“I will endeavour to bear up,” replied Michael, seating himself at his lordship’s desk and preparing to take a note of the circumstances which had led to his lordship’s call for assistance. He finished the report, blotted and folded it and placed the document in his pocket. “I only want to ask you one or two questions and they concern Kate--or Miss Tenby, as you call her. I’m afraid I gave you a shock this morning.” “It was certainly a surprise,” admitted Lord Flanborough cautiously; “who is this Kate? We have made a very careful search of the house but nothing is missing so far as we can tell.” Michael laughed. “You needn’t worry about that. Kate is not a pilferer. Her real name is Katharine Westhanger; they call her Kate and she is the Colonel’s niece. Her age is eighteen or nineteen, and from a child she has been brought up to regard the world as her oyster. Her mother was a wholesome parson’s daughter, her father was a rascal who was kicked out of the army in ’89 for an offence against the Law of Property. Her maternal grandfather was General Sir Shaun Masserfield, the greatest strategist the British army has ever held--Kate inherits his genius but has not learnt his code. Her father died when she was a child and her uncle, who is a greater scoundrel than her father was--the family on the Westhanger side has a criminal history which goes back at intervals for two hundred years--completed her education. Kate has been brought up to be a thief, but a big thief. She is, I believe, the brains of the biggest criminal organisation in the world. Every member of the gang has been taken, but no evidence has ever been offered against Kate. She plans the big swindles and each one is bigger than the last--but never once have we traced the offence to her door.” “Why is it that the police--?” began Lord Flanborough. “The police, my dear Flanborough,” said Michael wearily, “are human beings who have to deal with human beings. They are not angels, nor thought readers, nor are they clairvoyant. The laws of this country are so framed that the criminal has six chances to every one possessed by his enemy. We know Kate was concerned in that big bank smashing exploit which took two million crowns from the treasury of the Bank of Holland. It was Kate who organised the raid upon the London jewellers in June of last year. Kate is the mother of Crime Street. You don’t know that thoroughfare, but one of these days I’ll introduce you to it, if you are curious--but I warn you that if you expect to steep your soul in sordidness, you will be disappointed--it is the most respectable street in London. Her ingenuity is remarkable, her patience beyond praise, and that is partly why I have come back: I want to know why she was here and what she was doing?” “As I say…” began Lord Flanborough again.