ept in novels. Do you
believe it?"

"I didn't pay much attention at the time--I thought it was probably
all rot--but this business--" He stopped, and thrusting his hands into
his pockets, again paced slowly up and down the room.

I gave a thoughtful whistle. "By Jove, Tommy!" I said; "if that's a
fact and the gentleman with the scar is really one of our crowd, I
seem to have dropped in for a rather promising time--don't I! I knew
I was up against the police, but it's a sort of cheerful surprise to
find that I'm taking on the secret service as well."

Tommy pulled up short. "Look here, Neil!" he said. "I don't like it;
I'm hanged if I do. There's some rotten dirty work going on somewhere;
that's as plain as a pikestaff. I believe these people are simply
using you as a cats-paw. All they want is to get hold of the secret of
this new explosive of yours; then as likely as not they'll hand you
over to the police, or else...." he paused. "Well, you've seen the sort
of crowd they are. It may be all rot about Latimer being in the secret
service, but there's no doubt they tried to poison or drug him last
night. Men who will go as far as that wouldn't stick at getting rid of
you if it happened to suit their book."

I nodded. "That's all true enough, Tommy," I said; "but what am I to
do? I took the bargain on, and I've no choice now except to go through
with it. I can't walk up to a policeman and say I think Dr. McMurtrie
is a dangerous person engaged on some sort of illegal enterprise."

Tommy came up, and laid his hand on my shoulder. "Drop it, Neil; chuck
the whole thing and go to America. Joyce has got that eight hundred
pounds of yours; and I can easily let you have another two or three.
In six months' time you'll be able to make as much money as you
choose. You've had three years of hell; what's the good of running
any risks that you can avoid? If there's the least faintest chance
of getting at the truth, you can be certain I'll do it. Don't go and
smash up all the rest of your life over this cursed business. What
does it matter if all the fools in England think you killed Marks?
He deserved to be killed anyway--the swine! Leave them to think, and
clear off to some country where you can start fresh and fair again. It
doesn't matter the least where you go to, you're bound to come to the
top."

It was about the longest speech I had ever heard Tommy make, and
certainly the most eloquent. For a moment indeed I was almost