"'Did you tell him to wait in the kitchen, or the parlor, or in any particular room?'
"'No, sir; I left it to 'im.'
"'Doubtless he has been into every room in the house. We will go into the kitchen first.'
"Nothing had been disturbed there; the key of the street-door was on the kitchen table. Our reporter took it up and examined it closely.
"'As I imagined,' he said. 'He has taken an impression of the key in wax.'
"'What for, sir?' asked Mrs. Middlemore, in great trepidation.
"'To enable him to enter the house again secretly, if he wished. When I am gone send for a plumber and a locksmith. Let the plumber put in the pane of glass, and have another lock put on the street door. Your visitor must have been in a hurry, or he would have cleaned this key more carefully.'
"From the kitchen they went into the parlor, and apparently nothing had been disturbed there. Then they proceeded upstairs to the rooms occupied by M. Felix.
"'Look carefully round,' said our reporter, 'and tell me if anything has been taken away.'
"'Nothink, sir, that I can see.'