uffering from a congestion of the lungs that was very like a sudden
attack of pneumonia.

"Mr. Morowitch had at once gone to bed, or at least was in bed, when the
doctor arrived, but his condition grew worse so rapidly that the doctor
hastily resorted to oxygen, under which treatment he seemed to revive.
The doctor had just stepped out to see another patient when a hurry call
was sent to him that Mr. Morowitch was rapidly sinking. He died before
the doctor could return. No statement whatever concerning the cause of
his sudden illness was made by Mr. Morowitch, and the death-certificate,
a copy of which I have, gives pneumonia as the cause of death. One of
our men has seen Doctor Thornton, but has been able to get nothing out
of him. Mrs. Morowitch was the only person with her, husband at the
time."

There was something in his tone that made me take particular note of
this last fact, especially as he paused for an instant.

"Now, perhaps there would be nothing surprising about it all, so far
at least, were it not for the fact that the following morning, when his
junior partner, Mr. Kahan, opened the place of business, or rather went
to it, for it was to remain closed, of course, he found that during
the night someone had visited it. The lock on the great safe, which
contained thousands of dollars' worth of diamonds, was intact; but in
the top of the safe a huge hole was found--an irregular, round hole, big
enough to put your foot through. Imagine it, Professor Kennedy, a great
hole in a safe that is made of chrome steel, a safe that, short of a
safety-deposit vault, ought to be about the strongest thing on earth.

"Why, that steel would dull and splinter even the finest diamond-drill
before it made an impression. The mere taking out and refitting of
drills into the brace would be a most lengthy process. Eighteen or
twenty hours is the time by actual test which it would take to bore
such a hole through those laminated plates, even if there were means
of exerting artificial pressure. As for the police, they haven't even a
theory yet."

"And the diamonds"

"All gone--everything of any value was gone. Even the letter-files were
ransacked. His desk was broken open, and papers of some nature had been
taken out of it. Thorough is no name for the job. Isn't that enough to
arouse suspicion?"

"I should like to see that safe," was all Kennedy said.

"So you shall, so you shall," said Mr. Andrews. "Then we may retain you