had shared the hansom with
that statue!

His knees trembled as he stood behind his glass-topped counter. "Come to
make the search, sir?" he said, as cheerfully as he could. "You'll find
us ready for you."

"Well," said Inspector Bilbow, with a queer mixture of awkwardness and
complacency, "no, not exactly. Tweddle, my good fellow, circumstances
have recently assumed a shape that renders a search unnecessary, as
perhaps you are aware?"

He looked very hard at Tweddle as he spoke, and the hairdresser felt
that this was a crucial moment--the detective was still uncertain
whether he had been mixed up with the affair or not. Leander's faculty
of ready wit served him better here than on past occasions.

"Aware? No, sir!" he said, with admirable simplicity. "Then that's why
you didn't come the other evening! I sat up for you, sir; all night I
sat up."

"The fact of the matter is, Tweddle," said Bilbow, who had become
suddenly affable and condescending, "I found myself reduced, so to
speak, to make use of you as a false clue, if you catch my meaning?"

"I can't say I do quite understand, sir."

"I mean--of course, I saw with half an eye, bless your soul, that you'd
had nothing to do with it--it wasn't likely that a poor chap like you
had any knowledge of a big plant of that description. No, no; don't you
go away with that idea. I never associated you with it for a single
instant."

"I'm truly glad to hear it, Mr. Inspector," said Leander.

"It was owing to the line I took up. There were the real parties to put
off their guard, and to do that, Tweddle--to do that, it was necessary
to appear to suspect you. D'ye see?"

"I think it was a little hard on me, sir," he said; "for being suspected
like that hurts a man's feelings, sir. I did feel wounded to have that
cast up against me!"

"Well, well," said the Inspector, "we'll go into that later. But, to go
on with what I was saying. My tactics, Tweddle, have been crowned with
success--the famous Venus is now safe in my hands! What do you say to
that?"

"Say? Why, what clever gentlemen you detective officers are, to be
sure!" cried Leander.

"Well, to be candid, there's not many in the Department that would have
managed the job as neatly; but, then, it was a case I'd gone into, and
thoroughly got up."

"That I'm sure you must have done, sir," agreed Leander. "How ever did
you come on it?" He felt a kind of curiosity to hear the answer.

"Tweddle," was the solemn r