ecially when I found on my return from the trial
run the engines worked as smoothly as when I started.

The other reason why I did not regret the Pirate's quiescence was
because of the opportunity afforded me of cementing the friendship which
had grown up between myself and the detective. It became a very real and
warm friendship during those long idle days. He upset all my
preconceived notions of the police, at least as regards the detective
portion of the force, he was such an all-round man. He had not allowed
his undoubted powers of observation to be entirely concentrated upon the
seamy side of his profession. Judging from his conversation, I gathered
that he knew quite as much about modern French literature as he did
about French criminals, and of the latter his knowledge was both
extensive and interesting. I remember on one occasion that he gave me a
really acute criticism of the Verlain school, with special relation to
the effects of decadent literature on national life. But that is only
one example of his scope. Wherever he had been and whatever he had done,
had apparently awakened in him the desire to see all round the case he
was investigating, and being possessed of a well-trained memory, his
mind was a storehouse of curious knowledge.

Let me give one instance. One evening when we were driving slowly along
a bye-road in the vicinity of Uxbridge, in accordance with our
preconceived plan--the Mercedes had not then arrived, and our progress
was additionally slow as the roads were exceedingly heavy, as rain had
been falling daily ever since the night I had been arrested--suddenly my
companion said--

"Do you know anything of Persian poetry, Mr. Sutgrove?"

As it happened, owing to the fact that a Sutgrove had once represented
his country at the Persian court, I had a slight knowledge of the
subject, and I said so.

"I am never out of doors on a spring evening," he continued, "without
wishing I had the time to acquire a knowledge of it."

"Why?" I asked.

"It's this way," he replied. "On one of my jobs--a show job, attendance
on a distinguished visitor, don't you know--I was thrown a great deal
into the company of a Persian gentleman, and we did our best to learn
something of each other's languages. He taught me out of Hafiz, and I
picked up just enough to make me wish for more. Listen to this."

He recited to me one of the shorter poems from the Divan.

"Isn't that musical?" he continued. "It seems to m