“Right!” exclaimed Raikes in indorsement of this relentless résumé.
“You find the locks undisturbed; the contents apparently as you left them on retiring. Some difference in the conformity of one of the bags urges a nearer examination. You discover that this indicates a difference in the contents. You grasp it; it comes away in your hands with startling lightness. You discharge its deposit upon the table—a shower of coals follows.”
“Yes, yes!” stammered Raikes with impatient eagerness.
“Well, you are convinced, by an examination of the fastenings of the door, an inspection of the window, that no human being could have effected an entrance from either direction.
“The next evening is a repetition of the history of the night before.
“The strange Indian narrative, another gem to examine—an additional loss on the succeeding morning.”
Raikes nodded savagely.
“On the following night the same unhappy series of events occur, followed by the loss of the third bag.”
“But why all this again?” inquired Raikes.
“That concerns me,” exclaimed the detective with another rapid glance at the undemonstrative figure in the next room. “You must follow my instructions or you will conclude as badly as you have begun. Now,” continued Gratz, “it is incredible to me that, with the astuteness with which you are credited, that having such a good standpoint to begin with, you did not proceed upon that basis.”