"The evidence against them was negligible, for there was nothing to connect them with the affair save the finding of the scarab on their premises; and that event, which might have been highly suspicious under other circumstances, was robbed of any significance by the fact that the scarab was found on a spot which had been passed a few minutes previously by the other suspected party, Hurst.

The finding of the scarab did, however, establish two important conclusions; namely, that John Bellingham had probably met with foul play, and that of the four persons present when it was found, one at least had had possession of the body.

As to which of the four was the one, the circumstances furnished only a hint, which was this: If the scarab had been purposely dropped, the most likely person to find it was the one who dropped it.
And the person who discovered it was Mr.Jellicoe.
"Following up this hint, if we ask ourselves what motive Mr.Jellicoe could have had for dropping it--assuming him to be the murderer--the answer is obvious.

It would not be his policy to fix the crime on any particular person, but rather to set up a complication of conflicting evidence which would occupy the attention of investigators and divert it from himself.
"Of course, if Hurst had been the murderer, he would have had a sufficient motive for dropping the scarab, so that the case against Mr.
Jellicoe was not conclusive; but the fact that it was he who found it was highly significant.
"This completes the analysis of the evidence contained in the original newspaper report describing the circumstances of the disappearance.

The conclusions that followed from it were, as you will have seen: "1.