"He certainly could not have heard of it. I am sorry for Ewing; indeed, I tried to get the directors to reconsider their decision and give him another chance. It is a terrible thing for a man to have to face poverty and degradation like that. All I achieved was to get laughed at for my sentimentality." "Then you would still trust Ewing?" "I would," Mr. Wickstead answered with deliberation. Quarles and I then went to examine the strong-rooms, which were empty now, the securities having been removed to other rooms. A constable was on duty in the passage leading to them, and materials lying about showed that the work of fitting new doors was to commence at once. Quarles put on a particularly heavy pair of spectacles and produced a high-power pocket lens as well. He examined the locks and hinges of the ruined doors, and the various bolts which were thrown by the action of the turning keys. He carefully scanned the marks and the ruin which the explosion had made, and also the steel-bound holes into which the bolts fitted when the doors were fastened. Both the inner and the outer strong-rooms were examined with the same close scrutiny, and I pointed out to him the spot where the porter, Coulsdon, had been found, and where the rifled deed boxes had stood. "Had the boxes been blown open?" "No; forced open," I answered. "I am not sure what explosive was used upon the doors, Wigan--gelignite or some similar preparation, I suppose--but it was powerful and peculiar in its action. How about finger-prints?" "There were none on the doors. Either the explosion destroyed all trace or the men wore gloves." "I suppose men of an expert gang would take that precaution?" "They would be likely to think of everything." "Yes; but since the gang is entirely unknown at Scotland Yard, that might be considered an unnecessary precaution, eh?" He turned his attention to the ruined doors of the inner room again, picking out minute pieces of debris from the lock with a pair of tiny forceps, and examining the pieces under the lens. "I cannot be certain what explosive was used, Wigan, and the light here is bad. I will examine some of this dust at home," and he emptied the contents of the palm of his hand into a small envelope, which he folded up carefully and placed in an inner pocket. Then he examined the floor of the outer room, and the passage without, picking up several bits of rubbish, but finding nothing of interest. From the strong-rooms we went to the top of the building and examined the window and the roof. The window was at the end of a passage. "Where do you suppose the thieves came from to get to this window?" Quarles asked, after he had examined it and the roof outside. "The window yonder belongs to the adjoining block of offices," I said, pointing across the roofs. "It is quite easy to reach." We started to go to it, but had only gone a little way when Quarles stopped.