God! I am bewildered! What in Heaven's name does it all mean!"

"It means trouble," replied Dunbar, grimly; "bad trouble."

They returned to the study, and Inspector Dunbar, for the first time
since his arrival, walked across and examined the fragmentary message,
raising his eyebrows when he discovered that it was written upon the
same paper as Leroux's MSS. He glanced, too, at the pen lying on a page
of "Martin Zeda" near the lamp and at the inky splash which told how
hastily the pen had been dropped.

Then--his brows drawn together--he stooped to the body of the murdered
woman. Partially raising the fur cloak, he suppressed a gasp of
astonishment.

"Why! she only wears a silk night-dress, and a pair of suede slippers!"

He glanced back over his shoulder.

"I had noted that," said Cumberly. "The whole business is utterly
extraordinary."

"Extraordinary is no word for it!" growled the inspector, pursuing his
examination.... "Marks of pressure at the throat--yes; and generally
unhealthy appearance."

"Due to the drug habit," interjected Dr. Cumberly.

"What drug?"