Hatchdidnthaveanyverydefiniteideaastojustwhathecoulddo,sohelethimgoon。
"AsIunderstandit,MrdeLesses,
"heinterrutedatlast,
"nooneelsewasintheroom,excetyouandMrKale,allthetimeyouwerethere?
"
"Nooneelse。
"
"AndIthinkMrKalesaidthatyouweremakingacoyofsomefamouswatercolor,werentyou?
"
"Yes,aThamesscene,byWhistler,
"wastherely。
"Thatisit,hangingoverthemantel。
"
Hatchglancedattheictureadmiringly。Itwasanexquisitecoy,andshowedthedefttouchofamanwhowashimselfanartistofgreatability。
DeLessesreadtheadmirationinhisface。
"Itisnotbad,
"hesaidmodestly。
"IstudiedwithCarolusDuran。
"
Withallelsethatwasknown,andthislittleadditionalinformation,whichseemedofnoarticularvaluetothereorter,theentirematterwaslaidbeforeTheThinkingMachine。Thatdistinguishedmanlistenedfrombeginningtoendwithoutcomment。
"Whohadaccesstotheroom?
"heaskedfinally。
"Thatiswhattheoliceareworkingonnow,
"wastherely。
"Thereareacouleofdozenservantsinthehouse,andIsuose,insiteofKalesrigidorders,therewasacertainlaxityintheirenforcement。
"
"Ofcoursethatmakesitmoredifficult,
"saidTheThinkingMachineintheeretuallyirritatedvoicewhichwassodistinctlyaartofhimself。
"PerhasitwouldbebestforustogotoMrKaleshomeandersonallyinvestigate。
"
Kalereceivedthemwiththereservewhichallrichmenshowintheresenceofreresentativesoftheress。Hestaredfranklyandsomewhatcuriouslyatthediminutivefigureofthescientist,whoexlainedtheobjectoftheirvisit。
"Iguessyoufellowscantdoanythingwiththis,
"themillionaireassuredthem。
"Ivegotsomeregulardetectivesonit。
"
"IsMrMalloryherenow?
"asked
"TheThinkingMachine
"curtly。
"Yes,heisustairsintheservantsquarters。
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