"Hello!" he cried. "Yes?" A momentary interval, then: "It's all right,
sir. What number?"

"Gentlemen," said the Inspector, firmly and authoritatively, "I am
about to telephone to Vine Street for instructions. No one will leave
the premises."

Amid an intense hush:

"Regent 201," called Sergeant Burton.



CHAPTER VI

RED KERRY

Chief Inspector Kerry, of the Criminal Investigation Department, stood
before the empty grate of his cheerless office in New Scotland Yard,
one hand thrust into the pocket of his blue reefer jacket and the
other twirling a malacca cane, which was heavily silver-mounted and
which must have excited the envy of every sergeant-major beholding it.
Chief Inspector Kerry wore a very narrow-brimmed bowler hat, having
two ventilation holes conspicuously placed immediately above the band.
He wore this hat tilted forward and to the right.

"Red Kerry" wholly merited his sobriquet, for the man was as red as
fire. His hair, which he wore cropped close as a pugilist's, was
brilliantly red, and so was his short, wiry, aggressive moustache. His