rt the locality of
this house into a definite address; which, I think, will now be
perfectly easy, unless we should have the bad luck to find more than one
covered way. Even then, the difficulty would be trifling."

"And when you have ascertained where Mr. Weiss lives? What then?"

"That will depend on circumstances. I think we shall probably call at
Scotland Yard and have a little talk with our friend Mr. Superintendent
Miller; unless, for any reason, it seems better to look into the case
ourselves."

"When is this voyage of exploration to take place?"

Thorndyke considered this question, and, taking out his pocket-book,
glanced through his engagements.

"It seems to me," he said, "that to-morrow is a fairly free day. We
could take the morning without neglecting other business. I suggest that
we start immediately after breakfast. How will that suit my learned
friend?"

"My time is yours," I replied; "and if you choose to waste it on matters
that don't concern you, that's your affair."

"Then we will consider the arrangement to stand for to-morrow morning,
or rather, for this morning, as I see that it is past twelve."

With this Thorndyke gathered up the chart and instruments and we
separated for the night.

Chapter IX

The House of Mystery

Half-past nine on the following morning found us spinning along the
Albert Embankment in a hansom to the pleasant tinkle of the horse's
bell. Thorndyke appeared to be in high spirits, though the full
enjoyment of the matutinal pipe precluded fluent conversation. As a
precaution, he had put my notebook in his pocket before starting, and
once or twice he took it out and looked over its pages; but he made no
reference to the object of our quest, and the few remarks that he
uttered would have indicated that his thoughts were occupied with other
matters.

Arrived at Vauxhall Station, we alighted and forthwith made our way to
the bridge that spans Upper Kennington Lane near its junction with
Harleyford Road.

"Here is our starting point," said Thorndyke. "From this place to the
house is about three hundred yards--say four hundred and twenty
paces--and at about two hundred paces we ought to reach our patch of new
road-metal. Now, are you ready? If we keep step we shall average our
stride."

We started together at a good pace, stepping out with military
regularity and counting aloud as we went. As we told out the hundred and
ninety-fourth pace I observed Thorndyk