Page:The achievements of Luther Trant - Balmer and MacHarg - 1910.djvu/231

Rh been unlocked and the key lay on the floor in front of it. I can account for it only by the supposition that the woman, having first broken the glass in order to get at the papers, afterwards happened upon the key and unlocked the cabinet in order to avoid repeatedly reaching through the jagged edges of the glass."

"And did she also break off this brass knob which was used in sliding the door back and forth, or had that been done previously?" inquired the psychologist.

"It was done at the same time, in attempting to open the door before the glass was broken, I suppose."

Trant picked up the brass knob, which had been laid on the top of the cabinet, and examined it attentively. It had been secured by a thin bolt through the frame of the door, and in coming loose, the threads of the bolt, which still remained perfectly straight, had been stripped off, letting the nut fall inside the cabinet.

"This is most peculiar," he commented—"and interesting." Suddenly his eyes flashed comprehension. "Dr. Pierce, I am afraid your explanation does not account for the condition of the cabinet." He swung about, minutely inspecting the room anew, and with a sharp and comprehensive glance measuring the height of the windows.

"You were certainly correct in saying that no child or woman could escape from this room in any other way than by the door, Dr. Pierce," he exclaimed. "But could not a man—a man more tall and lithe and active than either you or I—make his escape