I quickly switched off the light and peeped out of the window around the edge of the blind, which I drew slightly aside. In the shadow of the wall upon the opposite side of the narrow lane a man was standing! I turned on the light again. The watcher should not be disappointed! My skull being dressed, I broached the subject of the letter, which I said I had found in my cab after the accident which had caused the injury. "Someone left this behind to-day, sir," I said; "perhaps the gentleman who was with me when I had the accident; and I've got no means of tracing him. He may be able to trace _me_, though, or he may advertise. It evidently contains something valuable. I wonder if you would do me a small favour? Would you mind taking charge of it for a week or so, until it is claimed?" He asked me why I did not take it to Scotland Yard. "Because," said I, "if the owner claims it from Scotland Yard he is less likely to be generous than if he gets it direct from me!" "But what is the point," asked Dr. Stuart, "in leaving it here?" I explained that if _I_ kept the letter I might be suspected of an intention of stealing it, whereas directly there was any inquiry, he could certify that I had left it in his charge. He seemed to be satisfied and asked me to come into his study for a moment. The man in the lane was probably satisfied, too. I had stood three paces from the table-lamp all the time, waving the letter about as I talked, and casting a bold shadow on the linen blind! The first thing that struck me as I entered the doctor's study was that the French windows, which opened on a sheltered lawn, were open. I acted accordingly. "You see," said Dr. Stuart, "I am enclosing your letter in this big envelope which I am sealing." "Yes, sir," I replied, standing at some distance from him, so that he had to speak loudly. "And would you mind addressing it to the Lost Property Office." "Not at all," said he, and did as I suggested. "If not reclaimed within a reasonable time, it will be sent to Scotland Yard." I edged nearer to the open window. "If it is not reclaimed," I said loudly, "it goes to Scotland Yard--yes." "Meanwhile," concluded the doctor, "I am locking it in this private drawer in my bureau." "It is locked in your bureau. Very good." CHAPTER III DISAPPEARANCE OF CHARLES MALET Knowing, and I knew it well, that people of "The Scorpion" were watching, I do not pretend that I felt at my ease as I drove around to the empty house in which I garaged my cab. My inquiry had entered upon another stage, and Charles Malet was about to disappear from the case. I was well aware that if he failed in his vigilance for a single moment he might well disappear from the world!