David yawned sleepily as he rose.

"Well, I've had enough of it for to-night," he said. "I'm dog-tried, and
I must confess to feeling sick of the Hensons and Littimers, and all
their works."

"Including their friend, Miss Ruth Gates?" Bell said, slily. "Still, they
have made pretty good use of you, and I expect you will be glad to get
back to your work again. At the same time, you need not trouble your head
for plots for many a day."

David admitted that the situation had its compensations, and went off to
bed. Bell met him the next day as fresh as if he had had a full night's
rest, and vouchsafed the information that the patient was as well as
possible. He was cold and no longer feverish.

"In fact, he is ready for the operation at any time," he said. "I shall
get Heritage here to dinner, and we shall operate afterwards with
electric light. It will be a good steadier for Heritage's nerves, and
the electric light is the best light of all for this business. If you
have got a few yards of spare flex from your reading-lamp I'll rig the
thing up without troubling your electrician. I can attach it to your
study lamp."

"I've got what you want," David said. "Now come in to breakfast."

There was a pile of letters on the table, and on the top a telegram. It
was a long message, and Bell watched Steel's face curiously.

"From Littimer Castle," he suggested. "Am I right?"

"As usual," David cried. "My little scheme over that diamond star has
worked magnificently. Miss Chris tells me that she has--by Jove, Bell,
just listen--she has solved the problem of the cigar-case; she has found
out the whole thing. She wants me to meet her in London to-morrow, when
she will tell me everything."

CHAPTER XLVI

LITTIMER'S EYES ARE OPENED

Lord Littimer sat on the terrace, shaded from the sun by an awning over
his deck-chair. From his expression he seemed to be at peace with all the
world. His brown, eager face had lost its usually keen, suspicious look;
he smoked a cigarette lazily. Chris sat opposite him looking as little
like a hard-working secretary as possible.

As a matter of fact, there was nothing for her to do. Littimer had
already tired of his lady secretary idea, and had Chris not
interested and amused him he would have found some means to get rid
of her before now.

But she did interest and amuse and puzzle him. There was something
charmingly reminiscent about the girl. She was like somebody he had once
kn