.”
Westenhanger was struck by an idea.
“Just a moment, Mr. Wraxall. That meant you left the door open
behind you, didn’t it? Could anyone have got in without you seeing
him?”
Wraxall nodded approval.
“No, nobody could have got in. I had my eye on the door all the
time. I was never away from it. To continue: The whole house-front
was dark when I went outside, except for some windows in the little
tower above the Corinthian’s Room. They were lit up.”
“That’s Eric Dangerfield’s room,” interjected Westenhanger.
“Quite right. You’ll hear more about that when I come to it, but
let’s take things as they happened. Almost as soon as I got outside
there was a terrific flash—blinding. And then the father and mother
of all the thunder-claps. I found in the morning it had struck one of
the trees near by. That was at twelve thirty-nine p.m. exact—I
looked at my watch by the next flash which came immediately after.”
“That must have been the peal that frightened me,” Nina
interjected. “It was the loudest I ever heard.”
“Within a minute or two,” continued Wraxall, “a light went up at
the end of the east wing.”
“That was in my room,” confirmed Cynthia Pennard.
“We can ignore it for the present, then,” said Wraxall. “I’m just
giving you what I saw. About five minutes later—that would be
about ten minutes to one by rough reckoning—a light appeared in
the Corinthian’s Room——”
“Ah!” exclaimed Freddie Stickney. “This is getting hotter.”
“Only another of your mare’s nests, Freddie,” explained Douglas.
“It was I who switched that on.”
Wraxall continued without taking any notice.
“I saw a light in the Corinthian’s Room and—as I was about to
say when Mr. Stickney cut in—in the library which leads out of the
Corinthian’s Room. Five minutes later, say about one o’clock in the
morning, the rain drove me indoors. I bolted the door and put on
the alarm again. As I came back into the hall, someone switched on
the lights, and I found young Dangerfield there. I said something
about having been out looking at the storm and he nodded. Then I
went upstairs and back to my room. The best part of the storm was
over, so I went to bed, perhaps round about quarter past one. Like
the other people I woke up as usual in the morning. That’s all I can
remember at present.”
The American’s narrative, whether intentionally or not, had
brought a relaxation of the tension in the room. By his purely
objective treatment of the matter he had produced an unconscious
change in outlook among his audience. Westenhanger was relieved
to see that even Eileen’s face had taken on a less strained
expression. She was anything but at her ease, yet there was
something in her face which suggested that she had passed the
worst.
Douglas Fairmile was the next to volunteer an account of his
doings during the night.
“I’m no great hand at exact times and seasons,” he began. “You’ll
just need to take what you get. And I’m no amateur in storms,
either. If lightning leaves me alone I’ll never trouble it. But that
storm forced itself on my notice—and not in a quiet insinuating way,
either. To be frank with you, it kept me awake. After a while I got
fed up listening to it, so I thought I might as well read, since I
couldn’t sleep. So I padded off downstairs to get a book from the
library. Mr. Wraxall says it was just about one o’clock, and he knows
more about it than I do. The only thing that strikes me as important
in the affair is that when I switched on the lights in the Corinthian’s
Room, I happened to notice that the Talisman was still in its place.
So that means it disappeared after one o’clock in the morning.”
He glanced at Eileen as he spoke. Westenhanger felt a wave of
relief at this evidence, since it seemed to clear the girl completely;
but on looking at her, he was surprised to see that she showed no
sign of elation. Her expression hardly indicated that she had
appreciated the force of Douglas’s statement.
“I picked up a book,” continued Douglas, “and just as I was
leaving the room, Eric came down his stair. We exchanged a few
bright remarks about the storm—nothing worth recording—and I left
him writing something at the table in the library. I must have got
through the hall—I didn’t bother to switch on the lights—before Mr.
Wraxall came inside again. And so to bed. And may I repeat,
Freddie, lest you failed to catch my whisper last time, that I did not
steal the Talisman as I was passing. Make a note of that. It seems
important, as Mr. Wraxall says.”
“I’m afraid my story doesn’t help much,” said Nina Lindale, shyly,
“and it makes me out to be a terrible coward. But I’ve always been
nervous of thunder since I was a kiddie. I didn’t mind the beginning
of this one—at least I tried not to mind it. But then there came a
terrific flash and a perfectly awful peal of thunder, and my nerves
went to pieces altogether.”
“That must have been the time the tree was struck, I expect,”
said the American. “Say twenty minutes to one?”
“Oh, don’t ask me what time it was. I had other things to think
about. After that, I felt I simply couldn’t be alone for another
minute. I got up and went next door into Eileen’s room. I wanted
company at any price, even if I had to knock up half the house to
get it. But Eileen wasn’t there. Her bed hadn’t been slept in. So I
thought perhaps she was in the same state and had gone to
someone else’s room. I rushed along to Cynthia’s bedroom and burst
in on her. And after that I didn’t dare to go back to my own room
again, so I just stayed with her all night.”
“That accounts for my light being switched on, you see, Mr.
Wraxall,” said Cynthia to the American. “I’ve really no idea of what
time it was that Nina came along to me; but it was just after that
awful thunder-clap; and I expect that was the one you made a note
of. Nina and I fell asleep after a while, once the storm had gone
down. I don’t know what time that was, either. Do you generally fall
asleep with your eyes on your watch, Mr. Stickney? It seems very
hard to fix any definite times for things which happen at night.”
Freddie smiled in a superior fashion.
“As it happens, I did look at my watch in the middle of the night.
I went to bed at the same time as the rest; and went to sleep, too,
which is more than some of you seem to have been able to do. I
slept through the storm. But later on the wind got up. My window-
blind began to flap badly; and that woke me up. I looked at the time
to see if it was worth while getting out of bed and fixing it, or
whether it wasn’t worth while. That was at twenty minutes to three,
I remember distinctly.”
 He glanced at Cynthia triumphantly. She took up the implied
challenge at once.
“Yes, Mr. Stickney, you’ve given us one time. But you haven’t told
us when you went to sleep. It seems to me you’re no better than the
rest of us, really.”
Freddie ignored her and continued his tale.
“I made up my mind to get up and fix the blind. That was at
twenty minutes to three, as I said. While I was at the window, I
looked out. My room looks right across the court-yard to the
windows of Miss Lindale’s room. As I was standing at the window, a
light went up in the windows next to Miss Lindale’s.”
He paused, and Westenhanger saw by his expression that he
hoped to spring a surprise. Freddie swung round suddenly upon
Eileen.
“That’s your room, isn’t it, Miss Cressage?”
The girl’s face showed that this was the piece of evidence which
she had been dreading; but she managed to keep her voice under
control as she answered.
“My room is next Nina’s, and I did switch on my light sometime in
the small hours. I didn’t look at the time, but no doubt you’re quite
right about it.”
Again the atmosphere had grown tense. Westenhanger swiftly
scanned the girl’s face, and he was distressed to see how haggard
she seemed. “She looks just like a trapped animal,” he thought in
the first flash. Then some unidentifiable trait in her expression
brought a second idea to the fore. “She looks as though she knew
she’s in a very tight corner; but she expects to pull out of it
somehow in the end. She’s pretty nearly desperate—but not quite.”
Freddie, having drawn general attention to Eileen’s attitude,
contented himself with completing his story.
“I looked out of my window for a short time after fixing the blind
so that it wouldn’t flap again. After that I went back to bed again
and fell asleep almost immediately. I waked up at the usual time.”
He waited for a moment and then added:
“Now if we had Miss Cressage’s story we should have had
everybody’s version of the affair.”
 Eileen rose to her feet, and they could see that she was
trembling, though she kept herself under control. Westenhanger
instinctively leaned forward in his chair. If the girl had some trump
card in her hand, now was the time to play it. If not, then
undoubtedly Freddie Stickney had put her in a bad position. She had
left her room at a quarter past twelve. Freddie’s evidence pointed to
her coming back again at twenty minutes to three in the morning,
and switching on her light as she re-entered her room. What could
any girl be doing out of her bed at that time of night, and for two
hours at a stretch? And, undoubtedly, from the evidence of Douglas,
the Talisman might have disappeared during the time she was
moving about the house. No matter where she had been, it looked a
bad business; and yet Westenhanger could not help feeling that
there must be some explanation.
“That girl’s straight,” he repeated to himself. “She’s over-straight,
if anything, by the look of her. And yet she’s got herself into some
deadly hole or other.”
Then an idea suddenly flashed into his mind.
“Suppose she’s shielding someone else! I never thought of that!
But it would need to be a pretty strong motive that would make her
take the thing as she has taken it.”
Before he could follow out this train of thought, Eileen’s voice
broke in on his reflections.
“I really haven’t anything to say. It’s quite true that Mrs. Caistor
Scorton saw me in the corridor after twelve o’clock. I didn’t know
she had seen me then. And it’s quite true that I switched on my light
when I came back again. I don’t know what time it was then, but
probably Mr. Stickney is quite right. It doesn’t matter much. I wasn’t
near the Talisman during the night. That’s all I can tell you.”
Her control suddenly broke, and she moved hastily towards the
door. Douglas Fairmile sprang up and opened it for her to pass out.
As she passed him, she could read in his face that he at least was
quite prepared to take her word.
As the door closed behind her, the atmosphere of strain grew
more intense. The realisation that they had narrowly escaped a
nasty scene weighed upon the group; and no one seemed eager to
break the silence. At last Westenhanger, feeling that the first note
struck was of importance, swung round on Freddie Stickney. He
ignored the events of the last few moments completely.
“Well, Freddie,” he said, coldly, “your inquest doesn’t seem to
have led to much. I can’t congratulate you. Speaking purely as a
bystander, I can’t say that you’ve achieved anything. Take your own
case. You went to bed at some unspecified hour. You say you slept
through that storm. That’s quite possible; though some of us might
have difficulty in believing you, if I can judge from the accounts I’ve
heard of the thunder. At any rate, you tell us you waked up shortly
before three o’clock and were actually out of bed at that time—just
the period when the Talisman was stolen. You were up and about for
some unspecified time. Then you went back to bed and fell asleep
again. Quite all right no doubt.”
His voice grew more incisive.
“But if you think you’ve cleared yourself of suspicion by telling
that tale, I may as well sweep away your illusions. If a detective
were working on this case, he’d simply ignore your whole yarn—
except one solitary point. He’d take Miss Cressage’s word that she
switched on the light in her room, and he’d believe you when you
say you saw that light go up. That’s the only point where there’s the
slightest confirmation. And Miss Cressage is the only person who
could clear you, if it happened to turn out that the Talisman
disappeared about three o’clock in the morning.”
He shrugged his shoulders contemptuously.
“You seem to have the foggiest notion of evidence, Freddie.
Anyone could have foreseen this sort of thing. Even a child would
know that at night, in a house like this, it’s almost impossible to
establish a decent alibi. Nina and Cynthia are the only two of you
who have established cast-iron alibis; and that was due to a pure
accident—the thunderstorm.”
“That’s true,” said Wraxall, before Freddie could reply. “That’s
quite correct, Mr. Westenhanger. Nobody could get an alibi under
these conditions, in the normal way. I quite agree with you that this
little playlet hasn’t been a success. By no means. I think we’d be
well advised to forget all about it.”
 Douglas Fairmile laughed at the sight of Freddie’s expression;
and with that laugh, the tension was released again. Douglas’s mirth
seemed infectious, following so closely on the strain of the last
quarter of an hour.
“Well, I’m glad you can’t suspect me,” said Nina Lindale with a
faint smile. “I never thought a thunderstorm would clear my
character. I suppose I ought to be thankful.”
“Ditto!” added Cynthia, lightly.
Westenhanger returned to the attack in a sardonic tone.
“One thing I noticed, Freddie: You didn’t go the length of denying
that you stole the Talisman yourself. An oversight, probably. Oh,
don’t trouble to do it now; it would look rather too much like an
after-thought. Besides, no detective would take your word for it—
with that look on your face.”
“ ‘Detected Guilt, or The Sinner Unmasked’—what?” jeered
Douglas. “Freddie, you’d make the fortune of a problem painter if he
got hold of you just now. ‘Did He Do It?’ That would be the title.
Picture of the wily fellow who takes charge of the whole
investigation and then leads all the sleuths on the wrong scent while
he makes off with the swag, eh? Priceless!”
The three men had turned the tables on Freddie, and he had the
wit to recognise the fact. The whole effect of his efforts had been
nullified by this last touch of ridicule, which made a special appeal
after the earlier tension. He nodded sulkily, as though admitting an
error; but he made no direct reply to Westenhanger.
Nina Lindale gave the signal for the company to break up.
“I’m off to bed,” she announced, unsuccessfully trying to conceal
a yawn. “I got very little sleep last night, and if I stay up any longer
I shall doze off in my chair.”
“That’s a sound idea, Miss Lindale,” said Wraxall. “I begin to
remember that I lost some sleep too, last night.”
Morchard and Mrs. Caistor Scorton joined the group which was
moving toward the door. Cynthia linked her arm in Nina’s and was
turning away when Douglas called her back and spoke to her in a
low voice.
 “What a thoughtful child it is!” they heard her say, in mock
admiration. “And did you imagine I hadn’t thought of that long ago?
Don’t worry!”
She hurried after her companion. Freddie Stickney, left alone with
Douglas and Westenhanger, shuffled for a moment or two and then
retired to the door.
“I’m going to bed,” he said, reaching for the handle.
“Right, Freddie,” said Douglas, making a pretence of consulting
his watch. “I’ve taken the time. Set your alarm clock every quarter of
an hour and jot down that you were in bed each time when you
woke up. It’ll be an invaluable memorandum if anything happens to
go astray to-night. Bye-bye. If you feel one of your ears burning,
don’t fret. It will probably be me saying what I think of your
exploits.”
Freddie suppressed a snarl and went out. Westenhanger dropped
into a big lounge-chair and pulled out his pipe.
“Sit down, Douglas; it’s early yet.”
Douglas picked out a convenient seat, near enough to allow a
low-voiced conversation.
“I asked Cynthia to drop into Eileen’s room and tell her what we
thought of things. Couldn’t leave the girl imagining we believed she
was a wrong ’un, could we? And she might have thought that,
cutting off when she did. Cynthia was going to see her off her own
bat, it seems. Sound girl, Cynthia; she’ll do it tactfully. Some people
might make a bad break in a case like that.”
Westenhanger acquiesced silently, and filled his pipe before he
spoke again.
“Damnable business, that,” he said at last. “And if we’d stopped
it, there would have been some sort of scene. Everyone’s nerves
were on edge. Anything was better than that. But what actually
happened wasn’t so very much better after all. That girl was as near
cracking up as she could be. If it hadn’t been for her grit, we might
have had a much nastier affair on our hands.”
“One would like to wring Freddie’s neck, of course,” Douglas
mused aloud; “but that would mean a row. We can’t have rows.
With luck, we can stifle this business; but a row would make it
anybody’s news. Freddie gets off this time, I’m afraid.”
“He does. I’m sorry.”
“The infernal thing is that the little sweep’s right, you know,
Conway. We are all under suspicion. I don’t suspect anyone myself—
not my line. But there’s no getting away from it. Someone did take
that damned Talisman.”
“Afraid so. The only hope that I have is that it may have been a
practical joke after all, and that the joker was afraid to own up.
Trusted to putting the thing back again without being spotted.”
“Possible, of course,” conceded Douglas. “But I can’t identify the
prize idiot.”
“Nor can I. Well, take the other thing and see if it leads you any
further—theft, I mean. I’m out of it, by pure luck. You’ve all the
money you want. Morchard has more than’s good for him. The
Scorton woman is rolling in it. I take it that the girls don’t come into
question?”
He glanced interrogatively at Douglas, who nodded his
agreement.
“Then that leaves the American and Freddie as a residue. Know
anything about Wraxall, Douglas?”
“Nix, as I suppose he’d say. He’s a collector, of sorts, and rolling
in money, I’ve heard.”
“H’m!” said Westenhanger, pausing for a moment.
“Well, pass Wraxall,” he continued. “That leaves us with Freddie.
I don’t like Freddie. I’ve nothing against his morals, for I know
nothing about them. I do know he’s hard up, though. But I’ve been
hard up myself at times. That doesn’t necessarily make a black mark
on one’s record.”
“True,” Douglas agreed. Then after a few seconds he added:
“Know the Scots verdict Not Proven, Conway? ‘The accused was
discharged with a stain on his character. All saved, bar honour.’
That’s how you feel about Freddie, perhaps?”
“I’m not very friendly. The way that girl was baited to-night was
enough to sicken any decent person. But there’s a difference
between feeling like that and calling the little beast a thief, you
know.”
“Not Proven; that’s so.”
Westenhanger considered for a few moments as though he found
it difficult to choose words for what he had to say. At last he put
down his pipe.
“There’s one thing, Douglas—that girl has got to be cleared.
We’re all mixed up in that affair, thanks to Freddie’s infernal
manœuvres; we can’t shirk responsibility. I don’t know what
possessed her to go roaming about the house at that time of night.
Still less can I imagine why she couldn’t tell us what she was after.
But she’s a straight girl, if ever I saw one, and we simply can’t afford
to let things rest as they are. I don’t want to know what she was
doing—and I don’t much care. But the only way to clear her is to
find out who actually did the trick. It’ll be a stiff business.”
Douglas looked serious.
“Stiff enough, if you ask me. If you want a Watson, I’m your
man; but you’ll need to supply the Sherlocking yourself. I simply
haven’t the brains for it. The whole affair is a complete mystery—
and likely to remain so, for all the help I could give.”
“I’m not hopeful,” confessed Westenhanger at once. “The only
detecting I ever did was guessing what cards were in my opponents’
hands. It’s not so much I expect to get anything out, Douglas. I feel
one has to turn to and do what one can, or else I shouldn’t be
comfortable. That girl’s face wasn’t a happy sight to-night. It’s got
rather on my nerves, if you want to know.”
He took up his pipe again. Douglas said nothing, but his face
showed that he understood Westenhanger’s account of his feelings.
“What do you make of Wraxall?” Westenhanger demanded,
abruptly.
“Decent soul, I thought. Backed us up well in the matter of
sitting on Freddie.”
Westenhanger made no comment. Douglas let him smoke in
silence for a while before inquiring:
“What do you think?”
 “Wraxall was the only one of you who had a complete story
ready to account for all his doings during the night. That’s my
impression about Wraxall, Douglas.”
 Chapter VII
Cynthia Pennard moved slightly to avoid a spot of light which had
crept across the cushions of her hammock until it reached her face.
“Douglas,” she said, lazily, “has a hippopotamus got a tougher
hide than a rhinoceros? I’d like to know.”
“I’ve heard them both well spoken of—highly commended, in
fact. I’d hate to draw an invidious distinction and cause trouble at
the Zoo. But why this lust for general information? It’s not like you.”
Following her glance across the broad lawn, Douglas caught sight
of Freddie Stickney sitting on the grass beside Mrs. Caistor Scorton’s
garden-chair. Cynthia turned her head again.
“That’s quite the thickest-skinned creature I ever heard of,” she
explained, “and I was only wondering which animal ought to come
after him.”
“Can’t you spend the day better than in thinking up insults to
rhinoceroses and hippopotami? They’d wilt with shame if they
dreamed you were putting them in Freddie’s class. No flies on
Freddie, as they say. Why so? Because they’d merely blunt their
beaks if they tried to get through his hide. His fair companion’s
pretty tough on the surface, too. Perhaps that’s why all the gnats
have moved over here. Suppose we disappoint ’em by going down to
the tennis-courts?”
Cynthia slipped neatly out of her hammock, and they went off
together.
There was more than a grain of truth in their comments. Freddie
Stickney prided himself—and justly—upon one knightly quality: he
never showed a wound. The most brutal snubbing left him quite
unabashed. Coming down to breakfast after the fiasco of his
“inquest,” he had encountered Eileen Cressage at the head of the
stairs, and he had insisted on chattering trivialities to her all the way
down. At table, his beady eyes had wholly failed to see the marked
coldness with which he was treated by everyone, and he took no
notice of the fact that all conversations into which he inserted
himself were apt almost immediately to fade out into silence. Only
Mrs. Caistor Scorton seemed to recognise his existence, and when
breakfast was over, he had sought her out on the lawns.
“What do you think about this affair of the Talisman, Mrs. Caistor
Scorton?” he demanded, as he sat down on the turf beside her chair.
Mrs. Caistor Scorton seemed to ruminate for some moments
before replying. Then she glanced shrewdly at Freddie. Evidently she
thought it worth while to draw him out.
“Oh, I don’t know, Mr. Stickney. I’m not clever, like you; and I can
make nothing of it, one way or the other. But I’d like to hear what
you think. You’ve been putting two and two together, I’m sure, and I
expect you’ve got a good idea of things.”
Freddie rose to the bait without hesitation.
“If it would interest you, I’m delighted to give you my inferences.
You’ve got all the facts already.”
Mrs. Caistor Scorton nodded, but said nothing. Freddie corrected
himself immediately.
“No, I was wrong in saying that. I’ve been hunting out some
more evidence—things that didn’t come out last night. One or two
points seem to be important.”
Mrs. Caistor Scorton became more alert.
“That sounds interesting, Mr. Stickney. I’d like to hear it.”
Freddie considered for a few moments.
“I was just trying to arrange it in my mind,” he explained. “The
easiest way will be to take each person in turn, and examine the
evidence we have about that person in particular. Take Eileen
Cressage first. I think it’s obvious that some of us know more about
her affairs than came out last night.”
He looked up into Mrs. Caistor Scorton’s face inquisitively as he
spoke, and his voice had a hint of interrogation in its tone. Mrs.
Caistor Scorton stared down at him unwinkingly.
“One would almost think you were connecting me with her, Mr.
Stickney. I hardly know her.”
 “Well, correct me if I am wrong,” said Freddie, brightly. “I admit
some of it’s guesswork; but I believe I’m right. We’ll see. Now to
start with, she’s hard up. That’s common knowledge. People invite
her to their houses out of good nature, and she stays with them to
save money, living on the cheap.”
No one would have imagined, from Freddie’s semi-indignant,
semi-pitying tone, that this description accurately fitted his own
methods during part of the year.
“I believe that’s true,” said Mrs. Caistor Scorton, in a judicial
voice. “It’s common knowledge, as you say. What next?”
“She lost a lot of money to you at bridge the other night.”
“That’s common knowledge too, Mr. Stickney. Everyone in the
room knew that. Are these your wonderful revelations?”
The quite perceptible ring of disappointment in her tone touched
Freddie on the raw. He was put on his metal, just as she intended.
“Wait a moment,” he begged. “Let’s take things as they come.
She didn’t pay you at the time? No. She gave you a cheque. I was
watching her face closely just then. I’m a bit of physiognomist, you
know. It was plain as print to me. That cheque was no good, Mrs.
Caistor Scorton.”
Mrs. Caistor Scorton regarded him with a rather malicious smile.
“Indeed, Mr. Stickney?” She laughed. “Then how do you account
for the fact that the cheque was met when it was presented? I paid
it in immediately and my bank collected it at once.”
Freddie Stickney held up his hand, asking permission to interrupt
her.
“Yes,” he said, rapidly, “I suppose the cheque was met next day.
But all the same, she hadn’t a spare £200 in the world that night. I
know the signs: you can’t deceive me. She hadn’t the cash that
night. But she had it next day. What happened in between?”
“How should I know?”
Freddie took no notice. His question had been merely a rhetorical
one. He continued, marking each point with emphasis.
“The Talisman disappeared; that’s what happened in between.
And during the night, we know that Miss Eileen Cressage was out of
her room at a time when the Talisman might have been stolen.
There’s no denying that, is there? And what happened first thing
next morning? Long before half of us were up, she went off to town.
And where did Westenhanger run across her in town? Coming out of
Starbecks the jewellers, the place where they’ll make advances on
any little trinket you’ve no immediate use for. And your cheque was
met all right.”
He paused for a moment, and Mrs. Caistor Scorton looked down
at him curiously.
“You seem very good at putting two and two together, Mr.
Stickney. Do you enjoy it?”
Freddie seemed rather annoyed at the interruption. It ruined the
dramatic pause he had planned to make before his summing up.
“Of course I enjoy it,” he replied, rather crossly. “I like using my
brains. Well, there’s the case. It seems to me to need more
explaining away than we’ve had so far.”
“It’s very ingenious,” said Mrs. Caistor Scorton, in a non-
committal tone, “but isn’t there some other possible explanation of
things? One mustn’t look at a thing from one side, too much, you
know.”
Freddie was not a person who welcomed criticism of his
pronouncements; but he felt that his reputation as a man of ideas
was at stake. Swiftly his mind reverted to an incident of the previous
night.
“There is another possible explanation, I admit,” he said, in a
rather grudging tone. “Morchard has plenty of money. A matter of
£200 would be nothing to him. Now he’s very keen on Miss
Cressage’s looks. I’ve watched him, and I know the signs. Perhaps
the money came from him. You said last night that when you saw
her she was going towards the bachelors’ wing.”
“I said nothing of the kind,” Mrs. Caistor Scorton interrupted
sharply. “I said she was going along the corridor.”
“Which leads to the bachelors’ wing, of course,” persisted
Freddie.
“And to the main staircase. Besides, Mr. Wraxall said he heard no
one pass his door.”
 “How could he?” demanded Freddie triumphantly. “You said she
was wearing bedroom slippers. She wouldn’t make a sound.”
“Do you know, Mr. Stickney,” Mrs. Caistor Scorton commented in
a colourless tone, “you seem to have an unwholesome mind, if I
may say it without offence.” Her voice became indignant. “You know
precious little about girls if you think Eileen Cressage would raise
money in that particular way. I’m not talking about morality; I’m
speaking of fastidiousness. If you’d suggested Douglas Fairmile, it
might have been credible; but it’s quite beyond believing if you drag
in Mr. Morchard. She simply wouldn’t dream of it. There are some
things a girl of that type won’t do; and a cash bargain with Mr.
Morchard’s one of them.”
“Very well,” said Freddie, sullenly, “you can have the other
alternative if you prefer it.”
“It’s far more likely; I can tell you that,” declared Mrs. Caistor
Scorton, coldly.
“Well, let’s leave her alone and go on to the rest.”
Mrs. Caistor Scorton nodded an abrupt consent.
“Wraxall’s the next on the list,” Freddie went on, recovering his
good humour in the eagerness of his dissection. “I’ve picked up
some facts about him too. He came here for one purpose, and one
purpose only. Do you know what that was? To get the Talisman for
his collection. That’s all he’s here for. Now I found out—no matter
how—that on the night of the storm he approached old Dangerfield
and offered to buy the thing. Offered a gigantic price for it. It didn’t
come off. They wouldn’t sell. So there he was, knowing he’d failed to
get what he wanted. You know what these collectors are? Sort of
monomaniacs on their hobby.”
“Are you suggesting that Mr. Wraxall took it? Absurd!”
“I’m not suggesting anything. I’m simply marshalling the
evidence. What is there? We know Wraxall was out and about in the
house for the best part of the night. What made Eric Dangerfield
come down from his room? Perhaps he heard Wraxall wandering
round near the foot of his stair and frightened him off the first
attempt on the Talisman. Perhaps Wraxall came back again and had
a more successful try. All we know is that the motive was there; the
opportunity was there; the theft was committed. Draw your own
inference.”
Mrs. Caistor Scorton seemed to have recovered her earlier mood.
“Oh, I’m not so clever as you are, Mr. Stickney. I’m quite content
to hear your own views. Let’s take the next person on your list.”
“Take Douglas Fairmile,” continued Freddie, quite restored to
good humour by the scrap of flattery. “My deliberate judgment is
that Douglas is not guilty. First, there’s no motive. Douglas has any
amount of money; he doesn’t need the Talisman for the sake of
turning it into cash. Second, he hasn’t the initiative to carry through
a thing like that. He’s just one of these would-be funny fellows. No,
in my opinion, it wasn’t Douglas.”
“I agree with you,” concurred Mrs. Caistor Scorton. “Let’s pass
on.”
“Morchard’s the next. Same thing. No motive. No evidence.
Morchard didn’t take it.”
“Anything to say about Mrs. Brent, Mr. Stickney?”
“Ah,” said Freddie importantly. “I have a piece of fresh evidence
about her. Two nights ago, I happened to be passing outside the
window when she was discussing storms with that Yankee; and do
you know what I heard her say?”
“No,” said Mrs. Caistor Scorton. “I don’t know. I wish you
wouldn’t go on asking these questions when you know I can’t
possibly answer them.”
Freddie ignored the interruption.
“I heard her say this,” he went on, impressively.
“ ‘After a really bad storm I’m hardly normal. I might do
something wild. I might steal my best friend’s spoons.’ That’s what
she said; I heard it distinctly. Now what was the state of affairs on
the night the Talisman was stolen? Wasn’t it the worst storm you’ve
known for years?”
“It was,” agreed Mrs. Caistor Scorton, “quite the worst. But
remember that you slept through it yourself. You told us so last
night. So perhaps Mrs. Brent did the same.”
“You’re trying to laugh at me,” Freddie’s tone showed that he was
hurt. “I’m sure Mrs. Brent didn’t sleep through it. She hasn’t got my
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