"Yes; except that she bolted down the stairs in a hurry, met Paulson
here," with a nod to the policeman, who had now discarded his cigar,
"and told him what she had seen."

"What is her name and address?"

Osborne consulted a note book.

"Mrs. Dwyer, 71 Cormant Street," read he.

"Please make a note of that," said Stillman to his clerk. "And send
for her later in the day." Then turning once more to Osborne, he
continued. "Before doing anything else we will endeavor to find out
how the criminal gained an entrance."

"That's the way with these Johnnie Newcomers," grumbled Osborne as
Stillman turned once more to his aide. "They want to do it all. Why
don't he go in, look at the body and leave the police business to the
police."

"Too much earnestness may have its drawbacks," said Ashton-Kirk, "but
it is to be preferred to the perfunctory methods of the accustomed
official, for all."

"From your angle, maybe so," said Osborne with a frown; "but not from
ours."

Stillman began rubbing his palms together with what was intended to be
business-like briskness; he stepped up and down the dark hall, peering