for murder.
We'll send this to the Government analyst right away, Whiteside. If
Milburgh did not kill Thornton Lyne, he certainly burnt down the premises
of Dashwood and Solomon to destroy the evidence of his theft."

It was Whiteside who made the second discovery. Mr. Milburgh slept on a
large wooden four-poster.

"He's a luxurious devil," said Whiteside. "Look at the thickness of those
box springs." He tapped the side of that piece of furniture and looked
round with a startled expression.

"A bit solid for a box spring, isn't it?" he asked, and continued his
investigation, tearing down the bed valance.

Presently he was rewarded by finding a small eyelet hole in the side of
the mattress. He took out his knife, opened the pipe cleaner, and pressed
the narrow blade into the aperture. There was a click and two doors,
ludicrously like the doors which deaden the volume of gramophone music,
flew open.

Whiteside put in his hand and pulled something out.

"Books," he said disappointedly. Then, brightening up. "They are diaries;
I wonder if the beggar kept a diary?"

He piled the little volumes on the bed and Tarling took one and turned
the leaves.

"Thornton Lyne's diary," he said. "This may be useful."

One of the volumes was locked. It was the newest of the books, and
evidently an attempt had been made to force the lock, for the hasp was
badly wrenched. Mr. Milburgh had, in fact, made such an attempt, but as
he was engaged in a systematic study of the diaries from the beginning he
had eventually put aside the last volume after an unsuccessful effort to
break the fastening.

"Is there nothing else?" asked Tarling.

"Nothing," said the disappointed inspector, looking into the interior.
"There may be other little cupboards of this kind," he added. But a long
search revealed no further hiding-place.

"Nothing more is to be done here," said Tarling. "Keep one of your men in
the house in case Milburgh turns up. Personally I doubt very much whether
he will put in an appearance."

"Do you think the girl has frightened him?"

"I think it is extremely likely," said Tarling. "I will make an inquiry
at the Stores, but I don't suppose he will be there either."

This surmise proved to be correct. Nobody at Lyne's Store had seen the
manager or received word as to his whereabouts. Milburgh had disappeared
as though the ground had opened and swallowed him.

No time was lost by Scotland Yard in communicating particulars