him I was convinced from his behaviour that I had
made no mistake. So I took a chance. I charged him point-blank with
being the thief. Almost immediately he weakened. His denials turned to
admissions. As a conspirator Westerfeltner is a lame duck. I only wish I
had started after him three or four hours earlier than I did; if only I
had done so I'm satisfied the paper would be back where it belongs and
no damage done. Well, anyhow, if I am one to judge, he told me
everything frankly and held back nothing."

"Well, then, who is the woman in the case?"

"He didn't know. To his best knowledge he had never seen her before that
night. He is sure that he had never heard her voice before. Really, all
he does know about her is that she is a small, slender woman with rather
quick, decided movements and that her voice is that of a refined person.
He is sure she is a young woman, but he can furnish no better
description of her than this. He claims he was very nervous at the time
of their meeting. I figure he was downright excited, filled as he was
with guilty apprehensions, and no doubt because of his excitement he
took less notice of her than he otherwise might. Besides, you must
remember that the place of rendezvous was a fairly dark spot on rather a
dark night."

"He has absolutely no idea of his own, then, as to the identity of Mrs.
Williams?"

"He hasn't; but I have. The telephone number which figures in the case
is the number of a pay station in an all-night drug store in Washington.
Westerfeltner freely gave me the number. Both the proprietor of this
drug store and his clerk remember that night before last, shortly before
eight o'clock, a rather small, slight woman wearing a black street
costume with a dark veil over her face came into the place and said she
was expecting a telephone call for Mrs. Williams. Within two or three
minutes the bell rang and the clerk answered and somebody asked for Mrs.
Williams. The woman entered the booth, came out almost immediately, and
went away. All that the drugstore man and his clerk remember about her
is that she was a young woman, plainly dressed but well-groomed. The
druggist is positive she had dark hair; the clerk is inclined to think
her hair was a deep reddish-brown. Neither of them saw her face; neither
of them remarked anything unusual about her. To them she was merely a
woman who came in to keep a telephone engagement, and having kept it
went away again. So, having run into