feeling the same, and it was not until they had eaten
their supper and considerably lowered the spirits in the two bottles
that they began to talk. The two detectives were the principal speakers,
and both of these were of opinion that the only shadow of hope remaining
rested upon Mark himself.

"Unless they finished him before he came round," Malcolm said, "they
would find him an awkward customer to deal with. Mr. Thorndyke has got
his head screwed on right, and if, as you say, they are Indians, Mr.
Chetwynd, I should think that if he once comes fairly round, unless he
is tied up, he will be a match for them, even with their knives. That is
the only chance I see. Even if the watch do find out that three or four
foreign sailors have been at one of the boarding houses and did not turn
up last night, I don't think we shall be much nearer. They will probably
only have carried him some distance along the wharf, got to some quiet
place where there is a big pile of wood, or something of that sort, then
put a knife into him, searched for the diamonds, which you may be sure
they would find easily enough wherever he had hidden them, and then make
off, most likely for Rotterdam or The Hague; they could be at either of
these places by this time, and will mostly likely divide the diamonds
and get on board different craft, bound for London or Hull, or indeed
any other port, and then ship for India. From what Mr. Thorndyke said
they did not want the diamonds to sell, but only to carry back to some
temple from which they were stolen twenty years ago."

Chester was of precisely the same opinion.

"I am afraid, Mr. Chetwynd," he added, as they rose to go to their rooms
for two or three hours' sleep, "the only news that we shall get in the
morning is that Mr. Thorndyke's body has been found."

CHAPTER XX.

At ten o'clock a constable came with a message from the Lieutenant to
Mr. Chetwynd that he would be glad if he would come down to the watch
house. Dick did not wake the others, but freshening himself up by
pouring a jug of water over his head, went at once with the constable.

"Have you news?" he asked eagerly as he entered.

"Yes, the men returned an hour ago. At four of the houses they went to
a foreign sailor had been lodging there for the last day or so, but
yesterday afternoon all had paid their reckoning and left. Then the idea
struck me that it would be as well to ask if they had been seen on the
quays, and I sent