ng.

There was not an instant to lose. I seized her in my arms and rushed
over to the door, threw it open, and strode into the passage, calling
loudly:

"Help! Help!"

In an instant the two Detectives, Mrs. Grant, and the Nurse appeared on
the scene. Close on their heels came several of the servants, both men
and women. Immediately Mrs. Grant came near enough, I placed Miss
Trelawny in her arms, and rushed back into the room, turning up the
electric light as soon as I could lay my hand on it. Sergeant Daw and
the Nurse followed me.

We were just in time. Close under the great safe, where on the two
successive nights he had been found, lay Mr. Trelawny with his left
arm, bare save for the bandages, stretched out. Close by his side was
a leaf-shaped Egyptian knife which had lain amongst the curios on the
shelf of the broken cabinet. Its point was stuck in the parquet floor,
whence had been removed the blood-stained rug.

But there was no sign of disturbance anywhere; nor any sign of any one
or anything unusual. The Policemen and I searched the room accurately,
whilst the Nurse and two of the servants lifted the wounded man back to
bed; but no sign or clue could we get. Very soon Miss Trelawny
returned to the room. She was pale but collected. When she came close
to me she said in a low voice:

"I felt myself fainting. I did not know why; but I was afraid!"

The only other shock I had was when Miss Trelawny cried out to me, as I
placed my hand on the bed to lean over and look carefully at her father:

"You are wounded. Look! look! your hand is bloody. There is blood on
the sheets!" I had, in the excitement, quite forgotten Silvio's
scratch. As I looked at it, the recollection came back to me; but
before I could say a word Miss Trelawny had caught hold of my hand and
lifted it up. When she saw the parallel lines of the cuts she cried out
again:

"It is the same wound as Father's!" Then she laid my hand down gently
but quickly, and said to me and to Sergeant Daw:

"Come to my room! Silvio is there in his basket." We followed her,
and found Silvio sitting in his basket awake. He was licking his paws.
The Detective said:

"He is there sure enough; but why licking his paws?"

Margaret--Miss Trelawny--gave a moan as she bent over and took one of
the forepaws in her hand; but the cat seemed to resent it and snarled.
At that Mrs. Grant came into the room. When she saw that we were
looking at the cat