with picking up his scattered and
muddied papers.

"A jolly cheeky young beggar that, Mr. Narkom; I wonder you take his
impertinences so lightly," said young Clavering, who seemed, somehow, to
have lost a little of his self-possession now that it became evident the
matter of his presence must inevitably be the topic of conversation. "I
say, send him away, won't you? And if you would--er--send your friend
away, too, I'd be obliged. I'd like to have a little conversation with
you in private, if you don't mind."

"Certainly, Geoff. Dollops, take yourself off--hot shot!"

"Me, sir? My hat! Where'll I go? Wot'll I do, sir?"

"Go and continue what you were told to do in the first place. Gather up
your traps, and be off about it."

"Oh, yuss--of course--nuthink easier than _that_ after the way as the
gent 'ere has went gallopin' all over 'em with his muddy boots!" said
Dollops with apparent disgust. "Look at that for a sample of drorin',
will yer?"

He slyly twitched the corner of his eye round in Cleek's direction,
turned the mud-stained paper so that he should see the footprint, and
mumbling and muttering shambled away in the direction of the cottage and
disappeared in the mist and darkness.

"I'm afraid, Geoff," went on Narkom as soon as Dollops had gone, "that I
can't humour you to the extent of requesting this gentleman, too, to
leave us; but let me have the pleasure of introducing him--Monsieur
Georges de Lesparre, the famous French criminologist. We are engaged
together upon a very serious matter to-night. In short, an exceptionally
ghastly murder has been committed since I left Clavering Close, Geoff,
and you will be horrified to hear----"

"Gently, gently, monsieur," softly interposed Cleek, who, while
appearing to be absorbed in acknowledging the introduction, had been
quietly taking in every detail relative to the young man's appearance
and had decided offhand that he liked him; that he was simply a
handsome, straight-looking, frank-faced, clear-eyed young fellow who, in
the general order of things, ought not to have one evil impulse in him.
"Shall one go into details that may, possibly, be unnecessary?" he went
on. "Perhaps Mr. Clavering has already heard of the crime, and it is
that which is accountable for his presence in this neighbourhood."

In his heart he knew that there was no such possibility, that there was
not even the ghost of a chance that news of the murder could so soon
have gotten abroad