e.

He put up his fist and shook it in their direction.

"Pity it ain't your body, young upstart that you are!" he muttered
beneath his breath, and turned toward the morning room.

Meanwhile Merriton had reached the solemn little party and was walking
back beside Cleek, his face chalky, the pupils of his eyes a trifle
dilated with excitement.

"Found 'em? Found 'em _both_, you say, Mr. Headland?" he kept on
repeating over and over again, as they mounted the steps together. "Good
God! What a strange--what a peculiar thing! I'll swear there was no sight
nor sign of them when I've tramped over the Fens dozens of times. I don't
know what to make of it, I don't indeed!"

"Oh, we'll make something of it all right," returned Cleek, with a sharp
look at him, for there was one thing he wanted to find out, and he meant
to do that as soon as possible. "Two and two, you know, put together
properly, always make four. It's only the fools of the world that add
wrong. If you'd had as much practice as I've had in dealing with
humanity, you'd find it was an ever-increasing astonishment to see the
way things dovetail in.... Who's this, by the way?"

He jerked his head in the direction of the doctor, who had stopped at the
foot of the steps and waited for them to come up to him.

"Oh, a very old friend of mine, Mr. Headland. Doctor Bartholomew. Has a
very big practice in town, but a trifle eccentric, as you can see at
first glance."

Cleek sent his keen eyes over the odd-looking figure in the worn tweeds.

"I see. Then can you tell me how he finds time to run down here at
leisure and visit you? Seems to me a man with a big practice never has
enough time to work it in. At least, that has been my experience of
doctors."

Merriton flushed angrily at the tone. He whipped his head round and met
Cleek's cool gaze hotly.

"I know you're down here to investigate the case, but I don't think
there's any reason for you to start suspecting my friends," he retorted,
his eyes flashing. "Doctor Bartholomew has a partner, if you want to
know. And also he's supposed to be retired. But he carries on for the
love of the thing. Best man ever breathed--remember that!"

Cleek smiled to himself at the sudden onslaught. The young pepper-pot!
Yet he liked him for the loyal defence of his friend, nevertheless. There
were all too few creatures in the world who found it impossible to
suspect those whom they cared for, and who cared for them.

"Sorry t