It
never reached him."
"Why?" cried many whom this strange story had profoundly
interested.
"He was found dead at the back of the native cantonments, with a
knife in his heart!"
"Oh!" exclaimed Lady Dascot. "How positively ghastly! I don't
think I want to see the dreadful thing!"
"Really!" murmured Madame de Medici, turning languidly to the
speaker. "I do."
The Colonel stooped and reached into the safe. Then he began to
take out object after object, box after box. Finally, he
straightened himself again, and all saw that his face was oddly
blanched.
"It's gone!" he whispered hoarsely. "The Key of the Temple of
Heaven has been stolen!"
VI
MADAME SMILES
Rene entered his bedroom, locked the door, and seated himself on
the bed; then he lowered his head into his hands and clutched at
his hair distractedly. Since, on his uncle's own showing, no one
knew that the Key of the Temple of Heaven had been in the safe,
since, excepting himself (Rene) and the Colonel, no one else knew
the lock combination, how the Key had been stolen was a mystery
which defied conjecture. No one but the Colonel had approached
within several yards of the safe at the time it was opened; so
that clearly the theft had been committed prior to that time.
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