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 easily and he pulled the door back. hefound the inner door bolted top and bottom. the bolts slippedback in their well-oiled sockets without any effort. evidentlykara used this place pretty frequently, thought t. x.
he pushed the door open and stopped with an exclamation ofsurprise. the cellar apartment was brilliantly lit - but it wasunoccupied.
"this beats the band," said t. x.
he saw something on the table and lifted it up. it was a pair oflong-bladed scissors and about the handle was wound ahandkerchief. it was not this fact which startled him, but thatthe scissors' blades were dappled with blood and blood, too, wason the handkerchief. he unwound the flimsy piece of cambric andstared at the monogram "b. m. b."he looked around. nobody had seen the weapon and he dropped it inhis overcoat pocket, and walked from the cellar to the kitchenwhere mrs. beale and mansus awaited him.
"there is a lower cellar, is there not!" he asked in a strainedvoice.
"that was bricked up when mr. kara took the house," explained thewoman.
"there is nothing more to look for here," he said.
he walked slowly up the stairs to the library, his mind in awhirl. that he, an accredited officer of police, sworn to thebusiness of criminal detection, should attempt to screen one whowas conceivably a criminal was inexplicable. but if the girl hadcommitted this crime, how had she reached kara's room and why hadshe returned to the locked cellar!
he sent for mrs. beale to interrogate her. she had heard nothingand she had been in the kitchen all the evening. one fact she didreveal, however, that fisher had gone from the kitchen and hadbeen absent a quarter of an hour and had returned a littleagitated.
"stay here," said t. x., and went down again to the cellar to makea further search.
"probably there is some way out of this subterranean jail," hethought and a diligent search of the room soon revealed it.
he found the iron trap, pulled it open, and slipped down thestairs. he, too, was puzzled by the luxurious character of thevault. he passed from room to room and finally came to the innerchamber where a light was burning.
the light, as he discovered, proceeded from a small reading lampwhich stood by the side of a small brass bedstead. the bed hadrecently been slept in, but there was no sign of any occupant. t.
x. conducted a very careful search and had no difficulty infinding the bricked up door. other exits there were none.
the floor was of wood block laid on concrete, the ventilation wasexcellent and in one of the recesses which had evidently held atso time or other, a large wine bin, there was a prefect electricalcooking plant. in a small larder were a number of baskets,bearing the name of a well-known caterer, one of them containingan excellent assortment of cold and potted meats, preserves, etc.
t. x. went back to the bedroom and took the little lamp from thetable by the side of the bed and began a more careful examination.
presently he found traces of blood, and followed an irregulartrail to the outer room. he 1ost it suddenly at the foot ofstairs leading down from the upper cellar. then he struck itagain. he had reached the end of his electric cord and was nowdepending upon an electric torch he hid taken from his pocket.
there were indications of something heavy having been draggedacross the room and he saw that it led to a small bathroom. hehad made a cursory examination of this well-appointed apartment,and now he proceeded to make a close investigation and was wellrewarded.
the bathroom was the only apartment which possess anythingresembling a door - a two-fold screen and - as he pressed thisback, he felt some thing which prevented its wider extension. heslipped into the room and flashed his lamp in the space behind thescreen. there stiff in death with glazed eyes and lolling tonguelay a great gaunt dog, his yellow fangs exposed in a last grimace.
about the neck was a collar and attached to that, a few links ofbroken chain. t. x. mounted the steps thoughtfully and passed outto the kitchen.
did belinda mary stab kara or kill the dog? that she killed onehound or the other was certain. that she killed both waspossible.
