."

"Fetch the lineman's kit, the Central Office man brought," said Drew to
the operative. "Put it right here by this fellow's side. I--we are
getting close to the truth in this case."

Delaney hurried back with the satchel. It was the same one that Drew
had seen in the library on the evening Stockbridge was murdered. It had
excited no suspicion then.

"A magneto," said the detective. "First comes a ringing magneto which
has seen much service. Put that over there, Delaney. Spread a paper or
something. Ah," Drew added, "here's a set of small dry batteries
arranged in series. Three or four of them. I don't know just what
they're for, but Bert does."

The prisoner's pale eyes blinked and were closed again as the lids
compressed in wrinkled determination. He moved slightly when Drew
pressed a knee against his chest. He coughed with dry catching deep
down in his throat. The detective felt of his pulse. It was faint but
steady--like a tired sleeper's.

"He's coming out of it," Drew said. "He'll talk after awhile. Let's
see, what is this?"

Delaney leaned over the satchel. "Another link," said Drew, drawing out
a telephone receiver without wires attached to it. "And here," he
added, "is the testing set with the sharp clamps. That's for listening
in or talking with other people's connections. I don't doubt that this
fellow knows his business. Here's a micro-volt meter that registers
fractions of volts. Here's an ammeter of the pocket size. I've seen
this kind on automobiles for testing dry-cells. Now, what is this?"

"Looks like a full set of jimmies!" blurted Delaney. "That's a
sectional jimmy!"

"He's got everything," said the detective, turning and glancing at
Loris. "Here, Miss Stockbridge," he said, holding up an empty cartridge
shell. "Here is the most important link in the chain against him. It's
a twenty-two shell which has been fired. See--wait--what's this,
Delaney? The cap on the end hasn't been struck. The cartridge was
discharged--the cap is intact. How could that be?"

Loris and Harry Nichols leaned over the detective. He turned the tiny
shell around in his fingers. He sniffed it. He held it out so they
could see the end. "Discharged," he exclaimed, "without touching the
detonating cap on the end! That's odd! Very suggestive!"

"Let me see it," said Nichols. "I'll tell. We have exams on these
things. This seems to have been fired," he continued with thought.
"It's been fired without concussion. I'd sa