"Mr. Cranleigh! Is this Sir Harold Cranleigh's son?" the officer enquired, and a very gentlemanlike expression, which had been dawning on his austere features, became established there for the rest of the day. "After you, sir. After you!" with a bow that did credit to the Force, he protested; and soon he held his own in a spirited discussion upon the most effective form discovered for a carving-knife. "Well, sir, what report am I to make?" he asked, in a very proper frame of mind, when now there was little left, and still less wanted; "according to instructions, made strict search of suspected premises, encountered no resistance, found nothing in contravention of the law, but excellent dinner prepared for us. Embraced the opportunity, according to precept and example of superior officers; found no occasion to take any one in charge, and know no more than we knew before." "You shall know more than you knew before. You shall not return without perfect satisfaction as to the question which brought you here. You have exhibited the common-sense, the self-restraint, and the consideration which English officials alone display. You perceived that it would be what you call a farce, to search the suspected premises, when you found that your visit was expected. But the gendarmery of any other country would have wreaked their anger and disappointment upon the suspected objects. They would have shattered my machinery, sir; and that would have been a heavy blow to me. I have naturally been indignant at the low suspicions entertained of me. Otherwise I would have routed them, by referring your chiefs to the Foreign Office. One word there would have saved all this trouble. But now you shall understand this mighty secret; and so shall Mr. Cranleigh, if he cares to know it." With these words our kind host left the table, and crossed the room to a large cupboard, which he unlocked, and took from it a box containing things that jingled. This box he placed between us with the cover off, and we saw a quantity of small metallic objects, of very queer forms and various construction, like pieces of a Chinese puzzle. Sûr Imar stood regarding us with a smile; for he saw that neither of us was a whit the wiser. "Those are the products of my mill," he said; "no very portentous secret; but it might be fatal to my object, if my little scheme were to find its way prematurely into the public Press. Therefore, I will ask you, Mr. Officer, not to enter this in your report, though you are at liberty to mention it in confidence to your chief. Mr. Cranleigh, I am sure, will not speak of it at all, if I put it to him so. Now, what do you call these little things?" "Couldn't guess to save my life," the officer replied, as he fingered one or two; "artificial insects, spiders, tadpoles, shrimps, or dragon-flies--no, that won't do; I give it up, Sir Imar."