A little exclamation escaped from Francis' lips.

The woman looked on with tired eyes.
"The join in the steel," Hilditch pointed out, "is so fine as to be undistinguishable by the naked eye.

Yet when the blade comes off, like this, you see that although the weight is absolutely adjusted, the inside is hollow.

The dagger itself is encased in this cotton wool to avoid any rattling.

I put it away in rather a hurry the last time I used it, and as you see I forgot to clean it." Francis staggered back and gripped at the mantelpiece.