ith a brief "Good morning," Malcolm Sage passed into his room, and
a minute later Gladys Norman was reading from her note-book the
message that had come over the telephone to the effect that early
that morning a burglar had entered Lady Glanedale's bedroom at the
Home Park, Hyston, the country house of Sir Roger Glanedale, and,
under threat from a pistol, had demanded her jewel-case, which she
had accordingly handed to him.

As the jewels were insured with the Twentieth Century Insurance
Corporation, Ltd., Malcolm Sage had been immediately communicated
with, that he might take up the enquiry with a view to tracing the
missing property.

One of Malcolm Sage's first cases had been undertaken for this
company in connection with a burglary. He had been successful in
restoring the whole of the missing property. . In consequence he
had been personally thanked by the Chairman at a fully attended
Board Meeting, and at the same time presented with a gold-mounted
walking-stick, which, as he remarked to Sir John Dene, no one but
a drum-major in full dress would dare to carry.

Having listened carefully as she read her notes, Malcolm Sage
dismissed Gladys Norman with a nod, and for some minutes sat at his
table drawing the inevitable diagrams upon his blotting pad.
Presently he rose, and walked over to a row of shelves filled with
red-backed volumes, lettered on the back "Records," with a number
and a date.

Every crime or curious occurrence that came under Malcolm Sage's
notice was duly chronicled in the pages of these volumes, which
contained miles of press-cuttings. They were rendered additionally
valuable by an elaborate system of cross-reference indexing.

After referring to an index-volume, Malcolm Sage selected one of the
folios, and returned with it to his table. Rapidly turning over the
pages he came to a newspaper-cutting, which was dated some five
weeks previously. This he read and pondered over for some time. It
ran:

DARING BURGLARY
Country Mansion Entered
Burglar's Sang-froid

In the early hours of yesterday morning a daring burglary was
committed at the Dower House, near Hyston, the residence of Mr.
Gerald Comminge, who was away from home at the time, by which the
burglar was able to make a rich haul of jewels.

In the early hours of the morning Mrs. Comminge was awakened by the
presence of a man in her room. As she sat up in bed, the man turned
an electric torch upon her and, pointing a revolver in her