"Makes it difficult for you," he remarked.

"It makes the case very interesting," the inspector declared,
"especially when we find him engaged to lunch with a young lady
of such remarkable discretion as Miss Penelope Morse."

"You know her?" the clerk asked a little eagerly.

The inspector was engaged, apparently, in studying the pattern of
the carpet.

"Not exactly," he answered. "No, I have no absolute knowledge of
Miss Penelope Morse. By the bye, that was rather an interesting
address that she gave."

"Devenham House," the hotel clerk remarked. "Do you know who
lives there?"

The inspector nodded.

"The Duke of Devenham," he answered. "A very interesting young
lady, I should think, that. I wonder what she and Mr. Hamilton
Fynes would have talked about if they had lunched here today."

The hotel clerk looked dubious. He did not grasp the significance
of the question.



CHAPTER V. AN AFFAIR OF STATE