er appeared to him the
wisest course, and he smiled feebly.

"Dad, just you leave this matter with me," Mr. Benjamin said at last. "I
know what I'm doing, and unless I'm very much mistaken, I see my way to
make this a bigger thing, even as regards the cash, than you and I ever
dreamed of. Leave it to me. Hullo! who's that?"

He peered up over the office blind, and sat down again at once. In a
moment his cigar was behind the grate, and his expression completely
changed.

"Ah! Miss Thurwell, dad," he said coolly, "and I'll bet ten to one I
know what she wants. Mind you leave it all to me. I've no time to
explain, but you'll spoil it if you interfere. Come in. Why, Miss
Thurwell, we were this moment talking of you," he continued, springing
to his feet and offering her a chair. "Please come in."

Helen advanced into the room, and lifted her veil. One swift glance into
her flushed face confirmed Mr. Benjamin's idea as to the reason of her
visit, and he commenced talking rapidly.

"I'm glad you've come this morning, Miss Thurwell. I only got back from
Spain yesterday, and I'm thankful to tell you our case is nearly
complete. Thankful for your sake, because you will have the satisfaction
of seeing the murderer of Sir Geoffrey Kynaston brought to book, and
thankful for ours, because we shall at one stroke establish our
reputation. I need not tell you that that is far more to us than the
reward will be, for our expenses have been enormous."

"Enormous!" groaned Mr. Levy, senior.

"However, we have decided not to take another penny of money from you,
Miss Thurwell," he continued, casting a warning glance at his father.
"After all, the money is not so much to us as our reputation, and this
will be made for ever, now."

Mr. Benjamin paused, a little out of breath, but quite satisfied with
himself. Opposite, his father was purple with anger, and almost choking
at his son's folly. Take no more money from Miss Thurwell! Was the boy
mad?

"I'm afraid, from what you say, Mr. Levy," Helen said hesitatingly,
"that you will be rather disappointed when I tell you the reason of my
visit."

Mr. Benjamin, who knew perfectly well what she was going to say, assumed
an expression of deep concern.

"I find," she continued, "that we must have been making a mistake all
along, and you have evidently been misled. This Mr. Brown, who appeared
such a mysterious personage to us, and whom we therefore suspected, is
no other than Bernard Mad