ad gone he said: "Did you come across any information about
that mysterious woman in the rest of the papers?"

"Not a word," said Mr. Carrington.

"I've been thinking that you might come across traces of her in his
pass-books--payments or an allowance."

"I thought of that. But there's only one passbook, the one in use. Lord
Loudwater doesn't seem to have kept them after they were filled. And
Manley knows all about this one; he wrote out every cheque in it for
Loudwater, and he is quite sure that there were no cheques of any size
for a woman among them."

"That's disappointing," said Mr. Flexen. "What about the cheques to
'Self'? Are there any large ones among them?"

"No. They're all on the small side--distinctly on the small
side--cheques for ten pounds--and very few of them."

"It is queer that it should be so difficult to find any information
about a woman who played such an important part in his life," said Mr.
Flexen gloomily.

"It's not so very uncommon," said the lawyer.

"Well, let's hope that the advertisement she'll get from my newspaper
friends will bring her to light," said Mr. Flexen.

"It would be a pleasant surprise to me to find them serving some useful
purpose," said Mr. Carrington grimly.

Mr. Flexen laughed and said: "You're prejudiced. It's about time to dress
for dinner."

Mr. Carrington rose with alacrity and said anxiously, "I hope to goodness
Loudwater didn't quarrel with his chef!"

"I've no reason to think so. The food's excellent," said Mr. Flexen.

Mr. Manley joined them at dinner, wearing his best air of a discreet and
indulgent man of the world, and confident of making himself valued. He
was in very good spirits, for he had persuaded Helena to marry him that
day month, and was rejoicing in his success. He did not tell Mr. Flexen,
or Mr. Carrington, of his good fortune. He felt that it would hardly
interest them, since neither of them knew Helena or was intimate with
himself. But, inspired by this success, he took the lead in the
conversation, and showed himself inclined to be somewhat patronizing to
two men outside the sphere of imaginative literature.

It was Mr. Flexen who broached the subject of the murder.

After they had talked of the usual topics for a while, he said: "By the
way, Manley, did you hear Lord Loudwater snore after Hutchings went into
the library, or before?"

"So you know that I saw Hutchings in the hall that night?" said Mr.
Manley. "It's wonderful