Kara seized the telephone to call for assistance and was promptly killed." Again there was silence.
"That is a theory," said John Lexman, with his curious deliberation of speech, "but as I say I refuse to be definite--have you found the weapon ?" T.X.shook his head.
"Were there any peculiar features about the room which astonished you, and which you have not told me ?" T.X.

hesitated.
"There were two candles," he said, "one in the middle of the room and one under the bed.

That in the middle of the room was a small Christmas candle, the one under the bed was the ordinary candle of commerce evidently roughly cut and probably cut in the room.

We found traces of candle chips on the floor and it is evident to me that the portion which was cut off was thrown into the fire, for here again we have a trace of grease." Lexman nodded.
"Anything further ?" he asked.
"The smaller candle was twisted into a sort of corkscrew shape." "The Clue of the Twisted Candle," mused John Lexman "that's a very good title--Kara hated candles." "Why ?" Lexman leant back in his chair, selected a cigarette from a silver case.
"In my wanderings," he said, "I have been to many strange places.

I have been to the country which you probably do not know, and which the traveller who writes books about countries seldom visits.