My Strangest Case

closely, had followed its progress so carefully, that it seemed impossible Hayle could have escaped from it. Yet there was the fact, apparent to all the

it," I said aloud, when I had re

er, was inclined to be somewhat bellicose. It appeared as if he were anxious to make a personal m

r own fare, and take him 'ome and put him ter bed, but don't yer a'come abotherin' me. I've done the best day's work I've ever 'ad in my life, and if so be the pair of yer like to come into

business. The most valuable information is not unfrequently picked up in the most unlikely places, and for this reason I followed my own Jehu and his riv

of our refreshment. " 'e give me a fiver, 'e did, an'

he entertainment he was receiving, visibly regarded the other with disfavour. "If you'd a give us the

ss upside down on the counter, in order to prove beyond contradiction that it was empty.

Street I asked him to let me 'ave a look at his five-poun' note, for I didn't want no Bank of Fashion or any of that sort of truck shoved into me, you'll understand. 'You needn't be suspicious, Cabby,' sez he, 'I'll make it suverings, if you like, and half a one over for luck, if that will satisfy yer? 'When I told him it would, he give me two poun' ten in advance and away we went again. We weren't more than 'arf a mile away from here-thank ye, sir, I don't mind if I do, it's cold drivin'-well, as I was a sayin' we wasn't more than 'arf a mile away from here, when the gent he stands up and sez to me, 'Look here, Kebby, turn the next corner pretty sharp, and slow down a

t mind putting another in your way. I tell you that I want to catch the man I was after to-night. He's as big a thief as ever walked th

spiciously. "He treated me fair, and he'll

e street where you put him down. Then you can take your sov

man could have counted twenty, and

re, not for the suvering, but for the good

reshment he had imbibed, or whether it was mere elation of spirits I cannot say, the fact, however, remains that for the whole of the journey, which occupied ten or twelve minutes h

down. Yer can't mistake it. Now let's have a look at yer suvering,

cottages. As if to emphasize the misery of the locality, and perhaps in a measure to account for it, at the further end I discovered a gin-palace, whose flaring lights illuminated the streets on either hand with bra

ort of double shuffle as he spoke. "Ain't doin' any harm 'ere, I 'ope. We was 'opin' as 'ow a gent like yourself w

ions I am going to ask you," I replied. "Did either of you see a gen

d a bag?" asked one of th

the man I want. Which way

ainst the wall. "The Short 'Un was alookin' after it for 'im, and I heard him call Jimmy myself.

" I inquired, thinking that it might be t

real torf, and at closen' time they'll be chuckin' 'im out into the gutter, and then 'is wife 'll come down, and they 'll

e gentleman of whom you speak to come out here and talk to m

ing it possible that their chance of appreciating my liberality depended upon his condition being such as he could answer questions with some sort of intelligence, proceeded to shake and pummel him into something approaching sobriety. In one of his lucid intervals I in

ague, but it encoura

"he must have given you

me it was Foxwell's Hotel, Waterloo Road. That's

tel is a merr

booze is flowin

rus, ge

t I had seen too much of that gentleman's character of late to put any trust in his statements, until I had verified them to my own satisfaction. I was not acquainted with Foxwell's Hotel, but after some little search I discovered it. It was by no means the sort of place a man of Hayle's wealth would be likely to patronize, but remembering that he

t half-hour, and was now at supper in the coffee-room. She inquired whether I would care to see

I should be glad if you would promise me that you

ed her, and she willingly

id. "He told me when he booked his room, that he should be

ied. "If all goes right, I shall call u

, she would say nothing to Hayle about my visit

as a fragrance of the last night's potations still hovering about the place, which had the dreary, tawdry appearance that was so different to the glamour of the previous night. I bade the girl good-morning, and then inquired whether she had seen anything of my frie

you see me, Mr. Hayle," I muttered. "You will find tha

dozen of them if necessary, if by so doing I could remain in the room long enough to find myself face to face with Gideon Hayle. Several people put in an appearance and commenced the

ng down," I said, "I hope he

y a quarter of an hour ago. He went into the dining-room, and I felt su

ass panels. Here she stopped and scanned the dining-room. The boots, who had just come upstairs from

a table in the furthest corner of the room

t. The individual I saw there was no more li

uggage consisted of a small brown bag and a travelling rug?" I asked. "You've been having a

y, I am going. You asked for the gentleman who came late last night with a bag, and there he is. If he's not the

nterest. He and the barmaid, it appeared, had had a quarrel earlier in the

'clock last night," he put in. "The toff with the bag and blanket. Why I c

quite equal t

gue," she said. "If you don

as if 'e was a-goin' out to dinner with the Queen. But p'reaps he's left a 'arf-sovereign for me with you. It ain't likely. Oh no, of course it

more, but with a final toss of h

ident that you know more about this gentleman than that young lad

thin' particular. He was no end of a toff, great-coat w

stac

eggs and two cups of corfee and a roll, all took up to 'im in 'is room. Ordered a cab to catch the nine o'clock express to Southampton. I puts 'im in with his bag and blanket, and says, 'Kindly

the bar, after which he observed that he knew a

gentleman was increasing hourly, but it did not deter me, only made me the more resolved to beat him in the end. Making my way to Waterloo, I inquired when the next train left for Southampton. Finding that I had more than an hour and a half to wait, I telegraphed to the man I had sent to Southampton to watch the docks, and then too

I inquired. "A

itten on good note-paper, but wit

nquiries, and begs to inform Mr. Fairfax th

estination is the Cape. But let him go where he will, I'll have him yet. In the meantime, send Williams to Charing Cross at once, Roberts to Victoria, and Dickson to St. Paul's. Furnish each with a description of the man they are to look after, be particular about the scar

on. When I reached the port I was met at the station by my representative, who informed me t

t," I said. "I feel positively certain that

the principal hotels, but could hear no tidings of him in any one of them. As a matter of fact, if the man had journeyed to Southampton, as I had every reason to suppose he had done, he must have disappeared into thin air when he got there. The whole affair was most bewildering, and I scarcely knew what to think of it. That the boots at the hotel had not been hoodwinking me I felt assured in my own mind. His anger against the man was too real to allow any doubt upon that point.

ing rug, boarded train at Herne Hill, went through to Dover, and

he biggest bluff he could play upon me was to tell the truth, and by Jove! he was not very far wrong. However, those laugh best who laugh last, and though he has had a very fair innings s

g down to a charming little dinner at the Café des Princes, and was smiling to hims