nd of a key in the outer door. It opened, and the
janitor of the Paradox stood in the doorway.

"What you do here?" asked the little Japanese quickly.

"We came in through the window," explained Kirby. "Thought mebbe the
man that killed my uncle slipped in here."

"I hear you talk. I come in. You no business here."

"True enough, Shibo. But we're not burglars an' we're here. Lucky we
are too. We've found somethin'."

"Mr. Jennings he in Chicago. He no like you here."

"I want to show you somethin', Shibo. Come."

Kirby led the way into the bedroom. Shibo looked at his countryman
without a muscle of his impassive face twitching.

"Some one killum plenty dead," he said evenly.

"Quite plenty," Kirby agreed, watching his imperturbable Oriental face.

The cattleman admitted to himself that what he did not know about
Japanese habits of mind would fill a great many books.

CHAPTER XXI

JAMES LOSES HIS TEMPER

Cole grinned whimsically at his friend.

"Do we light out now or wait for the cops?" he asked.

"We wait. They'd probably find out, anyhow, that we'd been here."

Five minutes later a patrol wagon clanged up to the Paradox. A
sergeant of police and two plainclothes men took the elevator. The
sergeant, heading the party, stopped in the doorway of the apartment
and let a hard, hostile eye travel up and down Lane's six feet.

"Oh, it's you," he said suspiciously.

Kirby smiled. "That's right, officer. We've met before, haven't we?"

They had. The sergeant was the man who had arrested him at the
coroner's inquest. It had annoyed him that the authorities had later
released the prisoner on bond.

"Have you touched the body or moved anything since you came?" the
sergeant demanded.

"No, sir, to both questions, except the telephone when I used it to
reach headquarters."

The officer made no answer. He and the detectives went into the
bedroom, examined the dead valet's position and clothes, made a tour of
the rooms, and came back to Lane.

"Who's your friend?" asked the sergeant superciliously.

"His name is Cole Sanborn."

"The champion bronco buster?"

"Yes."

The sergeant looked at Sanborn with increased respect. His eyes went
back to Kirby sullenly.

"What you doing here?"

"We were in my uncle's apartment lookin' things over. We stepped out
on the fire escape an' happened to notice this window here was open a
little. It just came over me that mebbe we might dis