J. S. Fletcher

“ He picked up the automatic pistol, which Blick had laid before him, and looked at it with speculative eyes. "Seems to be brand-new," he remarked. "I wonder if it was bought from anybody about here?"
"I'm going to enquire into that at once," answered Blick. "Such things can be bought in Selcaster, I suppose?"
"You can buy sporting guns and revolvers in plenty," replied the Chief Constable. "And no doubt things of this sort. There are two or three gunsmiths in the city, and of course there are ironmongers and hardware dealers who sell fire-arms." ”

“ Guy Markenmore. In consequence of his letter, I went to see him at his office in Folgrave Court, in London—near Cornhill. I told him all about my discovery, and he asked me how much I would take for my secret. Now, I am a poor man, but I have good ideas, and I want to do certain things, and one is to buy the business—a small, undeveloped business, yet, but capable in my hands of great development—of a manufacturing chemist, which I can get for a very reasonable price. ”

“ I daresay you gentlemen are aware that up to now our dyers in this country have been almost entirely dependent on Germany for their aniline dyes——"
"We are!" said the Chief Constable solemnly. "Pretty well known, I believe, Mr. Spindler, that we've been shamefully behind-hand in that matter!"
"Just so—we have," assented Spindler. "Well, to put the matter briefly, I have discovered a certain secret as regards the preparation of a valuable synthetic dye: a most important secret. And when I'd got it fully perfected, I naturally wanted to make some money out of it. ”

“ Markenmore I would take three thousand pounds cash. He then asked me if I would entrust him with my papers—the formula, you understand, of my secret—so that he might submit them to an expert. I consented, on condition that the expert was somebody I could trust. We fixed on Professor Sir Thomas Hodges-Wilkins, of Cambridge—the famous chemist. ”

“ The gunsmith met him as he turned in at his shop-door, and drew him aside.
"I've found out about that automatic pistol for you," he whispered. "We did sell it! About three months ago. We sold it to Mr. Harry Markenmore, of Markenmore Court. ”