l but serviceable jemmy. All that
burglarious outfit belonged to my friend!

At this moment the pretty fair girl to whom he was engaged, Vera
Vallance, arrived, but returned to London by the next train.

At ten o'clock we proceeded cautiously to the house of Macdonald the
hairdresser, whom Ray had discovered to be a German spy!

"Have you your electric torch with you?" inquired my dear old college
friend.

"I have," I answered grimly.

"Good! Then let us enter!"

"You mean to break in?" I cried, amazed at the audacity of my friend.

"Bah!" he said. "Spies are always cowards!"

Therefore we knocked at the door. It was opened by two men, the elder of
whom gave vent to a quick German imprecation. The younger had a short
beard.

"You are a German spy?" enquired Ray Raymond.

"No," replied the bearded German in very good English, adding with
marvellous coolness: "To what, pray, do we owe this unwarrantable
intrusion?"

"To the fact that you are a spy who has been taking secret tracings of
our Army aeroplane!" retorted my friend.

But the spy only laughed in open defiance.

"Well, there's no law against it," he replied.

"No," retorted Ray grimly, "thanks to the stupidity of a crass
Government, there _is_ no law against it."

"My God!" I said hoarsely, and my face went the colour of ashes.

"But my old friend Jacass--I mean Jacox--and I," continued Ray Raymond,
fixing the miserable spy with his eye, "have decided to take the law
into our own hands. I have my revolver and my friend has his electric
torch. Give me the tracings."

"Gott--no!" cried the German spies in German. "Never, you English cur!"

But Ray had already extracted a letter from the elder man's pocket, and
was making for the door! I followed him. When we got back to our hotel
he drew the letter from his pocket and eagerly examined it. I give here
an exact copy of it, and I may state that when we sent it to His
Majesty's Minister for War he returned it without a word!

"BERKELEY CHAMBERS,
CANNON STREET, E.C.
DEAR SIR,--In reply to yours of the 29th ult. we beg to say that we
can do you a good line in shaving brushes at the following wholesale
prices:
Badger 70s. a gross.
Pure Badger 75s. a gross.
Real Badger 80s. a gross.
Awaiting your esteem