"Was it clean at that time?" Ned continued, examining the rug with a glass.
"What do you mean by clean? It was dusty, of course, like everything else here."
"Were there any stains on it—stains like blood?" Ned went on, dragging the rug under the electric lights which had been switched on.
"Why, of course not. It was originally in the little den off the library, but father became tired of it and told Terance to bring it here."
"How long ago was that?"
"Oh, a month or two. I can't be exact as to the date, you know."
Ned handed his chum the glass and indicated a certain portion of the rug.
"What do you call that?" he asked. "What does it look like?"
"It looks like a spot of blood," Jack declared. "And it is wet, too! What do you make of this, Ned? Was Chang Chu attacked and killed by that sneak thief?"
"That is for us to find out," Ned answered. "At the present moment, it looks as if Chang Chu wouldn't be found on Pell or Doyers street. What is there is those boxes—the large ones sitting against the wall?"