THE BOX WITH BROKEN SEALS

BY

E. PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM

1919






CHAPTER I


James Crawshay, Englishman of the type usually described in
transatlantic circles as "some Britisher," lolled apparently at his
ease upon the couch of the too-resplendent sitting room in the Hotel
Magnificent, Chicago. Hobson, his American fellow traveler, on the
other hand, betrayed his anxiety by his nervous pacing up and down the
apartment. Both men bore traces in their appearance of the long
journey which they had only just completed.

"I think," Crawshay decided, yawning, "that I shall have a bath. I
feel gritty, and my collar--heavens, what a sight! Your trains,
Hobson, may be magnificent, but your coal is filthy. I will have a
bath while your friend, the policeman, makes up his mind whether to
come and see us or not."