man should be employed, and in the event of your
joining us, I should wish you to keep the matter strictly from all your
acquaintances; and it would certainly be advantageous that you should,
when disengaged, continue to mix with your friends and to mingle in
society of all kinds as freely as possible. There is crime among the
upper classes as well as among the lower, though of a different
type; and as Mr. Thorndyke of Crowswood you would have far better
opportunities of investigating some of these cases than any of my men
would have. You would not object to take up such cases?"

"Not at all, sir; that is, if it could be arranged that I should not
do the actual work of making an arrest, or have to appear in court as a
witness."

"That could be managed," the chief said "When you have got to a certain
point the matter of the final arrest could always be handed over to
someone else, but as a rule we keep our officers in the background as
much as possible, because at every trial the court is half full of men
of the criminal class, and the faces of our men would soon be known to
every one of them. Well, if you will call about ten o'clock tomorrow you
shall have my answer; but I should advise you to think the matter
well over before you see me again. The responsibilities as well as the
dangers are great, and indeed in some of the work you would literally
have to carry your life in your hand; and I can assure you that the task
you would undertake is by no means a light one."

CHAPTER XI.

Mark called that evening, as he had promised, upon Mrs. Cunningham.

"I hope that you feel all the better for your day's rest, Millicent," he
said.

The girl looked quickly at him to see if there was any sarcasm in the
question, but it was evident that the inquiry was made in earnest.

"Yes, I feel better now," she said. "I have dozed a good deal today.
I did not feel up to anything. Mrs. Cunningham's work has progressed
wonderfully. I should say that she has done more today than she
ordinarily finds time to do in a week. What have you been doing with
yourself?"

"I have been having a long talk with Mr. Prendergast about the lost
treasure."

"And of course he said that you would never find it, Mark?"

"Well, yes, he distinctly expressed that opinion."

"And afterwards?"

"Afterwards I went to Bow Street and had a long talk also with the chief
officer there."

"I don't like the idea of your searching for this man, Mark