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The Black Box by E. Phillips (Edward Phillips) Oppenheim
page 54 of 451 (11%)
The Professor gazed blankly at the empty box.

"Nothing left except the smell," a voice from the open doorway remarked.

They glanced around. Quest was standing there, and behind him Lenora. The
Professor welcomed them eagerly.

"This is Mr. Quest, the great criminologist," he explained to the curator.
"Come in, Mr. Quest. Let me introduce you to Mr. Francis, the curator of
the museum. Ask him what questions you will. Mr. Quest, you have the
opportunity of earning the undying gratitude of a brother scientist. If my
skeleton cannot be recovered, the work of years is undone."

Quest strolled thoughtfully around the room, glancing out of each of the
windows in turn. He kept close to the wall, and when he had finished he
drew out a magnifying-glass from his pocket and made a brief examination
of the box. Then he asked a few questions of the curator, pointed out one
of the windows to Lenora and whispered a few directions to her. She at
once produced what seemed to be a foot-rule from the bag which she was
carrying, and hurried into the garden.

"A little invention of my own for measuring foot-prints," Quest explained.
"Not much use here, I am afraid."

"What do you think of the affair so far, Mr. Quest?" the Professor asked
eagerly.

The criminologist shook his head.

"Incomprehensible," he confessed. "Can you think, by-the-bye, of any other
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