esirable that what
was to be done should be done quietly. The lock gave way to the pressure
with a crash, and the two men entered. Spots of blood again confronted
them on the floor of the hall. An attempt had been made to cover some of
them up with a coat of yellow paint. The individual who performed this
task had divested himself of his boots and hose, for the print of a
naked foot stood out clear and distinct in a splotch of the red paint.

[Illustration: A FOOTPRINT IN THE HALL.]

A couple of steps and the captains were in the parlor, and then for the
first time they realized the full and terrible import of their
discovery. There were abundant evidences that a frightful struggle for
life had taken place within the four walls, and that it was here that
the unfortunate physician had met his doom. It was a small room, only 16
by 20 feet, with three windows, two facing west on Ashland Avenue and a
third looking out south on a vacant lot. Near the southwest corner was a
bloody stain nearly a foot in diameter and about four feet away from
the wall. Almost in the center of the room was another blood-stain
almost as large. It looked as though a body had been rolled from one
place to the other, the changes of position leaving a small pool
wherever the head had rested. Over these stains the same reddish brown
paint that appeared in the hallway had been applied, but in such a
bungling way as to leave no doubt that it had been done with great
haste. The stains of blood were not heavy, and it was apparent that the
life-fluid had soaked through a carpet before reaching the wood. In the
northeast corner was a bedstead, in the northwest a dressing-case, in
the southeast a wash-stand with a pitcher and bowl. In the center of the
room was a rocking-chair. The right arm was broken off and lay on the
floor, and the officials came quickly to the conclusion that the
physician was sitting in this chair when he was first attacked.

[Illustration]

On the floor in other parts of the room were a lamp and the oil can from
which it had been filled. But these articles attracted little attention
for the moment. The attention of the officials was riveted on the blood
stains that met their eyes in whatever direction they looked. As Captain
Wing remarked later in the day, it was "blood, blood, everywhere." The
center of the floor was dotted with drops about the size of a pea. There
were half a dozen stains on the front of the dressing cas