vealing stocks of linen and underclothing, had been
torn open and left open; open, too, swung the door of a wardrobe,
revealing a quantity of expensive clothing. And Spargo, looking around
him, seemed to see all that had happened--the hasty, almost frantic
search for and tearing up and burning of papers; the hurried change of
clothing, of packing necessaries into a bag that could be carried, and
then the flight the getting away, the----

"What on earth does all this mean?" exclaimed Breton. "What is it,
Spargo?"

"I mean exactly what I told you," answered Spargo. "He's off! Off!"

"Off! But why off? What--my guardian!--as quiet an old gentleman as
there is in the Temple--off!" cried Breton. "For what reason, eh? It
isn't--good God, Spargo, it isn't because of anything you said to him
last night!"

"I should say it is precisely because of something that I said to him
last night," replied Spargo. "I was a fool ever to let him out of my
sight."

Breton turned on his companion and gasped.

"Out--of--your--sight!" he exclaimed. "Why--why--you don't mean to say
that Mr. Elphick has anything to do with this Marbury affair? For God's
sake, Spargo----"

Spargo laid a hand on the young barrister's shoulder.

"I'm afraid you'll have to hear a good deal, Breton," he said. "I was
going to talk to you today in any case. You see----"

Before Spargo could say more a woman, bearing the implements which
denote the charwoman's profession, entered the room and immediately
cried out at what she saw. Breton turned on her almost savagely.

"Here, you!" he said. "Have you seen anything of Mr. Elphick this
morning?"

The charwoman rolled her eyes and lifted her hands.

"Me, sir! Not a sign of him, sir. Which I never comes here much before
half-past eleven, sir, Mr. Elphick being then gone out to his
breakfast. I see him yesterday morning, sir, which he was then in his
usual state of good health, sir, if any thing's the matter with him
now. No, sir, I ain't seen nothing of him."

Breton let out another exclamation of impatience.

"You'd better leave all this," he said. "Mr. Elphick's evidently gone
away in a hurry, and you mustn't touch anything here until he comes
back. I'm going to lock up the chambers: if you've a key of them give
it to me."

The charwoman handed over a key, gave another astonished look at the
rooms, and vanished, muttering, and Breton turned to Spargo.

"What do you say?" he demanded. "I must hear--a goo