The next moment she had slammed the door, and Gabriel Chestermarke glanced at his partner.
"Annoying!" he said. "A most unpleasant young woman! I should have preferred not to tell the police until—well, at any rate, tomorrow. We really do not know to what extent we are-but then, what's the use of talking of that now? We can't prevent her going to the police-station."
"Why, really, Mr. Chestermarke," observed the Earl, "don't you think it's the best thing to do? To tell you the truth, considering that I'm concerned, I was going to do the very same thing myself."
Gabriel bowed stiffly.
"We could not have prevented your lordship either," he said, with another wave of the white hands which seemed to go so well with the habitual pallor of his face. "All that is within your lordship's jurisdiction—not in ours. But—especially since this young lady seems determined to do things in her way—I will tell your lordship why we are slow to move. It is purely a business reason. It was, as I said, ten o'clock when we heard that Horbury was missing. That in itself was such a very strange and unusual thing that my partner and I at once began to examine the contents of our strong room. We had been so occupied five hours when your lordship called. Do you think we could examine everything in five hours? No—nor in ten, nor in twenty! Our task is not one quarter complete! And why we don't wish publicity at once is here—we hold a vast number of securities and valuables belonging to customers. Title-deeds, mortgages—all sorts of things. We
