His voice trembled slightly.
Wheeling a chair across the thick carpet, he placed it by a tall, unglazed bookcase and mounted upon the seat.
"The safe is not open," he muttered excitedly.
And the man watching him saw that his puffy hand shook like a leaf in the breeze.
Removing a small oil-painting from the wall adjoining, he tore at his collar and produced a key attached to a thin chain about his neck. This he inserted in the cunning lock which the picture served to conceal. The next moment a hoarse cry escaped him.
"It hasn't been opened at all!" he shouted.
Snatching at the cord of a hanging lamp, he wildly hurled books about the floor and directed the light into a cavity that now had revealed itself. The other observed him keenly.
"Are you certain nothing is gone?" he asked.
Megger plunged his hand inside and threw out several boxes and some bundles of legal-looking documents. Leaning yet farther forward, he touched a hidden spring that operated with a sharp click.
"That hasn't gone, Inspector!" he cried triumphantly, and held out a large envelope, sealed in several places.