to mourn alone.

Cleek, who was sitting by a carefully shaded lamp jotting something
down in his diary, closed the book and rose as the two men entered. Late
as the hour was he had not yet changed the garments he had worn at Lady
Chepstow's wedding in the afternoon.

"You are promptness itself, Mr. Narkom," he said gaily, as he glanced at
his watch. "I am afraid that I myself overlooked the passage of time in
attending to--well, other things. You will, perhaps, be interested to
learn, Mr. Narkom, that Miss Lorne has decided to remain in England."

"Indeed, my dear fellow, I never heard that she contemplated going out
of it again. Did she?"

"Oh, yes; I thought you knew. Captain Hawksley has been ordered to India
with his regiment. Of course, that means that, after their honeymoon,
his wife and little Lord Chepstow will accompany him. They wished Miss
Lorne to continue as the boy's governess and to go with them. At the
last moment, however, she decided to remain in England and to seek a new
post here. But, pardon me, we are neglecting your companion, Mr. Narkom.
The aftermath of previous cases cannot, I fear, be of interest to him."

"Yes, my dear chap," agreed Narkom. "Let me introduce Major
Burnham-Seaforth, my dear Cleek. Major, you are at last in the presence
of the one man you desire to put upon the case; if there is anything in
it, be sure that he will get it out."

For just half a moment after he spoke the major's name, Narkom fancied
that it seemed to have a disturbing influence upon Cleek; that there was
a shadow, just a shadow of agitation suggested. But before he could put
his finger upon the particular point which made this suspicion
colourable, it was gone and had left no trace behind.

The major--who, by the way, was a decidedly military-looking man long
past middle life--had been studying Cleek's face with a curious sort of
intentness ever since he entered the room. Now he put forth his hand in
acknowledgment of the introduction.

"I am delighted to have the opportunity of meeting you, Mr. Cleek," he
said. "At first I thought Mr. Narkom's insistence upon my making the
journey here blindfolded singularly melodramatic and absurd. I can now
realize, since you are so little similar to one's preconceived idea of a
police detective, that you may well wish to keep everything connected
with your residence and your official capacity an inviolable secret. One
does not have to be told that you are a man of bi