and at the same time so
upset that I cried out: "What's the matter, Solling? You look as if
you had been robbed."

"That's exactly what has happened," replied Solling angrily. "But it
was no ordinary sneak thief," he added, hanging his overcoat behind
the door.

"What have you lost?" asked my neighbor Nansen.

"Both arms from the new skeleton I've just recently received from the
hospital," said Soelling with an expression as if his last cent had
been taken from him. "It's vandalism!"

We burst out into loud laughter at this remarkable answer, but Soelling
continued: "Can you imagine it? Both arms are gone, cut off at the
shoulder joint;--and the strangest part of it is that the same thing
has been done to my shabby old skeleton which stands in my bedroom,
There wasn't an arm on either of them."

"That's too bad," I remarked. "For we were just going to study the
_anatomy_ of the arm to-night."

"Osteology," corrected Soelling gravely. "Get out your skeleton, little
Simsen. It isn't as good as mine, but it will do for this
evening."

I went to the corner where my anatomical treasures were hidden behind
a green curtain--"the Museum," was what Soelling called it--but my
astonishment was great when I found my skeleton in its accustomed
place and wearing as usual my student's uniform--but without arms.

"The devil!" cried Soelling. "That was done by the same person who
robbed me; the arms are taken off at the shoulder joint in exactly the
same manner. You did it, Simsen!"

I declared my innocence, very angry at the abuse of my fine skeleton,
while Nansen cried: "Wait a moment, I'll bring in mine. There hasn't
been a soul in my room since this morning, I can swear to that. I'll
be back in an instant."

He hurried into his room, but returned in a few moments greatly
depressed and somewhat ashamed. The skeleton was in its usual place,
but the arms were gone, cut off at the shoulder in exactly the same
manner as mine.

The affair, mysterious in itself, had now come to be a serious matter.
We lost ourselves in suggestions and explanations, none of which
seemed to throw any light on the subject. Finally we sent a messenger
to the other side of the house where, as I happened to know, was a new
skeleton which the young student Ravn had recently received from the
janitor of the hospital.

Ravn had gone out and taken the key with him. The messenger whom we
had sent to the rooms of the Iceland students returned with the