didn't hear the shot."

"Why, then you must have been asleep after all, in spite of your
pain," said Muller with a smile, as he walked along beside the
man back to the place from which he had just come.

The old man shook his head. "No, I tell you I didn't close an
eye all night. I went to bed at half-past nine and I smoked two
pipes before I put out the light, and then I heard every hour
strike all night long and it wasn't until nearly five o'clock,
when it was almost dawn, that I dozed off a bit."

"Then it is astonishing that you didn't hear anything!"

"Sure it's astonishing! But it's still more astonishing that my
dog Sultan didn't hear anything. Sultan is a famous watchdog, I'd
have you know. He'll growl if anybody passes through the street
after dark, and I don't see why he didn't notice what was going on
over there last night. If a man's attacked, he generally calls for
help; it's a queer business all right."

"Well, Sultan, why didn't you make a noise?" asked Muller, patting
the dog's broad head. Sultan growled and walked on indifferently,
after he had shaken off the strange hand.

"He must have slept more soundly than usual. He went off into the
country with me yesterday. We had an errand to do there and on the
way back we stopped in for a drink. Sultan takes a drop or two
himself occasionally, and that usually makes him sleep. I had hard
work to bring him home. We got here just a few minutes before