But Claire was quite certain that she had the programme somewhere. She produced it presently from a mass of papers on the piano.
"Now we shall get at it," Jack said. "I see by this programme that Padini is down for no less than six items. He had a most enthusiastic audience, as I happen to know, which really means that he played about twelve pieces altogether. Now I will read to you the first four of these compositions. They are respectively Etude 25, Chopin; Wiegenlied, Brahms; Moszkowski's Five Waltzes; Liszt's 'Die Lorelei.' Now, unless I am greatly mistaken, you will find that those pieces were played in the same order by Anstruther in his study last night. Is not that so?"
"Amazing!" Claire cried. "Absolutely it is exactly as you say. What does it mean?"
"We will take the list right through till the end if you like," Jack replied. "The same thing will apply to both lists. Now is it not an extraordinary thing that those two men should have gone through exactly the same programme, item by item, without the slightest variation? And all the time they were some two miles apart?"
"It seems absolutely incapable of explanation," Claire cried. "Oh! the explanation will be simple enough when the time comes," Jack laughed; "but you will see for yourself that the thing is not quite finished. It is obvious enough that Padini's recital finished at about eleven, whereas you say that Anstruther went on till about one o'clock in the morning. The next business is to find out where Padini was playing so late--possibly at a smoking concert or something of that kind. At any rate I am going to find out, and then I shall discover that the supplementary programme will be exactly the same as your list."
"Is it some new science?" Claire asked, "some wonderful new discovery that Mr. Anstruther is perfecting before he submits it to the world?"
"Not a bit of it," Jack said practically. "There is nothing occult here. And now I must go. I will see you at dinner."
[CHAPTER XVIII.]
THE EMPTY ROOM.
Jack went off, bent upon putting his discovery to the test. There was not the slightest trouble in ascertaining where Padini had passed the hours between eleven and one of the previous evening. As Masefield had anticipated, the artist had been persuaded to lend his services to the Bohemia Clef Club, where he had been the lion of the evening. The fact Jack ascertained at the club itself, a musical member affording him all the information he desired. The previous night's talent had been of a very middle class nature, so that Padini had found himself in great request. He had been exceedingly obliging, so Jack's informant said, and had practically played straight away for a couple of hours. Jack jotted down the names of the various items executed by Padini, and on comparing them with the list given him by Claire, found that they tallied exactly.