ive straight there. I happen
to know a man who is highly placed in the Criminal Investigation
Department--we will put our information before him. He will know
what ought to be done. In my opinion, it is one of those cases which
will require infinite care, precaution, and, for the time being,
secrecy--mole's work. Let us go, my dear friend."

"Want me--and these things?" asked the Professor.

"For the time being, no," answered Mr. Halfpenny. "Nor, at present, the
taxi-cab driver that Tertius has told us of. We'll merely tell what we
know. But take care of these--these exhibits, as if they were the apples
of your eyes, Cox-Raythwaite. They--yes, they may hang somebody!"

Half an hour later saw Mr. Halfpenny and Mr. Tertius closeted with a
gentleman who, in appearance, resembled the popular conception of a
country squire and was in reality as keen a tracker-down of wrong-doers
as ever trod the pavement of Parliament Street. And before Mr. Halfpenny
had said many words he stopped him.

"Wait a moment," he said, touching a bell at his side, "we're already
acquainted, of course, with the primary facts of this case, and I've
told off one of our sharpest men to give special attention to it. We'll
have him in."

The individual who presently entered and who was introduced to the two
callers as Detective-Inspector Davidge looked neither preternaturally
wise nor abnormally acute. What he really did remind Mr. Tertius of was
a gentleman of the better-class commercial traveller persuasion--he was
comfortable, solid, genial, and smartly if quietly dressed. And he and
the highly placed gentleman listened to all that the two visitors had
to tell with quiet and concentrated attention and did not even exchange
looks with each other. In the end the superior nodded as if something
satisfied him.

"Very well," he said. "Now the first thing is--silence. You two
gentlemen will not breathe a word of all this to any one. As you said
just now, Mr. Halfpenny, the present policy is--secrecy. There will be a
great deal of publicity during the next few days--the inquest, and so
on. We shall not be much concerned with it--the public will say that as
usual we are doing nothing. You may think so, too. But you may count on
this--we shall be doing a great deal, and within a very short time from
now we shall never let Mr. Barthorpe Herapath out of our sight until--we
want him."

"Just so," assented Mr. Halfpenny. He took Mr. Tertius away, and when