“When was the last time that you had them out, before you discovered the loss?”
“Rather more than a month ago.”
“How did it happen that you discovered the loss?”
“Very simply. I found the jack in the middle of the floor. The sight of it there alarmed me. I closed the door, pulled the curtains, examined the hollow post, and discovered what had happened.”
“Now, just when was that?”
“Exactly one week ago to-night.”
“What time of day or night was it when you made the discovery?”
“It was two o’clock in the morning. The papers were stolen between nine o’clock that night and then. I had been inside of my room at nine o’clock in the evening, and everything was in order then. I passed the evening at a theatre, and accompanied some friends to supper after it. It was two when I entered my room and made the discovery.”
So much for the manner of the loss.
Concerning the papers themselves, Nick had asked the following questions: