l switch and turned on the
electric light. Instructing one of his companions to watch the hall
door, he led the others in a search of the apartment. Seeking for
the electric light buttons as they moved about the apartment, the
men soon flooded the rooms with light. Each man with revolver ready,
and intent on searching every corner, none of them gave much
attention to the fact that Marsh was dogging every move, apparently
as keenly on the lookout as any one of the party.

Their inspection revealed nothing more than that the apartment was
apparently in the same condition as its tenant had left it. The door
to the outside stairway at the back was locked and the key was
missing. In addition to the regular lock a stout bolt was in place.
The catches on all the windows were properly locked, and all the
shades remained drawn down close to the sills. It was an empty,
locked apartment, with no outstanding evidence of having been used
for a long time.

The police, now joined by the man lately on watch at the door, stood
nonplussed in the kitchen. The plain-clothes man uttered an oath.
Then he addressed his companions.

"I've seen some mighty fishy situations, but this trims anything I
ever ran up against. Ain't been just hearing things, have you,
Murphy? A swig of this home-made hootch does upset a man dreadful,
sometimes."

Murphy glared.

"I ain't never touched the stuff," he bellowed. Then added,
aggressively, "You know damned well I wasn't the only one to hear
that shot. The tenant downstairs heard it, too. It was him that
brought me in."

"Well, you only got his word for it that this is where the shot, was
fired. Maybe HE'S trying to cover something up."

Murphy started, then glanced around.

"Hell!" he exclaimed. "Where's that guy gone to, anyway?"

Marsh, who had recently been close at their heels, was not now in
the group. Murphy moved on tiptoe to the kitchen door and listened.
On the other side of the dining room was the doorway to the entrance
hall, and through the now drawn curtains this space was visible.
Murphy could see that both these rooms were deserted, but an
occasional swishing sound came to his ears. Turning to the waiting
group, he silently and significantly jerked his head toward the
front of the apartment. Following his example, they moved cautiously
across the dining room and the hall and stopped at the door of the
living room.

Marsh, with his back toward them, was just in the act of pulli