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The Widow's Son Whilst he was doing this work Rushton came in and greeted him in a very friendly way.

'I'm very glad you let me know about the boy working in that paint shop,' he observed after a few preliminary remarks; 'I can assure you as I don't want the lad to be uncomfortable, but you know I can't attend to heverything myself. I'm much obliged to you for telling me about it. I think you did quite right; I should have done the same myself.'

Owen did not know what to reply, but Rushton walked off without waiting for one.

For many weeks past Hunter, who had been looking more worried and miserable than ever, was occupied every day in supervising what work was being done and in running about seeking for more. Nearly every night he remained at the office until a late hour, poring over specifications and making out estimates. The police had become so accustomed to seeing the light in the office that as a rule they took no notice of it, but one Thursday night—exactly one week after the scene between Owen and Rushton about the boy—the constable on the beat observed the light there much later than usual. At first he paid no particular attention to the fact, but when night merged into morning and the light still remained, his curiosity was aroused.

He knocked at the door, but no one came in answer, and no sound disturbed the deathlike stillness that reigned within. The door was locked, but he was not able to tell whether it had been closed from the inside or outside because it had a spring latch. The office window was low down, but it was not possible to see in because the back of the glass had been painted.

The constable thought that the most probable explanation of the mystery was that whoever had been there earlier in the evening had forgotten to turn out the light when they went away. It was not likely that thieves or anyone who had no business to be there would advertise their presence by lighting the gas.

He made a note of the incident in his pocket book and was about to resume his beat when he was joined by his inspector. The latter agreed that the conclusion arrived at by the constable was probably the right one, and they were about to pass on when the inspector noticed a speck of light shining through the lower part of the painted window, where a small piece of the paint, had either been scratched or had 385