The fittings were dilapidated, I remember, and the cab had a
very musty smell."
"Ah," said Dunbar, making several notes. "And now--the lady: about
what would be her age?"
"Difficult to say, Inspector. She had Eastern blood and may have been
much younger than she appeared to be. Judged from a European standpoint
and from her appearance and manner of dress, she might be about
twenty-three or twenty-four."
"Complexion?"
"Wonderful. Fresh as a flower."
"Eyes?"
"Dark. They looked black at night."
"Hair?"
"Brown and 'fuzzy' with copper tints."
"Tall?"
"No; slight but beautifully shaped."
"Now--from her accent what should you judge her nationality to be?"
Stuart paced up and down the room, his head lowered in reflection,
then:
"She pronounced both English and French words with an intonation which
suggested familiarity with Arabic."
"Arabic? That still leaves a fairly wide field."
"It does, Inspector, but I had no means of learning more. She had
certainly lived for a long time somewhere in the Near East."
"Her jewellery?"
"Some of it was European and some of it Oriental, but not
characteristic of any particular country of the Orient."
"Did she use perfume?"
"Yes, but it was scarcely discernible. Jasmine--probably the Eastern
preparation."
"Her ailment was imaginary?"
"I fear so."
"H'm--and now you say that Mrs. M'Gregor saw the car?"
"Yes, but she has retired."
"Her evidence will do to-morrow.
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