The bell in the master's
room keeps ringing. I wrote to Siemens & Halske to send us a man out
to fix it. He's likely to come any minute now." The two men rose, paid
their checks, and went out together. Outside the cafe Muller hesitated
a moment. "You go on ahead," he said to Franz. "I want to go in here and
get a cigar."

While buying his cigar and lighting it, he asked for several newspapers,
choosing those which his quick eye had told him were no longer among the
piles on the counter. "I'm very sorry, sir," said the clerk; "we have
only a few of those papers, just two or three more than we need for our
regular customers, and this morning they are all sold. The housekeeper
from the Thorne mansion took the very last ones."

This was exactly what Muller wanted to know. He left the store and
caught up with the old butler as the latter was opening the handsome
iron gate that led from the Thorne property out onto the street.

"Well, where's our little patient?" asked the detective as he walked
through the courtyard with Franz.

"You'll see him in a minute," answered the old servant. He led the way
through a light roomy corridor furnished with handsome old pieces in
empire style, and opened a door at its further end.

"This is my room."

It was a large light room with two windows opening on the garden. Muller
was not at all pleased that the journey through the hall had been such a
short one. However he was in the house, that was something, and he could
afford to trust to chance for the rest. Meanwhile he would look at the
dog. The little terrier lay in a corner by the stove and it did not take
Muller more than two or three minutes to discover that there was nothing
the matter with the small patient but a simple case of over-eating.
But he put on a very wise expression as he handled the little dog and
looking up, asked if he could get some chamomile tea.

"I'll go for it, I think there's some in the house. Do you want it made
fresh?" said Franz.

"Yes, that will be better, about a cupful will do," was Muller's answer.
He knew that this harmless remedy would be likely to do the dog good and
at the present moment he wanted to be left alone in the room. As soon
as Franz had gone, the detective hastened to the window, placing himself
behind the curtain so that he could not be seen from outside. He himself
could see first a wide courtyard lying between the two wings of the
house, then beyond it the garden, an immense squ