at Ashton-Kirk's elbow. "As you required instant action I
got Burgess on the Hume end of it before noon; after luncheon I took
up Morris myself."

"Thank you," said the other.

"Morris," with a nod toward the photograph, "is rather uneventful,
personally. And it was no very difficult matter to get the facts
concerning him. But Burgess had a much more interesting time. Hume
seems to have lots of color as a character. Not that there was a great
deal shown--the time was too short. But the indications are
promising."

When Fuller had gone, Ashton-Kirk took up the sheets and began to read
them carefully. They were brief, pointed and evidently the work of men
who were familiar enough with their business to eliminate all
non-essentials. The first one ran:

"Allan Barnett Morris, Consulting Engineer. Specialty, Marine
Construction. Lives at the Crompton Apartments. Born October 15, 1879.
Graduate of Cornell; class of 1900. Special honors. Brilliant student.
Was at once engaged by the New England Ship Building Company. Soon
became their right hand man. Resigned in 1905; took offices in the
Blake Building. Is much employed by the Government. Has the reputation
of a growing man in his line and is admitted by competent persons to
be an expert.

"He is unmarried and has no relatives. The last of these to die was
his father--a trifle more than three years ago. The father had a
reputation for great brilliancy and hard drinking. He was an inventor
of some note. See the Morris Smoke Consumer--the Morris Propeller--the
Morris Automatic Brake. But he never made much out of any of these.
The appetite for liquor forced him to surrender, for very little,
interests that made fortunes for other men.

"Young Morris is clear of the drink habit, and is a hard and
persistent worker. He is a member of the University and the Brookdale
Field Clubs; goes into society, and is reported to be the accepted
suitor of Miss Edyth Vale, daughter of the late James Vale,
manufacturer of structural steel."

"A clean bill of health, as far as it goes," commented Ashton-Kirk.
"However, surface inquiries tell very little, sometimes."

He turned to the remaining pages.

"David Purtell Hume, Numismatist, philatelist, dealer in objects of
art and curiosities. Resides at his place of business, second floor of
478 Christie Place.

"Hume located in this city in 1899. Where he came from is not
definitely known, but there is some slight cause for supposing th