t been much in London. I was in New York and
Chicago for a time last year; then in Paris; then in Milan and Turin;
lately in Moscow and St. Petersburg. When we were at home, here in
London, she certainly had time of her own--her evenings out, you
know--but of course I don't know with whom she spent them. No--I don't
know any man answering that description."

The chief folded up his papers and restored them to his desk.

"Now that you are here," he said, "you may as well give me a few
particulars about your doings on the _Perisco_, especially as they relate
to Mr. James Allerdyke. When and where did you make his acquaintance?"

"On the steamer--a few hours after we left Christiania," replied Celia.

"Just as fellow-passengers, I suppose?"

"Quite so--just that. We sat next to each other at meals."

"Do you know where his cabin was on the steamer?"

"Yes, exactly opposite my own. He and I, I believe, were the only
passengers who had cabins all to ourselves."

"Did he ever mention to you these valuables which Mr. Fullaway tells us
he was carrying to England!"

"No--never at any time."

"Did you see him leave the _Perisco_ for the shore?"

"Why, yes, certainly! As a matter of fact, he and I came ashore at Hull
together, ahead of any other passengers. After Lisette had left the
steamer with her brother, I happened to come across Mr. James Allerdyke.
I told him what had just occurred, and asked him if he would help me
about my things, as my maid had gone. He immediately suggested that we
shouldn't wait for the tender, but should get a boat of our own--there
were several lying around. He said he was in a great hurry to get ashore,
because he'd a friend awaiting him at the Station Hotel. So he got a
boat, and his things and mine were put into it, and we left the steamer,
and were rowed to the landing-stage, just opposite."

"And you, of course, carried your jewel-case--or what you believed to be
your jewel-case--the duplicate chest which you subsequently carried to
Edinburgh?"

"Yes, of course--I had it in my hand when Lisette left, and, I never left
hold of it until I got into the hotel."

"Do you remember if Mr. James Allerdyke carried anything in his hand?"

"Yes, he carried a hand-bag. He had that bag in his hand when I met him
on deck; he kept it on his knee in the boat, and in the cab in which we
drove to the hotel from the landing-stage; I saw him carrying it upstairs
after we got to the hotel. What is m