very frequently to play for him; and, according to Brolatsky, paid him
rather well for each performance. To furnish good music, Spatola must
have not only talent, but also a violin that was at least fairly
good."

"Yes, sir, I see that."

"Having a violin that was at least fairly good, Spatola, being a poor
man, would take care of it. He would carry it in a case--he would
especially do so in wet or damp weather. And it rained on the night
of the murder. If he carried his violin in a case, there was no need
of his putting it under his coat. And, another thing, a violin case is
of such size as to prevent its being so carried, isn't it?"

Fuller nodded.

"I think that's very good," said he.

"It would have been a very easy thing for the _Standard's_ man to have
made a few inquiries as to whether Spatola used a violin case or no.
If he had done so, I am inclined to think that the answers would have
been in the affirmative. But there is another and more vital point
upon which I would base an objection to the reporter's theory. He says
that, goaded into a rage, Spatola struck his tormentor down. But he
forgets that If the murderer did not visit Hume's with the intention
of doing murder, it was rather a freakish thing for him to provide
himself with a bayonet. However, that is a point that I discussed with
Mr. Stillman yesterday; at first he was inclined to assume a somewhat
similar position."

"But the broken and cut portraits?" questioned Fuller.

Ashton-Kirk smiled a little.

"Probably I shall be able to properly account for them when I return
from a little trip that I am about to take to-day," said he. "That
is," as a sort of afterthought, "if some things turn out as I think
they will."

Fuller unfolded the newspaper that he had brought in.

"It is a late edition of the _Star_," he said. "The paper seems to
have scored a beat, for it has some developments that may put a
different face upon everything."

Ashton-Kirk took the sheet, and as he glanced at the flaring
headlines, he whistled softly. The lines read:

"MYSTERIOUS WOMAN IN A MOTOR CAR!

"She Visits 478 Christie Place on the Night of Murder!

"DID A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN'S HAND DEAL THE DEADLY BLOW?

"A New Element Added to the Hume Sensation!"

"The _Star_ man seems to have struck up an acquaintance with Sams,"
said Ashton-Kirk, with interest. He thought for a moment, and then
added to Fuller:

"Tell Stumph when Miss