nature, and finally held it up to the light. Having done this he
turned to me and said:

"Have you that envelope we found at the _Canary Bird_, Mr. Hatteras?"

I took it out of my pocket and handed it to him. He then placed it on
the table side by side with the letter, and through a magnifying-glass
scrutinized both carefully. Having done so, he asked for the envelope in
which it had arrived. Mr. Wetherell had thrown it into the waste-paper
basket, but a moment's search brought it to light. Again he scrutinized
both the first envelope and the letter, and then compared them with the
second cover. "Yes, I thought so," he said. "This letter was written
either by Nikola, or at his desire. The paper is the same as that he
purchased at the stationer's shop we visited."

"And what had we better do now?" queried Wetherell, who had been eagerly
waiting for his opinion.

"We must think," said the Inspector. "In the first place, I suppose you
don't feel inclined to pay the large sum mentioned here?"

"Not if I can help it, of course," answered Wetherell. "But if the worst
comes to the worst, and I cannot rescue my poor girl any other way, I
would sacrifice even more than that."

"Well, we'll see if we can find her without compelling you to pay
anything at all," the Inspector cried. "I've got an idea in my head."

"And what is that?" I cried; for I, too, had been thinking out a plan.

"Well, first and foremost," he answered, "I want you, Mr. Wetherell, to
tell me all you can about your servants. Let us begin with the butler.
How long has he been with you?"

"Nearly twenty years."

"A good and trustworthy servant, I presume?"

"To the last degree. I have implicit confidence in him."

"Then we may dismiss him from our minds. I think I saw a footman in the
hall. How long has he been with you?"

"Just about three months."

"And what sort of a fellow is he?"

"I really could not tell you very much. He seems intelligent, quick and
willing, and up to his work."

"Is your cook a man or a woman?"

"A woman. She has been with me since before my wife's death--that is to
say, nearly ten years. You need have no suspicion of her."

"Housemaids?"

"Two. Both have been with me some time, and seem steady, respectable
girls. There is also a kitchen maid; but she has been with me nearly as
long as my cook, and I would stake my reputation on her integrity."

"Well, in that case, the only person who seems at all suspicious is th