He took a clean white towel from the dressing-table and laid it over his victim's face. Upon the towel he sprinkled the contents of a third bottle which he took from the cupboard, and Milburgh remembered no more until he looked up into the puzzled face of Tarling an hour later. CHAPTER XXXIV THE ARREST Tarling stooped down and released the cords which bound Milburgh to the couch. The stout man was white and shaking, and had to be lifted into a sitting position. He sat there on the edge of the bed, his face in his hands, for five minutes, and the two men watched him curiously. Tarling had made a careful examination of the cuts on his chest, and was relieved to discover that Ling Chu--he did not doubt that the Chinaman was responsible for Milburgh's plight--had not yet employed that terrible torture which had so often brought Chinese criminals to the verge of madness. Whiteside picked up the clothes which Ling Chu had so systematically stripped from the man's body, and placed them on the bed by Milburgh's side. Then Tarling beckoned the other into the outer room. "What does it all mean?" asked Whiteside. "It means," said Tarling grimly, "that my friend, Ling Chu, has been trying to discover the murderer of Thornton Lyne by methods peculiarly Chinese. Happily he was interrupted, probably as a result of Milburgh telling him that Miss Odette Rider had been spirited away." He looked back to the drooping figure by the side of the bed. "He's a little bigger than I," he said, "but I think some of my clothes will fit him." He made a hasty search of his wardrobe and came back with an armful of clothes. "Come, Milburgh," he said, "rouse yourself and dress." The man looked up, his lower lip trembling pathetically. "I rather think these clothes, though they may be a bad fit, will suit you a little better than your clerical garb," said Tarling sardonically. Without a word, Milburgh took the clothes in his arms, and they left him to dress. They heard his heavy footfall, and presently the door opened and he came weakly into the sitting-room and dropped into a chair. "Do you feel well enough to go out now?" asked Whiteside. "Go out?" said Milburgh, looking up in alarm. "Where am I to go?" "To Cannon Row Police Station," said the practical Whiteside. "I have a warrant for your arrest, Milburgh, on a charge of wilful murder, arson, forgery, and embezzlement." "Wilful murder!" Milburgh's voice was high and squeaky and his shaking hands went to his mouth. "You cannot charge me with wilful murder. No, no, no! I swear to you I am innocent!" "Where did you see Thornton Lyne last?" asked Tarling, and the man made a great effort to compose himself. "I saw him last alive in his office," he began. "When did you see Thornton Lyne last?" asked Tarling again. "Alive or dead." Milburgh did not reply. Presently Whiteside dropped his hand on the man's shoulder and looked across at Tarling.