The examining magistrate shrugged his shoulders.

'Obviously Monsieur Renauld was entangled with this Englishwoman-Bella! He comes over here, meets Madame Daubreuil, and starts an intrigue with her. He cools off to the other, and she instantly suspects something. This letter contains a distinct threat. Monsieur Poirot, at first sight the case seemed simplicity itself. Jealousy! The fact that Monsieur Renauld was stabbed in the back seemed to point distinctly to its being a woman's crime.'

Poirot nodded.

'The stab in the back, yes-but not the grave! That was laborious work, hard work-no woman dug that grave, Monsieur. That was a man's doing.'

The commissary exclaimed excitedly: 'Yes, yes, you are right. We did not think of that.'

'As I said,' continued M. Hautet, 'at first sight the case seemed simple, but the masked men, and the letter you received from Monsieur Renauld, complicate matters. Here we seem to have an entirely different set of circumstances with no relationship between the two. As regards the letter written to yourself, do you think it is possible that it referred in any way to this "Bella" and her threats?'

Poirot shook his head.

'Hardly. A man like Monsieur Renauld, who has led an adventurous life in out-of-the-way places, would not be likely to ask for protection against a woman.'

The examining magistrate nodded his head emphatically.

'My view exactly. Then we must look for the explanation of the letter-'

'In Santiago,' finished the commissary. 'I shall cable without delay to the police in that city, requesting full details of the murdered man's life out there, his love affairs, his business transactions, his friendships, and any enmities he may have incurred. It will be strange if, after that, we do not hold a clue to his mysterious murder.'

The commissary looked round for approval.

'Excellent!' said Poirot appreciatively.