an's scream, and the policeman at once
searched the house. No one was found.

"Now what are we to make of all this? The doctor declares that Miss
Loach when discovered had been dead half an hour, which corresponds
with the time the door was heard to open or shut by Thomas. So far, it
would seem that the assassin had escaped then, having committed the
crime and found the coast inside and outside the house clear for his
flight. But who rang the bell? That is the question we ask. The
deceased could not have done so, as, according to the doctor, the poor
lady must have died immediately. Again, the assassin would not have
been so foolish as to ring and thus draw attention to his crime,
letting alone the question that he could not have escaped at that late
hour. We can only offer this solution.

"The assassin must have been concealed in the bedroom, and after Susan
ascended the stairs to let Mr. Clancy out, he must have stolen into the
sitting-room and have killed the old lady before she could even rise.
She might have touched the bell, and the button (the bell is an
electric one) may have got fixed. Later on, the heat of the room,
warping the wood round the ivory button, may have caused it to slip
out, and thus the bell would have rung. Of course our readers may say
that when pressed down the bell would have rung continuously, but an
examination has revealed that the wires were out of order. It is not
improbable that the sudden release of the button may have touched the
wires and have set them ringing. The peal is described as being short
and sharp. This theory is a weak one, we are aware, but the whole case
is so mysterious that, weak as it is, we can offer no other solution.

"Mrs. Herne, the servants, and Messrs. Hale and Clancy were examined.
All insist that Miss Loach was in her usual health and spirits, and had
no idea of committing suicide, or of being in any danger of sudden
death. The weapon cannot be discovered, nor the means--save as we
suggest above--whereby the assassin can have made his escape. The
whole affair is one of the most mysterious of late years, and will
doubtless be relegated to the list of undiscovered crimes. The police
have no clue, and apparently despair of finding one. But the discovery
of the mystery lies in the bell. Who rang it? or did it ring of
itself, as we suggest above."

Cuthbert laid down the paper with a shrug. The article did not commend
itself to him, save as t