He then passed into the railed space where the body had lain and where
the darkened trail of blood still bore ghastly testimony to what had
occurred. The man's singular eyes scanned the floor, the walls, the
flat-topped desk. On this last his attention again became riveted; and
once more Pendleton heard his breath drawn sharply between his teeth.
"When Hume was struck upon the head," said Ashton-Kirk, after a
moment, "he was standing at this desk. He had just sprung up, probably
upon hearing a sound of some kind. See where the chair is pushed back
against the wall, just as he would have pushed it had he arisen
hastily. When he struck he fell across the desk." He pointed to a dark
trickle of blood down the back of the piece of furniture in question.
"That is the result of the blow upon the head, and probably flowed
from the mouth or nostrils. After the first senseless lurch the body
settled back and slid to the position in which it was found. Here is
a blotting pad, a small pair of shears, a box of clips and a letter
scale upon the floor where the sliding body dragged them. The top of
the desk is of polished wood; it is perfectly smooth; there are no
crevices or anything of the sort to catch hold of anything.
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