I crept cautiously forward, and
presently obtained a view of the interior of a kitchen. Just as I
arrived at this point of vantage the lamp was extinguished, but not
before I had had a glimpse of the only occupant of the room--the man
who had extinguished the lamp."
"Who was it?" I asked, in a low voice.
"It was a Chinaman."
"Ah Tsong!" I cried.
"Doubtless."
"Good heavens, Harley, do you think--"
"I don't know what to think, Knox. A possible explanation is that the
household had been aroused by the sound of the shot, and that Ah Tsong
had been directed to go out and see if he could learn what had
happened. At any rate, I waited no longer, but returned by the same
route. If our portly friend from Market Hilton had possessed the eyes
of an Auguste Dupin, he could not have failed to note that my dress
boots were caked with light yellow clay; which also, by the way,
besmears my trousers."
He stooped and examined the garments as he spoke.
"A number of thorns are also present," he continued. "In short, from
the point of view of an investigation, I am a most provoking object."
He sighed wearily, and stared out of the window in the direction of the
Tudor garden.
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