ione, I take it, will now go to bed," he said coolly, "and,
if she is wise, will refuse to unlock her door again till her maid
comes in the morning. I purpose changing my clothes, in case I may
have to accompany you on some midnight expedition. My uncle and aunt
will tell us where they are staying, and arrange to meet us here at
lunch to-morrow. You, Devar, being an approved night hawk, will join
me in a cigar. How is that for a reasonable disposal of the company,
Mr. Steingall?"

As though in reply, the telephone rang again, and the detective lifted
the receiver from its hook.

"Hello! That you, Clancy?" he said. "Right. I'll come along by the
subway from 59th Street--that will be quicker than a taxi . . .
yes . . . yes."

He turned, and the five people in the room saw that his face was
glowing with the fire of action.

"You can defer that change of suits, Mr. Curtis. We must be off at
once. . . . Mr. Devar, have you an automobile? Can you get hold of it
now? Well, 'phone your chauffeur to be at Centre-street headquarters
in as much under half-an-hour as he can manage. Taxi-drivers gossip
among themselves, so a private car is better. . . . Excuse the rush,
Lady Hermione, and you, too, Mrs. Curtis. I haven't another minute to
spare."

Luckily, Curtis found his overcoat awaiting him in the cloak room, or
he might have been in a difficulty, for New York in November is not a
city which encourages midnight journeys in evening dress.

Uncle Horace and Aunt Louisa were hurried into a taxi, and as they were
being whisked off to the quiet hotel to which their baggage had been
consigned, the stout man began polishing his domed forehead once more.

"Lou," he said, "I can't make head nor tail of this business. Can you?"

"Not yet, Horace," was the hopeful response.

"But--what sort of marriage is this, anyway?"

"Oh, that's all right. Those two haven't begun courting yet. But it
won't be long before they start. Did you notice----"

And details observed by Aunt Louisa endured till the taxi stopped.

CHAPTER X

MIDNIGHT

After a quick journey by New York's unrivaled system of rapid transit,
the three men alighted at Spring Street, and a couple of minutes' brisk
walk brought them to a large, white-fronted building of severe
architecture. Above the main entrance two green lamps stared solemnly
into the night, and their monitory gleam seemed to bid evildoers
"Beware!"; nor was there aught far-