"Kindly tell me what is the
number of the telephone from which I am speaking, and who is the
subscriber?"
He listened to the reply and asked another question.
"Can you tell me when this instrument was last used?... When?... Thank
you!"
The Inspector hung up the receiver.
"The subscriber's name," he told them drily, "is Brown. The number is not
entered in the book, by request. The telephone was used an hour ago from a
call office, and connection was established. That is to say that some one
spoke from this telephone."
"Then if your men have maintained their search properly, that some one,"
Quest said slowly, "must be in the house at the present moment."
"Without a doubt," the Inspector agreed. "I should like to suggest," he
went on, "that the two young ladies wait for us now in the automobile. If
this man turns out as desperate as he has shown himself ingenious, there
may be a little trouble."
They both protested vigorously. Quest shrugged his shoulders.
"They must decide for themselves," he said. "Personally, I like Lenora,
who has had less experience of such adventures, to grow accustomed to
danger.... With your permission, Inspector, I am going to search the front
room on the first floor before we do anything else. I think that if you
wait here I may be able to show you something directly."
Quest ascended the stairs and entered a wholly unfurnished room on the
left-hand side. He looked for a minute contemplatively at a large but
rather shallow cupboard, the door of which stood open, and tapped lightly
with his forefinger upon the back part of it.
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