"You'd better go up. I'll look after the door."

Styles nodded, and went toward the stairs, up which he presently
disappeared. Mr. Gryce proceeded to the parlor.

A dapper young man with an intelligent eye rose to meet him. "You sent
for me," said he.

The detective nodded, asked a few questions, and seeming satisfied with
the replies he received, led the way into Mr. Adams's study, from which
the body had been removed to an upper room. As they entered, a mild
light greeted them from a candle which, by Mr. Gryce's orders, had been
placed on a small side table near the door. But once in, Mr. Gryce
approached the larger table in the centre of the room, and placing his
hand on one of the buttons before him, asked his companion to be kind
enough to blow out the candle. This he did, leaving the room for a
moment in total darkness. Then with a sudden burst of illumination, a
marvellous glow of a deep violet color shot over the whole room, and the
two men turned and faced each other both with inquiry in their looks, so
unexpected was this theatrical effect to the one, and so inexplicable
its cause and purpose to the other.

"That is but one slide," remarked Mr. Gryce. "Now I will press another
button, and the color changes to--pink, as you see. This one produces
green, this one white, and this a bilious yellow, which is not becoming
to either of us, I am sure. Now will you examine the connection, and see
if there is anything peculiar about it?"

Mr. Hines at once set to work. But beyond the fact that the whole
contrivance was the work of an amateur hand, he found nothing strange