No, no," I interrupted, "they didn't go by train at all, they--" and
here I paused, for I suddenly reflected how exceedingly unlikely the
Inspector would be to believe me if I told him exactly _how_ they set
out for Wimbledon. "You see," I began by way of explanation, "I bought
a rug this morning that--"

"Excuse me, sir," said the Inspector somewhat impatiently, "would you
mind keeping to the subject. How did Mr. Shin--er--the foreigner I mean,
and your cousin go to Wimbledon? If they didn't go by train, did they
drive or go by motor, or what?"

"Well, I was trying to tell you. You see, I bought a rug this morning,
that--"

"I _don't_ want to hear about your rug, sir," said the Inspector quite
angrily. "If you wish us to try and find the young gentleman you must
answer my questions properly. How did he set out to go to Wimbledon?
Come, come! Let's begin at the beginning. Which way did they turn when
they left your door?"

"You see, they didn't exactly leave by the door," I began.

"How did they go then, out of the window?" asked the Inspector in a
somewhat sarcastic voice.

"Yes," I replied, "that's just how they did go."

The Inspector looked bewildered.

"Look here, sir," he said at last, "you told me when you gave me your
name and address that you lived in a flat at Kensington on the second
floor, and now you tell me that your cousin and a foreign gentleman
with an outlandish name and dressed like a Guy Fawkes, left your house
by the window. Really!"

"So they _did_," I explained; "you see, I bought a rug this morning
that--"

"_Bother_ the rug, sir!" shouted the Inspector, angrily throwing down
his pen.

"If you _won't_ listen to what I have to say," I said with some amount
of dignity, "how can I possibly tell you what I know? I am
_endeavouring_ to explain that my cousin and the gentleman left in a
very remarkable manner by means of a Magic Carpet, which--"

"Excuse me, sir," said the Inspector, getting up from his seat and
showing me the door, "it strikes me that it's a lunatic asylum you want
and not a Police Station. I haven't any time to waste with people who
come here with stories like that. Good-evening!" And he shut the door,
leaving me outside on the step.

I went to several other stations, and finally to Scotland Yard, but I
could get no one to believe my extraordinary story; and at last I went
to bed quite bewildered and in a terribly anxious frame of mind, leaving
the lights burning an