affecting a knowledge and a jargon carefully acquired; he talked like what he probably was, an inquiry agent of some sort. And in consonance with my previous feeling of intuition, I thought that however much he might keep back, he was not against communicating some of his knowledge.
"Last night's proceedings," I remarked, "were somewhat mysterious, Mr. Pawley."
"Mysterious!" he exclaimed. "I believe you! I've been concerned in some queer things in my time, Mr. Craye, but in none queerer than this! Beyond me! But no doubt you know more than I do."
"I know nothing," I answered. "Nothing, that is, beyond what I've seen. And what I've seen I haven't understood. For instance, I didn't understand how you came to be at Bickerdale's last night."
"Oh, that's easy!" he said. "I was left here to keep an eye on Bickerdale and to get in touch with him. And, incidentally, to find out, if I could, whether Bickerdale had discovered anything in that copper box when he had it."
"Did anybody suspect that something
