Page:Chipperfield--Unseen Hands.djvu/80

68 and trying to commit suicide by pulling down that portrait on my own head last night!"

"Mr. Chalmers, when I knocked upon your door an hour ago I interrupted you at your task of burning some letters and papers in your grate."

"What of it?" Gene demanded. "A fellow's got some rights, I guess, to keep his own private affairs from being pored over by you d—d—"

"Gene!" Miss Meade interrupted, and then turning to the detective she added: "I—I think I will leave you. Gene can show you Julian's room; and you will, I am sure, want to talk to him alone."

She hurried silently down the stairs and when she had disappeared the two young men faced each other.

"Mr, Chalmers, when you started to burn those papers in your grate this morning was it perfectly clean?"

The unexpected, seemingly irrelevant question caught the other temporarily off guard.

"What do you mean?" he demanded.

"Come and I will show you." Odell walked straight past Gene and into his room, and the latter, his resentment momentarily submerged in surprise, followed.

The detective knelt down by the hearth.

"Will you bring me an envelope?" he requested. Then, as Gene complied: "I want you to look closely at the ashes, Mr. Chalmers. What do you see?"

As he spoke he scooped some into the envelope, sealed it and placed it in his pocket.

"Why, just ashes!" Gene's tone betokened amazement, but his frightened face went a shade more pale.