s to see if he was joking, but, on the contrary, he was
leaning eagerly forward across his desk, and there was an expression of
something like anxiety in his eyes.

"I am afraid that you do not know about beetles," he cried.

"On the contrary, sir, it is the one scientific subject about which I
feel that I really do know something."

"I am overjoyed to hear it. Please talk to me about beetles."

I talked. I do not profess to have said anything original upon the
subject, but I gave a short sketch of the characteristics of the
beetle, and ran over the more common species, with some allusions to
the specimens in my own little collection and to the article upon
"Burying Beetles" which I had contributed to the Journal of
Entomological Science.

"What! not a collector?" cried Lord Linchmere. "You don't mean that
you are yourself a collector?" His eyes danced with pleasure at the
thought.

"You are certainly the very man in London for my purpose. I thought
that among five millions of people there must be such a man, but the
difficulty is to lay one's hands upon him. I have been extraordinarily
fortunate in finding you."

He rang a gong upon the table, and the footman entered.

"Ask Lady Rossiter to have the goodness to step this way," said his
lordship, and a few moments later the lady was ushered into the room.
She was a small, middle-aged woman, very like Lord Linchmere in
appearance, with the same quick, alert features and grey-black hair.
The expression of anxiety, however, which I had observed upon his face
was very much more marked upon hers. Some great grief seemed to have
cast its shadow over her features. As Lord Linchmere presented me she
turned her face full upon me, and I was shocked to observe a
half-healed scar extending for two inches over her right eyebrow. It
was partly concealed by plaster, but none the less I could see that it
had been a serious wound and not long inflicted.

"Dr. Hamilton is the very man for our purpose, Evelyn," said Lord
Linchmere. "He is actually a collector of beetles, and he has written
articles upon the subject."

"Really!" said Lady Rossiter. "Then you must have heard of my husband.
Everyone who knows anything about beetles must have heard of Sir Thomas
Rossiter."

For the first time a thin little ray of light began to break into the
obscure business. Here, at last, was a connection between these people
and beetles. Sir Thomas Rossiter--he was the greatest