almost a stranger to me."

The detective was thoughtful.

"So you really cannot help us at all, madam?" he said at length.

"I am afraid not," she answered.

"Perhaps," he suggested, "after you have thought the matter over,
something may occur to you. Can I trouble you for your address?"

"I am staying at Devenham House for the moment," she answered.

He wrote it down in his notebook.

"I shall perhaps do myself the honor of waiting upon you a little
later on," he said. "You may be able, after reflection, to recall
some small details, at any rate, which will be interesting to us.
At present we are absurdly ignorant as to the man's affairs."

She turned away from him to the clerk, and pointed to another
door.

"Can I go out without seeing those others?" she asked. "I really
have nothing to say to them, and this has been quite a shock to
me."

"By all means, madam," the clerk answered. "If you will allow me,
I will escort you to the entrance."