t since the Professor began to give you money to go to the
theatre on Saturday evenings?"

The first time it happened was on my name day. "What's the rest of your
name? There are so many Johanns on the calendar."

"I am Johann Nepomuk."

Muller took a little calendar from his pocket and turned its pages. "It
was May sixteenth," volunteered the valet.

"Quite right. May sixteenth was a Saturday. And since then you have gone
to the theatre every Saturday evening?"

"Yes, sir.

"When did the owner of the house go away?"

"Last April. His wife was ill and he had to take her away. They went to
Italy."

"And you two have been alone in the house since April?"

"Yes, sir, we two."

"Was there no janitor?"

"No, sir. The garden was taken care of by a man who came in for the
day."

"And you had no dog? I haven't seen any around the place."

"No, sir; the Professor did not like animals. But he must have been
thinking about buying a dog, because I found a new dog-whip in his room
one day."

"Somebody might have left it there. One usually buys the dog first and
then the whip."

"Yes, sir. But there wasn't anybody here to forget it. The Professor did
not receive any visits at that time."

"Why are you so sure of that?"

"Because it was the middle of summer, and everybody was away."

"Oh, then, we won't bother about the whip. Can you tell me of any ladies
with whom the Professor was acquainted?"

"Ladies? I don't know of any. Of course, the Professor was invited out
a good deal, and most of the other gentlemen from the college were
married."

"Did he ever receive letters from ladies?" continued Muller.

Johann thought the matter over, then confessed that he knew very little
about writing and couldn't read handwriting very well anyway. But he
remembered to have seen a letter now and then, a little letter with a
fine and delicate handwriting.

"Have you any of these envelopes?" asked Muller. But Johann told him
that in spite of his usual carelessness in such matters, Professor
Fellner never allowed these letters to lie about his room.

Finally the detective came out with the question to which he had been
leading up. "Did your master ever receive visits from ladies?"

Johann looked extremely stupid at this moment. His lack of intelligence
and a certain crude sensitiveness in his nature made him take umbrage at
what appeared to him a very unnecessary question. He answered it with a
shake of the head only.