s feet.

"You sit right here," he declared. "I'll be back in less than five
minutes."

Mr. Coulson was as good as his word. In less than the time mentioned he
was seated again by his companion's side with a square sheet of foolscap
spread out upon the round table. The Inspector ran it through hurriedly.
The paper was stamped American Embassy,' and it was the digest of
several opinions as to the effect of the new patent law upon the import
of articles manufactured under processes controlled by the Coulson &
Bruce syndicate. At the end there were a few lines in the Ambassador's
own handwriting, summing up the situation. Mr. Coulson produced another
packet of letters and documents.

"If you've an hour or so to spare, Mr. Jacks," he said, "I'd like to go
right into this with you, if it would interest you any. It's my business
over here, so naturally I am glad enough of an opportunity to talk it
over."

Mr. Jacks passed back the paper promptly.

"I am extremely obliged to you," he said. "I am sure I should find it
most interesting. Another time I should be very glad indeed to look
through those specifications, but just now I have this affair of my
own rather on my mind. About this Mr. Richard Vanderpole, Mr. Coulson,
then," he added. "Do I understand that this young man came to you as a
complete stranger?"

"Absolutely," Mr. Coulson answered. "I never saw him before in my life.
As decent a young chap as ever I met with, all the same," he went on,
"and comes of a good American stock, too. They tell me there's going to
be an inquest and that I shall be summoned, but I know nothing more than
what I've told you. If I did, you'd be welcome to it."

Mr. Jacks leaned back in his chair. Certainly the situation increased in
perplexity! The man by his side was talking now of the adaptation of
one of his patents to some existing machinery, and Jacks watched him
covertly. He considered himself, to some extent, a physiognomist. He
told himself it was not possible that this man was playing a part. Mr.
James B. Coulson sat there, the absolute incarnation of the genial man
of affairs, interested in his business, interested in the great subject
of dollar-getting, content with himself and his position,--a person
apparently of little imagination, for the shock of this matter
concerning which they had been talking had already passed away. He was
doing his best to explain with a pencil on the back of an illustrated
paper some new system