r down in the world, and does a bit of
dressmaking for a living. The other is her daughter. They are two
of the straightest-living, most upright, and truly religious women
that ever drew the breath of life, and they wouldn't, either of
'em, tell a lie for all the money in England. There's where the
puzzle of the thing comes in. You simply have _got_ to believe
that that porter showed the boy into that room, for there are
reliable witnesses to prove it, and he has no living reason to lie
about it; and you have _got_ to believe that those two women are
speaking the truth when they say that it was empty at that period
and remained empty for an hour afterward. Also--if you will take on
the case and solve at the same time the mystery attending the
disappearance of both father and son--you will have to find out
where that boy went to, through whose agency he vanished, and for
what cause."

"A tall order that," said Cleek with one of his curious, one-sided
smiles. "Still, of course, mysteries which are humanly possible of
creation are humanly possible of solution, and--there you are. Who
is the client? Miss Larue? If so, how is one to be sure that she will
not again call a halt, and spoil a good 'case' before it is halfway
to completion?"

"For the best of reasons," replied Narkom earnestly. "Hers is
not the sole 'say' in the present case. Added to which, she is now
convinced that her suspicions in the former one were not well
grounded. The truth has come out at last, Cleek. She stopped all
further inquiry into the mysterious disappearance of her brother
because she had reason to believe that the elder Mr. Trent had
killed him for the purpose of getting possession of those jewels
to tide over a financial crisis consequent upon the failure of some
heavy speculations upon the stock market. She held her peace and
closed up the case because she loves and is engaged to be married to
his son, and she would have lost everything in the world sooner
than hurt his belief in the honour and integrity of his father."

"What a ripping girl! Gad, but there _are_ some splendid women in the
world, are there not, Mr. Narkom? What has happened, dear friend,
to change her opinion regarding the elder Mr. Trent's guilt?"

"The disappearance of the son under similar circumstances to that of
the father, and from the same locality. She knows now that the
elder Mr. Trent can have no part in the matter, since he is at
present in America, the finan