end at the window laughed joyously.

"No hurry," murmured Thorndyke, as I stooped to help him to gather up
the papers--which he did in the most surprisingly slow and clumsy
manner. "It is fortunate that the ground is dry." He stood up with the
rescued papers in his hand, and, having scribbled down a brief note,
slipped the book in his pocket.

"Now you'd better mizzle," observed the man at the window.

"Thank you," replied Thorndyke, "I think we had;" and, with a pleasant
nod at the custodian, he proceeded to adopt the hospitable suggestion.

* * * * *

"Mr. Marchmont has been here, sir, with Inspector Badger and another
gentleman," said Polton, as we entered our chambers. "They said they
would call again about five."

"Then," replied Thorndyke, "as it is now a quarter to five, there is
just time for us to have a wash while you get the tea ready. The
particles that float in the atmosphere of Limehouse are not all
mother-of-pearl."

Our visitors arrived punctually, the third gentleman being, as we had
supposed, Mr. Solomon Loewe. Inspector Badger I had not seen before, and
he now impressed me as showing a tendency to invert the significance of
his own name by endeavouring to "draw" Thorndyke; in which, however, he
was not brilliantly successful.

"I hope you are not going to disappoint Mr. Loewe, sir," he commenced
facetiously. "You have had a good look at that hat--we saw your marks on
it--and he expects that you will be able to point us out the man, name
and address all complete." He grinned patronizingly at our unfortunate
client, who was looking even more haggard and worn than he had been on
the previous morning.

"Have you--have you made any--discovery?" Mr Loewe asked with pathetic
eagerness.

"We examined the hat very carefully, and I think we have established a
few facts of some interest."

"Did your examination of the hat furnish any information as to the
nature of the stolen property, sir?" inquired the humorous inspector.

Thorndyke turned to the officer with a face as expressionless as a
wooden mask.

"We thought it possible," said he, "that it might consist of works of
Japanese art, such as netsukes, paintings, and such like."

Mr. Loewe uttered an exclamation of delighted astonishment, and the
facetiousness faded rather suddenly from the inspector's countenance.

"I don't know how you can have found out," said he. "We have only known
it half an hour ourselve