room, empty now, but apparently designed for a servant's bedroom.

The furniture, as has been stated, was good in quality and sufficient for its purposes. But the fact which immediately impressed this skilled observer was that the arrangement of the sitting-room differed essentially from the other details of the flat.

The same care had not been taken in the disposition of the articles. They had been dumped down anyhow, without taste or regard for suitable position. The carpet had not been bought for this special apartment like the carpets elsewhere. A handsome ebony cabinet stood in the wrong place. The blue china ornaments obviously intended to fill its shelves were littered about the mantelpiece or on small tables, while the Satsuma ware meant for the over-mantel was stiffly disposed on the cabinet.

Small matters these, but Bruce thought them more fruitful of accurate theory than the detective's hunt for a written history of the crime! 

So, as he smoked, he mused and examined. 

"The drawing-room was the last place to be furnished," he thought. "The usual course. It remained empty for some time probably. The rest of the flat was arranged by a woman--Mrs. Hillmer in all likelihood--before the arrival of her brother. Then he came and tackled the vacant room. The history of the place is as plain as though I were present. More than that, a woman--Mrs. Hillmer again, let us say--fixed upon these latter purchases, but without measurements. She did not personally see to their adaptability, and she certainly did not supervise their final arrangement. Now, why was that? Again, these things are more worn than those in the other rooms. Were they bought second-hand? If so, why? A woman thinks most of her drawing-room. It is the last place in which she would economize."Mr. White entered, anxious and puzzled.
"Found anything?" inquired Claude, without looking at him.
"Not a rag, not a piece of old newspaper with a date on it. A lot of papers were burned in the kitchen grate, but from the remnants I judge that they were mostly bills."
"The place has been systematically cleared, eh?"
"It looks like it."
"Going to hunt here?"
"Yes. You don't seem to take much interest in the premises, Mr. Bruce, though you persuaded me to do a bit of house-breaking in order to get here."
"I find the quietude good for thought, Mr. White. Be good enough not to make more noise than is absolutely necessary."
The other sniffed. He was disappointed. He hoped for something tangible from this visit, and the outlook was far from promising.
"This room appears 

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