were much to blame, Mr. Fullaway--just as that smart young woman, your
secretary, was candid enough to tell you."

"Oh, I know--I know!" asserted Fullaway. "But--this confession?"

"Very well," responded the chief. "Here it is, then but you must bear in
mind that Merrifield could only tell what he knew--there'll probably be
details to come out later. Anyway, Merrifield--whose chief object is, I
must also remind you, the clearing of himself from any charge of
murder--he doesn't mind the other charge, but he does object to the
graver one!--says that though he's been playing it straight for some
time, ever since he went into Delkin's service, in fact--he'd had
negotiations of a questionable sort with both Schmall and Van Koon
before years ago, in this city and in New York. He renewed his
acquaintance with Schmall when he came over this time with Delkin--met
him accidentally, and got going it with him again--and they both
resumed dealings with Van Koon--who, I may say, was wanted by Chilverton
on a quite different charge. Schmall had set up a business here in the
East End as a small manufacturing chemist--he'd evidently a perfect and
a diabolical genius for chemistry, especially in secret poisons--and
down there Merrifield and Van Koon used to go. Also, there used to go
there the young man Ebers, or Federman--we'll stick to Ebers--who, from
Merrifield's account, seems to have been a tool of Schmall's. Ebers, a
fellow of evident acute perception, used to tell Schmall of things which
his calling as valet at various hotels gave him knowledge--it strikes me
that from what we now know we shall be able to trace to Schmall and
Ebers several robberies at hotels which have puzzled us a good deal. And
there is no doubt that it was Ebers who told Schmall of the two matters
of which he obtained knowledge when he used to frequent your rooms. Mr.
Fullaway--the pearls belonging to Miss Lennard, and the proposed jewel