and
strolled on to Polke's private house. The superintendent was taking his
ease after his day's labours and reading the Ecclesborough evening
newspapers: he tossed one of them over to his visitor.

"All there!" he said, pointing to some big headlines. "Got it all in,
just as you told it to Parkinson. Full justice to the descriptions of
both Horbury and the Station Hotel stranger. Smart work, eh?"

"Power of the Press--as Parkinson said," answered Starmidge, with a
laugh. "It's very useful, the Press: I don't know how they managed
without it in the old days of criminal catching, Mr. Polke. Press and
telegraph, eh?--they're valuable adjuncts."

"You think all that would be in the London papers this evening?" asked
Polke.

"Sure to be," replied Starmidge. "I'm hoping we'll hear something from
London tomorrow. I say--I've been taking a bit of a look round one or
two places tonight, quietly, you know. What's that curious building in
Joseph Chestermarke's garden?"

Polke put down his paper and looked unusually interested.

"I don't know!" he answered. "How did you see it? I've never seen inside
his garden."

"Climbed a tree on the river-bank and looked over the wall," replied
Starmidge.

"Well," said Polke, "I did hear, some few years ago, that he was
building something in that garden, but the work was done by
Ecclesborough contractors, and nobody ever knew much about it here. I
believe Joseph's a bit of an amateur experimenter--but I don't know what
he experiments in. Nobody ever goes inside his house--he's a hermit."

"He's got some sort of a forge there, anyhow," said Starmidge. "Or a
furnace, or something of that sort."

Then they talked of other things until half-past ten, when the detective
retired to his inn and went to bed. He was sleeping soundly when a
steady knocking at his door roused him, to hear the voice of his
landlady outside. And at the same time he heard the big clock of the
parish church striking midnight.

"Mr. Starmidge!" said the voice, "there's a policeman wanting you. Will
you go round at once to Mr. Polke's? There's a man come from London
about that piece in the newspapers."

CHAPTER XV

MR. FREDERICK HOLLIS

Starmidge hastily pulled some garments about him, and flinging a
travelling-coat over his shoulders, hurried downstairs, to find a
sleepy-looking policeman in the hall.

"How did this man get here--at this time of night?" he asked, as they
set off towards the police