methods.
The thing worked. A powdered footman received the card and bore it away. Presently a pale secretary appeared. I fenced with him successfully. He retired in defeat. He again reappeared and begged me to follow him. I did so. I entered a large room, a frightened-looking shorthand typist fled past me like a visitant from the spirit world. Then the door shut and I was face to face with Lord Nasby.
A big man. Big head. Big face. Big moustache. Big stomach. I pulled myself together. I had not come here to comment on Lord Nasbyâs stomach. He was already roaring at me.
âWell, what is it? What does Loamsley want? You are his secretary? Whatâs it all about?â
âTo begin with,â I said with as great an appearance of coolness as I could manage, âI donât know Lord Loamsley, and he certainly knows nothing about me. I took his card from the tray in the house of the people Iâm staying with, and I wrote those words on it myself. It was important that I should see you.â
For a moment it appeared to be a toss up as to whether Lord Nasby had apoplexy or not. In the end he swallowed twice and got over it.
âI admire your coolness, young woman. Well, you see me! If you interest me, you will continue to see me for exactly two minutes longer.â
âThat will be ample,â I replied. âAnd I shall interest you. Itâs the Mill House Mystery.â
âIf youâve found âThe Man in the Brown Suit,â write to the editor,â he interrupted hastily.
âIf you will interrupt, I shall be more than two minutes,â I said sternly. âI havenât found âThe Man in the Brown Suit,â but Iâm quite likely to do so.â
In as few words as possible I put the facts of the Tube accident and the conclusions I had drawn from them before him. When I had finished he said unexpectedly, âWhat do you know of brachycephalic heads?â
I mentioned Papa.
âThe Monkey man? Eh? Well, you seem to have a head of some kind upon your shoulders, young woman. But itâs all pretty thin, you know. Not much to go upon. And no use to usâas it stands.â
âIâm perfectly aware of that.â
âWhat dâyou want, then?â
âI want a job on your paper to investigate this matter.â
âCanât do that. Weâve got our own special man on it.â
âAnd Iâve got my own special knowledge.â
âWhat youâve just told me, eh?â
âOh, no, Lord Nasby. Iâve still got something up my sleeve.â
âOh, you have, have you? You seem a bright sort of girl. Well, what is it?â
âWhen this so-called doctor got into the lift, he dropped a piece of paper. I picked it up. It smelt of moth balls. So did the dead man. The doctor didnât. So I saw at once that the doctor must have taken it off the body. It had two words written on it and some figures.â
âLetâs see it.â
Lord Nasby stretched out a careless hand.
âI think not,â I said, smiling. âItâs my find you see.â
âIâm right. You are a bright girl. Quite right to hang on to it. No scruples about not handing it over to the police?â
âI went there to do so this morning. They persisted in regarding the whole thing as having nothing to do with the Marlow affair, so I thought that in the circumstances I was justified in retaining the paper. Besides, the inspector put my back up.â
âShortsighted man. Well, my dear girl, hereâs all I can do for you. Go on working on this line of yours. If you get anythingâanything thatâs publishableâsend it along and you shall have your chance. Thereâs always room for real talent on the Daily Budget . But youâve got to make good first. See?â
I thanked him and apologized for my methods.
âDonât mention it. I rather like cheekâfrom a pretty girl. By the way, you said