From his pocket he produced a bunch of skeleton keys, which he at once set himself to use. The lock on the drawer of the cabinet was a simple one, presenting no difficulty, and in less than five minutes he opened the upper drawer. A glance satisfied him that it contained nothing that he could make available. In turn he opened the other drawers, with equal ill success.
"The doctor must have fooled me!" he muttered impatiently, "or is there some secret drawer that I have overlooked?"
This question he asked himself, but he was far from expecting an answer.
"You have examined the cabinet pretty thoroughly Mr. Kirby," said a cool, calm voice.
Kirby sprang to his feet in wild dismay. There, looking at him from the doorway, was Dr. Thorp, his host, whom he was conspiring to rob.
"You are an early riser, are you not, Mr. Kirby?" said the doctor composedly.
Kirby quickly decided upon his course.
"Where am I?" he asked, passing his hand over his face in a bewildered way.
"Where are you? Don't you recognize the room? A more pertinent query would be, 'What are you doing?'"