He paused, making a queer, speculating grimace.
"Unless—what?" I asked.
He leaned nearer to my shoulder, dropping his voice, though there was no one at all near us.
"Unless it was abstracted at Kelpieshaw yesterday, by that chap Weech!" he replied. "Weech? Augustus? What a name!"
"Weech!" I exclaimed. "By him! Impossible!"
"And why impossible, my lad?" he asked. "No impossibility about it! Didn't you tell me just now, upstairs, while you were giving your account of all that had transpired, that you and Madrasia went up to my library to compare the titles of the books in The Times advertisement with certain volumes on my shelves, leaving Master Augustus Weech alone—with the copper box in front of him? Of course!"
"Good heavens!" I exclaimed. "I certainly never thought of that!"
"No doubt," he remarked coolly. "But I did. However, now we come to another matter, though connected with the main one. I
