The constable touched his hat and went out.
“It looks rather a weird case to me,” said T. X., as he came back to the table, “can't you see the unusual features yourself, Lexman! It isn't unusual for you to owe money and it isn't unusual for the usurer to demand the return of that money, but in this case he is asking for it before it was due, and further than that he was demanding it with threats. It is not the practice of the average money lender to go after his clients with a loaded revolver. Another peculiar thing is that if he wished to blackmail you, that is to say, bring you into contempt in the eyes of your friends, why did he choose to meet you in a dark and unfrequented road, and not in your house where the moral pressure would be greatest? Also, why did he write you a threatening letter which would certainly bring him into the grip of the law and would have saved you a great deal of unpleasantness if he had decided upon taking action!”
He tapped his white teeth with the end of his pencil and then suddenly,
“I think I'll see that letter,” he said.
John Lexman rose from the sofa, crossed to the safe, unlocked it and was unlocking the steel drawer in which he had placed the incriminating document. His hand was on the key when T. X. noticed the look of surprise on his face.
“What is it!” asked the detective suddenly.
“This drawer feels very hot,” said John,—he looked round as though to measure the distance between the safe and the fire.
T. X. laid his hand upon the front of the drawer. It was indeed warm.
“Open it,” said T. X., and Lexman turned the key and pulled the drawer open.
As he did so, the whole contents burst up in a quick blaze of flame. It died down immediately and left only a little coil of smoke that flowed from the safe into the room.