the, a strange,
indefinable change to come over them as he put into operation his
peculiar birth gift; and an instant later, but that he had not stirred
one step and his clothing was still the same, one might have thought
that a totally different man was in the room.

"Will it matter _who_ watches?" he said, with just a suspicion of vanity
over the achievement. "It will be--let us see--yes, a French gentleman
whom we shall call 'Monsieur Georges de Lesparre' to-night, Mr. Narkom.
A French gentleman with a penchant for investigating criminal affairs,
and who comes to you with the strong recommendation of the Parisian
police department. Now cut down to the limousine and wait for me, I'll
join you presently. And, Mr. Narkom?"

"Yes, old chap?"

"As you go out, give Dollops directions where and how to get to the
scene of the tragedy, and tell him to follow us in a taxi as
expeditiously as possible."

"Oh, Molly 'Awkins! There ain't no rest for the wicked and no feedin'
for the 'ungry this side of Kensal Green--and precious little on the
other!" sighed Dollops when he received this message. "Not four weeks it
ain't since I was drug off in the middle of my lunch to go Cingalee
huntin' in Soho for them bounders wot was after Lady Chepstow's 'Sacred
Son,' and now here I am pulled out of my blessed pajamas in the middle
of the night to go 'Tickle Tootsying' in the bally fog at Wimbledon!
Well, all right, sir. Where the gov'ner goes, I goes, bless his 'eart;
so you can look for me as soon as I can get out of these Eytalian
pants."

Narkom made no comment; merely went down and out to the waiting
limousine and took his seat in it, full of a racking, nervous impatience
that was like a consuming fire; and there Cleek found him, ten minutes
later, when he jumped in with his kit bag and gave the signal which set
Lennard to speeding the car back on its way to the scene of the
mysterious tragedy.

"Pull down the blinds and turn up the light, Mr. Narkom, so I can make a
few necessary changes on the way," he said, opening the locker and
groping round in the depths of it as the limousine scudded around the
corner and tore off up Picadilly. "You can give me the particulars of
the case while I'm making up. Come on--let's have them. How did the
affair begin, and where?"

Narkom detailed the occurrences of the night with the utmost clearness,
from the moment when the shot and the cry attracted Lennard's attention
to that when the ghas