hey come from as long as they are
genuine? And a week or two later _M. le Changeur_ could not swear who
tendered him any one particular note.

"You see, young Robert Ireland went abroad, he will come back some day
having made a fortune. There's his photo. And this is his mother--a
clever woman, wasn't she?"

And before Polly had time to reply he was gone. She really had never
seen any one move across a room so quickly. But he always left an
interesting trail behind: a piece of string knotted from end to end and
a few photos.

CHAPTER XXI

THE DUBLIN MYSTERY

"I always thought that the history of that forged will was about as
interesting as any I had read," said the man in the corner that day. He
had been silent for some time, and was meditatively sorting and looking
through a packet of small photographs in his pocket-book. Polly guessed
that some of these would presently be placed before her for
inspection--and she had not long to wait.

"That is old Brooks," he said, pointing to one of the photographs,
"Millionaire Brooks, as he was called, and these are his two sons,
Percival and Murray. It was a curious case, wasn't it? Personally I
don't wonder that the police were completely at sea. If a member of that
highly estimable force happened to be as clever as the clever author of
that forged will, we should have very few undetected crimes in this
country."

"That is why I always try to persuade you to give our poor ignorant
police the benefit of your great insight and wisdom," said Polly, with
a smile.

"I know," he said blandly, "you have been most kind in that way, but I
am only an amateur. Crime interests me only when it resembles a clever
game of chess, with many intricate moves which all tend to one solution,
the checkmating of the antagonist--the detective force of the country.
Now, confess that, in the Dublin mystery, the clever police there were
absolutely checkmated."

"Absolutely."

"Just as the public was. There were actually two crimes committed in one
city which have completely baffled detection: the murder of Patrick
Wethered the lawyer, and the forged will of Millionaire Brooks. There
are not many millionaires in Ireland; no wonder old Brooks was a
notability in his way, since his business--bacon curing, I believe it
is--is said to be worth over L2,000,000 of solid money.

"His younger son Murray was a refined, highly educated man, and was,
moreover, the apple of his father's eye, as