the end of ten minutes he had reassembled the letter. Then he too ray ban china k a large sheet of white paper from one of the drawers of the desk and covered it with mucilage. Carefully he transferred the reconstructed letter, piece by piece, to the gummed paper. There, Markham old dear, he sighed, is the unfinished letter which Salveter told us he wa ray ban china s working on this morning between nine-thirty and ten. The document was unquestionably a sheet of the yellow scratch-pad we had seen in the museum; and on it were four lines of old Egyptian characters painstakingly limned in green ink. Vance placed his finger on one of the groups of characters. That, he told us, is the ankh heiroglyph. He shifted his finger. And that is the was sign… . And here, toward the end, is the tem sign. And then what? Heath was
mean. And the last you saw of him was when he was approaching the study door? Yes, sir. Vance nodded a ray ban china dismissal. Remain in the drawing-room for the time being, he said. As Brush disappeared through the folding door Hani came slowly down the stairs. It is as I said, he responded indifferently. Doctor Bliss is not upstairs. Vance scrutinized him sternly. Do you know that Mr. Scarlett called here tonight? Yes, I know. A curious light came into the mans eyes. I was in the drawing-room when Brush admitted him. He came to see ray ban china Doctor Bliss, said Vance. Yes. I heard him ask Brush Did Mr. Scarlett see the doctor? The Egyptian did not answer at once. He met Vances gaze steadily as if trying to read the others thoughts. At length, reaching a decision, he said: They were togetherto my knowledgefor at
discover ray ban china ed the wound. It was just beneath the heart, cleanly cut, and about three-quarters of an inch long, evidently inflicted by some sharp instrument. He had no doubt been struck in his sleep, and with such precision that he had died without being able to raise the alarm. The murderer, whoever he was, had carried the weapon away. I turned and saw Ethelwynn, a pale wan figure in her light gown and shawl, standing on the threshold, watching me intently. She stood there white and trembling, as though fearing to enter the presence of the dead. I made a hasty tour of the room, examining the window and finding it fastened. As far as I could discover, nothing whatever was disturbed. Then I went out to her and, closing the door b ray ban china ehind me, said Short must go along to the police station. We must
why? Because he knew of her past, and she feared that he might, in a moment of confidence, betray all to me. Vague hints are always irritating, I remarked. Cannot you give me some reason for your desire that my friendship with him should end? No. If I did, you would accuse me of selfish motives, she said, fixing her dark eyes upon me. Could a woman with a Madonna-like countenance be actually guilty o ray ban china f murder? It seemed incredible. And yet her manner was that of a woman haunted by the terrible secret of her crime. At that moment she was seeking, by ingenious means, to conceal the truth regarding the pas ray ban china t. She feared that my intimate friendship with the great physician might result in her unmasking. I cant see that selfish motives enter into this affair at all, I remarked. Whatever you tell
given way just a little to drink. He used the Haycock, in Edgware Road; and she feared that he had fallen among a hard-drinking set. He was a pianoforte-maker, and had been employed at Brinsmeads for eighteen years. Since her mother died, six years ag ray ban china o, however, he had never bee ray ban china n the same. It was then that he took to drink? I hazarded. Yes, she responded. He was devoted to her. They never had a wry word. What has he been complaining of? Pains in the heador what? Oh, hes seemed thoroughly out of sorts, she answered after some slight hesitation, which struck me as peculiar. She was greatly agitated regarding his illness, yet she could not describe one single symptom clearly. The only direct statement she made was that her father had certainly not been drinking on the previous night, for he
nature of this I had several times tried to fathom. His unexpected death appeared to have upset all Amblers plans. He grunted and took a tour round the poorly-furnished chamber. Look here! he said, halting in front of me. Theres been foul play here. We must lose no time in calling the policenot that they are likely to discover the truth. Why do you say that? Because the poor fellow has been ray ban china the victim of a secret assassin. Then you suspect a motive? I believe that there is a motive why his lips should be closeda strange and remote one. Then, turning to the old fellow who had been the dead mans friend, he asked: Do you know anyone by the name of Slade? Slade? repeated the croaking old f ray ban china ellow. Slade? No, sir. I dont recollect anyone of that name. Is it a man or a woman? Either. No, sir. Do
the gentleman took it. But after the first glance all his body suddenly stiffen ray ban china ed, as a pointers does when he sees a partridge. Excuse me, he said in quite a changed voice, and carried the charm to the window. He looked at it; he turned it over. He fixed his spy-glass in his eye and looked again. No one said anything. Only Robert made a shuffling noise with his feet till Anthea nudged him to shut ray ban china up. At last the learned gentleman drew a long breath. Where did you find this? he asked. We didnt find it. We bought it at a shop. Jacob Absalom the name isnot far from Charing Cross, said Cyril. We gave seven-and-sixpence for it, added Jane. It is not for sale, I suppose? You do not wish to part with it? I ought to tell you that it is extremely valuableextraordinarily valuable, I may say. Yes,
shook his head twice and went out. Courage! said Anthea. I know it will be all right. Its only a dream REALLY, you know. It MUST be! I dont believe about time being only a something or other of thought. It IS a dream, and were bound to wake up all right and safe. Humph, said Cyril bitterly. And Robert suddenly said Its all my doing. If it really IS all up do please not keep a down on me about it, and tell Father O ray ban china h, I forgot. What he had forgotten was that his father was 3,000 miles and 5,000 or more years away from him. All right, Bobs, old man, said Cyril; and Anthea got hold of Roberts hand and squeezed it. Then the gaoler came back with a pl ray ban china atter of hard, flat cakes made of coarse grain, very different from the cream-and-juicy-date feasts of the palace; also a pitcher of water. There,