Reginald Thomas Maitland Scott

“ He entered and closed the door, locking it behind him. The locked door might interfere with a rapid escape, but an unlocked door might warn somebody of the presence of an intruder. It was dark inside and he stood very still, listening and even smelling, but there was nothing to hear, and the musty smell seemed natural under the circumstances.
After a pause he moved forward and used his flashlight sparingly, noticing the usual basement arrangements. As he was about to ascend the stairs, he noticed a door at the rear of the basement. ”

“ No moth fell to the floor. The covering of another piece of furniture upon being shaken, rendered up one moth which flew away, very much alive.
Wentworth returned to the iron safe and regarded the seventeen dead moths upon the floor. What did the safe contain which caused the moths to die? The chemical odor, which escaped from it, was very slight indeed. But it showed that the door of the old fashioned safe did not fit perfectly. The very slight smell, which escaped, had killed the moths. What would happen to the man who opened the door of that safe? ”

“ It is difficult to trace the source of a slight smell in a room; it is almost impossible to discover that source in a dark room fitfully exposed by a wandering flashlight. But Wentworth was extremely thorough when he was at work. What he did not know, he fought to learn. finally he decided that the faint smell of chemicals was issuing from what seemed to be a large box or chest covered with a rich drapery. This piece of furniture was not in harmony with the remainder of the room, and Wentworth surveyed it critically. ”