“Now, a bit--can’t say now how long exactly--after the box had come back here, I was up at Bickerdale’s one Sunday, and after dinner Bickerdale took me into his office. ‘I say!’ he says, when we were alone. ‘You remember that copper box that I was repairing, that you admired?--of course you do! Well, look here, there was some goods came the other day in an old copy of _The Times_,’ he says, ‘and my eye just happened to fall on this, on the front page,’ and he pulled out an old _Times_ and pointed to an advertisement that he’d marked, in the personal column. I read it, and I gaped at it! This,” continued Mr. Weech, suddenly producing a folded newspaper from an inner pocket, “this is not the identical copy of _The Times_ that Bickerdale had; this is another copy of the same issue--I got it, as a back number, for myself. Now, Miss Durham and Mr. Craye, you read that! and you’ll be getting at a very good notion of what it is that I want to get out of Mr. Parslewe! There, marked with red ink.” He laid the newspaper on the table before us, and we bent over it, reading with feelings which--so far as I was concerned--rapidly became mixed. “£250 REWARD. To Auctioneers, Antiquarian and Second-hand Booksellers, Buyers of Rare Books, etc.: Missing, and Probably Stolen, from a well-known Private Library, the following Scarce Works. 1. Hubbard’s Present State of New England, 1677; 2. Brandt’s Ship of Fooles, 1570; 3. Burton’s Anatomy, 1621; 4. Whole Works of Samuel Daniel, Esquire, in Poetrie, 1623; 5. Drayton’s Polyolbion, 1622; 6. Higden’s Polycronicon, 1527; 7. Florio’s Montaigne, 1603. Each of these copies, all extremely scarce, contains a book-plate of which the following is a full description. [Here followed a technical account, heraldic in detail.] Also Missing, and probably stolen at the same time, an Antique Box, of Beaten Copper, on the front of which is engraved the coat-of-arms and legend particularised in the foregoing description. It is probable that these properties will be offered to well-known collectors, here or abroad. The book-plates may have been removed. The above mentioned reward of £250 will be paid to any person giving information which will lead to their recovery. Such information should be given to the undersigned. “SPERRIGOE, CHILLINGLEY, AND WATSON, “_Solicitors_. “3, FRIARS’ PAVEMENT, MEDMINSTER.” I took matters into my own hands on reading this. First nudging Madrasia’s elbow to give her warning that I was about to do something requiring delicacy and diplomacy, I turned to Mr. Weech. “That’s very interesting,” said I. “And--curious! Er--perhaps you’d like a little refreshment, Mr. Weech, after your journey? A whisky-and-soda, now?”