"Is it thought the murderers got away with much wealth?"
"When we searched the house, a little while ago, and talked with Mr. Zunder here, we concluded that they probably got away with between four and five hundred dollars. She was known to have about that amount by her, as she was intending to pay certain bills that were due."
"Not a very big haul, if that's all they got."
"I am confident they got no more than five hundred dollars at the most," said Mr. Zunder, emphatically.
"I'll bet they had good reasons for believing that they were going to get more," observed Detective Reilly, confidently.
"There's no doubt about that," said the chief, quickly; "they supposed the old woman kept her pile right here in this basement."
"My theory," remarked Brewer, "is that the murderer or murderers were very familiar with the premises, and that they came here with the intention of robbing the old woman of a big stake. In order to carry out their villainous work, they first bound and gagged her, and then got her onto the sofa there."
"You don't think, then, Phil, that they intended to murder her?" said Old Spicer, inquiringly.
"I do not," was the reply. "You see, after they got that gag in her mouth, they probably began to go through the several rooms, and left her tied where she is now lying. The fact that she was such a sufferer from asthma may not have been known to the criminals. With a handkerchief stuck in her mouth, and her asthmatic difficulty, you can readily see that an old woman like her could not live long."
"I believe you're right, Phil," said one of the other detectives. "I don't believe they intended to kill her."