The Mystery of M. Felix. B. L. Farjeon

couches, and in every cupboard. Mrs. Middlemore followed his movements with her eyes almost starting out of her head.

      "'Even up the chimneys,' he said genially, and he thrust the poker up, and then lit some paper in the stoves to see that the smoke ascended freely and that there was no obstruction.

      "'The thoughts you put in one's 'ead,' remarked Mrs. Middlemore, in a terrified voice, is enough to congeal one's blood.'

      "'My dear madam,' said our reporter, 'I am only doing what prudence dictates, so that there may be no possible chance of your getting into trouble. Suppose the body should be found in any other part of the house----'

      "'But 'ow could it get there?' interrupted Mrs. Middlemore, excitedly.

      "'That is more than either you or I can say, any more than we can say how it got out of this room; but out of it it has got, hasn't it?'

      "'Nobody can't say nothing different,' assented Mrs. Middlemore.

      "'This is altogether such a mysterious affair,' proceeded our reporter, 'that there's no telling what it will lead to. I don't remember a case like it ever occurring in London before. Where was I when you interrupted me? Oh, I was saying, suppose the body should be found in any other part of the house, what would the police say? Why, that for some reason or other--and you may be sure they would put it down to a bad reason--you had removed it for the purpose of concealing it.'

      "'Me!' gasped Mrs. Middlemore. What would I do that for?'

      "'You wouldn't do it at all, but that's the construction the police would put on it, and after that you wouldn't have a moment's peace. My dear madam, we'll not give them a chance to take away your character; not a stone shall be left unturned. There are rooms above these?'

      "'Yes, a lot.'

      "'We will have a look through them, and, indeed, through the whole house. It's what the police would do, with the idea that you were a party to some vile plot; it's what I will do, knowing you to be perfectly innocent.'

      "He put his design into execution. Accompanied by Mrs. Middlemore, who always kept in the rear, he made a thorough examination of the entire house, from attic to basement, but, as he anticipated, discovered nothing. The last rooms he examined were at the bottom of the house, and it was there he made acquaintance with Mrs. Middlemore's niece Sophy.

      "'Is that you, aunt?' the girl called out, from a room adjoining the kitchen.

      "'Yes, it's me,' answered Mrs. Middlemore, irascibly. You're a nice lazy slut, you are, to be 'ulking in bed this time of the morning.'

      "'I ain't abed, aunt,' said Sophy, making her appearance, 'I'm up; but oh, I'm so sleepy!'

      "She came into the kitchen rubbing her eyes, and presenting a general appearance of untidiness which did not speak well for her social training. Her short hair was uncombed, her face unwashed, her frock open at the back, and she had no boots on. She stared hard at our reporter, but was not at all abashed at his presence.

      "'I'm a friend of aunt's,' said our reporter. 'You had better finish dressing, light the fire, and give yourself a good wash, and then get breakfast ready. You needn't come upstairs till you're called.'

      "He beckoned Mrs. Middlemore out of the room, and they proceeded upstairs to the apartments on the first floor.

      "'It will be as well to say nothing before Sophy,' he said. 'Now, if you please, we will go on. It is plain that the body of M. Felix is not in the house; but it must be somewhere. The question is--Where, and how it got there? These rooms were fairly secure before you went to bed last night. Is there a chain on the street door?'

      "'Yes.'

      "'Did you put it up before you went down to your bedroom?'

      "'I puts it up regularly every night.'

      "'And you did so last night?'

      "'Yes.'

      "'And turned the key?'

      "'Yes.'

      "'Was the door locked and the chain up the first thing this morning?'

      "'Yes--no!'

      "'What do you mean by that?'

      "'I mean I can't remember. I must be sure, mustn't I, sir?'

      "'You must be sure, there must not be the possibility of a mistake; this putting up of the chain is one of the points upon which a great deal may hang. Do you mean to tell me that you have any doubt on the subject?'

      "'I can't say for certain. I was that upset and bewildered when I found M. Felix gone that I don't remember nothing till you came up to me at the street door. 'Ow I opened it, or 'ow I got it open, I don't remember no more than the dead.'

      "'Think a little; it is not longer than half-an-hour since I saw you. Your memory cannot have deserted you in so short a time.'

      "'I've got no more memory about it than the babe unborn.'

      "'But you must try to have. It is a fact that the chain either was or was not up, that the door either was or was not locked. Sit down and think about it for a minute or two; I will keep quiet while you think.'

      "But though the woman obeyed our reporter, and sat down and thought of the matter, or said she did, she declared she could make nothing of it, and had to give it up in despair.

      "'It is awkward,' said our reporter, 'to say the least of it. There is no telling what construction may be put upon your loss of memory.'

      "'I'm a honest woman, sir,' said Mrs. Middlemore, looking imploringly at our reporter; 'you'll put in a good word for me?'

      "'You may depend upon that, for I am convinced you are honest and innocent, but it is unfortunate. If you should happen to remember, you had best let me know before you tell anyone else.'

      "'Yes, sir, I'll promise that. I don't know what I should do without you.'

      "'Get yourself into serious trouble, for a certainty, Mrs. Middlemore. You go out for your supper-beer every night?'

      "'Yes, every night; I can't do without it.'

      "'Beer is a wholesome beverage, if taken in moderation, which I know is the case with you. Did you go out for it last night?'

      "'Yes, I did.'

      "'Before or after you paid your last visit to these rooms?'

      "'Before, sir, before. You think of everything.'

      "'It shows that I am doing the best I can for you. Before you came up to these rooms, you had your supper?'

      "'Yes.'

      "'Sophy had some with you?'

      "'Yes. She's got a twist on her has Sophy.'

      "'A twist?'

      "'An appetite. She eats as much as a Grenadier.'

      "'All growing girls do. How old is Sophy?'

      "'Fourteen.'

      "'Then, when you went downstairs, you and Sophy went to bed?'

      "'Yes.'

      "'You both sleep in the same room?'

      "'Yes.'

      "'In the same bed, most likely?'

      "'Yes, we do; and the way that girl pulls the clothes off you is a caution.'

      "'Did you both go to bed at the same time?'

      "'No, I sent 'er before me, and when I went in she was as sound as a top.'

      "'Are you a sound sleeper yourself?'

      "'I was before this dreadful thing 'appened, but now I pass the most fearful nights.'

      "'Dreams?'

      "'Awful.'

      "'How about last light?