Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-17


chimney-stack roof or two away, where
the police have found it. But It is clue,
Of course"
.Ah then this gentleman win give me his
opinion of it, Lord Stairway said. turning
to Hewitt. This, Mr.. Claridge, Is Mr..
Martin Hewitt, who has been kind enough
to come with me here at a moments no.
tice. With the police on the one hand and
Mr.. Hewitt on the other we shall certainly
recover that cameo If 1t is to be recovered,
I think
Mr. Claridge bowed. and beamed on Hew-
lit through his spectacles. I'm very glad
Mr.. Hewitt has come" he said. Indeed.
/ had already decided to give the ponce tiii
found nothing, to call in Mr.. Hewitt my
SELF
Hewitt bowed in his turn. and then asked:
''Will you let me see the various breakages!
I hope they have not been disturbed
Nothing whatever has been disturbed.
Do exactly as seems best. need scarcely
say that everything here is perfectly at
your disposal You know all the circum-
stances, of course?"
.In general, yes. 1 suppose am right
in the belief that you have no resident
housekeeper.
NO" Claridge replied, II haven't. / had
one housekeeper who sometimes pawned
my property in the evening. and then an
other who used to break my most valuable
china, till I could never sleep or take a
moments ease at home for fear my stock
was being ruined here. So gave up resi-
dent housekeepers. I felt some confidence
in doing it because Of the policeman who
is always on duty opposite.
Can l see the broken desk
Mr. Claridge led the way into the room
behind the shop. The desk was really a
sort of workable, with lifting top and a
lock. The top had been forced roughly
open by some instrument which had Deel
pushed in below it and used as lever, SO
hat fbo tch of ba locx torn away.
Hewitt examined the damaged parts anu
the marks of the lever, and then looked out
at the back window. .
There are several windows about here
he remarked from which it might be pos
sible to see into this ROOM DO you Know
any of the people who live behind them
Two or three I know Mr.. Claridge ar
swered. but there are two Windows-the
pair almost Immediately before us-beicng-
ing to a room or Office which is to let Any
stranger might get in there and watch
DO the roofs above any of those WIN.
dows communicate in any way with yours.
None of those directly opposite. Ihose
at the left do: you may walk all the way
along the leads"
And whose windows are they?'
Mr.. Claridge hesitated. Well, he SAID,
they're Mr.. Woollett's, an excellent Gus
toner of mine But he's a gentleman. and
well, 1 really think it's absurd to suspect
him."
I'm case like this" Hewitt answered,
''One must disregard nothing Dut the IN
possible. Observation-Disclosures Mr.. Wellett
himself or another person-could possibly
have seen into this room from those WIN
dows, and equally possibly could nave
reached this room from that one. There
fore. we must not forget Mr.. Woollett Have
any of your neighbors been burgied dur
ing the night? I mean that strangers anX-
ious to get at your trapdoor would proc
ably have to begin by getting into some
other house close by. so as to reach your
roof"
No" Mr. Claridge replied: ''there has been
nothing of that sort. 1t was the first thing
the police ascertained."
Hewitt examined the broken door and
then made his way up the stairs with the
others. The unscrewed lock of the door OF
the top back room required little examlna-
ton. In the room below the trap door
was q dusty table on which stood a chair,
and at the other side of the table sat De-
tective Inspector Plummer, whom Hewitt
knew very well, and who babe him good
day and then went on with his docket.
This chair and table Were found as they
are now, / take it," Hewitt asked.
Yes" said Mr.. Claridge; 1.-The thieves, L
should think. dropped in through the trap
door, after breaking it open, and had to
place this chair where it is to be able to
climb back"
Hewitt scrambled up through the trap
way and examined it from the top. The
door was hung on long external barndoor
hinges and had been forced open in sim
liar manner to that practiced on the desk
A Jimmy had been pushed between the
frame and the door near the bolt, and the
door had been pried open, the bolt being
torn away from the screws in the opera
ton.
Presently Inspector Plummer, having fin
ished his docket, climbed up to the roof
after Hewitt, and the two together went to
the spot, close under a chimney stack on
the next roof but one, where the case mad
been found Plummer produced the case.
which he had in his coat-tail pocket, for
HeWitt'S inspection.
Il don't see anything particular about IL;
do your" he said. TT shows us the way
they went, though, being found just here
"Well yes" Hewitt said; 'if we kept on
in this direction, we should be going toward
Mr. Woollett's house, and his trap-door,
shouldn't we?"
The inspector pursed his lips. smiled, and
shrugged his shoulders. "Of course we
haven't waited till now to find that out
he said.
think there is much to be learned from
this leather case. 1t is almost new and
there isn't a mark on 1t. And hewitt
handed it back to the Inspector;
WELL" said Plummer, as he returned
the case to his pocket, whats your opin-
ion?"
ITS rather an awkward case"
Eyes, 1t is. Between ourselves aoh
mind telling you-Tm having sharp look
ont kept over there'-Plummer jerked his
head in the direction of MI. Woolletts
chambers-"becaus the robbery's an IN
motiyes-the sale of the cameo or the
keeping of It, The sales out of the oues-
ton. as you know: the things only salable
to those who would collar the thief at once.
and who wouldn't have the thing in their
places now for anything. So that 1t must
be taken to keep and that's thing mo-
body but the maddest of collectors would
do, just such persons as" and the inspec-
tor nodded again toward Mr.. Woolletts
quarters. Take that with the other cir
cumstances," he added. land think you'll
agree It's worth while looking little far
Their that way. OF course some of the work
taking off the lock and SO on--looks rather
like a regular burglar, but it's just posi-
Bile that any one badly wanting the cameo
would like to hire man who was up to
the work.
YES it's possible"
do you know anything of Hahn. the
agent?" Plummer asked, a moment later.
mo. don't. Have you found him yet?"
4 haven't yet. but I'm after him. I've
found he was at Charing Cross a day OF
two ago, booking a ticket for the continent.
That and his failing to turn up today
seem to make it worth while not to miss
him If we can help 1t. He isn't the sort
Of man that let's chance of drawing a
bit of money go for nothing"
They returned to the room. Well said
l