going off duty. He recognized Quest with a little exclamation.

"Got your man to bring me here," Quest explained, "so as to get away from
the mob."

"Say, you've been in trouble!" the Inspector remarked, leading the way
into his room.

"Bit of an explosion, that's all," Quest replied. "I shall be all right
when you've lent me a clothes-brush."

"The Ashleigh diamonds, eh?" the Inspector asked eagerly.

"I shall have them at nine o'clock this morning," Sanford Quest promised,
"and hand you over the murderer somewhere around midnight."

The Inspector scratched his chin.

"From what I can hear about the young lady's friends," he said, "it's the
murderer they are most anxious to see nabbed."

"They'll have him," Quest promised. "Come round about half-past nine and
I'll hand over the diamonds to start with."

Quest slept for a couple of hours, had a bath and made a leisurely toilet.
At a quarter to nine he sat down to breakfast in his rooms.

"At nine o'clock," he told his servant, "a young lady will call. Bring her
up."