“It would be better for Mr. Brent to stay here,” said Locke.  “The treatment his daughter can give will be better than that of an outsider.”

As he spoke he sauntered away with an air of finality, while Balcom shrugged his shoulders and gave orders to the ambulance men to go.

Locke walked toward the dining-room, and there amid the candle drippings and the wreckage of the night before espied the miniature automaton.  He picked it up and examined it minutely as Balcom strolled in.

Balcom’s quick gaze caught what Locke was looking at, and he approached the young chemist and sauvely said: 

“It seems almost unbelievable, Mr. Locke, that a giant form like that could be endowed with a human brain.”

As he spoke he pointed toward the miniature automaton in Locke’s hands.  Locke turned and faced him, his jaw tightening with a snap.

“Not unbelievable, but impossible, Mr. Balcom,” he said.  “I believe that there is some one in this thing that attacks us and calls himself Q.”

He eyed Balcom as he spoke, to see the effects of his words.  But if Balcom knew anything, he cunningly concealed it.  Locke walked to the table and closely examined the candles and other stuff strewn about.  He was looking for some clue to what had caused the madness of Brent and Flint.  The crumpled anatomy chart lay on the floor, and as Locke stooped to pick it up Eva entered and came toward him.  She shuddered slightly as she passed the miniature of the monster, and Balcom, with an air of satisfaction, noticed her fear.  He turned and was about to go out, when the butler entered with the duplicate candlestick in his hands.

“Mr. Locke, in cleaning the hall I found this behind the portieres at the entrance to below-stairs,” he announced.  “I was quite puzzled for a moment, for I knew the master had taken it into the dining-room with him last evening.”

As he spoke he handed the candlestick to Locke, who quickly compared it with the one on the dining-room table which contained the burnt candles.

In appearance the candelabra were identical.  Locke with great care examined every feature of them, looking for a clue.  He took one of the whole candles from the candlestick which the butler had brought in and scraped the wax from in with his penknife.  He examined the particles carefully, then approached the candlestick which stood on the table the fatal night, and very carefully removed the wax from the stumps of candles which were still in the sockets.

“The Madagascar madness came from that candlestick,” he announced, with assurance, as he pointed toward the one on the table.

While he was so busily engaged Balcom was eying him cunningly.  He watched his every move and was most intent in seeing just how the young man would prove his contention.

“Good morning, every one!” came the clear voice of Paul as he entered the room and crossed over to the side of his fiancee.  He was particular to ignore Locke in his greeting, and as he approached Eva he bent over her hand and kissed it.