, he told himself, he might as well spend the night in
Hertford as in Bond Street.

If he had any leanings towards staying at Hertford it was because he was
anxious to examine the contents of the wallet at his leisure. If he had
any call to town it might be discovered in his anxiety as to what had
happened to Odette Rider; whether she had returned to her hotel or was
still marked "missing" by the police. He could, at any rate, get into
communication with Scotland Yard and satisfy his mind on that point. He
turned back from the station in search of lodgings. He was to find that
it was not so easy to get rooms as he had imagined. The best hotel in the
place was crowded out as a result of an agricultural convention which was
being held in the town. He was sent on to another hotel, only to find
that the same state of congestion existed, and finally after half an
hour's search he found accommodation at a small commercial hotel which
was surprisingly empty.

His first step was to get into communication with London and this was
established without delay. Nothing had been heard of Odette Rider, and
the only news of importance was that the ex-convict, Sam Stay, had
escaped from the county lunatic asylum to which he had been removed.

Tarling went up to the commodious sitting-room. He was mildly interested
in the news about Stay, for the man had been a disappointment. This
criminal, whose love for Thornton Lyne had, as Tarling suspected rightly,
been responsible for his mental collapse, might have supplied a great
deal of information as to the events which led up to the day of the
murder, and his dramatic breakdown had removed a witness who might have
offered material assistance to the police.

Tarling closed the door of his sitting-room behind him, pulled the wallet
from his pocket and laid it on the table. He tried first with his own
keys to unfasten the flap but the locks defied him. The heaviness of the
wallet surprised and piqued him, but he was soon to find an explanation
for its extraordinary weight. He opened his pocket-knife and began to cut
away the leather about the locks, and uttered an exclamation.

So that was the reason for the heaviness of the pouch--it was only
leather-covered! Beneath this cover was a lining of fine steel mail. The
wallet was really a steel chain bag, the locks being welded to the chain
and absolutely immovable. He threw the wallet back on the table with a
laugh. He must restrain his curiosi