The detective nodded.

“That accounts for this, I suppose,� said Patsy, holding up his right hand, with the thumb and finger tips pressed tightly together.

Nick Carter stepped nearer to him and looked more closely, and he found that Patsy was holding a single red hair between his thumb and forefinger.

“I found it clinging to the frame of that picture, about six feet from the floor,â€� the assistant announced. “It was exactly at the point where it might have caught and lodged, if Red Mike had stood right hereâ€�—he backed across the room to the portrait—“and had leaned his head against the frame, so;â€� he assumed the attitude he was attempting to describe.

Nick nodded his head again.

“Red Mike was here with Madge,� he said. “He either followed her into the room at once, or he entered it a moment later in response to some signal she gave, and he stood there, waiting for something else to happen before he took an active part in the proceedings.�

“But he couldn’t come through the picture, could he?� Thomas asked.

“No, but he could come from behind it, if the picture is movable, and if there is an opening of some sort behind it.�

Patsy nodded with emphasis.

“I thought that was the idea when you looked out of the window just now,� he said.