hadn't any more, and he retired to his room. Then Mr.
Bell called the correspondence clerk, Mr. Henning. Mr. Henning was a
much younger man than the head clerk--twenty-six or so--pale and
blue-eyed, with weak whiskers and a straggling moustache. His keys were
just as readily produced as Mr. Foster's, but again Hewitt's examination
was unsuccessful. The only other key he had belonged to the typewriter,
and _that_ did not fit.

Then came Mr. Potter, the book-keeper, round, and tubby, and puffy, and
his keys went under inspection in the same way, taking a little longer
this time, with two separate dashes to the light of the window. Then
there was Mr. Robson, young and spruce, Mr. Clancy, older and less tidy,
and four or five more. All the keys were examined, all with the same
lack of success, and all the clerks were sent away to take their turns
at lunch.

"No," Hewitt reported, as soon as he and Mr. Bell were alone again, "it
was certainly none of those keys. Though indeed, my little attempt was
desperate at best. A man would be a fool to keep _that_ key longer than
he needed it, and especially to string it with his others. Still, of
course, it is by just such blunders as that that nine criminals out of
ten are discovered. And now let me take a good look at that box and its
contents."

He lifted the box from the safe to the table, and narrowly scrutinised
its exterior, especially about the hasp, where the padlock had been.
"Either the thief was an experienced hand," he said, "or he took some
steady practice with a few such padlocks as this before setting to work.
There are no signs of banging about or slipping of tools anywhere."

"But, of course, banging or anything violent would have been noticed in
a place like this," Mr. Bell remarked.

"In office hours, yes," responded Hewitt. "But we mustn't forget that
office hours are only seven or eight out of the twenty-four."

"But you don't suspect burglary, do you?"

"I'm afraid, as yet, I've precious little ground for suspecting anything
definite," Hewitt answered; "but we must keep awake to every
possibility. Now let us see the dummies." He turned them over, and
loosened them wherever they were tied. "Yes," he remarked, "quite neatly
done. Filled in with ordinary blank foolscap, such as, no doubt, you
have in your office--but, then, it is in every other office, too; every
stationer has it by the ream. No marks anywhere--no old newspapers,
nothing that could give the