e wants to be first always."

"Nothing of importance shall be disturbed," promised Ashton-Kirk. Then
motioning Pendleton to follow, he ascended the flight that led to the
second floor.

It was narrow and dusty, as Miss Vale had said. The walls were
smutted, the hand rail felt greasy, the air was stale. A passage, dim
and windowless, ran the depth of the building; from the front there
came a patch of daylight through a ground glass door. Upon this latter
could be easily read the words:

DAVID P. HUME
NUMISMATIST
PHILATELIST
ART CURIOSITIES

A policeman stood at the head of the stairs smoking a cigar in an
informal way.

"All right," said he, "if Osborne let you come up I've got nothing to
say. He's the boss."

"Have you looked over the place?"

"Just a glance. The floor has been fitted up as an apartment. Hume
occupied all the rooms. The body," pointing to the front room, "is in
there."

"Thanks."

Ashton-Kirk turned the knob of the door nearest, the one with the
lettering upon it. The room was without windows; the investigator
closed the door and lighted the gas.

"Just a moment," said he.

The door leading to the front room stood wide. He disappeared through
this for a moment; when he returned, his face wore a tightened
expression; his eyes were swift and eager.

"This is a sort of store room, I should say," spoke Pendleton.

Pictures hung about upon the walls and stood packed in corners;
statues of bronze, marble and plaster were on every side; brass
bas-reliefs, rugs of Eastern design and great price, antique armor,
coin cabinets, ponderous stamp albums, Japanese paintings and carvings
and a host of queer and valuable objects fairly crammed every inch of
space.

"I had heard that Hume was wealthy," commented Ashton-Kirk. "And this
seems to prove it. This room contains value enough to satisfy a fairly
reasonable person."

The two young men passed through into what appeared to be a kitchen.
There was an ill kept range upon one side cluttered with cooking
things. A bare oaken table of the Jacobean period held the remains of
a meal. A massive Dutch side-board, covered with beautiful carving,
stood facing them; every inch of available space upon it was crowded
with bottles, decanters and glasses.

"The gentleman was not averse to an occasional nip, at any rate," said
Pendleton. "And his taste was rather educated, too," examining the
sideboard's contents carefully. "The be