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To Linda,
who has been, is, and always will be the love of my life
A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

Figure 1.10.4 Courtesy of Cray Inc.

Figures 1.7, 1.8 Courtesy of iFixit (www.ifixit.com).
Figure 1.10.5 Courtesy of Apple Computer, Inc.
Figure 1.9 Courtesy of Chipworks (www.chipworks.com).
Figure 1.10.6 Courtesy of the Computer History Museum.
Figure 1.13 Courtesy of Intel.
Figures 5.17.1, 5.17.2 Courtesy of Museum of Science, Boston.
Figures 1.10.1, 1.10.2, 4.15.2 Courtesy of the Charles Babbage
Institute, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis. Figure 5.17.4 Courtesy of MIPS Technologies, Inc.
Figures 1.10.3, 4.15.1, 4.15.3, 5.12.3, 6.14.2 Courtesy of IBM. Figure 6.15.1 Courtesy of NASA Ames Research Center.
Contents

Preface xv

C H A P T E R S

1 Computer Abstractions and Technology 2

1.1 Introduction 3
1.2 Eight Great Ideas in Computer Architecture 11
1.3 Below Your Program 13
1.4 Under the Covers 16
1.5 Technologies for Building Processors and Memory 24
1.6 Performance 28
1.7 The Power Wall 40
1.8 The Sea Change: The Switch from Uniprocessors to Multiprocessors 43
1.9 Real Stuff: Benchmarking the Intel Core i7 46
1.10 Fallacies and Pitfalls 49
1.11 Concluding Remarks 52
1.12 Historical Perspective and Further Reading 54
1.13 Exercises 54

2 Instructions: Language of the Computer 60

2.1 Introduction 62
2.2 Operations of the Computer Hardware 63
2.3 Operands of the Computer Hardware 67
2.4 Signed and Unsigned Numbers 75
2.5 Representing Instructions in the Computer 82
2.6 Logical Operations 90
2.7 Instructions for Making Decisions 93
2.8 Supporting Procedures in Computer Hardware 100
2.9 Communicating with People 110
2.10 LEGv8 Addressing for Wide Immediates and Addresses 115
2.11 Parallelism and Instructions: Synchronization 125
2.12 Translating and Starting a Program 128
2.13 A C Sort Example to Put it All Together 137
2.14 Arrays versus Pointers 146
x Contents

2.15 Advanced Material: Compiling C and Interpreting Java 150

2.16 Real Stuff: MIPS Instructions 150
2.17 Real Stuff: ARMv7 (32-bit) Instructions 152
2.18 Real Stuff: x86 Instructions 154
2.19 Real Stuff: The Rest of the ARMv8 Instruction Set 163
2.20 Fallacies and Pitfalls 169
2.21 Concluding Remarks 171
2.22 Historical Perspective and Further Reading 173
2.23 Exercises 174

3 Arithmetic for Computers 186

3.1 Introduction 188

3.2 Addition and Subtraction 188
3.3 Multiplication 191
3.4 Division 197
3.5 Floating Point 205
3.6 Parallelism and Computer Arithmetic: Subword Parallelism 230
3.7 Real Stuff: Streaming SIMD Extensions and Advanced
Vector Extensions in x86 232
3.8 Real Stuff: The Rest of the ARMv8 Arithmetic Instructions 234
3.9 Going Faster: Subword Parallelism and Matrix Multiply 238
3.10 Fallacies and Pitfalls 242
3.11 Concluding Remarks 245
3.12 Historical Perspective and Further Reading 248
3.13 Exercises 249

4 The Processor 254

4.1 Introduction 256

4.2 Logic Design Conventions 260
4.3 Building a Datapath 263
4.4 A Simple Implementation Scheme 271
4.5 An Overview of Pipelining 283
4.6 Pipelined Datapath and Control 297
4.7 Data Hazards: Forwarding versus Stalling 316
4.8 Control Hazards 328
4.9 Exceptions 336
4.10 Parallelism via Instructions 342
4.11 Real Stuff: The ARM Cortex-A53 and Intel Core i7 Pipelines 355
4.12 Going Faster: Instruction-Level Parallelism and Matrix Multiply 363
4.13 Advanced Topic: An Introduction to Digital Design Using a
Hardware Design Language to Describe and Model a Pipeline
and More Pipelining Illustrations 366
 Contents xi

4.14 Fallacies and Pitfalls 366

4.15 Concluding Remarks 367
4.16 Historical Perspective and Further Reading 368
4.17 Exercises 368

5 Large and Fast: Exploiting Memory Hierarchy 386

5.1 Introduction 388

5.2 Memory Technologies 392
5.3 The Basics of Caches 397
5.4 Measuring and Improving Cache Performance 412
5.5 Dependable Memory Hierarchy 432
5.6 Virtual Machines 438
5.7 Virtual Memory 441
5.8 A Common Framework for Memory Hierarchy 465
5.9 Using a Finite-State Machine to Control a Simple Cache 472
5.10 Parallelism and Memory Hierarchy: Cache Coherence 477
5.11 Parallelism and Memory Hierarchy: Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive
Disks 481
5.12 Advanced Material: Implementing Cache Controllers 482
5.13 Real Stuff: The ARM Cortex-A53 and Intel Core i7 Memory
Hierarchies 482
5.14 Real Stuff: The Rest of the ARMv8 System and Special Instructions 487
5.15 Going Faster: Cache Blocking and Matrix Multiply 488
5.16 Fallacies and Pitfalls 491
5.17 Concluding Remarks 496
5.18 Historical Perspective and Further Reading 497
5.19 Exercises 497

6 Parallel Processors from Client to Cloud 514

6.1 Introduction 516

6.2 The Difficulty of Creating Parallel Processing Programs 518
6.3 SISD, MIMD, SIMD, SPMD, and Vector 523
6.4 Hardware Multithreading 530
6.5 Multicore and Other Shared Memory Multiprocessors 533
6.6 Introduction to Graphics Processing Units 538
6.7 Clusters, Warehouse Scale Computers, and Other Message-Passing
Multiprocessors 545
6.8 Introduction to Multiprocessor Network Topologies 550
6.9 Communicating to the Outside World: Cluster Networking 553
6.10 Multiprocessor Benchmarks and Performance Models 554
6.11 Real Stuff: Benchmarking and Rooflines of the Intel Core i7 960 and the
NVIDIA Tesla GPU 564
xii Contents

6.12 Going Faster: Multiple Processors and Matrix Multiply 569

6.13 Fallacies and Pitfalls 572
6.14 Concluding Remarks 574
6.15 Historical Perspective and Further Reading 577
6.16 Exercises 577

A P P E N D I X

A The Basics of Logic Design A-2

A.1 Introduction A-3

A.2 Gates, Truth Tables, and Logic Equations A-4
A.3 Combinational Logic A-9
A.4 Using a Hardware Description Language A-20
A.5 Constructing a Basic Arithmetic Logic Unit A-26
A.6 Faster Addition: Carry Lookahead A-37
A.7 Clocks A-47
A.8 Memory Elements: Flip-Flops, Latches, and Registers A-49
A.9 Memory Elements: SRAMs and DRAMs A-57
A.10 Finite-State Machines A-66
A.11 Timing Methodologies A-71
A.12 Field Programmable Devices A-77
A.13 Concluding Remarks A-78
A.14 Exercises A-79
Index I-1

O N L I N E C O N T E N T

B Graphics and Computing GPUs B-2

B.1 Introduction B-3
B.2 GPU System Architectures B-7
B.3 Programming GPUs B-12
B.4 Multithreaded Multiprocessor Architecture B-25
B.5 Parallel Memory System B-36
B.6 Floating Point Arithmetic B-41
B.7 Real Stuff: The NVIDIA GeForce 8800 B-46
B.8 Real Stuff: Mapping Applications to GPUs B-55
B.9 Fallacies and Pitfalls B-72
B.10 Concluding Remarks B-76
B.11 Historical Perspective and Further Reading B-77
 Contents xiii

C
Mapping Control to Hardware C-2

C.1 Introduction C-3

C.2 Implementing Combinational Control Units C-4
C.3 Implementing Finite-State Machine Control C-8
C.4 Implementing the Next-State Function with a Sequencer C-22
C.5 Translating a Microprogram to Hardware C-28
C.6 Concluding Remarks C-32
C.7 Exercises C-33

D  Survey of RISC Architectures for Desktop, Server,

A
and Embedded Computers D-2
D.1 Introduction D-3
D.2 Addressing Modes and Instruction Formats D-5
D.3 Instructions: The MIPS Core Subset D-9
D.4 Instructions: Multimedia Extensions of the Desktop/Server RISCs D-16
D.5 Instructions: Digital Signal-Processing Extensions of the Embedded
RISCs D-19
D.6 Instructions: Common Extensions to MIPS Core D-20
D.7 Instructions Unique to MIPS-64 D-25
D.8 Instructions Unique to Alpha D-27
D.9 Instructions Unique to SPARC v9 D-29
D.10 Instructions Unique to PowerPC D-32
D.11 Instructions Unique to PA-RISC 2.0 D-34
D.12 Instructions Unique to ARM D-36
D.13 Instructions Unique to Thumb D-38
D.14 Instructions Unique to SuperH D-39
D.15 Instructions Unique to M32R D-40
D.16 Instructions Unique to MIPS-16 D-40
D.17 Concluding Remarks D-43
Glossary G-1
Further Reading FR-1
This page intentionally left blank
Preface

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the

source of all true art and science.
Albert Einstein, What I Believe, 1930

About This Book

We believe that learning in computer science and engineering should reflect
the current state of the field, as well as introduce the principles that are shaping
computing. We also feel that readers in every specialty of computing need
to appreciate the organizational paradigms that determine the capabilities,
performance, energy, and, ultimately, the success of computer systems.
Modern computer technology requires professionals of every computing
specialty to understand both hardware and software. The interaction between
hardware and software at a variety of levels also offers a framework for understanding
the fundamentals of computing. Whether your primary interest is hardware or
software, computer science or electrical engineering, the central ideas in computer
organization and design are the same. Thus, our emphasis in this book is to show
the relationship between hardware and software and to focus on the concepts that
are the basis for current computers.
The recent switch from uniprocessor to multicore microprocessors confirmed
the soundness of this perspective, given since the first edition. While programmers
could ignore the advice and rely on computer architects, compiler writers, and silicon
engineers to make their programs run faster or be more energy-efficient without
change, that era is over. For programs to run faster, they must become parallel.
While the goal of many researchers is to make it possible for programmers to be
unaware of the underlying parallel nature of the hardware they are programming,
it will take many years to realize this vision. Our view is that for at least the next
decade, most programmers are going to have to understand the hardware/software
interface if they want programs to run efficiently on parallel computers.
The audience for this book includes those with little experience in assembly
language or logic design who need to understand basic computer organization as
well as readers with backgrounds in assembly language and/or logic design who
want to learn how to design a computer or understand how a system works and
why it performs as it does.
xvi Preface

About the Other Book

Some readers may be familiar with Computer Architecture: A Quantitative
Approach, popularly known as Hennessy and Patterson. (This book in turn is
often called Patterson and Hennessy.) Our motivation in writing the earlier book
was to describe the principles of computer architecture using solid engineering
fundamentals and quantitative cost/performance tradeoffs. We used an approach
that combined examples and measurements, based on commercial systems, to
create realistic design experiences. Our goal was to demonstrate that computer
architecture could be learned using quantitative methodologies instead of a
descriptive approach. It was intended for the serious computing professional who
wanted a detailed understanding of computers.
A majority of the readers for this book do not plan to become computer
architects. The performance and energy efficiency of future software systems will
be dramatically affected, however, by how well software designers understand the
basic hardware techniques at work in a system. Thus, compiler writers, operating
system designers, database programmers, and most other software engineers
need a firm grounding in the principles presented in this book. Similarly,
hardware designers must understand clearly the effects of their work on software
applications.
Thus, we knew that this book had to be much more than a subset of the material
in Computer Architecture, and the material was extensively revised to match the
different audience. We were so happy with the result that the subsequent editions of
Computer Architecture were revised to remove most of the introductory material;
hence, there is much less overlap today than with the first editions of both books.

Why ARMv8 for This Edition?

The choice of instruction set architecture is clearly critical to the pedagogy of a
computer architecture textbook. We didn’t want an instruction set that required
describing unnecessary baroque features for someone’s first instruction set, no
matter how popular it is. Ideally, your initial instruction set should be an exemplar,
just like your first love. Surprisingly, you remember both fondly.
Since there were so many choices at the time, for the first edition of Computer
Architecture: A Quantitative Approach we invented our own RISC-style instruction
set. Given the growing popularity and the simple elegance of the MIPS instruction
set, we switched to it for the first edition of this book and to later editions of the
other book. MIPS has served us and our readers well.
The incredible popularity of the ARM instruction set—14 billion instances were
shipped in 2015—led some instructors to ask for a version of the book based on
ARM. We even tried a version of it for a subset of chapters for an Asian edition
of this book. Alas, as we feared, the baroqueness of the ARMv7 (32-bit address)
instruction set was too much for us to bear, so we did not consider making the
change permanent.
 Preface xvii

To our surprise, when ARM offered a 64-bit address instruction set, it made so
many significant changes that in our opinion it bore more similarity to MIPS than
it did to ARMv7:
■ The registers were expanded from 16 to 32;
■ The PC is no longer one of these registers;
■ The conditional execution option for every instruction was dropped;
■ Load multiple and store multiple instructions were dropped;
■ PC-relative branches with large address fields were added;
■ Addressing modes were made consistent for all data transfer instructions;
■ Fewer instructions set condition codes;
and so on. Although ARMv8 is much, much larger than MIPS—the ARMv8
architecture reference manual is 5400 pages long—we found a subset of ARMv8
instructions that is similar in size and nature to the MIPS core used in prior editions,
which we call LEGv8 to avoid confusion. Hence, we wrote this ARMv8 edition.
Given that ARMv8 offers both 32-bit address instructions and 64-bit address
instructions within essentially the same instruction set, we could have switched
instruction sets but kept the address size at 32 bits. Our publisher polled the faculty
who used the book and found that 75% either preferred larger addresses or were
neutral, so we increased the address space to 64 bits, which may make more sense
today than 32 bits.
The only changes for the ARMv8 edition from the MIPS edition are those associated
with the change in instruction sets, which primarily affects Chapter 2, Chapter 3, the
virtual memory section in Chapter 5, and the short VMIPS example in Chapter 6. In
Chapter 4, we switched to ARMv8 instructions, changed several figures, and added
a few “Elaboration” sections, but the changes were simpler than we had feared.
Chapter 1 and the rest of the appendices are virtually unchanged. The extensive online
documentation and combined with the magnitude of ARMv8 make it difficult to come
up with a replacement for the MIPS version of Appendix A (“Assemblers, Linkers, and
the SPIM Simulator” in the MIPS Fifth Edition). Instead, Chapters 2, 3, and 5 include
quick overviews of the hundreds of ARMv8 instructions outside of the core ARMv8
instructions that we cover in detail in the rest of the book. We believe readers of this
edition will have a good understanding of ARMv8 without having to plow through
thousands of pages of online documentation. And for any reader that adventurous, it
would probably be wise to read these surveys first to get a framework on which to hang
on the many features of ARMv8.
Note that we are not (yet) saying that we are permanently switching to ARMv8.
For example, both ARMv8 and MIPS versions of the fifth edition are available for
sale now. One possibility is that there will be a demand for both MIPS and ARMv8
versions for future editions of the book, or there may even be a demand for a third
xviii Preface

version with yet another instruction set. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
For now, we look forward to your reaction to and feedback on this effort.

Changes for the Fifth Edition

We had six major goals for the fifth edition of Computer Organization and Design:
demonstrate the importance of understanding hardware with a running example;
highlight main themes across the topics using margin icons that are introduced
early; update examples to reflect changeover from PC era to post-PC era; spread
the material on I/O throughout the book rather than isolating it into a single
chapter; update the technical content to reflect changes in the industry since the
publication of the fourth edition in 2009; and put appendices and optional sections
online instead of including a CD to lower costs and to make this edition viable as
an electronic book.
Before discussing the goals in detail, let’s look at the table on the next page.
It shows the hardware and software paths through the material. Chapters 1, 4,
5, and 6 are found on both paths, no matter what the experience or the focus.
Chapter 1 discusses the importance of energy and how it motivates the switch
from single core to multicore microprocessors and introduces the eight great
ideas in computer architecture. Chapter 2 is likely to be review material for the
hardware-oriented, but it is essential reading for the software-oriented, especially
for those readers interested in learning more about compilers and object-oriented
programming languages. Chapter 3 is for readers interested in constructing a
datapath or in learning more about floating-point arithmetic. Some will skip
parts of Chapter 3, either because they don’t need them, or because they offer
a review. However, we introduce the running example of matrix multiply in
this chapter, showing how subword parallels offers a fourfold improvement, so
don’t skip Sections 3.6 to 3.8. Chapter 4 explains pipelined processors. Sections
4.1, 4.5, and 4.10 give overviews, and Section 4.12 gives the next performance
boost for matrix multiply for those with a software focus. Those with a hardware
focus, however, will find that this chapter presents core material; they may also,
depending on their background, want to read Appendix A on logic design first.
The last chapter on multicores, multiprocessors, and clusters, is mostly new
content and should be read by everyone. It was significantly reorganized in this
edition to make the flow of ideas more natural and to include much more depth
on GPUs, warehouse-scale computers, and the hardware–software interface of
network interface cards that are key to clusters.
 Preface xix

Chapter or Appendix Sections Software focus Hardware focus

1. Computer Abstractions 1.1 to 1.11

and Technology 1.12 (History)
2.1 to 2.14
2. Instructions: Language 2.15 (Compilers & Java)
of the Computer 2.16 to 2.21
2.22 (History)
D. RISC Instruction-Set Architectures D.1 to D.17
3.1 to 3.5

3.6 to 3.9 (Subword Parallelism)

3. Arithmetic for Computers
3.10 to 3.11 (Fallacies)

3.12 (History)
A. The Basics of Logic Design A.1 to A.13
4.1 (Overview)
4.2 (Logic Conventions)
4.3 to 4.4 (Simple Implementation)
4.5 (Pipelining Overview)

4. The Processor 4.6 (Pipelined Datapath)

4.7 to 4.9 (Hazards, Exceptions)
4.10 to 4.12 (Parallel, Real Stuff)
4.13 (Verilog Pipeline Control)
4.14 to 4.15 (Fallacies)
4.16 (History)
C. Mapping Control to Hardware C.1 to C.6

5.1 to 5.10

5.11 (Redundant Arrays of

Inexpensive Disks)
5. Large and Fast: Exploiting
Memory Hierarchy
5.12 (Verilog Cache Controller)
5.13 to 5.16
5.17 (History)
6.1 to 6.8
6. Parallel Process from Client 6.9 (Networks)
to Cloud 6.10 to 6.14
6.15 (History)

B. Graphics Processor Units B.1 to B.13

Read carefully Read if have time Reference

Review or read Read for culture
xx Preface

The first of the six goals for this fifth edition was to demonstrate the importance
of understanding modern hardware to get good performance and energy efficiency
with a concrete example. As mentioned above, we start with subword parallelism
in Chapter 3 to improve matrix multiply by a factor of 4. We double performance
in Chapter 4 by unrolling the loop to demonstrate the value of instruction-level
parallelism. Chapter 5 doubles performance again by optimizing for caches using
blocking. Finally, Chapter 6 demonstrates a speedup of 14 from 16 processors by
using thread-level parallelism. All four optimizations in total add just 24 lines of C
code to our initial matrix multiply example.
The second goal was to help readers separate the forest from the trees by
identifying eight great ideas of computer architecture early and then pointing
out all the places they occur throughout the rest of the book. We use (hopefully)
easy-to-remember margin icons and highlight the corresponding word in the text
to remind readers of these eight themes. There are nearly 100 citations in the book.
No chapter has less than seven examples of great ideas, and no idea is cited less than
five times. Performance via parallelism, pipelining, and prediction are the three
most popular great ideas, followed closely by Moore’s Law. The processor chapter
(4) is the one with the most examples, which is not a surprise since it probably
received the most attention from computer architects. The one great idea found in
every chapter is performance via parallelism, which is a pleasant observation given
the recent emphasis in parallelism in the field and in editions of this book.
The third goal was to recognize the generation change in computing from
the PC era to the post-PC era by this edition with our examples and material.
Thus, Chapter 1 dives into the guts of a tablet computer rather than a PC, and
Chapter 6 describes the computing infrastructure of the cloud. We also feature the
ARM, which is the instruction set of choice in the personal mobile devices of the
post-PC era, as well as the x86 instruction set that dominated the PC era and (so
far) dominates cloud computing.
The fourth goal was to spread the I/O material throughout the book rather
than have it in its own chapter, much as we spread parallelism throughout all the
chapters in the fourth edition. Hence, I/O material in this edition can be found in
Sections 1.4, 4.9, 5.2, 5.5, 5.11, and 6.9. The thought is that readers (and instructors)
are more likely to cover I/O if it’s not segregated to its own chapter.
This is a fast-moving field, and, as is always the case for our new editions, an
important goal is to update the technical content. The running example is the ARM
Cortex A53 and the Intel Core i7, reflecting our post-PC era. Other highlights
include a tutorial on GPUs that explains their unique terminology, more depth on
the warehouse-scale computers that make up the cloud, and a deep dive into 10
Gigabyte Ethernet cards.
To keep the main book short and compatible with electronic books, we placed
the optional material as online appendices instead of on a companion CD as in
prior editions.
Finally, we updated all the exercises in the book.
While some elements changed, we have preserved useful book elements from
prior editions. To make the book work better as a reference, we still place definitions
of new terms in the margins at their first occurrence. The book element called
 Preface xxi

“Understanding Program Performance” sections helps readers understand the

performance of their programs and how to improve it, just as the “Hardware/Software
Interface” book element helped readers understand the tradeoffs at this interface.
“The Big Picture” section remains so that the reader sees the forest despite all the
trees. “Check Yourself ” sections help readers to confirm their comprehension of the
material on the first time through with answers provided at the end of each chapter.
This edition still includes the green ARMv8 reference card, which was inspired by the
“Green Card” of the IBM System/360. This card has been updated and should be a
handy reference when writing ARMv8 assembly language programs.

Instructor Support
We have collected a great deal of material to help instructors teach courses using
this book. Solutions to exercises, figures from the book, lecture slides, and other
materials are available to instructors who register with the publisher. In addition,
the companion Web site provides links to a free Community Edition of ARM DS-5
professional software suite which contains an ARMv8-A (64-bit) architecture
simulator, as well as additional advanced content for further study, appendices,
glossary, references, and recommended reading. Check the publisher’s Web site for
more information:
textbooks.elsevier.com/9780128017333

Concluding Remarks
If you read the following acknowledgments section, you will see that we went to
great lengths to correct mistakes. Since a book goes through many printings, we
have the opportunity to make even more corrections. If you uncover any remaining,
resilient bugs, please contact the publisher by electronic mail at codARMbugs@
mkp.com or by low-tech mail using the address found on the copyright page.
This edition is the third break in the long-standing collaboration between
Hennessy and Patterson, which started in 1989. The demands of running one of
the world’s great universities meant that President Hennessy could no longer make
the substantial commitment to create a new edition. The remaining author felt
once again like a tightrope walker without a safety net. Hence, the people in the
acknowledgments and Berkeley colleagues played an even larger role in shaping
the contents of this book. Nevertheless, this time around there is only one author
to blame for the new material in what you are about to read.

Acknowledgments
With every edition of this book, we are very fortunate to receive help from many
readers, reviewers, and contributors. Each of these people has helped to make this
book better.
We are grateful for the assistance of Khaled Benkrid and his colleagues at
ARM Ltd., who carefully reviewed the ARM-related material and provided helpful
feedback.
xxii Preface

Chapter 6 was so extensively revised that we did a separate review for ideas and
contents, and I made changes based on the feedback from every reviewer. I’d like to
thank Christos Kozyrakis of Stanford University for suggesting using the network
interface for clusters to demonstrate the hardware–software interface of I/O and
for suggestions on organizing the rest of the chapter; Mario Flagsilk of Stanford
University for providing details, diagrams, and performance measurements of the
NetFPGA NIC; and the following for suggestions on how to improve the chapter:
David Kaeli of Northeastern University, Partha Ranganathan of HP Labs,
David Wood of the University of Wisconsin, and my Berkeley colleagues Siamak
Faridani, Shoaib Kamil, Yunsup Lee, Zhangxi Tan, and Andrew Waterman.
Special thanks goes to Rimas Avizenis of UC Berkeley, who developed the
various versions of matrix multiply and supplied the performance numbers as well.
As I worked with his father while I was a graduate student at UCLA, it was a nice
symmetry to work with Rimas at UCB.
I also wish to thank my longtime collaborator Randy Katz of UC Berkeley, who
helped develop the concept of great ideas in computer architecture as part of the
extensive revision of an undergraduate class that we did together.
I’d like to thank David Kirk, John Nickolls, and their colleagues at NVIDIA
(Michael Garland, John Montrym, Doug Voorhies, Lars Nyland, Erik Lindholm,
Paulius Micikevicius, Massimiliano Fatica, Stuart Oberman, and Vasily Volkov)
for writing the first in-depth appendix on GPUs. I’d like to express again my
appreciation to Jim Larus, recently named Dean of the School of Computer and
Communications Science at EPFL, for his willingness in contributing his expertise
on assembly language programming, as well as for welcoming readers of this book
with regard to using the simulator he developed and maintains.
I am also very grateful to Zachary Kurmas of Grand Valley State University,
who updated and created new exercises, based on originals created by Perry
Alexander (The University of Kansas); Jason Bakos (University of South Carolina);
Javier Bruguera (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela); Matthew Farrens
(University of California, Davis); David Kaeli (Northeastern University); Nicole
Kaiyan (University of Adelaide); John Oliver (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo); Milos
Prvulovic (Georgia Tech); Jichuan Chang (Google); Jacob Leverich (Stanford);
Kevin Lim (Hewlett-Packard); and Partha Ranganathan (Google).
Additional thanks goes to Jason Bakos for updating the lecture slides.
I am grateful to the many instructors who have answered the publisher’s
surveys, reviewed our proposals, and attended focus groups to analyze and
respond to our plans for this edition. They include the following individuals:
Focus Groups: Bruce Barton (Suffolk County Community College), Jeff Braun
(Montana Tech), Ed Gehringer (North Carolina State), Michael Goldweber
(Xavier University), Ed Harcourt (St. Lawrence University), Mark Hill (University
of Wisconsin, Madison), Patrick Homer (University of Arizona), Norm Jouppi
(HP Labs), Dave Kaeli (Northeastern University), Christos Kozyrakis (Stanford
University), Jae C. Oh (Syracuse University), Lu Peng (LSU), Milos Prvulovic
(Georgia Tech), Partha Ranganathan (HP Labs), David Wood (University of
Wisconsin), Craig Zilles (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). Surveys
 Preface xxiii

and Reviews: Mahmoud Abou-Nasr (Wayne State University), Perry Alexander

(The University of Kansas), Behnam Arad (Sacramento State University),
Hakan Aydin (George Mason University), Hussein Badr (State University of
New York at Stony Brook), Mac Baker (Virginia Military Institute), Ron Barnes
(George Mason University), Douglas Blough (Georgia Institute of Technology),
Kevin Bolding (Seattle Pacific University), Miodrag Bolic (University of Ottawa),
John Bonomo (Westminster College), Jeff Braun (Montana Tech), Tom Briggs
(Shippensburg University), Mike Bright (Grove City College), Scott Burgess
(Humboldt State University), Fazli Can (Bilkent University), Warren R. Carithers
(Rochester Institute of Technology), Bruce Carlton (Mesa Community College),
Nicholas Carter (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Anthony Cocchi
(The City University of New York), Don Cooley (Utah State University), Gene
Cooperman (Northeastern University), Robert D. Cupper (Allegheny College),
Amy Csizmar Dalal (Carleton College), Daniel Dalle (Université de Sherbrooke),
Edward W. Davis (North Carolina State University), Nathaniel J. Davis (Air Force
Institute of Technology), Molisa Derk (Oklahoma City University), Andrea Di
Blas (Stanford University), Derek Eager (University of Saskatchewan), Ata Elahi
(Souther Connecticut State University), Ernest Ferguson (Northwest Missouri
State University), Rhonda Kay Gaede (The University of Alabama), Etienne M.
Gagnon (L’Université du Québec à Montréal), Costa Gerousis (Christopher
Newport University), Paul Gillard (Memorial University of Newfoundland),
Michael Goldweber (Xavier University), Georgia Grant (College of San Mateo),
Paul V. Gratz (Texas A&M University), Merrill Hall (The Master’s College), Tyson
Hall (Southern Adventist University), Ed Harcourt (St. Lawrence University),
Justin E. Harlow (University of South Florida), Paul F. Hemler (Hampden-
Sydney College), Jayantha Herath (St. Cloud State University), Martin Herbordt
(Boston University), Steve J. Hodges (Cabrillo College), Kenneth Hopkinson
(Cornell University), Bill Hsu (San Francisco State University), Dalton Hunkins
(St. Bonaventure University), Baback Izadi (State University of New York—New
Paltz), Reza Jafari, Robert W. Johnson (Colorado Technical University), Bharat
Joshi (University of North Carolina, Charlotte), Nagarajan Kandasamy (Drexel
University), Rajiv Kapadia, Ryan Kastner (University of California, Santa Barbara),
E.J. Kim (Texas A&M University), Jihong Kim (Seoul National University), Jim
Kirk (Union University), Geoffrey S. Knauth (Lycoming College), Manish M.
Kochhal (Wayne State), Suzan Koknar-Tezel (Saint Joseph’s University), Angkul
Kongmunvattana (Columbus State University), April Kontostathis (Ursinus
College), Christos Kozyrakis (Stanford University), Danny Krizanc (Wesleyan
University), Ashok Kumar, S. Kumar (The University of Texas), Zachary Kurmas
(Grand Valley State University), Adrian Lauf (University of Louisville), Robert
N. Lea (University of Houston), Alvin Lebeck (Duke University), Baoxin Li
(Arizona State University), Li Liao (University of Delaware), Gary Livingston
(University of Massachusetts), Michael Lyle, Douglas W. Lynn (Oregon
Institute of Technology), Yashwant K Malaiya (Colorado State University),
Stephen Mann (University of Waterloo), Bill Mark (University of Texas at
Austin), Ananda Mondal (Claflin University), Alvin Moser (Seattle University),
xxiv Preface

Walid Najjar (University of California, Riverside), Vijaykrishnan Narayanan

(Penn State University), Danial J. Neebel (Loras College), Victor Nelson (Auburn
University), John Nestor (Lafayette College), Jae C. Oh (Syracuse University),
Joe Oldham (Centre College), Timour Paltashev, James Parkerson (University of
Arkansas), Shaunak Pawagi (SUNY at Stony Brook), Steve Pearce, Ted Pedersen
(University of Minnesota), Lu Peng (Louisiana State University), Gregory D.
Peterson (The University of Tennessee), William Pierce (Hood College), Milos
Prvulovic (Georgia Tech), Partha Ranganathan (HP Labs), Dejan Raskovic
(University of Alaska, Fairbanks) Brad Richards (University of Puget Sound),
Roman Rozanov, Louis Rubinfield (Villanova University), Md Abdus Salam
(Southern University), Augustine Samba (Kent State University), Robert Schaefer
(Daniel Webster College), Carolyn J. C. Schauble (Colorado State University),
Keith Schubert (CSU San Bernardino), William L. Schultz, Kelly Shaw (University
of Richmond), Shahram Shirani (McMaster University), Scott Sigman (Drury
University), Shai Simonson (Stonehill College), Bruce Smith, David Smith, Jeff W.
Smith (University of Georgia, Athens), Mark Smotherman (Clemson University),
Philip Snyder (Johns Hopkins University), Alex Sprintson (Texas A&M), Timothy
D. Stanley (Brigham Young University), Dean Stevens (Morningside College),
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(Boston University), Will Thacker (Winthrop University), Mithuna Thottethodi
(Purdue University), Manghui Tu (Southern Utah University), Dean Tullsen (UC
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(Bucknell University), Kent Wilken (University of California, Davis), David
Wolfe (Gustavus Adolphus College), David Wood (University of Wisconsin,
Madison), Ki Hwan Yum (University of Texas, San Antonio), Mohamed Zahran
(City College of New York), Amr Zaky (Santa Clara University), Gerald D.
Zarnett (Ryerson University), Nian Zhang (South Dakota School of Mines &
Technology), Jiling Zhong (Troy University), Huiyang Zhou (North Carolina
State University), Weiyu Zhu (Illinois Wesleyan University).
A special thanks also goes to Mark Smotherman for making multiple passes to
find technical and writing glitches that significantly improved the quality of this
edition.
We wish to thank the extended Morgan Kaufmann family for agreeing to publish
this book again under the able leadership of Todd Green, Steve Merken and Nate
McFadden: I certainly couldn’t have completed the book without them. We also
want to extend thanks to Lisa Jones, who managed the book production process,
and Matthew Limbert, who did the cover design. The cover cleverly connects the
post-PC era content of this edition to the cover of the first edition.
The contributions of the nearly 150 people we mentioned here have helped make
this new edition what I hope will be our best book yet. Enjoy!

David A. Patterson
Other documents randomly have
different content
stimulant slipped down her throat. It quickly dispelled the deadly
faintness which had overcome her. Finally, satisfied that Gretchen
would be able to go to her room, supported by Susanne, McLane left
her and went over to the small group at the head of the staircase.
“What brought on Gretchen’s attack?” asked McLane, taking care
to speak so as not to be overheard by either Susanne or the Dutch
girl.
“I don’t know, doctor,” answered Anne. “She has been very
nervous and unlike herself ever since the inquest.”
Inspector Mitchell, who had been regarding David Curtis as the
latter stood by Anne’s side, with fixed scrutiny, broke into the
conversation.
“I may have startled your maid unintentionally,” he said
apologetically. “Herman told me that Doctor McLane was with Doctor
Curtis and I came upstairs unannounced. It isn’t my custom to make
much noise,” he smiled. “And your maid did not apparently know
that I was near her. When she turned and saw me, she dropped
where she stood.”
“Pardon, mademoiselle.” Susanne had left Gretchen and drawn
nearer in time to catch Mitchell’s remark. “All las’ night and to-day
have what you call ‘shadows’ followed poor Gretchen.”
“Shadows?” questioned Anne, frowning in her perplexity.
“Spies, if monsieur permits the word,” with a spiteful look at
Inspector Mitchell. “The poor girl is distracted with fear.”
“What is she afraid of?” demanded Mitchell quickly.
Susanne partly turned her back on him without answering.
“Please, mademoiselle,” she began, addressing Anne, “Gretchen
must have peace, or she be ill. She is a good girl.”
“She is!” Anne spoke with sudden energy. “Come, Inspector, there
is no law which permits you to introduce spies into our household.”
“I beg your pardon,” Mitchell spoke stiffly. “We have not exceeded
our rights. Investigations have to be conducted when a crime has
been committed.”
 “A crime?”
“Yes, madam; and the greatest crime of all—murder, cold-blooded
premeditated murder.”
Curtis, standing close beside Anne, heard her sudden intake of
breath, but she faced Mitchell with no other indication of emotion.
“You still contend that my uncle was murdered?” she asked. “And
that it was not a case of suicide in a moment of mental aberration.”
“I do; the medical evidence establishes that fact.” Mitchell would
have added more, but Anne turned swiftly to Curtis.
“Can you tell with absolute accuracy from the wound that it was
not self-inflicted, Doctor Curtis?” she demanded.
All eyes were turned toward the blind surgeon. McLane, as well as
Curtis, had caught the unconscious note of appeal in Anne’s voice,
and he waited with interest for Curtis’ answer. It took the form of a
question.
“Was John Meredith by chance ambidexterous?” he asked.
“He was.”
An exclamation escaped Mitchell. “Why didn’t you state that fact
at the inquest?” he inquired with warmth.
“Because I was not questioned on the subject,” she responded,
and again addressed Curtis. “Doesn’t that prove that Uncle John
could have killed himself?”
Curtis’ hesitation was imperceptible except to McLane.
“I believe that the fact that Meredith was ambidexterous will
enable experts to cast sufficient doubt on the medical testimony to
render it practically valueless,” he said.
“Perhaps an expert can tear it to pieces,” broke in Mitchell. “But
you can’t get over the fact that no weapon was found near the body.
If John Meredith killed himself, what did he do with the weapon?”
“I can tell you.” A new light shone in Anne’s eyes and her voice
held an unaccustomed ring, a note of hope, mixed with relief. “I read
your testimony in the morning paper, Doctor Curtis, as given at the
inquest. You said that Uncle John lay partly on his right side, his
hands outflung, and his head resting against the banisters which
circle this part of the corridor.”
As she spoke she left the head of the stairs and walked to the spot
where Meredith’s body had lain, the others trooping after her.
“Suppose,” she began, addressing Inspector Mitchell who was
watching her with eager attention, “suppose Uncle John carried the
weapon—shall we say a knife,” her voice faltered, then recovering
herself, she spoke with more composure, “carried the knife down
this corridor with him, what could have become of it?”
“Blessed if I know,” muttered Mitchell. “We have searched every
available spot. There are no cracks and crannies or corners in this
corridor which we have overlooked, and have found absolutely no
trace of a weapon of any kind. Come, Miss Meredith, did some one,”
his voice grew harsh, “carry away the weapon before we got here?”
“No.”
Mitchell turned an angry red as he faced her. He was sensitive to
ridicule, and the conviction was growing upon him that Anne was
poking fun at him.
“Quit kidding us!” he exclaimed, roughly. “And answer your own
question, if you can. If Meredith did carry a weapon in his hand,
what became of it?”
“The most natural thing in the world happened to it,” she replied,
and this time her note of triumph was plainly discernible in her
voice. “As Uncle John fell forward, the knife could have slipped from
his outflung hand and fallen through the banisters to the hall
beneath. Look—” and she leaned far over the railing.
With one accord the men with her followed her example, even
Curtis, in the excitement of the moment, forgetting his blindness as
he bent forward and hung over the railing.
The wide circular staircase, with its railing of solid mahogany, was
colonial in design. It started from the square hall beneath and, the
treads being of unusual width, required a larger “well” than was
customary. The banisters did not stop at the stairhead, but circled
the “well,” thus protecting the bedroom floor, and allowing a general
view of the entrance hall and the front door.
Commencing from the base of the staircase in the entrance hall
were boxes of hothouse plants which ran almost to the library door.
John Meredith had liked the green foliage against the white
wainscoting and, the previous winter, had the boxes put there in
place of the cushioned benches which had occupied the space
formerly.
“That’s a good theory of yours, Miss Meredith,” admitted Mitchell.
“If the knife did drop between one of these banister posts, it must
have lighted in that flowerbox. Let’s see.” He whirled around and
hurried down the staircase, McLane hotfoot after him.
Anne started forward, then stopped. The next instant a small hand
was slipped into Curtis’ as he turned to follow the others.
“Come this way,” she said softly. A pretty color dyed her white
cheeks as she saw his face light up. His expression altered quickly to
one of concern as his grasp tightened over her icy fingers.
“Are you having a chill?” he asked, halting abruptly.
“Oh, no. It is nerves.” Her smile was a bit piteous. “I will be all
right. Please don’t worry. I wonder—I—” She checked her incoherent
ejaculations as they went down the staircase and stopped by
McLane’s side.
Regardless of the danger of injuring the costly ferns and other
plants which filled the boxes, Mitchell and McLane ran their hands
among them, feeling with feverish haste among the leaves and the
moss which formed a dense covering. Rapidly the two men worked
their way down the boxes. A short, excited cry from Inspector
Mitchell, who had made more speed than either McLane or Curtis,
brought the others to his side. Withdrawing his hand from a box
completely filled with ferns, he held up a small, discolored knife.
“Found!” he shouted. “Don’t touch it, doctor.” He laid the knife,
which he held gingerly between two fingers, in a clean handkerchief,
and extended it so that McLane could get a good look at it. “Those
are bloodstains.”
 “Probably.” McLane bent closer. “A chemical test will be necessary
though, Mitchell, to distinguish bloodstains, rust, and fingerprints.”
“Sure. Hold it a moment, doctor, in the handkerchief, but don’t let
it get out of your possession.” Mitchell thrust the handkerchief into
McLane’s eager hand, and rushing back to the pantry, appeared a
second later with Detective Sergeant Brown at his back, and
hastened up the staircase.
“Describe the knife, Leonard,” directed Curtis, as McLane stepped
closer to his side.
McLane did not reply at once. Anne, who stood watching the two
men with eager eyes, was about to speak when McLane broke the
pause.
“A curious weapon,” he said slowly, “but a most effective one,
Dave. It is a scalpel.”
“A scalpel,” repeated Curtis.
“Yes, one manufactured by Meinicke.” McLane lowered his hand.
“Where do you suppose John Meredith obtained a surgical knife?”
Curtis’ face was alight with interest. “A surgical knife,” he
muttered. “Strange!” He paused, then spoke more quickly. “However,
the fingerprints will tell us—”
“Of murder,” broke in Mitchell’s harsh voice behind them and they
wheeled about. “Miss Meredith,” his eyes never left the young girl’s
face, “you have led us to the weapon and thereby proved
conclusively that your uncle did not commit suicide. It is a case of
cold-blooded murder.”
“Explain your meaning,” directed Curtis, before either of his
startled companions could speak.
Mitchell stepped back a few paces. “Look up there,” he pointed, as
he spoke, to the next floor where Detective Sergeant Brown stood
leaning over the railing gazing down at them. “The sergeant is
standing exactly where John Meredith’s dead body was found by
Doctor Curtis. Now,” he spoke with significant impressiveness, “if
John Meredith carried that surgical knife, as you cleverly suggested,
Miss Meredith, and it dropped out of his hand and fell between the
posts of the banisters it would have alighted in that box of ferns,”
indicating one further down the hall. “By no freak of chance or
possibility could it have fallen from there into the box where I found
it.”
Anne gazed dazedly at the Inspector. “I don’t understand,” she
faltered. “You found the knife—”
“In the wrong place to establish your theory—of suicide.” Mitchell’s
covert smile was ominous, and Anne shivered involuntarily.
“One moment.” Curtis changed his cane from one hand to the
other, and stepped closer to the Inspector. “Mitchell, suppose you
have the sergeant drop a penknife or ordinary knife through the
banisters.”
Mitchell looked at him keenly. “You mean—?”
“To reenact the scene of Sunday night, or rather Monday
morning,” replied Curtis. “Tell the sergeant to stagger and fall. As he
does so we will see if the knife flies out of his hand, and through the
banisters, and thus know,” his voice deepened, “exactly where it
falls.”
“A capital idea!” declared McLane. “Go to it, Mitchell. I’ll stay here
and you watch the proceedings from above. Wait, though,” as
Mitchell started for the staircase. “To make the test as complete as
possible I’ll give you a scalpel from my surgical bag. It’s here with
my hat. First, however, take this,” and he handed the handkerchief
and the discolored scalpel, which Mitchell had found concealed
among the ferns, back to the Inspector.
As McLane took another scalpel from his surgical kit, Gerald
Armstrong ran down the staircase and joined Anne. He was followed
more leisurely by Lucille Hull. She shuddered slightly as Mitchell
displayed the discolored scalpel before wrapping it securely in his
handkerchief and placing it in his pocket. To Anne the minutes
seemed endless as she waited for Mitchell to mount the staircase
and instruct Detective Sergeant Brown in the role he was to assume.
 “What is going on?” demanded Armstrong. He made no attempt to
modify his naturally strident voice and it grated on Anne. McLane
caught her sudden start, and guessing the strain she was under,
explained the situation in a few words. Lucille listened with close
attention, her eyes following the movements of the two men on the
floor above as far as she could see them.
“Watch out, down below,” called Mitchell. “Stand back a little
further, Doctor Curtis; you are too near.”
Curtis retreated a few steps. Anne put out her hand to guide him
but dropped it hurriedly on catching her cousin’s gaze; there was a
mocking gleam in Lucille’s eyes which brought the hot color to
Anne’s pale cheeks with a rush. It had not faded when the silence
was broken by the sound of a heavy fall.
A piece of glittering steel came flying through the air. It fell
without sound among the ferns and was lost to sight.
Leonard McLane was the first to speak. He waited until Mitchell
and Sergeant Brown reached them.
“You were right, Mitchell,” he said, addressing the Inspector. “The
scalpel fell directly into this box,” laying his hand upon it. “It is the
fourth box from the one where you found the discolored scalpel.”
“Then our theory is correct,” declared Mitchell. He bowed gravely
to Anne. “Thank you, Miss Meredith.”
Before she could reply Herman appeared from the pantry.
“You are wanted on the telephone, Doctor Curtis,” he announced.
“This way, sir,” and in silence Curtis accepted the butler’s guidance.
A second more and the little group in the square reception hall
broke up; Anne accompanying her cousin to her bedroom, and
Armstrong, at a quiet word from Inspector Mitchell, led the way into
the library, followed by the two police officials.
Left to himself Leonard McLane repacked his surgical kit and took
up his hat and overcoat; then he paused before opening the front
door and stood in thought. Fully two minutes passed before he
moved. Replacing his hat, overcoat and bag on the hall table he
turned around and went slowly upstairs, and entered David Curtis’
bedroom. Except for himself the bedroom was empty.
McLane walked directly over to the bedstead and halted by it.
Bending down he closely scanned the spotless linen. It was
unwrinkled, immaculate.
McLane straightened up with a jerk; his eyes wide with wonder.
“I’ll be—!” he gasped. “The counterpane has been changed.”
 CHAPTER XIII

PRELIMINARY SKIRMISHING

Gerald Armstrong looked inquiringly at Inspector Mitchell as the

latter waved him to a chair in the library; then turned his regard to
Detective Sergeant Brown. He learned nothing from the Sergeant’s
stolid expression and again focused his attention on the latter’s
superior officer.
“Sit down, Mr. Armstrong,” directed Mitchell. Taking a chair he
planted himself in front of Armstrong, while Sergeant Brown braced
his burly figure against a convenient sofa and remained a silent
onlooker. “Now, sir, will you kindly tell us why you avoided the
inquest on John Meredith?”
“I did not avoid it.”
“No? Well, it appeared that way to us at Headquarters,” replied
Mitchell, observing Armstrong’s unconcealed annoyance with relish.
A man in a temper might give out valuable information. “And it has
been very apparent that you have also avoided an interview with us
since then.”
“Well, what of it?” Armstrong assumed a more comfortable
position. “Come, Inspector, why worry about the past? Now that I
am at leisure I shall be very happy to answer any questions you put
to me, provided always,” with a smile meant to be ingratiating, “that
it is within my power to answer them.”
“Of course,” dryly. “Why did you leave Ten Acres so precipitately
after John Meredith signed those papers on Sunday night?”
 “There was nothing precipitate in my conduct,” replied Armstrong,
with a slight frown. “I remembered that I had some work to do at
home and so went there, intending to return to Ten Acres in time for
breakfast on Monday morning.”
“But you did not return then?”
“No; I overslept.”
The explanation was very pat, and the smile left Mitchell’s eyes, to
be replaced by an angry glitter.
“And when did you first learn of John Meredith’s murder?” he
demanded.
“I learned of his death,” with emphasis on the last word, “on
Monday shortly before noon.”
“And who informed you of Meredith’s murder?” Mitchell repeated
the word intentionally and Armstrong flushed.
“Colonel Julian Hull, my senior partner, told me the news,” he
stated. “It seems his daughter, Miss Lucille Hull, telephoned to him. I
was not aware until last evening, when I called at the Hulls’, that the
police authorities considered Meredith’s death was a case of murder
and not suicide.”
“And what is your belief in the matter?” asked Mitchell.
Armstrong shrugged his shoulders. “I have formed no theories,”
he answered. “The whole affair is frightfully tragic. That John
Meredith would take his own life was incredible, but to any one who
knew his lovable character as I did,” meeting Mitchell’s gaze without
wavering, “it is inconceivable that any one should have killed him.”
“Inconceivable perhaps, but he was killed,” responded Mitchell
grimly, “and we intend to locate the murderer. At what hour did you
leave Ten Acres Sunday night, and did John Meredith know that you
planned to leave?”
Armstrong shook his head. “No. I left there a little before
midnight.”
“Without notifying Mrs. Marshall Meredith or any other inmate of
the house?”
 “Mrs. Meredith had retired for the night,” replied Armstrong.
“Herman and Damason, the Filipino chauffeur, were aware that I
left.”
“And why did you not tell Mr. Hollister of your intended
departure?”
Armstrong frowned at the Inspector’s persistency. “It was after we
had parted that I decided on impulse to return home that night.
There was no occasion for disturbing Hollister,” he stated coldly.
Mitchell consulted his notebook in which he had made occasional
entries as their conversation progressed.
“Are you well acquainted with Mr. Hollister?” he asked.
“We are friends, yes,” and Mitchell’s eyebrows lifted at the brief
reply.
“You have just stated, Mr. Armstrong, that only Herman and
Damason knew of your intended departure,” he began. “In her
testimony at the inquest Miss Anne Meredith told of meeting you on
your way out.”
“Yes, yes, I forgot; I did meet her,” broke in Armstrong with
marked haste.
“And you told her of the prenuptial agreement and the codicil to
his will, to which you had witnessed Meredith’s signature.” Mitchell
paused before asking, “Wasn’t that breaking a confidence, sir?”
“Most emphatically not. Meredith did not pledge us to secrecy,”
retorted Armstrong.
Mitchell scrutinized his flushed face for a moment in silence. “How
was Miss Meredith dressed?” At the query Armstrong moved
uncomfortably.
“I am sure I don’t know,” he grumbled. “She was suitably clad, if
you mean that.”
“I never doubted but that she was,” replied Mitchell, disgust
creeping into his voice. “How was she dressed, Mr. Armstrong? Did
she have on the gown she wore at dinner or a street suit?”
“I don’t know,” sullenly. “It was dark—”
 “In the house or out of doors?”
Armstrong’s eyes shifted from Mitchell to Sergeant Brown, who
approached them at that moment, and from him back again to
Mitchell.
“What’s that to you, Inspector?” demanded Armstrong.
“That’s my affair,” roughly. “Come, sir, I insist upon a direct reply.
Where did you meet Miss Meredith on Sunday night?” Receiving no
answer, he asked more urgently: “Was it inside the house or out?
Answer at once, sir.”
“Outside the house,” sullenly.
“Outside is too vague, sir,” persisted Mitchell. “Did you meet Miss
Anne close by the servants’ wing of the house and underneath the
window of Gretchen’s bedroom?”
“That’s no business of yours!” Armstrong got to his feet in haste,
an angry light in his eyes.
“I want an answer, Mr. Armstrong.”
“You won’t get it,” with sneering emphasis. “If I have anything
more to say it will be to your superiors and in the presence of my
lawyer.”
“If you are going to take that attitude, Mr. Armstrong,” Mitchell
rose also, “I will see that you are served with a subpoena as a
material witness to attend the next hearing of the inquest—”
A startled look crossed Armstrong’s face, then disappeared.
“Colonel Hull told me that the inquest was over—”
“For yesterday afternoon.” Mitchell pocketed his notebook and
fountain pen. “The next hearing will be on Thursday afternoon at
two o’clock at the District Morgue. I advise you not to forget to
attend,” with significant emphasis. “One more question, where did
you spend Sunday night—all of Sunday night?”
Armstrong’s bright color faded, leaving his sallow complexion a
mottled yellow.
“What in blazes!” he shouted, then his voice died down as Herman
drew back the portières and stepped inside the library.
 The butler bowed deferentially. “Luncheon is served,” he
announced. “Miss Anne and Doctor Curtis are already at the table,
and Miss Lucille is waiting for you in the hall.”
Flinging a word over his shoulder, which Mitchell failed to
distinguish, Armstrong hurried into the reception hall as the
Inspector, with a quiet nod to Herman, opened the French window
on the veranda and, followed by his faithful henchman, Sergeant
Brown, strode across the lawn in the direction of the lodge.
Luncheon, judged by Curtis’ feelings, was a long and trying ordeal.
No one except Lucille felt inclined for conversation. When dessert
was served she shot an aggrieved look at her cousin, which Anne
missed entirely, and finally lapsed into silence. The scene in the hall
and the finding of the discolored scalpel was ever present in Curtis’
mind, and his anxiety was not relieved by Anne’s absent-minded
replies and unresponsive manner. As far as possible he bore the
brunt of Lucille’s efforts to force conversation. Gerald Armstrong, on
the contrary, contented himself with eating a remarkably good
luncheon and confined himself to monosyllables, if he troubled to
speak at all.
As they left the table, Armstrong edged his way to Anne’s side and
motioned to her to wait. She cast a quick glance at Lucille and
Curtis, who had preceded her toward the hall, then turned with
marked reluctance to face her companion.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Why are you avoiding me?” with blunt directness.
Anne flushed. “I was under the impression that I went for a motor
ride with you this morning—”
“With Lucille along,” he broke in, making no attempt to modify his
aggressive manner. “You have avoided me.”
“I have not.” Anne’s eyes sparkled with anger. “Nor,” with quiet
significance, “have I run away.” It was Armstrong’s turn to flush. “I
must see you alone,” he insisted, raising his voice.
Herman, busy removing the dessert plates, turned and eyed them
with unconcealed interest. The servants at Ten Acres had little liking
for Armstrong; his overbearing manner and utter lack of
consideration for them accounted for his unpopularity. They
accepted his generous tips with outward thanks and inward rebellion
over his presence in the house.
Armstrong’s marked attention to Lucille had explained in Herman’s
inquisitive mind the reason of Meredith’s many invitations to dinner-
dances and house parties. That Meredith was particularly attached to
the young stockbroker, the butler had had occasion to doubt, having
witnessed one or two heated arguments between them. Armstrong
had once or twice expressed himself at the dinner table in mocking
terms about “bread and butter misses,” and therefore, that he
should suddenly evince a preference for Anne’s society, whose
unsophisticated outlook on life, and unspoiled, sunny disposition had
endeared her to the servants, caused Herman to linger over his work
in the dining room in the hope of overhearing what transpired. His
hopes, however, were promptly frustrated.
“I hear the front doorbell, Herman,” Anne turned her back on
Armstrong to address the butler. Looking over her shoulder, she
spoke to Armstrong and the disdain in her charmingly modulated
voice made him flush again, but this time with anger. “There is no
occasion for seeing you alone, Gerald.”
“Isn’t there?” His laugh was unpleasant. “Suppose, instead of
having a friendly chat with you, I go to the police?”
Anne’s hands clenched over her handkerchief. Without deigning to
reply, she hurried into the hall in time to meet her mother as the
latter came in the front door with Sam Hollister.
“Have you lunched, mother?” she asked, as Susanne appeared to
take Mrs. Meredith’s wraps, while Herman relieved the lawyer of his
overcoat and hat.
“I had a salad and cup of coffee at the Shoreham,” replied Mrs.
Meredith. “How about you, Sam?”
“No luncheon for me, thanks.” Hollister picked up his leather brief
case, and glanced at Mrs. Meredith. “Shall we proceed with
business?”
 “It would be best.” Mrs. Meredith removed her hat and handed it
to Susanne, paused before the hall mirror to inspect her hair and
gave it a deft touch here and there before turning to her daughter.
“Come into the library, Anne. Where is Lucille?”
“Already in the library, mother.”
“In that case,” Mrs. Meredith started for the library, then halted as
Gerald Armstrong appeared from the dining room where he had
stood just inside the door watching them. “Ah, Gerald, good
morning.” As he returned her greeting and stepped forward to
accompany her into the library she motioned him to stop. “You will
have to excuse us,” she explained. “Mr. Hollister is to read Mr.
Meredith’s will and only his relatives are to be present.” With a
gracious bow she stepped past Armstrong. The latter tried to catch
Anne’s eye, but she walked by with head averted, listening to what
Hollister, on her right, was saying. Armstrong bit his mustache,
paused uncertainly, then, ignoring Susanne’s muttered apology as he
brushed against her, he opened the front door and stepped out on
the veranda.
At sound of Mrs. Meredith’s entrance Curtis rose from his seat by
Lucille and turned toward her. “Why, Cousin Belle, I did not hear you
return,” exclaimed Lucille, springing up. “We should have waited
luncheon for you,” with a reproachful look at Anne.
“I told Anne not to wait,” remarked Mrs. Meredith. “While Sam
was going over papers in his office I went to the Shoreham and had
a bite to eat. Now, Sam, if you will proceed, please.”
Hollister drew forward a card table and placed his brief case on it.
“I have here,” he began, “the last will and testament of John
Meredith. It was signed by Meredith in my office a year ago and left
in my care. To-day, in the presence of the proper officials, I took it
out of my vault and have brought it here to read in the presence of
John Meredith’s relatives.”
“Just a moment, please.” Curtis stepped forward, and addressed
Mrs. Meredith. “I fear my presence is an intrusion. If you will let me
withdraw—”
 “Please wait, doctor.” The color flashed up in Mrs. Meredith’s face,
and a smile, which Anne remembered afterwards as both beautiful
and ingratiating, lit her fine dark eyes. “My daughter would, I am
sure, prefer to have you here.”
Curtis hesitated in uncertainty. Was he really wanted?
“Please stay.” Anne’s soft voice solved his doubts and he resumed
his seat as she moved over and sat down by Lucille on the sofa.
Hollister picked up a document which he had taken a moment
before from his brief case while watching the little scene between
Mrs. Meredith and the blind surgeon. But his reading of the will was
doomed to another interruption. The portières were thrust forcibly to
one side as Colonel Julian Hull walked unannounced into the library.
“Why wasn’t I notified, Belle?” he demanded. “As John’s first
cousin I am entitled to be present at the reading of his will.”
“Lucille represented you,” she replied coldly. “Who informed you,
Julian, that the will was being read?”
“What concern is that of yours?” with a scowl. “Go on, Hollister,”
and without a word to any of the others he flung himself down in
the nearest chair.
It seemed to Anne, as Hollister’s deep voice went on and on, that
she would never hear the end of “whereas” and “because of” which
sprinkled each page of the document. At its close, Hollister laid the
will on the table and touched another more bulky manuscript.
“This,” he explained, “is the complete list, mentioned in Mr.
Meredith’s will, of special bequests of his personal effects. Do you
wish it read aloud?”
“No.” Colonel Hull was on his feet, his eyes blazing with anger. “I
have heard enough. According to that document, Hollister, Anne
Meredith is given one million dollars and Ten Acres. The rest of his
fortune goes to charities and Lucille, my daughter, gets a paltry one
hundred thousand dollars and a diamond necklace. What,” he turned
and glared at Mrs. Meredith and her daughter, “what have you done
with the codicil, signed by John on Sunday night, in which the
million-dollar bequest to Anne was revoked and that amount given
to Lucille?”
Mrs. Meredith straightened her stately figure. “Your language is
obnoxious,” she said, and would have added more, but Sam Hollister
interrupted her, his gaze grave with displeasure.
“We are all aware that the codicil and prenuptial agreement have
disappeared,” he pointed out. “When I left John on Sunday night the
documents were on his bed and Lucille was with him.”
Lucille paled as she met her father’s glance. “They were still on
the bed when I went to my room a few minutes after you left, Sam,”
she said, a catch in her voice.
“Do you suppose Lucille would suppress a document giving her
one million dollars?” Colonel Hull laughed scornfully, even as he put
the question. “The idea is absurd.”
“It is no more absurd than to suggest by inference that some one
in this room is responsible for its disappearance,” retorted Mrs.
Meredith, with spirit. “You forget yourself, Julian.”
“I shall fight for Lucille’s rights,” shouted Colonel Hull, his temper
at white heat. “That will shan’t be probated without a contest.”
Hollister replaced the will and its accompanying manuscript in his
brief case and carefully closed and locked the leather flap. Slipping
the key in his pocket he faced the infuriated stockbroker.
“This document will be filed with the registrar of wills at once,” he
said. “You are at liberty to take whatever action you please.” He
turned to Mrs. Meredith. “I am going to my room, Mrs. Meredith,
and within the hour shall return to my office. Is there anything I can
do for you and Anne?”
“Nothing, thank you,” Mrs. Meredith was graciousness itself,
“except to return in time for dinner. I will consult with you then,” and
she nodded a friendly good-by.
As Hollister, with a kindly word to Anne who sat as one dazed,
passed Curtis he tapped the blind surgeon on the shoulder.
 “Come up to my room,” he whispered, and not waiting to hear
what Curtis said to Mrs. Meredith, slipped out of the room as Colonel
Hull and his agitated daughter disappeared into the little-used
drawing-room.
Curtis was not far behind Hollister in reaching the latter’s
bedroom.
“What do you wish to see me about, Hollister?” he asked, as the
lawyer closed the bedroom door and half dragged him over to the
window seat.
“A new development,” answered the lawyer tersely. “You recall this
inventory,” taking a sheet of paper out of his wallet. “It is the paper
we found in John’s secretary which bears the notation, in his
handwriting: ‘Contents of safe deposit box belongs to.’”
“Yes, I recollect it,” Curtis said impatiently as the lawyer paused.
“The name was evidently clipped off the page. Go on.”
“We opened the safe deposit box this morning in the presence of
the officers of the Metropolis Bank and court officials,” Hollister
spoke with subdued excitement. “It was a large box—”
“And what did its contents comprise?” questioned Curtis eagerly.
“Meredith’s will?”
“No. I had that in my office vault.”
Curtis straightened up and turned his sightless eyes upon his
companion. “Did you find the missing documents?”
“No, neither of them.” Hollister spoke with impressive slowness.
“The box was empty except for this key,” and he laid it in Curtis’
hand.
In dumfounded silence Curtis ran his fingers over the grooves and
notches and then traced the name stamped upon it in raised letters.
“A Yale key,” he said. “Was this linen tag tied to it?”
“Yes.” Hollister dropped his voice until he almost whispered. “The
tag bears, in Meredith’s handwriting, the single word—Duplicate.”
 CHAPTER XIV

THE DUPLICATE KEY

David Curtis balanced the Yale key in his hand in deep thought.
“And this key was the only object in Meredith’s safe deposit box?”
he asked.
“It was.” Hollister lighted a cigar and puffed vigorously. “Damned
odd, isn’t it? Why did Meredith preserve the key so carefully?”
“It might have been left there accidentally.”
“True.” The lawyer pointed to the inventory sheet lying on the
window ledge. “That notation reads: ‘Contents of safe deposit box
belongs to.’” He folded the paper and replaced it in his wallet. “What
do you make of it? There were no ‘contents-’”
“Except this key,” ended Curtis. “But a key has to belong to a—
lock.” He smiled. “It is obviously up to you, Hollister, to locate the
lock.”
“You think—” Hollister glanced at him keenly as he paused.
“That behind the lock this key fits we may find the missing
contents of the safe deposit,” Curtis explained. “I say may,
remember, not will; and at that it is only a shot in the dark.”
Hollister looked dissatisfied. “How am I to go about it?” he
grumbled. “Inspector Mitchell and I have been carefully through
every desk and drawer in Meredith’s bedroom and the library. We
have found nothing, documents or otherwise, except what is
ordinarily in the possession of a very wealthy man. Meredith, judging
superficially, left his financial affairs in good shape.”
 Curtis did not answer at once. “This key, you say, is marked
‘duplicate’,” he began finally. “Do you recall seeing its original on
Meredith’s bunch of keys?”
“I don’t remember it,” admitted Hollister. “But then there were a
number of Yale keys on his ring.”
“Did you find a lock for every key that was there?”
“A good point!” exclaimed Hollister, his face clearing. “But I don’t
believe that I can answer your question offhand. Mitchell has the
keys. Let’s see if he is still on the premises.”
Laying down his cigar Hollister hastened across the room and over
to the house telephone. It took him a second or two to get an
answer to his ring. “Hello—hello!” he called. “Who is this?
Fernando?” finally distinguishing the latter’s broken English. “Where
is Inspector Mitchell? At the lodge? Hurry over and ask him to return
here, Fernando. Tell him that Mr. Hollister wishes to see him. Hold
on, Fernando!” as the Filipino started to hang up his earpiece. “Bring
Inspector Mitchell to Mr. John Meredith’s bedroom.”
Replacing his receiver on the house telephone hook, Hollister
found Curtis had crossed the room and was waiting for him at the
door. As the two men stepped into the corridor and started for
Meredith’s bedroom, Gretchen flitted down the corridor leading to
the servants’ quarters, paused for a second to cast an uneasy glance
at the backs of the two men and then, doubling on her tracks,
slipped unheard along the corridor in the direction of Lucille Hull’s
bedroom. She missed, by a fraction of a second, encountering
Inspector Mitchell and Fernando as they came up the circular
staircase. The Filipino had acted so promptly on Hollister’s order that
he had caught the Inspector just as he was stepping into a police
car driven by Detective Sergeant Brown, which had been parked
under the trees near the entrance to Ten Acres.
Inspector Mitchell listened with close attention to Hollister’s
account of finding the inventory sheet with its notation regarding a
safe deposit box and the discovery of the “duplicate” key.
“Is that the only box Meredith had at the bank?” he asked.
 “No,” replied Hollister. “He had another, which we opened to-day in
the presence of the proper authorities. It contained the securities,
jewelry, and other valuables listed in Meredith’s memorandum of
special bequests. We checked it off this morning and all were
accounted for.”
“Then you think this notation refers to the box holding only the
duplicate key?” asked Mitchell.
“That is my idea, yes,” answered Hollister.
“Did you think to ask the bank officials when Meredith rented the,
shall we say, second box?” broke in Curtis.
Hollister nodded his head vigorously. “Yes. The box containing the
securities he has had for going on ten years, while this smaller box
he rented only four weeks ago to-day.” Hollister looked squarely at
Mitchell. “The box rents for twenty-five dollars a year. Now, why
should Meredith pay that amount and place only a duplicate key in
it?”
“He may have intended to place other valuables there,” suggested
the Inspector, shaking several bunches of keys out of a chamois bag
which he removed from an inside pocket. He spread the keys on the
table before them, and then, taking them up one by one, he
matched each key with the one bearing the linen tag with its single
word, “duplicate,” written plainly upon it. The Inspector was
thorough in his examination and Curtis had time to become
impatient before he spoke.
“This Yale key is unlike any we have here.” Mitchell spoke with
more gravity; he had not at first taken Hollister’s comments on the
importance of the duplicate key very seriously. “And these keys are
all that we found in this bedroom, in the library and in the pockets of
Meredith’s suits of clothes.”
“Did you look in the pocket of Meredith’s pajamas?” questioned
Curtis.
“Wasn’t a thing in it, except a handkerchief,” replied Mitchell. “If
you’ll let me keep this key, Mr. Hollister, I’ll have Sergeant Brown and
an assistant search for its mate.”
 “And the lock which it fits,” put in Curtis swiftly, as the Inspector,
taking Hollister’s permission for granted, slipped the keys back in the
chamois bag, keeping, however, the key under discussion in his right
hand.
“We will institute a thorough search, don’t fear,” responded
Mitchell, none too well pleased with Curtis’ tone. He brushed by the
blind surgeon and was the first to step into the hall, the others just
behind him. “Where is that wretched parrot of Mr. Meredith’s? It isn’t
in his old bedroom.”
His question was overheard by Fernando, who had loitered near
the head of the circular staircase, one eye on the closed door behind
which the three men were conferring and the other on the front hall
beneath.
“Mees Anne has Ruffles,” he volunteered, coming toward them.
“The bird, she cry so much, an’ Mees Anne say ‘Fernando, bring
Ruffles to my room.’”
“Oh!” Mitchell scratched his head in some doubt. “Well, see that
the bird isn’t taken out of the house, Fernando. Say, didn’t you look
after Mr. Meredith?”
“I took care of his clothes and his room, yes, sir,” explained the
Filipino. “Always I run errands for him, and I wait at the table under
Herman, yes, sir.”
“Do you recognize this key?” As he spoke Inspector Mitchell thrust
it almost under Fernando’s nose. “Do you know what it unlocks?”
Fernando turned the key over and over, his expression inscrutable
as he fingered the linen tag. “I no see it before,” he stated, handing
it back.
“Have you seen one like it?” asked Curtis, breaking his silence.
“Perhaps,” was Fernando’s noncommittal reply.
“Mr. Meredith kept always the keys under his pillow at night;
sometimes,” looking first at one man and then the other, “Mr.
Meredith forget in the morning and send me for them.”
 “Do you identify this positively as like one Mr. Meredith had?”
persisted Mitchell.
“Honorable sir,” Fernando dropped back a step to let Mitchell pass,
and bowed low to the Inspector, “it look like most any key on Mr.
Meredith’s—what you call it—bunch? You see for yourself; you got
keys.”
Mitchell took his last words for a statement, but to Curtis’ keen
ears they sounded like an interrogation.
“So you don’t know what this key unlocks?” The Inspector held it
out for a second before pocketing it. “All right, Fernando, trot along.”
He turned to Hollister. “Good-by, sir; I’ll be over later in the
afternoon.”
“Wait,” Curtis laid a detaining hand on Mitchell’s shoulder. “About
that scalpel—” He hesitated. “Have you learned anything?”
“Not yet, but I am dead certain that it was used to kill Meredith—”
Hollister started forward. “You have found the weapon?” he
exclaimed, running down the steps after Mitchell. “How—where—”
“Come along and I’ll show it to you,” called Mitchell over his
shoulder, and not waiting for the others to catch up with him, went
toward the front door. Curtis hesitated a second, then, tucking his
cane under one arm and grasping the banisters, he hastened to
keep up with his more active companions.
As their heads disappeared out of sight down the staircase,
Fernando drew a long breath. With a prolonged glance up and down
the silent corridor, he walked to Mrs. Marshall Meredith’s boudoir
door and knocked softly upon it. At his second tap he heard Mrs.
Meredith’s curt, “Come in,” and stepped inside, closing the door at
his back with care not to let it slam.
“You sent for me, madam?” he asked.
“Yes.” Mrs. Meredith pushed her chair back from her desk and
regarded Fernando through her gold lorgnettes. “I have already told
Herman and the other servants that by the terms of Mr. Meredith’s
will my daughter inherits Ten Acres,” she stated, having seen in her
swift glance about the boudoir that the communicating door
between it and Anne’s bedroom was tightly closed. “Miss Anne is still
a minor and I am her legal guardian. Thus, you understand,
Fernando, that retaining your present situation in this house
depends upon your fidelity to me.”
“Yes, madam.”
“So far I have found you satisfactory. I fail to see why you hesitate
now.”
Fernando, standing respectfully before her, shifted from one foot
to the other, and his yellow face reddened under her angry gaze.
“Do you understand?” demanded the irate woman, a second time.
“Yes, madam. You wish me to find a certain key in Mr. Meredith’s
bedroom.”
Fernando drew a step nearer. “The detective man has one like it.”
Mrs. Meredith paled under her rouge. “And you did not get it from
him?”
“But have patience, please, madam.” Fernando was taking pains
with his English and spoke with care. “It may be difficult, madam.”
“I suppose that means you need a bribe.” Mrs. Meredith unclasped
her handbag and handed the servant a gold piece. “Have you
anything to report?”
“No, madam,” humbly, then as an afterthought, “Herman tell me
that Mr. Armstrong try to see Mees Anne alone.”
Their gaze clashed. Mrs. Meredith was the first to speak.
“Thank you, Fernando. You may go.”
But Fernando did not stir. “Please, madam, will Mees Anne marry
the blind doctor?”
Mrs. Meredith looked at him in marked displeasure. “My daughter’s
affairs are not a topic for discussion,” she stated, frigidly. “That is all,
Fernando.”
As the hall door clicked shut on the servant’s retreating figure,
Mrs. Meredith turned back to her desk with a heavy frown. Could it
be possible that her willing tool was growing restive?
 Fernando reached the first floor in time to open the front door as
the bell sounded. A stranger stood on the threshold.
“May I see Mr. Samuel Hollister?” he asked. “I was told at his
office that he was here.”
Looking past the stranger Fernando descried Hollister coming up
the graveled walk accompanied by Doctor Curtis.
“Here he is,” he exclaimed. “Behind you, sir. How better you go
join him?”
With a somewhat surprised glance at the Filipino, the stranger
wheeled around and going down the veranda steps reached Hollister
and Curtis as they paused under the pergola.
“Mr. Hollister?” he asked, raising his hat. “My name is Elliott—
Frank Elliott, of Chicago. Your clerk sent me out here as I have only
a brief time in Washington.” His slight hesitation was but momentary.
“I understand that you were John Meredith’s lawyer and are now an
executor of his estate under the terms of his will.”
“Your information is correct,” replied Hollister, as the other
stopped. “Let me introduce Doctor David Curtis, Mr. Elliott.”
Elliott looked with some curiosity at the blind surgeon as they
shook hands.
“I must see you, Mr. Hollister, on a matter touching Meredith’s
estate,” he said. “It is of vital importance—”
“Pardon me,” broke in Curtis. “I had better withdraw.”
“No,” objected Hollister, before Elliott could speak. “Doctor Curtis is
engaged to marry Miss Anne Meredith, the chief beneficiary under
her uncle’s will; therefore—”
“I can speak before him,” finished Elliott. He stroked his clean-
shaven chin and cleared his throat nervously. Evidently he found
difficulty in broaching the reason of his presence at Ten Acres, or so
Curtis concluded from his rapid breathing.
“I am one of a group of men,” began Elliott, his hand dropping
from his chin to his watch fob, which he stroked with restless
fingers. “We are, frankly, fighting prohibition and have pooled our
interests.”
“By interests you mean money?” asked Curtis quietly, and Elliott
eyed him more keenly; he had before centered his attention on the
lawyer, and had addressed his remarks exclusively to him.
“Yes, money,” he admitted. “This money we placed in John
Meredith’s hands to bank for us.”
“When?” demanded Curtis.
“To be exact it was just four weeks ago to-day.” replied Elliott. “I
came on here and personally saw Meredith place the money in his
safe deposit box.” Hollister stared at Elliott, his excitement rising.
Curtis let his cane swing from one hand to the other as he drew a
step closer to the stranger.
“Do you recall the number of the safe deposit box and the bank?”
he asked.
“The last, yes—it was the Metropolis Bank. But Meredith did not
tell me the number of the box,” responded Elliott. “I do know,
however, that he rented it that morning expressly to hold our funds.”
Twice Hollister opened his mouth to speak, then glanced in doubt at
his blind companion. Elliott, also, was staring at Curtis and it would
have taken a more astute person than the little lawyer to read his
expression.
“Mr. Elliott,” Curtis lowered his voice to a confidential pitch, “have
you any objection to telling us the amount of money you placed in
John Meredith’s care?”
“I have no objection at all,” declared Elliott, modifying somewhat
his hearty voice. “It was one hundred thousand dollars in cash.”
 CHAPTER XV

AT THE FORK OF THE ROAD

Gretchen looked at the panting woman before her with concern.

“Plees, Mees Hull, sit awhile,” she begged, pointing to one of the
comfortable wicker chairs on the side veranda of Ten Acres.
Gretchen had caught a glimpse of Mrs. Hull toiling up the brick walk,
which led from the Rockville Turnpike into the grounds, and, by a
circuitous route through the trees, up to the old mansion, and
skirted it on either side. She had left the pantry window to open the
little-used north door to admit her. Mrs. Hull subsided into the
nearest chair with thankfulness.
“I declare, Gretchen,” she gasped, “this is a fearful place to reach
from the city, unless you have a car.”
Gretchen’s smile, while expansive, was a trifle vague. It showed
her pretty dimples to advantage. “Plees, I get you a drink—”
“Of water,” firmly. “I never touch anything stronger, Gretchen,” and
the chambermaid vanished inside the house.
Mrs. Hull was grateful for the cool breeze which fanned her hot
cheeks, and she drew her breath with more regularity and ease after
a few minutes of absolute quiet. From where she sat she had an
extended view of the old-fashioned garden, with its box-hedge
maze, one of the historic features of the place, and the pergola
almost completely hidden under its cover of rambler roses. As she
sat waiting in patience for Gretchen’s return, she saw three men
emerge from the pergola and go toward the lodge gates. By his