own the street.

Dr. Laidlaw went up to his study at the top of the house. Half way down
he met his housekeeper, Mrs. Fewings. She was flustered and excited, and
her face was very red and perspiring.

"There've been burglars here," she cried excitedly, "or something funny!
All your things is just any'ow, sir. I found everything all about
everywhere!" She was very confused. In this orderly and very precise
establishment it was unusual to find a thing out of place.

"Oh, my specimens!" cried the doctor, dashing up the rest of the stairs
at top speed. "Have they been touched or--"

He flew to the door of the laboratory. Mrs. Fewings panted up heavily
behind him.

"The labatry ain't been touched," she explained, breathlessly, "but they
smashed the libry clock and they've 'ung your gold watch, sir, on the
skelinton's hands. And the books that weren't no value they flung out er
the window just like so much rubbish. They must have been wild drunk,
Dr. Laidlaw, sir!"

The young scientist made a hurried examination of the rooms. Nothing of
value was missing. He began to wonder what kind of burglars they were.
He looked up sharply at Mrs. Fewings standing in the doorway. For a
moment he seemed to cast about in his mind for something.

"Odd," he said at length. "I only left here an hour ago and everything
was all right then."

"Was it, sir? Yes, sir." She glanced sharply at him. Her room looked out
upon the courtyard, and she must have seen the books come crashing down,
and also have heard her master leave the house a few minutes later.

"And what's this rubbish the brutes have left?" he cried, taking up
two slabs of worn gray stone, on the writing-table. "Bath brick, or
something, I do declare."

He looked very sharply again at the confused and troubled housekeeper.

"Throw them on the dust heap, Mrs. Fewings, and--and let me know if
anything is missing in the house, and I will notify the police this
evening."

When she left the room he went into the laboratory and took his watch
off the skeleton's fingers. His face wore a troubled expression, but
after a moment's thought it cleared again. His memory was a complete
blank.

"I suppose I left it on the writing-table when I went out to take the
air," he said. And there was no one present to contradict him.

He crossed to the window and blew carelessly some ashes of burned paper
from the sill, and stood watching them as they floated away lazily over
the tops of the