chemical experiments, and is, I believe, as
an amateur, a very distinguished toxicologist.'"

CHAPTER XI

MR. ERRINGTON

"Did you ever see Mr. Errington, the gentleman so closely connected with
the mysterious death on the Underground Railway?" asked the man in the
corner as he placed one or two of his little snap-shot photos before
Miss Polly Burton.

"There he is, to the very life. Fairly good-looking, a pleasant face
enough, but ordinary, absolutely ordinary.

"It was this absence of any peculiarity which very nearly, but not
quite, placed the halter round Mr. Errington's neck.

"But I am going too fast, and you will lose the thread.

"The public, of course, never heard how it actually came about that Mr.
Errington, the wealthy bachelor of Albert Mansions, of the Grosvenor,
and other young dandies' clubs, one fine day found himself before the
magistrates at Bow Street, charged with being concerned in the death of
Mary Beatrice Hazeldene, late of No. 19, Addison Row.

"I can assure you both press and public were literally flabbergasted.
You see, Mr. Errington was a well-known and very popular member of a
certain smart section of London society. He was a constant visitor at
the opera, the racecourse, the Park, and the Carlton, he had a great
many friends, and there was consequently quite a large attendance at the
police court that morning.

"What had transpired was this:

"After the very scrappy bits of evidence which came to light at the
inquest, two gentlemen bethought themselves that perhaps they had some
duty to perform towards the State and the public generally. Accordingly
they had come forward, offering to throw what light they could upon the
mysterious affair on the Underground Railway.

"The police naturally felt that their information, such as it was, came
rather late in the day, but as it proved of paramount importance, and
the two gentlemen, moreover, were of undoubtedly good position in the
world, they were thankful for what they could get, and acted
accordingly; they accordingly brought Mr. Errington up before the
magistrate on a charge of murder.

"The accused looked pale and worried when I first caught sight of him in
the court that day, which was not to be wondered at, considering the
terrible position in which he found himself.

"He had been arrested at Marseilles, where he was preparing to start for
Colombo.

"I don't think he realized how terrible his position really was unt