from her he obtained permission to call on her again. He met the aunt
for a few moments, and was somewhat comforted to find her a kind,
motherly woman, who was evidently sincerely attached to the now
fatherless girl. He had told Madeleine of his interview with her father,
and she had not blamed him for his part in the matter, saying that
she had believed for some time that a development of the kind was
inevitable.

So, for them, the days began to creep wearily past. Merriman paid as
frequent visits to Eastbourne as he dared, and little by little he began
to hope that he was making progress in his suit. But try as he would, he
could not bring the matter to a head. The girl had evidently had a more
severe shock than they had realized at first, and she became listless
and difficult to interest in passing events. He saw there was nothing
for it but to wait, and he set himself to bide his time with the best
patience he could muster.

CHAPTER 14. A MYSTIFYING DISCOVERY

Inspector Willis was more than interested in his new case. The more he
thought over it, the more he realized its dramatic possibilities and the
almost world-wide public interest it was likely to arouse, as well as
the importance which his superiors would certainly attach to it; in
other words, the influence a successful handling of it would have on his
career.

He had not been idle since the day of the inquest, now a week past. To
begin with he had seen Hilliard secretly, and learned at first hand
all that that young man could tell him. Next he had made sure that the
finger-prints found on the speaking tube were not those of Mr. Coburn,
and he remained keenly anxious to obtain impressions from Captain
Beamish's fingers to compare with the former. But inquiries from the
port officials at Hull, made by wire on the evening of the inquest,
showed that the Girondin would not be back at Ferriby for eight days.
There had been no object, therefore, in his leaving London immediately,
and instead he had busied himself by trying to follow up the deceased's
movements in the metropolis, and learn with whom he had associated
during his stay. In his search for clues he had even taken the hint from
Merriman's newspaper and bought a copy of The Mystery of a Hansom Cab,
but though he saw that this clever story might easily have inspired the
crime, he could find from it no help towards its solution.

He had also paid a flying visit to the manager of the Hopwood
Manu