"Ah. You broke it in? How long did that take?"
"Perhaps half a minute."
"And when you entered the room, Madame was with you?"
"Yes—just behin' heem," broke in Piquette eagerly.
M. Matthieu glanced at Piquette with a frown which silenced her.
"And what did you see, Monsieur?"
"What you saw, Monsieur—my brother lying there—the chair upset—but no sign of any one in the room. It was very mystifying."
"Yes, it must have been," dryly, "miraculous, in fact. And then what did you do?"
"I examined the room thoroughly—I was bewildered, Monsieur. I couldn't understand any more than you can, because the only door by which the murderer could have escaped I found to be locked—as you found it, Monsieur."
"Most extraordinary! And what is your theory as to the escape of the murderer?"