But the door on the top floor was closed
--and when Ayscough turned its handle he found it to be locked from
within.
"They've keys of their own for that, too," remarked the younger Pilmansey.
"I don't see how you're going to get in, if there's nobody inside."
"We're going in there whether there's anybody or not," said the Inspector.
"Knock, Ayscough!--knock loudly!"
The group of men gathered behind the leaders, and filling the whole of the
lobby outside the closed door, waited, expectant and excited, in the
silence which followed on Ayscough's loud beating on the upper panel. A
couple of minutes went by: the detective knocked again, more insistently.
And suddenly, and silently, the door was opened--first, an inch or two,
then a little wider, and as Ayscough slipped a stoutly booted foot inside
the crack a yellow face, lighted by a pair of narrow-slitted dark eyes,
looked out--and immediately vanished.
"In with you!" said the Inspector. "Careful, now!"
Ayscough pushed the door open and walked in, the rest crowding on his
heels. And Purdie, who was one of the foremost to enter, was immediately
cognizant of two distinct odours--one, the scent of fragrant tea, the
other of a certain heavy, narcotic something which presently overpowered
the fragrance of the tea and left an acid and bitter taste.
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