Part 23 (1/2)

He seemed, on entering the room, to have but one object in view. He went at once to the mantel, and, taking from it the two small bottle-shaped vases which stood upon it, shook them both vigorously. A faint rattling sound came from the second. He turned it upside down upon the palm of his hand, and there tumbled out a quant.i.ty of ashes, and the b.u.t.ts of several partly smoked cigarettes. With a quiet smile he replaced them in the vase, and returned to the library.

”Mary, you may go now,” he said.

When the woman had gone, he turned to Mr. Stapleton. ”It was Mary Lanahan herself who smoked the cigarette which I found in the gra.s.s,” he said.

”Well, what of it?” The matter seemed to the banker to be utterly without significance.

”She had, no doubt, stolen them from Mrs. Stapleton.”

”Very likely. Not a very serious matter, however.”

”No. But the question now arises, Why did she turn the box over to Valentin, and subsequently ask him to destroy it?”

”I cannot imagine.”

”And why, later, were these cigarettes stolen from Valentin, as I understand they were?”

”It's too much for me. What do you make of it?”

”I have a theory, Mr. Stapleton; but I cannot say just what it is--yet.

By the way, where is your man, Francois, tonight?”

”He is visiting his people, somewhere in the suburbs.”

”Ah! Then I would like to search his room, as well.”

”Go ahead. You will find nothing, I fear. The police have gone over it with a fine-tooth comb.” He rose. ”Come along, I'll go with you.”

The room occupied by the chauffeur was at the very top of the house, with two windows opening through the slanting mansard roof. One of these, Duvall noted, commanded a view over the houses adjoining toward the north, beyond which could be seen the Avenue du Bois de Boulogne. A second window, toward the south, commanded an extensive view toward Pa.s.sy.

Mr. Stapleton, puffing because of the unaccustomed stairs, sat down upon the bed. ”I cannot imagine what you hope to find here, Duvall,” he grumbled.

The detective made no reply, but began a systematic inspection of the room. One of the first objects which attracted his attention was an ordinary electric searchlight, of the pocket variety, lying on the man's dresser. He picked it up, and examined it carefully.

”I got it for Francois,” observed Mr. Stapleton, ”so that he could examine the car, at night, in case of any accident or repair.”

”Of course. Very useful, too. But why, I wonder, does he keep it here in his room, instead of in the garage?”

”Possibly to light himself up the stairs, at night,” said Stapleton.

”Then I should think he would have it with him,” remarked Duvall, dryly.

”Wouldn't be of much use to him tonight, for instance.” He was about to put the thing down, when his attention was attracted by two objects, hanging one on each side of the dresser, from its two uprights. They were apparently Christmas tree ornaments, made of thin gla.s.s, and they hung from the back of the dresser by means of two bits of ribbon.

They seemed at first glance to be merely souvenirs of some party, some entertainment, which the chauffeur had preserved as mementos of the occasion. They were shaped like little cups, with a paper fringe about the top, to which the gay ribbons were attached. Duvall had seen such ornaments often before, at Christmas time. They were intended to be hung from the tree by their ribbons, and were filled with small candies or bonbons. He had almost pa.s.sed them by, when something in their colors caused him to pause. One was a deep blue, the other an equally deep red.

He examined the wooden uprights of the dresser with great care. All along the top of the dresser at its back was a heavy coating of dust.

The top of the uprights, over which the loops of ribbon which supported the little baskets had been pa.s.sed, contained no dust whatever.

Evidently the baskets had been taken down, and that too quite recently.

For what purpose? he wondered. Suddenly he had an inspiration. He took down the little blue basket, and quickly placed it over the end of the searchlight. It fitted perfectly, the paper collar at its top holding the gla.s.s hemisphere snugly in place.