"'Doubtless he has been into every room in the house. We will go into the kitchen first.'
"Nothing had been disturbed there; the key of the street-door was on the kitchen table. Our reporter took it up and examined it closely.
"'As I imagined,' he said. 'He has taken an impression of the key in wax.'
"'What for, sir?' asked Mrs. Middlemore, in great trepidation.
"'To enable him to enter the house again secretly, if he wished. When I am gone send for a plumber and a locksmith. Let the plumber put in the pane of glass, and have another lock put on the street door. Your visitor must have been in a hurry, or he would have cleaned this key more carefully.'
"From the kitchen they went into the parlor, and apparently nothing had been disturbed there. Then they proceeded upstairs to the rooms occupied by M. Felix.
"'Look carefully round,' said our reporter, 'and tell me if anything has been taken away.'
"'But there may have been papers, or money, or something of which he wishes to obtain possession, secreted somewhere, and it is quite likely he may have found them.'
"'I won't dispute you, sir. You see further than I do; but it don't seem as if anythink's been took.'
"'Or moved? The ornaments on the mantelshelf--are they all there?'
"'But they have been shifted. Here is this vase; observe the circle upon which it stood. The vase has been lifted and put down again, but not on the exact spot it occupied when he took it up. This proves the object for which he came; he has been searching for something, and has probably found it and taken it away. How could you have been so foolish as to leave him in the house alone?'
"Mrs. Middlemore sank helpless into a chair, and moaned. 'What else could I do, sir, what else could I do? It'll be the death of me, I know it will!'
"'Not at all. It only proves that we have cunning persons to work against. I am all the more determined to track this mystery down.' He opened the bedroom door, and exclaimed, 'Here is direct evidence. The fellow has not been so careful in this room. Chairs have been moved, the bedclothes are disturbed. Why, where is the revolver?'
"He referred to the revolver which he had found beneath the pillows, and which he had replaced. It had been abstracted. Inwardly he congratulated himself that he had not only taken a full note of the description of the weapon, but had also scratched the initial,'F.' on the metal. He took, out his pocketbook and turned to the page upon which he had made an entry.