is that rather more than a week ago Mr. Hollis called here himself with a cheque for ten thousand pounds which he paid into his account, explaining to me that it had been handed to him for a special purpose, and that he should draw a cheque for his own against it, for the same amount, very shortly."
"Ah!" remarked Mr. Vanderkiste. "Has the cheque which he paid in been cleared?"
"We cleared it at once," replied the manager. "Oh, yes! But the cheque which Mr. Hollis spoke of drawing against it has not come in—and now, of course———"
"Just so," said Mr. Vanderkiste. "Now that he's dead, of course, his cheque is no good. Um! That will do, thank you, Mr. Linthwaite."
He turned and looked at Starmidge when the manager had withdrawn.
"That explains matters," he said. "The ten thousand pounds had been paid to Mr. Frederick Hollis for a special purpose."
"But—by whom?" asked Starmidge. "That's precisely what I want to know! The knowledge will help me—ah!—I don't know how much it mayn't help me! For there's no doubt about it, gentlemen, Hollis went down to Scarnham to pay ten thousand pounds to somebody on somebody else's account! He was, I am sure, as it were, ambassador for somebody. Who was—who is—that somebody? Almost certainly, the person who gave Hollis the cheque your manager has just mentioned—and whose ten thousand pounds is, as a matter of fact, still lying in your hands! Who is that person? What bank
