coroner."

"You know I have not. If I have been as closely followed as you say, you
must know why I spoke to that girl and others, why I went to the house
of the Schoenmakers and--Do you know?" he suddenly inquired.

Mr. Gryce was not the man to answer such a question as that. He eyed the
rich signet ring that adorned the hand of the gentleman before him and
suavely smiled. "I am ready to listen to any explanations," said he.

Mr. Blake's haughty countenance became almost stern. "You consider you
have a right to demand them; let me hear why."

"Well," said Mr. Gryce with a change of tone, "you shall. Unprofessional
as it is, I will tell you why I, a member of the police force, dare
enter the house of such a man as you are, and put him the questions I
have concerning his domestic affairs. Mr. Blake, imagine yourself in
a detective's office. A woman comes in, the housekeeper of a respected
citizen, and informs us that a girl employed by her as seamstress has
disappeared in a very unaccountable way from her master's house
the night before; in fact been abducted as she thinks from certain
evidences, through the window. Her manner is agitated, her appeal for
assistance urgent, though she acknowledges no relationship to the girl
or expresses any especial cause for her interest beyond that of common
humanity. 'She must be found,' she declares, and hints that any sum
necessary will be forthcoming, though from what source after her own
pittance is expended she does not state. When asked if her master has
no interest in the matter, she changes color and puts us off. He never
noticed his servants, left all such concerns to her, etc.; but shows
fear when a proposition is made to consult him. Next imagine yourself
with the detectives in that gentleman's house. You enter the girl's
room; what is the first thing you observe? Why that it is not only one
of the best in the house, but that it is conspicuous for its comforts if
not for its elegancies. More than that, that there are books of poetry
and history lying around, showing that the woman who inhabited it was
above her station; a fact which the housekeeper is presently brought to
acknowledge. You notice also that the wild surmise of her abduction by
means of the window, has some ground in appearance, though the fact
that she went with entire unwillingness is not made so apparent. The
housekeeper, however, insists in a way that must have had some special
knowledge of the girl's c