“She is a very charming young lady,” replied the detective a little grimly, for he did not relish being chaffed. “But I shall certainly not exclude her from the scope of my investigations if all others fail. Well now, look here, Mr. Sellars, I expect it will take you a little time to get at Mrs. Morrice’s history. What do you know about this Clayton-Brookes and his nephew? The uncle is a great racing man, I understand, and you are amongst the racing set.” “I know Sir George just a little, we nod to each other when we meet, but I don’t think I have exchanged half a hundred words with him in my life. Archie Brookes I know about as well. But I can tell you this, he is not popular; most people think him a bit of a bounder. Do you want me to investigate in that quarter too?” “Yes, I wish you to find out all you can. I want you to discover particularly what is known about the young man’s father who, according to what we are told, married Mrs. Morrice’s sister.” “Right, it shall be done,” replied Sellars. “Now, as I have said, I don’t know either of the men well, and I can’t get any information from them. But I do know pretty intimately a man who is a great pal of Sir George; he’s a member of White’s, a good, garrulous sort of person, and he’ll talk by the hour when you once get him started. I’ll tap him as soon as I can get the chance. He’s much older than I, of course, but we are rather pals, and I’ll make him give me what I want.” Lane did not possess a very keen sense of humour, his calling did not greatly encourage it, but he was a bit tickled by the gusto with which this remarkable young man, who hid his talents so successfully under that indifferent exterior, set about the task of extracting information from his numerous friends and acquaintances. For it was one of his greatest assets, moving as he did in so many various circles, that if he could not get what he wanted directly, he could always do so indirectly. Here, for example, although he did not know Sir George very well, he was more than intimate with that gentleman’s great friend, whom, of course, he could pump with greater freedom than Sir George himself. Presently he took his leave, promising to let Lane know the result of his investigations at the earliest moment.