ing out of the ordinary.' They both stopped and looked
at me, so I asked some questions and then left the shop."

"You did excellently well. What happened next?"

"The woman came out, but I had hid myself in a doorway. Her suspicions
had been aroused, I think, for she looked round her. Then she called a
cab and got in. I was lucky enough to get another and so to follow
her. She got down at last at No. 36, Poultney Square, Brixton. I
drove past, left my cab at the corner of the square, and watched the
house."

"Did you see anyone?"

"The windows were all in darkness save one on the lower floor. The
blind was down, and I could not see in. I was standing there,
wondering what I should do next, when a covered van drove up with two
men in it. They descended, took something out of the van, and carried
it up the steps to the hall door. Mr. Holmes, it was a coffin."

"Ah!"

"For an instant I was on the point of rushing in. The door had been
opened to admit the men and their burden. It was the woman who had
opened it. But as I stood there she caught a glimpse of me, and I
think that she recognized me. I saw her start, and she hastily closed
the door. I remembered my promise to you, and here I am."

"You have done excellent work," said Holmes, scribbling a few words
upon a half-sheet of paper. "We can do nothing legal without a
warrant, and you can serve the cause best by taking this note down to
the authorities and getting one. There may be some difficulty, but I
should think that the sale of the jewellery should be sufficient.
Lestrade will see to all details."

"But they may murder her in the meanwhile. What could the coffin mean,
and for whom could it be but for her?"

"We will do all that can be done, Mr. Green. Not a moment will be
lost. Leave it in our hands. Now Watson," he added as our client
hurried away, "he will set the regular forces on the move. We are, as
usual, the irregulars, and we must take our own line of action. The
situation strikes me as so desperate that the most extreme measures are
justified. Not a moment is to be lost in getting to Poultney Square.

"Let us try to reconstruct the situation," said he as we drove swiftly
past the Houses of Parliament and over Westminster Bridge. "These
villains have coaxed this unhappy lady to London, after first
alienating her from her faithful maid. If she has written any letters
they have been intercepted. Through some confederate the