Yet, upon closer consideration, it became apparent that it was to Fate and not to the Commissioner that he was indebted. Strictly6 speaking, his association with the matter dated from the night of his meeting with the mysterious cabman in West India Dock Road. Or had the curtain first been lifted upon this occult drama that evening, five years ago, as the setting sun reddened the waters of the Imperial Canal and a veiled figure passed him on the Wu-Men Bridge?
He seemed to hear the boy's words now, as he passed along the Embankment; he seemed to see again the tall figure. And suddenly he stopped, stood still and stared with unseeing eyes across the muddy waters of the Thames. He was thinking of the cowled man who had stood behind the curtains in his study—of that figure so wildly bizarre that even now he could scarcely believe that he had ever actually seen it. He walked on.
Automatically his reflections led him to Mlle. Dorian, and he remembered that even as he paced along there beside the river the wonderful mechanism8 of New Scotland Yard was in motion, its many tentacles9 seeking—seeking tirelessly—for the girl, whose dark eyes haunted his sleeping and waking hours. He was responsible, and if she were arrested he would be called upon to identify her. He condemned10 himself bitterly.
After all, what crime had she committed? She had tried to purloin11 a letter—which did not belong to Stuart in the first place. And she had failed. Now—the police were looking for her. His reflections took a new form.
What of Gaston Max, foremost criminologist in Europe, who now lay dead and mutilated in an East-End mortuary? The telephone message which had summoned Dunbar away had been too opportune12 to be regarded as a mere13 coincidence. Mlle. Dorian was, therefore, an accomplice14 of a murderer.
Stuart sighed. He would have given much—more than he was prepared to admit to himself—to have known her to be guiltless.
The identity of the missing cabman now engaged his mind. It was quite possible, of course, that the man had actually found the envelope in his cab and was in no other way concerned in the matter. But how had Mlle. Dorian, or the person instructing her, traced the envelope to his study? And why, if they could establish a claim to it, had they preferred to attempt to steal it? Finally, why all this disturbance15 about a blank pieced of cardboard?
A mental picture of the envelope arose before him, the number, 30, written upon it and the two black seals securing the lapels. He paused again in his walk. His reflections had led him to a second definite point and he fumbled16 in his waistcoat pocket for a time, seeking a certain brass17 coin about the size of a halfpenny, having a square hole in the middle and peculiar18 characters engraved19 around the square, one on each of the four sides.
He failed to find the coin in his pocket, however, but he walked briskly up a side street until he came to the entrance to a tube station. Entering a public telephone call-box, he asked for the number, City 400. Being put through and having deposited the necessary fee in the box:
"Is that the Commissioner's Office, New Scotland Yard?" he asked. "Yes! My name is Dr. Keppel Stuart. If Inspector20 Dunbar is there, would you kindly21 allow me to speak to him."
"Hullo!" came—"is that Dr. Stuart?"
"Yes. That you, Inspector? I have just remembered something which I should have observed in the first place if I had been really wide-awake. The envelope—you know the one I mean?—the one bearing the number, 30, has been sealed with a Chinese coin, known as cash. I have just recognized the fact and thought it wise to let you know at once."
"Are you sure?" asked Dunbar.
"Certain. If you care to call at my place later to-day I can show you some cash. Bring the envelope with you and you will see that the coins correspond to the impression in the wax. The inscriptions23 vary in different provinces, but the form of all cash is the same."
"Very good. Thanks for letting me know at once. It seems to establish a link with China, don't you think?"
"It does, but it merely adds to the mystery."
Coming out of the call-box, Stuart proceeded home, but made one or two professional visits before he actually returned to the house. He now remembered having left this particular cash piece (which he usually carried) in his dispensary, which satisfactorily accounted fro his failure to find the coin in his waistcoat pocket. He had broken the cork25 of a flask26, and in the absence of another of correct size had manufactured a temporary stopper with a small cork to the top of which he had fixed27 the Chinese coin with a drawing-pin. His purpose served he had left the extemporized28 stopper somewhere in the dispensary.
Stuart's dispensary was merely a curtained recess29 at one end of the waiting-room and shortly after entering the house he had occasion to visit it. Lying upon a shelf among flasks30 and bottles was the Chinese coin with the cork still attached. He took it up in order to study the inscription24. Then:
"Have I cultivated somnambulism!" he muttered.
Fragments of black sealing-wax adhered to the coin!
Incredulous and half fearful he peered at it closely. He remembered that the impression upon the wax sealing the mysterious envelope had had a circular depression in the centre. It had been made by the head of the drawing-pin!
He found himself at the shelf immediately above that upon which the coin had lain. A stick of black sealing wax used for sealing medicine was thrust in beside a bundle of long envelopes in which he was accustomed to post his Infirmary reports!
One hand raised to his head, Stuart stood endeavouring to marshal his ideas into some sane31 order. Then, knowing what he should find, he raised the green baize curtain hanging from the lower shelf, which concealed32 a sort of cupboard containing miscellaneous stores and not a little rubbish, including a number of empty cardboard boxes.
A rectangular strip had been roughly cut from the lid of the topmost box!
The mysterious envelope and its contents, the wax and the seal—all had come from his own dispensary!
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1
commissioner
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| n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员 | |
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divulged
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| v.吐露，泄露( divulge的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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6
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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7
scorpion
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| n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭 | |
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8
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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9
tentacles
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| n.触手( tentacle的名词复数 )；触角；触须；触毛 | |
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10
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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11
purloin
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| v.偷窃 | |
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opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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14
accomplice
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| n.从犯，帮凶，同谋 | |
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15
disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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16
fumbled
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| （笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下 | |
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17
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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inspector
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| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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23
inscriptions
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| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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24
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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cork
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| n.软木，软木塞 | |
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flask
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| n.瓶，火药筒，砂箱 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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extemporized
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| v.即兴创作，即席演奏( extemporize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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30
flasks
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| n.瓶，长颈瓶， 烧瓶( flask的名词复数 ) | |
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31
sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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