passageway of the house, and by the light of a paraffin
lamp made her last entry in the little diary she carried.

"That makes eight we have seen, Thompson," she said to her escort. "Is
there anybody else on the list?"

"Nobody else to-night, miss," said the young man, concealing a yawn.

"I'm afraid it is not very interesting for you, Thompson," said the girl
sympathetically; "you haven't even the excitement of work. It must be
awfully dull standing outside waiting for me."

"Bless you, miss," said the man. "I don't mind at all. If it is good
enough for you to come into these streets, it is good enough for me to
go round with you."

They stood in a little courtyard, a cul-de-sac cut off at one end by a
sheer wall, and as the girl put back her diary into her little net bag a
man came swiftly down from the street entrance of the court and passed
her. As he did so the dim light of the lamp showed for a second his
face, and her mouth formed an "O" of astonishment. She watched him until
he disappeared into one of the dark doorways at the farther end of the
court, and stood staring at the door as though unable to believe her
eyes.

There was no mistaking the pale face and the straight figure of Jasper
Cole, John Minute's secretary.

CHAPTER IV

THE ACCOUNTANT AT THE BANK

May Nuttall expressed her perplexity in a letter:

DEAR FRANK: Such a remarkable thing happened last night. I was in
Silvers Rents about eleven o'clock, and had just finished seeing
the last of my patients, when a man passed me and entered one of
the houses--it was, I thought at the time, either the last or the
last but one on the left. I now know that it was the last but one.
There is no doubt at all in my mind that it was Mr. Cole, for not
only did I see his face, but he carried the snakewood cane which he
always affects.

I must confess I was curious enough to make inquiries, and I found
that he is a frequent visitor here, but nobody quite knows why he
comes. The last house is occupied by two families, very
uninteresting people, and the last house but one is empty save for
a room which is apparently the one Mr. Cole uses. None of the
people in the Rents know Mr. Cole or have ever seen him. Apparently
the downstairs room in the empty house is kept locked, and a woman
who lives opposite told my informant, Thompson, whom you will
remember as the man