had found them little altered, and had particularly noticed that
Jezzard had no mole on his face, and that Leach was clean-shaven as of
old.

"But a day or two later all my doubts were resolved by a paragraph in
the local paper. It appeared that on the day of my visit to Eastwich a
number of forged cheques had been cashed at the three banks. They had
been presented by three well-dressed, horsy-looking men who looked like
well-to-do farmers. One of them had a mole on the left cheek, another
was distinguished by a waxed moustache and a single eyeglass, while the
description of the third I did not recognize. None of the cheques had
been drawn for large amounts, though the total sum obtained by the
forgers was nearly four hundred pounds; but the most interesting point
was that the cheque-forms had been manufactured by photographic process,
and the water-mark skilfully, though not quite perfectly, imitated.
Evidently the swindlers were clever and careful men, and willing to take
a good deal of trouble for the sake of security, and the result of their
precautions was that the police could make no guess as to their
identity.

"The very next day, happening to walk over to Port Marston, I came upon
the _Otter_ lying moored alongside the quay in the harbour. As soon as I
recognized the yacht, I turned quickly and walked away, but a minute
later I ran into Leach and Jezzard, who were returning to their craft.
Jezzard greeted me with an air of surprise. 'What! Still hanging about
here, Ted?' he exclaimed. 'That is not discreet of you, dear boy. I
should earnestly advise you to clear out.'

"'What do you mean?' I asked.