impressed your uncle. He concealed the diamonds or sent them off
somewhere, instantly. He never had any further trouble about them, but
like many men who have a craze, fancied that he was being perpetually
watched and followed. The unfortunate result of all this is that these
jewels and the money that he accumulated during his service in India
seem to be lost. A more stupid affair I never heard of.

"Now, as to the clew, any reasonable man would have given full
instructions as to how the treasure was to be found; or if he did not
do that, would, at least, instead of carrying about an absurd coin and
a scrap of paper with a name upon it, have written his instructions and
put them in that ridiculous hiding place, or, more wisely still, would
have instructed his solicitor fully on the subject. The amount of
trouble given by men, otherwise perfectly sane, by cranks and fancies
is astonishing. Here is something like 100,000 pounds lost owing to a
superstitious whim. As to your chance of finding the treasure, I regard
it as small indeed. The things are hidden in India, in some old tomb, or
other rubbishing place. Your uncle may have committed them to the charge
of a native; he may have sent them to a banker at one of the great
towns; he may have shipped them to England. He may have sent them to
the North Pole for anything I know. How can one begin to search the
universe?"

"I thought, sir, that perhaps he might have sent them to some London
Bank or agent, with instructions to hold them until claimed by him, and
that perhaps an inquiry among such houses would lead to the discovery
that they hold certain property forwarded by him."

"Well; there is some sense in that suggestion," Prendergast grumbled,
"and I suppose the first thing to be done will be to carry that out. If
you wish, we will do it for you. They would be more likely to give the
information, if they possess it, to a well known firm of solicitors like
ourselves than to any private individual. Besides, if you were to go
yourself, they would in each case want you to be identified before they
would answer any question, whereas I should write a note to them in the
firm's name, with our compliments, saying that we should be glad to know
if the late Colonel Thorndyke, of whose will we are the executors, had
any account at their firm or has deposited any property in their hands.
There are not above five or six banks doing business with India, and
as many agents in a larg