d to start a little, and again he hesitated for an
instant and then replied with a grunt.

"Had she any news?" asked the other.

Simon grunted again and shook his head, and Carrington threw him a
friendly nod and went out.

He maintained the same air till he had turned down a bye street and was
alone, and only then he gave vent to his feelings.

"I'm dashed!" he muttered, "absolutely jiggered!"

All the while he shook his head and slashed with his walking stick
through the air. There was no doubt that Mr. Carrington was thoroughly
and genuinely puzzled.

XXXII

THE SYMPATHETIC STRANGER

Carrington's soliloquy was interrupted by the appearance of someone on
the pavement ahead of him. He pulled himself together, took out his
watch, and saw that it was still only twenty minutes past twelve. After
thinking for a moment, he murmured:

"I might as well try 'em!"

And thereupon he set out at a brisk walk, and a few minutes later was
closeted with Superintendent Sutherland in the Police Station. He began
by handing the Superintendent a card with the name of Mr. F. T.
Carrington on it, but with quite a different address from that on the
card he had sent up to Mr. Rattar. It was, in fact, his business card,
and the Superintendent regarded him with respectful interest.

After explaining his business and his preference for not disclosing it
to the public, he went briefly over the main facts of the case.

"I see you've got them all, sir," said the Superintendent, when he had
finished. "There really seems nothing to add and no new light to be seen
anywhere."

"I'm afraid so," agreed Carrington. "I'm afraid so."

In fact he seemed so entirely resigned to this conclusion that he
allowed, and even encouraged, the conversation to turn to other matters.
The activity and enterprise of the Procurator Fiscal seemed to have
particularly impressed him, and this led to a long talk on the subject
of Mr. Simon Rattar. The Superintendent was also a great admirer of the
Fiscal and assured Mr. Carrington that not only was Mr. Simon himself
the most capable and upright of men, but that the firm of Rattar had
always conducted its business in a manner that was above reproach. Mr.
Carrington had made one or two slightly cynical but perfectly
good-natured comments on lawyers in general, but he got no countenance
from the Superintendent so far as Mr. Rattar and his business were
concerned.

"But hadn't he some trouble at one ti