, just the same, and knows
what he's talkin' about."

"And he said what, about the finger prints?"

"He said that there were Mr. Miller's finger prints all over the
gun, that part of Mr. Miller's thumb print, his right thumb was on
the trigger, showin' that that's the way he must have pulled the
trigger, with his thumb, understand?"

"We will take this for granted, Mr. Brasher. Now, did any one
disturb the barrel of the weapon, remove the shells or--"

"No, Professor, nothin' like that was done, the gun is there just
as we found it. We know a little about guns but we ain't expert,
get me, and we thought we'd leave it till--"

Professor Brierly was not listening. He gingerly picked up the
weapon from the table, using his handkerchief, and removed the
cylinder, which held one empty shell and five loaded ones.

With a deftness and a certainty of movement, remarkable in a man
of his age, he removed one of the bullets from a shell, using his
knife for the purpose. He first examined the bullet and compared
it with one he took from his vest pocket. Then he spilled the
powder into the palm of his hand, examined and sniffed that. He
looked up.

Brasher was beginning to show a little impatience. He said:

"Like I said, there's nothin' to it, Professor, nothin' at all.
Miller committed suicide."

Professor Brierly shook his head gently.

"I am afraid you are wrong, Mr. Brasher. There is a great deal to
it. One thing, seems certain. If Mr. Miller killed himself, it is
reasonably certain that it was an accident; that he did not intend
to do so. And, off hand, although I am not prone to giving snap
judgment, I should say that the chances are enormously against his
either having shot himself by accident or design."

"But, Professor, there was Mr. Miller on the couch, his gun near
his hand, where he dropped it. The door and window were locked,
not only locked, but bolted, from inside; Mr. Miller was a very
suspicious man; that's why he built this tower.

"In addition to this, he had a burglar alarm on the door, he
didn't need one on the window.

If you look out the window in the next room you'll see that it
would take a bird, or anyhow, something that can fly, to get at
it. A monkey couldn't get at the window, to say nothing of getting
in.

"When we came this morning, the door was bolted and the alarm was
on. The window was as you see it, bolted from inside. As for that
ventilating thing, a baby couldn't get in. The