-they are not so bad, I think. I will ask your man for a
light."

Sir James felt for his own match-box, but Hewitt had gone, and was
lighting his cigar with a match from a box handed him by the groom. A
smart little terrier was trotting about by the coach-house, and Hewitt
stooped to rub its head. Then he made some observation about the dog,
which enlisted the groom's interest, and was soon absorbed in a chat with
the man. Sir James, waiting a little way off, tapped the stones rather
impatiently with his foot, and presently moved away.

For full a quarter of an hour Hewitt chatted with the groom, and, when at
last he came away and overtook Sir James, that gentleman was about
re-entering the house.

"I beg your pardon, Sir James," Hewitt said, "for leaving you in that
unceremonious fashion to talk to your groom, but a dog, Sir James--a good
dog--will draw me anywhere."

"Oh!" replied Sir James, shortly.

"There is one other thing," Hewitt went on, disregarding the other's
curtness, "that I should like to know: There are two windows directly
below that of the room occupied yesterday by Mrs. Cazenove--one on each
floor. What rooms do they light?"

"That on the ground floor is the morning-room; the other is Mr.
Lloyd's--my secretary. A sort of study or sitting-room."

"Now you will see at once, Sir James," Hewitt pursued, with an affable
determination to win the baronet back to good-humor--"you will see at once
that, if a ladder had been used in Mrs. Heath's case, anybody looking from
either of these rooms would have seen it."

"Of course! The Scotland Yard man questioned everybody as to that, but
nobody seemed to have been in either of the rooms when the thing occurred;
at any rate, nobody saw anything."

"Still, I think I should like to look out of those windows myself; it
will, at least, give me an idea of what _was_ in view and what was not, if
anybody had been there."

Sir James Norris led the way to the morning-room. As they reached the door
a young lady, carrying a book and walking very languidly, came out. Hewitt
stepped aside to let her pass, and afterward said interrogatively: "Miss
Norris, your daughter, Sir James?"

"No, my niece. Do you want to ask her anything? Dora, my dear," Sir James
added, following her in the corridor, "this is Mr. Hewitt, who is
investigating these wretched robberies for me. I think he would like to
hear if you remember anything happening at any of the three times."

The l