great care they filled and lit their pipes. Bill's hand was a
little unsteady. Antony noticed it and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

They sat down, and taking the bag between his knees, Antony pressed the
catch and opened it.

"Clothes!" said Bill.

Antony pulled out the top garment and shook it out. It was a wet brown
flannel coat.

"Do you recognize it?" he asked.

"Mark's brown flannel suit."

"The one he is advertised as having run away in?"

"Yes. It looks like it. Of course he had a dashed lot of clothes."

Antony put his hand in the breast-pocket and took out some letters. He
considered them doubtfully for a moment.

"I suppose I'd better read them," he said. "I mean, just to see--" He
looked inquiringly at Bill, who nodded. Antony turned on his torch and
glanced at them. Bill waited anxiously.

"Yes. Mark.... Hallo!"

"What is it?"

"The letter that Cayley was telling the Inspector about. From Robert.
'Mark, your loving brother is coming to see you--' Yes, I suppose I had
better keep this. Well, that's his coat. Let's have out the rest of it."
He took the remaining clothes from the bag and spread them out.

"They're all here," said Bill. "Shirt, tie, socks, underclothes,
shoes--yes, all of them."

"All that he was wearing yesterday?"

"Yes."

"What do you make of it?"

Bill shook his head, and asked another question.

"Is it what you expected?"

Antony laughed suddenly.

"It's too absurd," he said. "I expected--well, you know what I expected.
A body. A body in a suit of clothes. Well, perhaps it would be safer
to hide them separately. The body here, and the clothes in the passage,
where they would never betray themselves. And now he takes a great deal
of trouble to hide the clothes here, and doesn't bother about the body
at all." He shook his head. "I'm a bit lost for the moment, Bill, and
that's the fact."

"Anything else there?"

Antony felt in the bag.

"Stones and--yes, there's something else." He took it out and held it
up. "There we are, Bill."

It was the office key.

"By Jove, you were right."

Antony felt in the bag again, and then turned it gently upside down on
the grass. A dozen large stones fell out--and something else. He flashed
down his torch.

"Another key," he said.

He put the two keys in his pocket, and sat there for a long time in
silence, thinking. Bill was silent, too, not liking to interrupt his
thoughts, but at last he said: