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224 inspector and his assistants. Then she asked them to sit down, and went and knocked at Mrs. Herman's bedroom door. She immediately came back and went downstairs. Shortly after Mrs. Herman and her sister came into the dining-room, naturally looking not a little disturbed, but for all that fairly well recovered from their first attack of terror.

"Well, Mr. Lipinzki, may I ask what this means?" said Mrs. Herman, with a quite respectable assumption of outraged virtue. "I think I know this—er—person," she went on, with a cold glare at Miss Billing; "so I suppose this is what you call a search visit."

This was a somewhat injudicious speech, seeing that under the circumstances Miss Billing's turn was bound to come later on. She was a pleasant-faced young lady, with a broad brow and a strong chin, and she returned Mrs. Herman's stare with a smile