He
was sitting reading when apparently he noticed that the clock had
stopped--at ten minutes to twelve; he laid his book, face downwards, on
the table, and rose to wind the clock, and as he was winding it he met
his death."
"By a stab dealt by a left-handed man, who crept up behind him on
tiptoe," added the inspector.
Thorndyke nodded. "That would seem to be so," he said. "But now let us
call in the porter, and hear what he has to tell us."
The custodian was not difficult to find, being, in fact, engaged at that
moment in a survey of the premises through the slit of the letter-box.
"Do you know what persons visited these rooms last night?" Thorndyke
asked him, when he entered looking somewhat sheepish.
"A good many were in and out of the building," was the answer, "but I
can't say if any of them came to this flat. I saw Miss Curtis pass in
about nine."
"My daughter!" exclaimed Mr. Curtis, with a start. "I didn't know that."
"She left about nine-thirty," the porter added.
"Do you know what she came about?" asked the inspector.
"I can guess," replied Mr. Curtis.
"Then don't say," interrupted Mr.
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