"
The grave-faced German went stolidly down the hall; the young man
pulled on a pair of felt slippers; in the library he put the detached
receiver to his ear and spoke evenly:
"Well, Miss Vale?"
There was a small, gasping exclamation from the wire, a sort of
breath-catching flutter of sound such as a person might utter who had
been running hard. Then Edyth Vale, her voice shaking and filled with
fear, said:
"Oh! Is that you! I'm glad--glad!"
"Get a firm grip on yourself," advised Ashton-Kirk. "If anything has
happened we can no doubt remedy it."
There came a series of moaning sobs across the wire; the girl had
evidently broken down and was crying. Ashton-Kirk said nothing; he
waited patiently. Finally she spoke once more.
"What has happened can _never_ be remedied." Then her voice sank so
low that he could scarcely catch the breathless words. "There has been
murder done."
The investigator felt the blood prickle beneath his skin. However, his
voice was steady as he replied; his calmly working mind shook off the
fear which she so strongly suggested.
"Who has been murdered?" he asked.
"The man whom I told you about yesterday--the numismatist, Hume."
"Ah!" Ashton-Kirk drew in a long breath and his eyes began to glow.
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