ethod would be to send her
home again, until she brought you the poison bottle or the cork of it,
or the bread-and-milk into which the stuff had been poured--eh, old
chap?... And mine--what?" He spread out his hands, and shrugged his
shoulders, and swung upon his heel with a laugh for the rueful
expression upon Mr. Narkom's face.

"Oh, I say, old fellow----" began the Superintendent excitedly; but
Cleek's uplifted hand silenced him.

"Familiarity breeds--the best of comradeship!--my friend. And a little
dig in the ribs now and then should never be read amiss. I owe all I
have to you, Mr. Narkom. You know the deeps of my gratitude. And if I
am not permitted sometimes to tease.... Oh, you silly old booby! You'll
never be a policeman to the end of your days. There are too many
sensitive nerves running round underneath that plump and portly exterior
of yours. And your heart's too soft! But don't let us stray from our
business in this ridiculous fashion, for time slips by and the hour
isn't half long enough for what must be done in it. Tell me briefly what
she told _you_, and in as near her own words as you can remember, and
then I'll be off and away to make arrangements for to-night's journey.
If there's nothing in this thing, I'll send you a wire: 'Empty.'

"You'll understand. If there _is_, then the word 'Full' will answer
quite satisfactorily, without giving away our plans to any interested
persons. As for the whisky-still business, what more perfect harbour for
it than those craggy, heather-covered hills of Scotland? I'll have news
for you, my friend, never fear; and immediately I hit upon anything,
Dollops shall send it travelling over the wire in our own special code
to you."

"What a man you are, Cleek! What a fund of restlessness, untiring
interest and intelligence!" said Mr. Narkom, as he laid a fond hand upon
Cleek's sleeve and looked up into his smiling face. "Gad! The Yard would
go to pieces without you nowadays. You saved us from collapse in the old
days of that Maurevanian business, when the whole country seemed to
have run amuck--and blamed the police for it! And you're saving us every
time now. What we'd do without your brains and your pluck and your
wonderful birthright, which disguises you so successfully that even I,
your best friend, don't know you, when you choose--well, I can't say.
But my blessing with you, Cleek, and the best of luck! You'll find what
you're looking for, I haven't a doubt."

"Y