"Just so!" agreed Polke. "But, under the circumstances----" "We have nothing to say to you, superintendent," interrupted Gabriel. "We can't help anything that Lord Ellersdeane has done, nor anything that Miss Fosdyke likes to do. Lord Ellersdeane is not, and never has been, a customer of ours. Miss Fosdyke acts independently. If they call you in--as they seem to have done very thoroughly--it's their look out. We haven't! When we want your assistance, we'll let you know. At present--we don't." He waved one of the white hands towards the door as he spoke, as if to command withdrawal. But Polke lingered. "You don't propose to give the police any information, then, Mr. Chestermarke?" he asked quietly. "At present we don't propose to give any information to anybody whom it doesn't concern," replied Gabriel. "As regards the mere surface facts of Mr. John Horbury's disappearance, you know as much as we do." "You don't propose to join in any search for him or any attempt to discover his whereabouts, sir?" inquired Starmidge, speaking for the first time. Gabriel looked up from his paper, and slowly eyed his questioner. "What we propose to do is a matter for ourselves," he answered coldly. "For no one else." Starmidge bowed and turned away, and Polke, after hesitating a moment, said good-morning and followed him from the room. The two men nodded to Neale and went out into the Market-Place. "Well?" said Polke. "Queer couple!" remarked Starmidge. Polke jerked his thumb at the poster in the bank window. "Of course!" he said, "so long as they can satisfy their customers that all's right so far as they're concerned, we can't get at what is missing that belongs to the Chestermarkes." "There are ways of finding that out," replied Starmidge quietly. "What ways, now?" asked Polke. "We can't make 'em tell us their private affairs. Supposing Horbury has robbed them, they aren't forced to tell us how much or how little he's robbed 'em of!" "All in good time," remarked the detective. "We're only beginning. Let's go and talk to this Miss Fosdyke a bit. She doesn't mind what money she spends on this business, you say?" "Not if it costs her her last penny!" answered Polke. "All right," said Starmidge. "Fosdyke's Entire represents a lot of pennies. We'll just have a word or two with her." Betty, looking out of her window on the Market-Place, had seen the two men leave Chestermarke's Bank, and was waiting eagerly for their coming. She listened intently to Polke's account of the interview with the partners, and her cheeks glowed indignantly as he brought it to an end. "Shameful!" she exclaimed. "To make accusations against my uncle, and then to refuse to say what they are! But--can't you make them say?" "We'll try, in good time," answered Starmidge. "Slow and steady's the game here. For, whatever it is, it's a deep game." "Nothing has been heard since I saw you last night?" asked Betty anxiously. "No one has brought you any news?"