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Page 12
"Touched nothing, of course?" asked Bristol sharply of the officer
on duty.
"Nothing, sir. It's just as we found it when we forced the door."
"Why did you force the door?"
"He rung us up at the station and said that something or somebody
had got into the house. It was evident the poor gentleman's nerve
had broken down, sir. He said he was locked in his study. When
we arrived it was all in darkness--but we thought we heard sounds
in here."
"What sort of sounds?"
"Something crawling about!"
Bristol turned.
"Key is in the lock on the inside of the door," he said. "Is that
where you found it?"
"Yes, sir!"
He looked across to where the brass knob of a safe gleamed dully.
"Safe locked?"
"Yes, sir."
Professor Deeping lay half under the table, a spectacle so ghastly
that I shall not attempt to describe it.
"Merciful heavens!" whispered Bristol. "He's nearly decapitated!"
I clutched dizzily at the mantelpiece. It was all so utterly,
incredibly horrible. How had Deeping met his death? The windows
both were latched and the door had been locked from within!
"You searched for the murderer, of course?" asked Bristol.
"You can see, sir," replied the officer, "that there isn't a spot
in the room where a man could hide! And there was nobody
in here when we forced the door!"
"Why!" cried my companion suddenly. "The Professor has a chisel
in his hand!"
"Yes. I think he must have been trying to prise open that box
yonder when he was attacked."
Bristol and I looked, together, at an oblong box which lay upon
the floor near the murdered man. It was a kind of small
packing case, addressed to Professor Deeping, and evidently had
not been opened.
"When did this arrive?" asked Bristol. Lester, the Professor's
man, who had entered the room, replied shakily--
"It came by carrier, sir, just before I went out."
"Was he expecting it?"
"I don't think so."
Inspector Bristol and the officer dragged the box fully into the
light. It was some three feet long by one foot square, and solidly
constructed.
"It is perfectly evident," remarked Bristol, "that the murderer
stayed to search for--"
"The key of the safe!"
"Exactly. If the men really heard sounds here, it would appear that
the assassin was still searching at that time."
"I assure you," the officer interrupted, "that there was no living
thing in the room when we entered."
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