They repassed through the other rooms; with his hand upon the frame of
the door leading to the show room, Ashton-Kirk paused.

"Better brace yourself for rather a shocking sight," said he to his
friend.

"Go on," said Pendleton, quietly.




CHAPTER IV

STILLMAN'S THEORY


There were four good-sized windows in the show room, all overlooking
the street. It was a large, square place, and, as Miss Vale had said,
literally stuffed with odd carvings, pottery of a most freakish sort,
and weird bric-a-brac. Two large modern safes stood at one side,
behind a long show case spread with ancient coins. At the end of this
case was a carpeted space, railed in and furnished with a great
flat-topped desk. Upon the floor at the foot of the desk, and with
three separate streams of blood creeping away from it, lay the
huddled, ghastly figure of a man.

Pendleton, though he had been warned, felt his breath catch and his
skin grow cold and damp.