he ring. Why?"

"We will come to that presently. Did you ever see Prince Rupert's ring?"

"Well, I did. It was in Amsterdam again, about a year later than the time
I mentioned just now. Henson brought the real ring for Van Sneck to copy.
Van Sneck went into raptures over it. He said he had never seen anything
of the kind so beautiful. He made a copy of the ring, which he handed
back with the original to Henson."

Chris nodded. This pretty faithful copy of the ring was the one that
Henson had used as a magnet to draw Lady Littimer's money and the same
one that had found its way into Steel's possession. But Chris had another
idea to follow up.

"You hinted to me just now that Henson was short of money," she said. "Do
you mean to say he is in dire need of some large sum?"

"That's it," Rawlins replied. "I rather fancy there has been some stir
with the police over some business up at Huddersfield some years ago."

"A so-called home both there and at Brighton?"

"That's it. It was the idea that Henson conveyed to me when I saw him at
Moreton Wells. It appears that a certain Inspector Marley, of the
Brighton Police, is the same man who used to have the warrants for the
Huddersfield affair in his hands. Henson felt pretty sure that Marley had
recognised him. He told me that if the worst came to the worst he had
something he could sell to Littimer for a large sum of money."

"I know," Chris exclaimed. "It is the Prince Rupert's ring."

"Well, I can't say anything about that. Is this ring a valuable
property?"

"Not in itself. But the loss of it has caused a dreadful lot of misery
and suffering. Mr. Smith, Reginald Henson had no business with that ring
at all. He stole it and made it appear as if somebody else had done so by
means of conveying the copy to the very last person who should have
possessed it. That sad business broke up a happy home and has made five
people miserable for many years. And whichever way you turn, whichever
way you look, you find the cloven foot of Henson everywhere. Now, what
you have told me just now gives me a new idea. The secret that Henson was
going to sell to Lord Littimer for a large sum was the story of the
missing ring and the restitution of the same."

"Kind of brazening it out, you mean?"

"Yes. Lord Littimer would give three times ten thousand pounds to have
that ring again. But at this point Henson has met with a serious check in
his plans. Driven into a corner, he has resolved