st of his ability.

Boundary descended the stairs and found the elderly man in his office,
leisurely and laboriously affixing stamps to a pile of letters. He
called him from his task.

"Judson," he said, "have you seen anybody go up to my rooms this
afternoon?"

The man thought.

"No, sir, I haven't," he replied.

"Have you been here all the time?"

"Yes, since one o'clock I have been in my office," said the
commissionaire. "None of our young gentlemen wanted anything."

"You didn't go out to go to the post?"

"No, sir," said the man. "I've not stirred from this office except for
one minute when I went into Mr. Lee's office to get these letters."

"And you've seen nobody go upstairs?"

"Not since Mr. Silva came down, sir. He came down after you, if you
remember."

"Nobody's been up?" insisted the other.

"Not a soul. Your servant came down before you, sir."

"That's true," said the colonel remembering that he had sent the man on
a special journey to Huddersfield with a letter to the bigamous Mr.
Crotin. "You haven't seen a lady go up at all?" he asked suddenly.

"Nobody has gone up them stairs," said the commissionaire emphatically.
"I hope you haven't lost anything, sir?"

The colonel shook his head.

"No, I haven't lost anything. Rather, I've found something," he said
grimly.

He slipped half-a crown into the man's hand.

"You needn't mention the fact that I've been making inquiries," he said
and went slowly up the stairs again.

The card had been put there that day. He would swear it. The ink on the
card had not had time to darken and when he made a further search of his
room, this view was confirmed by the appearance of his blotting-pad. The
card had been dried there, and the pen, which had been left on the
table, was still damp.

The colonel passed into his bedroom and took off his coat and vest. He
searched his drawer and found what looked to be like a pair of braces
made of light fabric. These he slipped over his shoulder, adjusting them
so that beneath his left arm hung a canvas holster. From another drawer
he took an automatic pistol, pulled the magazine from the butt and
examined it before he returned it, and forced a cartridge into the
breach by drawing back the cover. This he carefully oiled, and then,
pressing up the safety catch, he slipped the pistol into the holster and
resumed his coat and vest.

It was a long time since the colonel had carried a gun under his arm,
but his o