The man obeyed. He covered his eyes with his hand, for a moment,
as though in pain.

"I imagine," he said - and it seemed to Laverick that his voice had
a slight foreign accent - "I imagine that the motive for my paying
you this visit is fairly clear to you. People who have compromising
possessions may always expect visits of this sort. You see, one
runs so little risk."

"So little risk!" Laverick repeated.

"Exactly," the other answered. "Confess that you are not in the
least inclined to ring your bell and send for a constable to give
me in charge for being in possession of a pocket-book abstracted
from your safe, containing twenty thousand pounds in Bank of
England notes."

"It wouldn't do at all," Laverick admitted.

"You are a man of common sense," declared the other. "It would not
do. Now comes the time when I have a question to ask you. There
was a sealed document in this pocket-book. Where is it ? What
have you done with it?"

"Can you tell me," Laverick asked, "why I should answer questions
from a person whom I discover apparently engaged in a nefarious
attempt at burglary?"

The man's hand shot out from his trouser-pocket, and Laverick looked