"Thanks."

Ashton-Kirk turned the knob of the door nearest, the one with the
lettering upon it. The room was without windows; the investigator
closed the door and lighted the gas.

"Just a moment," said he.

The door leading to the front room stood wide. He disappeared through
this for a moment; when he returned, his face wore a tightened
expression; his eyes were swift and eager.

"This is a sort of store room, I should say," spoke Pendleton.

Pictures hung about upon the walls and stood packed in corners;
statues of bronze, marble and plaster were on every side; brass
bas-reliefs, rugs of Eastern design and great price, antique armor,
coin cabinets, ponderous stamp albums, Japanese paintings and carvings
and a host of queer and valuable objects fairly crammed every inch of
space.

"I had heard that Hume was wealthy," commented Ashton-Kirk. "And this
seems to prove it. This room contains value enough to satisfy a fairly
reasonable person."

The two young men passed through into what appeared to be a kitchen.
There was an ill kept range upon one side cluttered with cooking
things. A bare oaken table of the Jacobean period held the remains of
a meal. A massive Dutch side-board, covered with beautiful carving,