ounter towards Laverick. One of the men who appeared to form part
of the escort detached himself from them and approached a few
steps nearer.

"This gentleman is your friend, sir?" the cashier asked, glancing
towards him.

"He is my solicitor," Laverick answered, "and is entirely in my
confidence. If you have anything to tell me, I should like Mr.
Bellamy also to hear."

Bellamy, who was standing a little in the background, took his place
by Laverick's side. The cashier, who knew him by sight, bowed.

"Beside these two forged orders, sir," he said, turning again to
Laverick, "we have had a man who took a room in the hotel leave a
small black bag here, which he insisted upon having deposited in
our document safe. My assistant had accepted it and was actually
locking it up when he noticed a faint sound inside which he could
not understand. The bag was opened and found to contain an
infernal machine which would have exploded in a quarter of an hour."

Bellamy drew his breath sharply between his teeth.

"We should have thought of that!" he exclaimed softly. "That's
Kahn's work!"

"I seem to have given you a great deal of trouble," Laverick
remarked quietly. "I gather, however, from what you say, that my
packet is still in your possession?"

"It is, sir," the man assented. "We have two detectives from
Scotland Yard here at the present moment, though, and we had
almost decided to place it in their charge for greater security."

"It will be well taken care of from now, I promise you," Laverick
declared.

The cashier and his clerk led the way into the inner office. At
their invitation Laverick and his solicitor followed, and a few
yards behind came the two plain-clothes policemen, Bellamy, and
the superintendent. The safe was opened and the packet placed in
Laverick's hands. He passed it on at once to Bellamy, and
immediately afterwards the doorway behind was thronged with men,
apparently ordinary loiterers around the hotel. They made a slow
and exceedingly cautious exit. Once outside, Bellamy turned to
Laverick with outstretched hand.

"Au revoir and good luck, old chap!" he said heartily. "I think
you'll find things go your way all right to-morrow morning."

He departed, forming one of a somewhat singular cavalcade--two
of his friends on either side, two in front, and two behind. It
had almost the appearance of a procession. The whole party stepped
into a closed motor-car. Three or four men w