is kind enough, seeing we're in a bad pinch, and pushed for time, to
come in and give us all the help he can. Both he and his friend, Mr.
Brett, know a good deal of the doings of the person we're after, and
their assistance is likely to be of the very greatest value. Do you mind
giving Mr. Hewitt any information he may ask? I must rush over to the
Yard to put some other inquiries on foot, and to set an observation or
two, but I'll be back presently."

"Certainly," Mr. Telfer answered, "I'm only too anxious to give any
information whatever--so long as it is nothing departmentally
forbidden--which will help to put this horrible matter right. Please ask
me anything, and be patient if my answers are not very clear. I have
been much overworked lately, as you may imagine, and have had very
little sleep; and now this terrible misfortune has upset me completely;
for, of course, I am held responsible for that copy of the code, and if
it isn't recovered, and quickly, I am ruined--to say nothing, of
course, of the far more serious consequences in other directions."

"That is the safe in which it was kept, I presume?" Hewitt said,
indicating a small one let into the wall. "May I examine it?"

"Certainly." Mr. Telfer turned and produced the keys from his pocket.
"The code was here, lying on this shelf when I needed it this morning at
ten. I took it out, used it, returned it to the same place exactly, and
locked the safe door. Then I took the draft of the telegram, together
with the copy in cypher, into the Controller's room, gave it into safe
hands, and returned here."

Hewitt narrowly examined the lock of the safe with his pocket lens.
"There are no signs of the lock having been picked," he said, "even if
that were possible. As a matter of fact, this is a lock that would take
half a day to pick, even with a heavy bag of tools. No, I don't think
that was the way of it. You have no doubt about locking the safe door at
10.20, I suppose, before you went to the Controller's room?"

"No possible doubt whatever. You see, I left the whole bunch of keys
hanging in the lock while I coded the telegram. It was a short one, and
was soon done. Then I returned the code to its place, locked the safe,
and then used another key on the bunch to lock a drawer in this desk. I
had no occasion to go to the safe again till about 12.20, when the
Controller's secretary came here with a telegram to be de-coded. The
safe was still locked then, but when i