“Good God!” said Rex. “Did they find the key? I only saw the story of the second murder when I landed.” “You did leave the key in the trunk?” Rex nodded. “I left it in a box, a small wooden box with a sliding lid. There were two of these boxes, I remember, one in each trunk, they were compass boxes.” “Then they were the object of the visit. Why he should mutilate poor me I find it difficult to explain.” He told Rex Lander what happened on the night of the second burglary and Rex listened fascinated. “I’ve lost all the fun being away,” he grumbled. “So poor old Brown was the victim, eh? And we thought he was the murderer. And Carver--what has he got to say about it?” “Carver is rattled, but mysterious,” said Tab. Rex was deep in thought. “I am going to have that strong-room bricked up,” he said, “I made up my mind while I was on the ship. Anyway, I don’t suppose anybody will want to buy the beastly place, and I shall have it on my hands for years. But I’ll take pretty good care that tragedy number two doesn’t become tragedy number three.” “Why not remove the door?” suggested Tab, but Rex shook his head. “I won’t have the vault turned into a show place,” he said quietly. “Besides, it will likely enough stop a good sale. My own inclinations are to pull the house down and have it rebuilt; dig it out from foundation to roof and start fresh. But I don’t think that even that would induce me to go and live there,” he said. “Poor old Jesse’s blood would rise up from the ground and find us wherever we were. There is a curse upon the house,” he went on solemnly. “Some evil spirit seems to brood over it and inspire innocent men to these hideous crimes.” Tab stared at him in amazement. “Babe,” he said, “you’ve got poetical. I guess it is the air of Italy.” Rex went red, as he always did when he was embarrassed. “I feel very strongly about the house,” he said curtly and Tab saw that he had hurt his feelings, but Rex’s huff did not last long. He spoke of his voyage, the interesting places he had seen, and then: “You got my ring?” “Yes, Rex, thank you, it is a beauty,” said Tab. “It seems to me to be worth a terrible lot of money.” “It didn’t cost so much,” said the other carelessly. “I’ve got a rich way of thinking nowadays, Tab. I shudder at myself sometimes.” They fell to discussing Rex’s immediate movements and Tab succeeded in persuading him to go to the hotel. He had a reason for this; knowing the lazy nature of his former companion, he guessed that if Rex once got himself settled down in the flat, he would never leave it. Rex questioned him closely about the second tragedy, plying him with innumerable questions. “Yes, I shall certainly have that place bricked up. I will put it in the hands of the builders right away,” he said. “And as you decided to chuck me out, perhaps you will come and dine pretty frequently.”