“It was certainly a high-class way of murdering anybody,” said Wade dryly. “Dong him one with a gallon of champagne. Good-oh!”

“I doubt if I shall enjoy even the soundest vintage years for some time to come,” said Alleyn. “The whole place reeks of it. You can even smell it up here. Great hopping fleas!”

“What’s wrong, sir!”

Alleyn was staring from the counterweight on the rope to those on the platform.

“My dear Wade, we have come within an ace of making the most frightful fools of ourselves. Look at that weight.”

“I am,” said Wade.

“Well, my dear chap, what’s keeping it there?”

“The weight of the— Cripey, sir, the cork blew out and half the champagne with it. That weight ought to be on the stage. It ought to be heavier than the half-empty bottle.”

“Exactly. Therefore it is very much lighter than the full bottle. Therefore it is not the weight they rehearsed with. And what’s more, the original weight must have hung hard by the lower gallery, half-way down to the stage, within easy reach. He didn’t come up here for the first visit He did his stuff from the lower gallery.”

“You’re right, sir. And if you hadn’t come up the first time, it would have looked more like an accident and less like homicide.”

Alleyn pulled in the rope and rasped it above the weight.

“Nothing like heavy enough,” he said. “It must have been one of the big ones. Well — that’s that. Are we staying aloft, Inspector?”

“I think we’ll go down now, sir. I’ll send Cass up to collect the stuff here. It’ll need careful handling, and I think had better be done by daylight. I’ll leave a man here, of course. Ye-ees.”

Footsteps sounded on the stage below, and voices. They looked down and had a bird’s-eye view of a little procession. The police constable, whom Wade had left mounting guard over Meyer’s body, opened the door in the box set. Through it came Dr. Tancred, Dr. Te Pokiha, and two men with a stretcher. The stretcher was laid on the stage. Tancred looked up into the grid, his hand over his eyes.

“You up there, Inspector?” he called.

“Here I am, doctor.”

“All right if we move the body?”

“Has Cass got his photos O.K.?”

“Yes.”

“Good-oh, then, doctor.”

They lifted the terrible head. Tancred and Te Pokiha examined it again. It lolled back and seemed to stare up to where the two men watched from above. Pieces of fern were stuck on the face, and it was cut with glass from the broken lights. Te Pokiha brushed the fern away. They hauled the body up from the chair. It seemed to be very heavy. At last they got it on the stretcher and covered it

“All right,” said Tancred.

They carried Meyer away, the policeman holding the door open. Te Pokiha remained behind,

“Well, we may as well go down,” said Wade.

Alleyn did not answer. Wade turned to look at him. He was in the act of stooping. His long fingers reached for something that lay between two of the steel slats at his feet. His fingers edged at this little object, coaxed it up, and grasped it. He straightened, glanced down beneath him to where Te Pokiha stood, and then made a slight gesture of warning.

“What’s up?” asked Wade softly.

Alleyn stretched out his hand into the light. On the palm lay a small green object of a singular shape. Its head lolled over to one side and it seemed to be grinning.

“Are you coming down?” called Te Pokiha from the stage.

Chapter VII

WARDROBE-ROOM MUSTER

“It’s a tiki,” said Wade.

“Yes. May be of some importance. Wait a moment.”

Alleyn pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, dropped the tiki on it and folded it over carefully.

“There you are, Inspector. I’ll give you the history when we get down. In the meantime, if I may make a suggestion, keep it under your hat.”

They climbed down the O.P. ladder to the stage. Te Pokiha waited for them.

“If you’ve no further use for me, Mr. Wade, I think I’ll clear out,” he said. “It’s one o’clock.

“Right-oh, then, doctor,” agreed Wade. “Well want you for the inquest.”

“I suppose so.” He turned to Alleyn. “I had no idea you were the famous Roderick Alleyn,” he said in his warm voice. “It’s strange that this should be your introduction to New Zealand. I have read—”

“Have you?” said Alleyn quickly. “I’m supposed to be on a holiday for my health. And by the way, I particularly don’t want my identity made public. As far as this affair goes, I’m a layman, Dr. Te Pokiha. Inspector Wade very kindly allowed me to have a look at the pulley up there.”

“Has it been interfered with?” asked Te Pokiha.

“We’re going to make a thorough examination by daylight, doctor,” said Wade. “I’ll just see these other people now.”

Te Pokiha’s dark eyes gleamed in his dark face.

“I’ll wish you good night, then. Good night, Mr. Alleyn. You seemed to be interested in my people. If you would care to come and see me while you are here—”

“I should be delighted,” said Alleyn cordially.

“Dinner to-morrow? Splendid. It’s not far out. Twenty miles. I’ll call for you at six.”

Alleyn shook the thin brown hand that Te Pokiha extended, and watched the Maori go out.

“Very, very fine fellow, Rangi Te Pokiha,” said Wade. “Fine athlete, and brainy, too. Best type of Maori.”

“I met him at the hotel,” said Alleyn, “and found him very interesting. There is no colour prejudice in this country, apparently.”

“Well, not in the way there is in India, for instance. Mind, there are Maoris and Maoris. Te Pokiha’s high caste. His mother was a princess and his father a fine old chief. The doctor’s had an English college education — he’s ninety per cent civilised. All the same, sir, there’s the odd ten per cent. It’s there, no matter how civilised they are. See him when he goes into one of the back-country pas and you’ll find a difference. See him when he goes crook! By gee, I did once, when he gave evidence on a case of — well, it was an unsavoury case and the doctor felt strongly about it. His eyes fairly flashed. He looked as if he might go off at the deep end and dance a haka in court.”

“A haka?”

“War-dance. They pull faces and yell. Great affair, it is. Well now, what about this tiki, Mr. Alleyn?”

“Ah, yes.” Alleyn lowered his voice. “Dr. Te Pokiha put me in the way of buying that tiki. I gave it to Miss Carolyn Dacres as a birthday present to-night.”

“To the Dacres woman?” asked Wade, suddenly looking very sharp. “You did? Is that so?”

“She is not ‘the Dacres woman’ so far, you know,” said Alleyn. “The tiki passed from hand to hand. It may be of interest to find out where it fetched up.”

“Of interest! I should say so. I’ll see these people now. Cass!”

Detective-Sergeant Cass opened the door in the set and looked in.

“I’m going to the office, Cass. Send these people along one by one. You haven’t left them alone, I hope?”

“No, sir. We’ve got them all together in one room now. Packer’s in there.”

“All right.” He turned to Alleyn. “Are you sticking to it a while longer, Mr. Alleyn?”

“I think I’ll wander in and join the party for a bit, if you’ve no objections.”

“That’s quite all right, sir, that’s quite all right. You just please yourself,” said Wade in his heartiest voice. Alleyn knew that the inspector was at once relieved to think that he would be left alone for his examination of the others, and slightly disappointed at losing the chance of exhibiting his ability before the representative of Scotland Yard.

“I suppose,” thought Alleyn, “I must give him an inferiority complex. He feels I’m criticising him all the time. If I don’t remember to be frightfully hearty and friendly, he’ll think I’m all English and superior. I know he will. I would myself, I suppose, in his shoes. He’s been damn’ pleasant and generous, too, and he’s a very decent fellow. Dear me, how difficult it all is.”