J. S. Fletcher

“ Instead of being old, and grave, and bald, and bearded, and spectacled, and dressed anyhow, the famous professor of chemistry was a smart, alert, rather military-looking man, fastidiously attired, wearing a monocle instead of spectacles, and endowed with a breezy air and cheery smile, which he bestowed freely on the two occupants of the room as he marched in and seated himself by the Chief Constable's desk, on the edge of which he laid down two or three newspapers, heavily marked here and there with blue pencil. ”

“ I have, as you may know, a European reputation as a chemist. Well, Markenmore wrote to me, enclosing Spindler's formula and a handsome fee, asking me to tell him what I thought of it. I recognized the immense value of the thing at once, and I wrote out my opinion, and returned the formula with it to Markenmore. I was so anxious that the secret of the formula should be kept that I adopted unusual precautions in sending the papers (which no living soul but myself had seen while they were in my possession) to him ”

“ Braxfield," said Blick, with a glance at the folk who were eagerly spelling out the contents of the poster, "observed cynically to the Chief Constable and me that there wasn't a man or woman in Markenmore who wouldn't give his or her own mother away for a five-pound note! Now there are twenty fives in a hundred, so——"
"Twenty times the inducement!" laughed the Professor. "Good arithmetic, anyway! Aye, well, my friend, I don't think this will do much good. But, as a curiosity, I should like a copy of that bill. Do you think our worthy of the paste-pot and brush would give us one?" ”

“ The Chief Constable reflected awhile.
"The queer thing, to my way of thinking," he observed at last, "is this: if the murder was committed for the sake of robbery, how comes it that the murderer didn't possess himself of all the rest of the stuff Guy Markenmore had on him? Money, a fair lot, I think; valuables, gold watch and chain ”

“ Some sort of a foreign Jew—in the clerk's opinion."
"Had such a man come into these parts, he must have been seen," said Blick. "I've made minute enquiries about the recent presence of strangers at all the railway stations——"
"There are other ways of transport than railways," observed the Professor. "But, anyway, here's one thing certain—Markenmore showed the formula and my opinion on it to this man!" ”

“ But Blick looked at the Professor.
"What description—of this stranger—did Markenmore's clerk give you?" he asked.
"Dark, swarthy, middle-sized, middle-aged man—very well dressed," responded the Professor promptly. "The sort of man, he said, you see much of in financial circles. ”