Chapter 8 Chapter VII

I shook my head violently, dispelling the sense of foreboding that was pressing on me, and hurried upstairs.I had no trouble finding the room where the tragedy happened.It had been raining heavily the day the body was found, and muddy footprints were strewn all over the uncarpeted floor.I doubt if the killer left any footprints the day before the body was found.The police are likely to withhold it, if any, from announcing it.However, after considering the results, I think it is not too bitter. The day before the murder happened the weather was fine. There was nothing noteworthy about the room.Two large bay windows, plain white walls and floor, almost square, with stains on the edges of the planks uncovered by the carpet.I searched carefully, but found nothing, not even a needle.Even the ablest young detective is unlikely to find any clues that are overlooked.

I had a pencil and a notebook with me, and I didn't seem to have much to write down, but I made a sketch of the room nonetheless to hide my disappointment at the failure of my search.The pencil slipped from my fingers and rolled across the floor as I put it back in my pocket. The "mill" was really old and the floor was very uneven.The pencil rolled on the floor, faster and faster, until it stopped under a window.There was a window-seat in the recess of each window, and a wardrobe beneath.My pencils are lying on the front door of the cupboard.The cupboard door was closed, but it occurred to me that if the cupboard door had been open, my pencils would have rolled into it.I opened the cabinet door, and the pencil immediately rolled in and stopped at the very inside.I searched for my pencil, but found that due to the lack of light and the special shape of the cook, I couldn't find it with my eyes, so I had to feel it.It was empty except for my pencils, but instinctively I tried the cupboard under the other window.

At first glance, it seemed that the other cupboard was also empty, but I searched tirelessly inside and came across a cardboard tube lying in a corner recess of the cupboard.I grabbed it with my hand and immediately knew what it was.It was a roll of Kodak film.What a discovery! I knew, of course, that it might be an old roll of Sir Eustace Peterler's negatives that had tumbled into the cupboard, and remained there undetected when it was cleaned out.But I don't think so.The negative looked so new, and judging by how defaced it was, it looked like it had only been in a cupboard for two or three days—that is, about the time of the murder.If it's been left in there for a while, it should already have a thick layer of dirt on it.

Who dropped the film?That woman or that man?As I recall, her purse was intact.If the film fell out when she was struggling, then some change should also roll down, right?No, it wasn't the film that the woman dropped. I suddenly took a few suspicious breaths.Am I allergic to the taste of Fangchai Pills?I swear the negatives smell of moth pills too.I held it up to my nostrils, and there was a strong smell of negative film, but other than that, I could clearly distinguish the smell of moth pills, which I hate most.Before long, I knew why.A small piece of rag got stuck on the center cylinder of the negative, and the rag smelled strongly of moth pills.The roll of negatives must have been there some time ago, in the pocket of the man who died at the station.Did he drop it here?Not likely, given his actions.

No, it was someone else, the "doctor".When he took the note, he also took the negative.He dropped it here when he was tangling with that woman. I found a clue!I'm going to take the negatives to be developed and take the next step. I left the "mill" in high spirits, handed back the key to Mrs. James, and hurried to the station as quickly as possible.On the way home, I took out the note and studied it again.Suddenly, those numbers took on new meaning.Assuming they are dates? 17122.January 17, 1922.definitely is!I used to think that way is really stupid.But if so, I must find out where Jill Mortenburg is, because today is the fourteenth.There are only three days left, which is short enough-especially when there is no way to find it, it is even more hopeless!

It is too late to get the negatives developed today.I have to hurry home in case I miss dinner time.It occurred to me that there is an easy way to prove whether my conclusion is correct.I asked Mr. Fleming if there was a camera among the dead man's belongings.I knew he was interested in the case and knew all the details. To my dismay, he replied that there were no cameras.I've been careful to remind him of everything about card systems, hoping to remind him, but he's still pretty sure there's nothing about photography. What a setback.If he didn't have a camera, why would he carry a roll of negatives?

The next morning, I went out early and took the negatives to develop.I made a fuss and walked all the way to the Kodak dealership on Ruijin Street.I handed over the negatives and asked for one of each to be developed.The guy in the store picked up my negatives. He looks at me. "You got it wrong, I think," he said with a smile. "Oh, no," I said, "I'm definitely not mistaken." "You took the wrong roll. This is a roll of negatives that cannot be exposed." I walked out in shame, and dare I say, it's good for people sometimes to imagine how stupid they can be!But no one wants to be there.

Just as I was passing a steamship company, I stopped suddenly.In the window was a beautiful model ship of that company marked "Jill Mortenburg."A thoughtless thought flashed through my mind, and I opened the door and walked in.I went to the counter and murmured in a trembling voice (for real this time): "Jill Mordenburg?" "Sail from Southampton on the 17th. To Cape Town? First or second class?" "How much?" "First class, eighty-seven pounds—" I cut him off.There are too many coincidences for me.That's exactly the total amount of inheritance I got!I'm going to put all my eggs in one basket.

"First class," I said. Now I'm really going on an adventure.