He succeeded, however, and soon was puffing clouds of
pungent smoke into the air with the utmost contentment.
"Now," said his wife, seating herself upon the arm of the chair, "tell
me, Dan."
Thereupon began a procedure identical to that which had characterized
the outset of every successful case of the Chief Inspector. He rapidly
outlined the complexities of the affair in old Bond Street, and Mary
Kerry surveyed the problem with a curious and almost fey detachment of
mind, which enabled her to see light where all was darkness to the man
on the spot. With the clarity of a trained observer Kerry described
the apartments of Kazmah, the exact place where the murdered man had
been found, and the construction of the rooms. He gave the essential
points from the evidence of the several witnesses, quoting the exact
times at which various episodes had taken place. Mary Kerry, looking
straightly before her with unseeing eyes, listened in silence until he
ceased speaking; then:
"There are really but twa rooms," she said, in a faraway voice, "but
the second o' these is parteetioned into three parts?"
"That's it."
"A door free the landing opens upon the fairst room, a door free a
passage opens upon the second. Where does yon passage lead?"
"From the main stair along beside Kazmah's rooms to a small back
stair.
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