ion which hinted at developments.

"Did anything happen after we sailed away?" asked Devar.

"Did you see anyone?" demanded the policeman.

"Things were quiet as the grave for quite a time after you gentlemen
disappeared," said Brodie, speaking with the unctuous slowness of a man
who has been vouchsafed the opportunity of his life and has grabbed it
with both hands.

"Something _did_ occur, then?" put in Devar impatiently.

"Nothing to speak of, sir--at first," came the irritating answer. "I
watched you go on board the barge, and I noticed her edging out into
the river, and it was easy enough to know that none of you had cast her
off, because what you said showed that you were even more surprised
than I was. So, sez I to meself, 'Arthur, me boy, barges don't untie
themselves from wharves in that casual sort of way, and at just the
right minute, too, for anyone who wanted to dispose of a cop,' begging
your pardon, Mr. Policeman, but that was the line of argument I had
with meself."

"Try the accelerator, Arthur," groaned Devar.

"If ever I meet with a bit of an accident, sir, I always pull up and
plan the wheel-marks; I carry a tape for the purpose, and it saves a
lot of hard swearing in court afterwards." Brodie spoke seriously, and
Devar vowed that he would interrupt no more, since he merely succeeded
in stimulating the man's torpid wits.

Even now, the chauffeur waited to allow his philosophy to sink into
minds which might prove unreceptive. Finding that there was no
likelihood of debate, he went on:

"It struck me, too, that a feller who didn't hesitate about shoving a
good car into a river must be a rank tough, the kind of character who
would jump at the chance of plugging me with a bullet, or two, for that
matter, and hiking off with the car, without anybody being the wiser,
so I nipped out from behind the wheel, and, taking care to keep away
from the light, crept in behind that pile of rock there," and he nodded
to the mass of dressed stone which filled one end of the wharf.

He waited, as though to make sure that they appreciated his
generalship. Devar's teeth grated, and McCulloch stirred uneasily, but
no one spoke.

"You'll notice that it is only a few feet away," he said, measuring the
distance with a thoughtful eye, "but, to make sure of reaching anybody
who might try to monkey with the car, I groped around until I had found
two half bricks. Then I waited. By that time, which was really le