him, without some good grounds for the faith in his
qualities exhibited by his superiors. Brett thought he could understand
the brother's character and attributes from his favourable analysis of
the sister, and it was quite reasonable, therefore, to believe that
Talbot was a man not likely to be easily duped. The principals in this
crime were evidently well aware of the trust reposed in the Assistant
Under-Secretary, and they, again, would not underrate his intelligence.
Hence there was a good cause for Talbot to accept the explanations,
whatever they were, given him during the conclave in the dining-room;
the effect of which, in Inspector Sharpe's words, had been to "puzzle"
the young Englishman. Further, there must have been a very potent
inducement held out before Talbot would consent to drive off with a
stranger at such a late hour, and when the cab was dismissed at the
Carlton, the excuse given would certainly be quite feasible.

"It must surely be this," communed Brett. "The man explained that he was
a stranger in London, that he lived quite close to the Carlton Hotel,
and that he found it convenient not only for the purpose of giving
directions that would be understood, but also for paying fares, to
direct the drivers of hired vehicles to go there and not to his own
exact address, which he had found by experience many of them did not
recognize, whilst his knowledge of the language was not ample enough to
enable him to describe the locality more precisely. It follows, then, in
unerring sequence that Talbot was conveyed to some place within a very
short distance of the spot where I now stand."

He looked along Pall Mall, up the Haymarket, and through Cockspur
Street, and he noted with some degree of curiosity that there were very
few residential buildings in the neighbourhood. Clubs, theatres, big
commercial establishments and insurance offices occupied the bulk of the
available space. It was a part of his theory that none of the other
great hotels in this district could harbour the criminals, otherwise
there would have been no excuse to stop the hansom outside the Carlton.

Brett did not take long to make up his mind once he had decided upon a
definite course. He stood at the corner barely three minutes, and then
walked off through Pall Mall and down the steps near the Duke of York's
Column into the Horse Guards' Parade, intending to walk quietly to his
Victoria Street flat. A call at the Foreign Office procured