nd
a stumpy Irish clay. The slippers substituted for his shoes, Kerry
lovingly filled the cracked and blackened bowl with strong Irish twist,
which he first teased carefully in his palm. The bowl rested almost
under his nostrils when he put the pipe in his mouth, and how he
contrived to light it without burning his moustache was not readily
apparent. He succeeded, however, and soon was puffing clouds of pungent
smoke into the air with the utmost contentment.

"Now," said his wife, seating herself upon the arm of the chair, "tell
me, Dan."

Thereupon began a procedure identical to that which had characterized
the outset of every successful case of the Chief Inspector. He rapidly
outlined the complexities of the affair in old Bond Street, and Mary
Kerry surveyed the problem with a curious and almost fey detachment of
mind, which enabled her to see light where all was darkness to the man
on the spot. With the clarity of a trained observer Kerry described the
apartments of Kazmah, the exact place where the murdered man had been
found, and the construction of the rooms. He gave the essential points
from the evidence of the several witnesses, quoting the exact times at
which various episodes had taken place. Mary Kerry, looking straightly
before her with unseeing eyes, listened in silence until he ceased
speaking; then:

"There are really but twa rooms," she said, in a faraway voice, "but the
second o' these is parteetioned into three parts?"

"That's it."

"A door free the landing opens upon the fairst room, a door free a
passage opens upon the second. Where does yon passage lead?"

"From the main stair along beside Kazmah's rooms to a small back stair.
This back stair goes from top to bottom of the building, from the end of
the same hallway as the main stair."

"There is na either way out but by the front door?"

"No."

"Then if the evidence o' the Spinker man is above suspeecion, Mrs. Irvin
and this Kazmah were still on the premises when ye arrived?"

"Exactly. I gathered that much at Vine Street before I went on to Bond
Street. The whole block was surrounded five minutes after my arrival,
and it still is."

"What ither offices are in this passage?"

"None. It's a blank wall on the left, and one door on the right--the
one opening into the Kazmah office. There are other premises on the same
floor, but they are across the landing."

"What premises?"

"A solicitor and a commission agent."

"The floor belo