It was Mansus who found the second candle, a stouter affair. Itlay underneath the bed. The telephone, which stood on a fairlylarge-sized table by the side of the bed, was overturned and thereceiver was on the floor. By its side were two books, one beingthe "Balkan Question," by Villari, and the other "Travels andPolitics in the Near East," by Miller. With them was a long,ivory paper-knife.
There was nothing else on the bedside-table save a silvercigarette box. T. X. drew on a pair of gloves and examined thebright surface for finger-prints, but a superficial view revealedno such clue.
"Open the window," said T. X., "the heat here is intolerable. Bevery careful, Mansus. By the way, is the window fastened?""Very well fastened," said the superintendent after a carefulscrutiny.
He pushed back the fastenings, lifted the window and as he did, aharsh bell rang in the basement.
"That is the burglar alarm, I suppose," said T. X.; "go down andstop that bell."He addressed Fisher, who stood with a troubled face at the door.
When he had disappeared T. X. gave a significant glance to one ofthe waiting officers and the man sauntered after the valet.
Fisher stopped the bell and came back to the hall and stood beforethe hall fire, a very troubled man. Near the fire was a big,oaken writing table and on this there lay a small envelope whichhe did not remember having seen before, though it might have beenthere for some time, for he had spent a greater portion of theevening in the kitchen with the cook.
He picked up the envelope, and, with a start, recognised that itwas addressed to himself. He opened it and took out a card.
There were only a few words written upon it, but they weresufficient to banish all the colour from his face and set hishands shaking. He took the envelope and card and flung them intothe fire.
It so happened that, at that moment, Mansus had called fromupstairs, and the officer, who had been told off to keep the valetunder observation, ran up in answer to the summons. For a momentFisher hesitated, then hatless and coatless as he was, he crept tothe door, opened it, leaving it ajar behind him and darting downthe steps, ran like a hare from the house.
The doctor, who came a little later, was cautious as to the hourof death.
"If you got your telephone message at 10.25, as you say, that wasprobably the hour he was killed," he said. "I could not tellwithin half an hour. Obviously the man who killed him gripped histhroat with his left hand - there are the bruises on his neck -and stabbed him with the right."It was at this time that the disappearance of Fisher was noticed,but the cross-examination of the terrified Mrs. Beale removed anydoubt that T. X. had as to the man's guilt.
"You had better send out an 'All Stations' message and pull himin," said T. X. "He was with the cook from the moment the visitorleft until a few minutes before we rang. Besides which it isobviously impossible for anybody to have got into this room or outagain. Have you searched the dead man?"Mansus produced a tray on which Kara's belongings had beendisposed. The ordinary keys Mrs. Beale was able to identify.
There were one or two which were beyond her. T. X. recognised oneof these as the key of the safe, but two smaller keys baffled himnot a little, and Mrs. Beale was at first unable to assist him.
"The only thing I can think of, sir," she said, "is the winecellar.""The wine cellar?" said T. X. slowly. "That must be - " hestopped.
The greater tragedy of the evening, with all its mystifyingaspects had not banished from his mind the thought of the girl -that Belinda Mary, who had called upon him in her hour of dangeras he divined. Perhaps - he descended into the kitchen and wasbrought face to face with the unpainted door.
"It looks more like a prison than a wine cellar," he said.
"That's what I've always thought, sir," said Mrs. Beale, "andsometimes I've had a horrible feeling of fear."He cut short her loquacity by inserting one of the keys in thelock - it did not turn, but he had more success with the second.
The lock snapped back e............