"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?'
"'Did you put it up before you went down to your bedroom?'
"'Was the door locked and the chain up the first thing this morning?'
"'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.'