later, of course, but every minute saved in an affair such as this is
worth considering. As a pressman you will probably disagree with me,
but I propose to suppress these two pieces of evidence. Premature
publication of clews too often handicaps us. Now, what _is_ that
figure exactly?"

"It is a votive offering of a kind used in Ancient Egypt by pilgrims
to Bubastis. It is a genuine antique, and if you think the history of
such relics is likely to assist the investigation I can give you some
further particulars this evening if you have time to call at my
place."

"I think," said Gatton, taking the figure from me and looking at it
with a singular expression on his face, "that the history of the thing
is very important. The fact that a rough reproduction of a somewhat
similar figure is painted upon the case cannot possibly be a
coincidence."

I stared at him silently for a moment, then:

"You mean that the crate was specially designed to contain the body?"
I asked.

"I am certainly of that opinion," declared Inspector Heath, the local
officer. "It is of just the right size and shape for the purpose."

Once more I began to examine the fragments stacked upon the floor, and
then I looked again at the several objects which lay beside the crate.
They were the personal belongings of the dead baronet and the police
had carefully noted in which of his pockets each object had been