"The ruffians seem to have thoroughly overhauled everything," remarked
the Consul in dismay when he saw the disordered state of his papers.
"They seem to have read every one deliberately."

"Which shows that had they been in search for the cipher-books they
would only have looked for them alone," I remarked decisively. "What on
earth could interest them in all these dry, unimportant shipping reports
and things?"

"Goodness only knows," replied my friend. Then, calling Cavendish, a
tall, fair young man, who had now recovered from his touch of fever and
had returned to the Consulate, he commenced to check the number of those
adhesive stamps, rather larger than ordinary postage-stamps, used in
the Consular service for the registration of fees received by the
Foreign Office. The values were from sixpence to one pound, and they
were kept in a portfolio.

After a long calculation the Consul suddenly raised his face to me and
said--

"Then six ten shilling ones have been taken!"

"Why? There must be some motive!"

"They are of no use to anyone except to Consuls," he explained. "Perhaps
they were wanted to affix to some false certificate. See," he added,
opening the portfolio, "there were six stamps here, and all are gone."

"But they would have to be obliterated by the Consular stamp," remarked
Cavendish.