said. "Certainly we cannot take risks.
Has anything been heard of Stay?"

Tarling told the story of the stolen taxicab.

"We'll have him," said Whiteside confidently. "He'll have no pals, and
without pals in the motor business it is practically impossible to get a
car away."

He got into Tarling's cab, and a few minutes later they were at the
nursing home.

The matron came to them, a sedate, motherly lady.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour of the night," said Tarling,
sensing her disapproval. "But information has come to me this evening
which renders it necessary that Miss Rider should be guarded."

"Guarded?" said the matron in surprise. "I don't quite understand you,
Mr. Tarling. I had come down to give you rather a blowing up about Miss
Rider. You know she is absolutely unfit to go out. I thought I made that
clear to you when you were here this morning?"

"Go out?" said the puzzled Tarling. "What do you mean? She is not going
out."

It was the matron's turn to be surprised.

"But you sent for her half an hour ago," she said.

"I sent for her?" said Tarling, turning pale. "Tell me, please, what has
happened?"

"About half an hour ago, or it may be a little longer," said the matron,
"a cabman came to the door and told me that he had been sent by the
authorities to fetch Miss Rider at once--she was wanted in connection
with her mother's murder."

Something in Tarling's face betrayed his emotion.

"Did you not send for her?" she asked in alarm.

Tarling shook his head.

"What was the man like who called?" he asked:

"A very ordinary-looking man, rather under-sized and ill-looking--it was
the taxi-driver."

"You have no idea which way they went?"

"No," replied the matron. "I very much objected to Miss Rider going at
all, but when I gave her the message, which apparently had come from
you, she insisted upon going."

Tarling groaned. Odette Rider was in the power of a maniac who hated her,
who had killed her mother and had cherished a plan for disfiguring the
beauty of the girl whom he believed had betrayed his beloved master.

Without any further words he turned and left the waiting-room, followed
by Whiteside.

"It's hopeless," he said, when they were outside, "hopeless, hopeless! My
God! How terrible! I dare not think of it. If Milburgh is alive he shall
suffer."

He gave directions to the cab-driver and followed Whiteside into the cab.

"I'm going back to my flat to pick up Ling Chu