You saw yourself how neither of the inspectors dreamed of questioning his statement, extraordinary as it was."
"But what was he to witness?"
"Nothing, as things turned out, but everything had they gone another way. That is how I read the matter."
"I see, he might have proved an alibi."
"Exactly, my dear Watson; he might have proved an alibi.
We will suppose, for argument's sake, that the household of Wisteria Lodge are confederates in some design.
The attempt, whatever it may be, is to come off, we will say, before one o'clock.
By some juggling of the clocks it is quite possible that they may have got Scott Eccles to bed earlier than he thought, but in any case it is likely that when Garcia went out of his way to tell him that it was one it was really not more than twelve.
If Garcia could do whatever he had to do and be back by the hour mentioned he had evidently a powerful reply to any accusation.
Here was this irreproachable Englishman ready to swear in any court of law that the accused was in the house all the time.