to the police. This was three
years ago.

"The next occurrence of a like character did not take place till a year
after. This time it was a poor old man from Hartford, who vanished
almost as it were before the eyes of these astounded villagers. He had
come to town to get subscriptions for a valuable book issued by a
well-known publisher. He had been more or less successful, and was
looking very cheerful and contented, when one morning, after making a
sale at a certain farmhouse, he sat down to dine with the family, it
being close on to noon. He had eaten several mouthfuls and was chatting
quite freely, when suddenly they saw him pause, clap his hand to his
pocket, and rise up very much disturbed. 'I have left my pocket-book
behind me at Deacon Spear's,' he cried. 'I cannot eat with it out of my
possession. Excuse me if I go for it.' And without any further
apologies, he ran out of the house and down the road in the direction of
Deacon Spear's. He never reached Deacon Spear's, nor was he ever seen in
that village again or in his home in Hartford. This was the most
astonishing mystery of all. Within a half-mile's radius, in a populous
country town, this man disappeared as if the road had swallowed him and
closed again. It was marvellous, it was incredible, and remained so even
after the best efforts of the country police to solve the mystery had
exhausted themselves. After this, the town began to acquire a bad name,
and one or two families moved away. Yet no one was found who was willing
to admit that these various persons had been the victims of foul play
till a month later another case came to light of a young man who had
left the village for the hillside station, and had never arrived at that
or any other destination so far as could be learned. As he was a distant
relative of a wealthy cattle owner in Iowa, who came on post-haste to
inquire into his nephew's fate, the excitement ran high, and through his
efforts and that of one of the town's leading citizens, the services of
our office were called into play. But the result has been nil. We have
found neither the bodies of these men nor any clue to their fate."

"Yet _you_ have been there?" I suggested.

He nodded.

"Wonderful! And you came upon no suspicious house, no suspicious
person?"

The finger with which he was rubbing his eyeglasses went round and round
the rims with a slower and slower and still more thoughtful motion.

"Every town has its suspicious-lo