rke
glanced at his partner.

"Annoying!" he said. "A most unpleasant young woman! I should have
preferred not to tell the police until--well, at any rate, tomorrow. We
really do not know to what extent we are--but then, what's the use of
talking of that now? We can't prevent her going to the police-station."

"Why, really, Mr. Chestermarke," observed the Earl, "don't you think
it's the best thing to do? To tell you the truth, considering that I'm
concerned, I was going to do the very same thing myself."

Gabriel bowed stiffly.

"We could not have prevented your lordship either," he said, with
another wave of the white hands which seemed to go so well with the
habitual pallor of his face. "All that is within your lordship's
jurisdiction--not in ours. But--especially since this young lady seems
determined to do things in her way--I will tell your lordship why we are
allow to move. It is purely a business reason. It was, as I said, ten
o'clock when we heard that Horbury was missing. That in itself was such
a very strange and unusual thing that my partner and I at once began to
examine the contents of our strong room. We had been so occupied five
hours when your lordship called. Do you think we could examine
everything in five hours? No--nor in ten, nor in twenty! Our task is not
one quarter complete! And why we don't wish publicity at once in
here--we hold a vast number of securities and valuables belonging to
customers. Title-deeds, mortgages--all sorts of things. We have
valuables deposited with us. Up to now we don't know what is safe and
what isn't. We do know this--certain securities of our own, easily
convertible on the market, are gone! Now if we had allowed it to be
known before, say, noon today, that our manager had disappeared, and
these securities with him, what would have been the result? The bank
would have been besieged! Before we let the public know, we ourselves
want to know exactly where we are. We want to be in a position to say to
Smith, 'Your property is safe!'; to Jones, 'Your deeds are here!' Does
your lordship see that? But now, of course," concluded Gabriel, "as this
Miss Fosdyke can and will spread the news all over the town--why, we
must face things."

The Earl, who had listened to all this with an evident desire to
comprehend and to sympathize, nodded his head.

"I see--I see, Mr. Chestermarke," he said. "But I say!--I've got another
notion--I'm not a very quick thinker, and I daresay my i