xpecting a letter from his wife telling him where to meet her on the
following day on her return from a motor tour. Those who knew Lady
Wrayle understood the Chief Commissioner's anxiety.

All day long Scotland Yard worked in a conscientious endeavour to sift
the mass of evidence that streamed in upon it from all parts of the
kingdom. Some of the stories to which weary but patient officials
listened were grotesque in the extreme. As the chief expressed it,
"Half the idiots and all the damned fools in the country are descending
upon us."

The callers were interesting as studies in obtuseness and optimism; but
they were as nothing to the telegrams. One man wired from St. Andrews
that he was tracking a strange man round the golf course, would
Scotland Yard telegraph a warrant for his arrest? Another enquired if
the reward would be in cash or war bonds, and if the Government
guaranteed the money--this man telegraphed from Aberdeen. Several
asked for railway warrants to London that they might lay certain facts
before the authorities. Scores telegraphed for photographs, as the
pictures in the papers were indistinct. One lady telegraphed from
Suffolk that a man with a beard identical with that worn by John Dene
in the picture in _The Daily Photo_ had that day come to her door
begging.

The telegrams were, however, nothing to the letters that followed them.
The lady who had telegraphed about a bearded John Dene, wrote to
apologise for her mistake, explaining it by saying that the paper boy
must have accidentally rubbed the paper before delivering it. She was
not to be denied, however, and went on to say that she thought the
picture strangely like the man who had begged of her. Did Scotland
Yard think that John Dene had disguised himself with a false beard?

Some correspondents wrote bitterly censuring the Government for not
interning all aliens, for allowing John Dene out of its sight, for an
Imperialistic policy, for plunging the country into war, for offering
the reward, and for a thousand and one other irrelevant things. The
one thing that no one did was to supply any information that would be
remotely useful to the authorities in tracing the missing man.

People waited eagerly for the morrow's papers. They contained another
surprise, this time in the form of a two column advertisement, offering
L20,000 for information that would lead to the discovery of the
whereabouts of John Dene. Clearly somebody was de