any luck."

They were greeted, as they entered Quest's room, by a familiar little
ticking. Quest smiled with pleasure.

"It's the pocket wireless," he declared. "Let me take down the message."

He spelt it out to Lenora, who stood by his side:

"Have joined Servants' Club disguised as your butler. Craig
frequent visitor here ten years ago, comes now occasionally.
Thursday evenings most likely time. Shall wait here on chance of
seeing him."

"Good girl, that," Quest remarked. "She's a rare sticker, too."

He turned away from the instrument and was crossing the room towards his
cigar cabinet. Suddenly he stopped. He looked intently towards the
sideboard.

"What is it?" Lenora asked.

He did not answer. She followed the direction of his gaze. Exactly in the
same spot as before reposed another but somewhat larger black box, of the
same shape and material as the previous one.

"Say, who put that there?" he demanded.

Lenora shook her head.

"I locked the door when we went out," she assured him.

Quest took the box into his hands and removed the lid. It seemed half full
of cotton-wool. On the top were a few lines of writing and beneath them
the signature of the parted hands. He read the form out slowly:

"Drop all investigation. The hands that return these jewels
command it."

Quest raised the cotton-wool. Beneath lay Mrs. Rheinholdt's necklace!

CHAPTER V

AN OLD GRUDGE

1.

Sanford Quest was smoking his after breakfast cigar with a relish somewhat
affected by the measure of his perplexities. Early though it was, Lenora
was already in her place, bending over her desk, and Laura, who had just
arrived, was busy divesting herself of her coat and hat. Quest watched the
latter impatiently.

"Well?" he asked.

Laura came forward, straightening her hair with her hands.

"No go," she answered. "I spent the evening in the club and I talked with
two men who knew Craig, but I couldn't get on to anything. From all I
could hear of the man, respectability is his middle name."

"That's the Professor's own idea," Quest remarked grimly. "I merely
ventured to drop a hint that Craig might not be quite so immaculate as he
seemed, and I never saw a man so horrified in my life. He assured me that
Craig was seldom out of his sight, that he hadn't a friend in the world
nor a single vicious taste."

"We're fairly up against it, boss," Laura sighed. "The best thing we can
do is to get on