"Yes, Sir John. We now have a man of the character already indicated, who, as he has undoubtedly constructed silent engines, must have done so in secret. He must have had private engineering works in order to make an important part of his machines. The point is, where? On the Continent? I think not. He would be watched far more carefully than in this country. America is still more unlikely. Let us assume England. Having done so, we can, I think, safely deduce that for obvious reasons this man and his confederates--for we know he has them--would endeavour to build his pirate ship as near as possible to the place he intended to use as the base of his operations. And that base--if your experience bears me out--is certainly somewhere or other on the coast?" "Of course, one would say that it must be so, Mr. Danjuro. And yet it seems impossible. The whole coast of England is patrolled by the coastguards. For all practical purposes England is no bigger than a pocket-handkerchief. I thought of Scotland and the Northern Isles. I thought of wild places on the Irish coast. I have had a fleet of airships surveying and photographing these places for the last two days. No hangar bigger than a motor-shed could have escaped their notice. All the land police of the villages round the coasts have been interrogated by Scotland Yard. Nothing, nothing whatever has been seen." I spoke with some passion, for I felt it. The sense of impotence was maddening. The Japanese rolled another cigarette. As he did so the door opened and Thumbwood came in. "I delivered your note, Sir John, and the editor's compliments and thanks." "Charles," I said, "this gentleman here is Mr. Danjuro. He is going to help us. Mr. Danjuro is "--I hesitated for a moment, really it was difficult to describe him!--"is one of the foremost detectives in the world!" Thumbwood's hand went up to his forehead in the stable boy's salute. Then, as he saw my guest full-face, he started. "I saw you this morning, sir," he said. "You were talking to old Mrs. Jessop, the dresser at the Parthenon Theatre. It was in the 'Blue Dragon,' just round the corner by the stage-door." "And you were with the stage-door keeper. A curious coincidence," Mr. Danjuro replied, with his weary smile, and at a look from me Thumbwood, very puzzled indeed, left the room. "I spent part of this morning at the Parthenon Theatre, Sir John. Your servant apparently thought of doing the same thing. A man of considerable acumen?--I imagined so. To proceed. Now that we have cleared away a few preliminary obstructions, we arrive at a point which I regard as of great significance. You are engaged--I speak of intimate matters, but purely in my character of a consultant--to Miss Constance Shepherd, a young lady of beauty and celebrity." ... Confound the fellow, he spoke of Connie as if she were a fish! "That is so," I told him.