ittle tug
came screaming around, and before any of the passengers on the deck
above had any idea of what was happening, Mr. Hamilton Fynes was on
board the Anna Maria, and on his way down the river, seated in a small,
uncomfortable cabin, lit by a single oil lamp.

No one spoke more than a casual word to him from the moment he stepped
to the deck until the short journey was at an end. He was shown at once
into the cabin, the door of which he closed without a moment's delay. A
very brief examination of the interior convinced him that he was indeed
alone. Thereupon he seated himself with his back to the wall and his
face to the door, and finding an English newspaper on the table, read
it until they reached the docks. Arrived there, he exchanged a civil
good-night with the captain, and handed a sovereign to the seaman who
held his bag while he disembarked.

For several minutes after he had stepped on to the wooden platform, Mr.
Hamilton Fynes showed no particular impatience to continue his journey.
He stood in the shadow of one of the sheds, looking about him with quick
furtive glances, as though anxious to assure himself that there was no
one around who was taking a noticeable interest in his movements. Having
satisfied himself at length upon this point, he made his way to the
London and North Western Railway Station, and knocked at the door of the
station-master's office. The station-master was busy, and although
Mr. Hamilton Fynes had the appearance of a perfectly respectable
transatlantic man of business, there was nothing about his personality
remarkably striking,--nothing, at any rate, to inspire an unusual amount
of respect.

"You wished to see me, sir?" the official asked, merely glancing up from
the desk at which he was sitting with a pile of papers before him.

Mr. Hamilton Fynes leaned over the wooden counter which separated him
from the interior of the office. Before he spoke, he glanced around as
though to make sure that he had not forgotten to close the door.

"I require a special train to London as quickly as possible," he
announced. "I should be glad if you could let me have one within half an
hour, at any rate."

The station-master rose to his feet.

"Quite impossible, sir," he declared a little brusquely. "Absolutely out
of the question!"

"May I ask why it is out of the question?" Mr. Hamilton Fynes inquired.

"In the first place," the station-master answered, "a special train to
London would