ll telephone to the Superintendent of Police,
and get him to send the officers here at once."

Within ten minutes the officers were ushered into the
Commander-in-Chief's presence. Ross and Vernon looked at them with
considerable curiosity. It had not before fallen to their lot to come
into contact with two real representatives of the famous Scotland Yard.
Yet there was little about the appearance to occasion comment. They
were not in any way disguised. The taller of the two, who was
introduced as Detective-Inspector Ferret, was about forty years of age.
His closely cut hair was dark-brown, with a plentiful sprinkling of
grey hairs. He wore a beard trimmed naval or "torpedo" fashion, with a
moustache. He was dressed in a grey lounge suit, with dark-brown boots
and a golfing cap. There was nothing of a piercing nature about his
eyes, which were of a deep-grey tint. He seemed to be perpetually
beaming; the lines on his face gave one that impression.

His companion, Detective Hawke, was a short, thick-set man of about
thirty-five. He was clean-shaven. His features were ruddy and heavy.
There was a bulldog look about his jaw that proclaimed him to be a
tough customer. His rough, brown, Harris-tweed suit and bowler hat
gave him the appearance of a prosperous yeoman rather than a successful
tracker of criminals.

"Now, young gentlemen," began Mr. Hawke briskly, after the
introductions had been made, "we'll get to business. With your
permission, sir" (addressing the Admiral), "I will ask Mr. Trefusis to
give me his version of the affair. To save time, I feel certain that
Mr. Haye will have no objection to going with my colleague and telling
him his story. That, I must explain, is the best way to eliminate any
discrepancies. We prefer to make a fair start, and then all ought to
go well."

During the next hour Detective-inspector Hawke was very busy. He made
no written notes. He relied solely upon his marvellous retentive
memory, and it was not long before he was in full possession of the
facts of the case.

His next step was to telephone to St. Bedal. From the police there, he
learnt that Dr. Ramblethorne was medical officer to the 4th battalion
of a west-country regiment, but that he was temporarily detailed to act
on the recruiting staff at Wellington.

Hawke thereupon telegraphed to Harwich. The Customs officers there
informed him that the Harwich-Flushing boat service had been suspended
for nearly