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 persons who are endowed with a double share of craft and ingenuity; she might be coming to see him with the idea of ascertaining exactly how much he, as the detective in charge of the case, really knew: he had known instances of that sort in his time. And when he walked into the room in which Mr. and Mrs. Patello sat awaiting his arrival he made a careful inspection of his lady visitor, and as a result decided that she was a worthy second to her sister Janet Clagne in respect of her possession of those qualities which may be summed up in one word—cunning. He saw, too, that whoever the woman was who had called on and gone away with Avice Mortover from Mornington Crescent, Mrs. Patello, as far as outward appearance was concerned, fitted in well with the description given by the landlady and Marco the waiter. She was tall, she was sparę of figure; she wore a fur coat that came down to her ankles. All this struck the detective so much that as soon as he had said good morning to his visitors, he begged them to excuse him a moment, left the room and seeking out a colleague gave him some instructions.

"Look here!" he said, drawing the man to the street door. "Do something for me, at once! Get a taxi. Drive to Cipriani's Restaurant, in Tottenham Court Road. Ask for a