“Then, if you want to get at the bottom of this, you had better go to one at once, while the scent is hot,” advised Mr. Shelford, speaking in a brisk tone. “Like every other profession, there are all sorts in it, some very smart, some the reverse. I can recommend you to a particularly good man, as keen as mustard. Whenever we have any of this sort of work, we give it to him, and he has always served us well. His name is Grewgus, and his office is in Craven Street, Strand. I will give you a note of introduction to him, and as he is a busy man, you had better ring him up for an appointment. Stay, as it is pretty early, he’ll be at his office. I’ll ring him up now and make an appointment for you.” In a few minutes the affair was settled. Mr. Grewgus would be engaged practically the whole of the day, but he could see Mr. Lydon at six o’clock that evening, if convenient. If not, at ten o’clock the following morning. As the young man was anxious to get on with the matter as quickly as possible, he chose the evening. “By the way, I have a little bit of news for you,” said Shelford as they shook hands at parting. “Poor Hugh Craig’s private fortune is sadly depleted. As far as we are able to make out, he has either parted voluntarily or been forced to part with something like twelve thousand pounds in the last eighteen months. You remember, of course, there were some vague allusions to blackmail in that letter he sent to you from Nice, under cover to us?” “Yes, there was certainly reference to blackmail. But how could he have laid himself open to it? I knew Hugh the best part of my life--he was the soul of honour and probity. He could never have done anything that he would have been ashamed to come to light.” The experienced man of the world shook his head. “The lives of a great many of us are a sealed book, Mr. Lydon. The poor fellow was no doubt distraught when he wrote that letter, and may have used the word without strict regard to its meaning. This harpy may have inveigled it out of him on some plausible pretext or another. All the cheques were drawn to himself, and paid in cash, so we have no means of knowing to whom the money actually went. But, as you can see, he was bled to a pretty good amount.” Later on, about twelve o’clock, Lydon was rung up in his business room where he was hard at work. Stormont’s well-known voice came through the instrument. He was speaking from the _Cecil_, he said. Would Leonard lunch with him at one? He wanted to settle up that little matter with him. But for the concluding words, the young man might have declined the invitation, making some polite excuse. At the present moment he was too much disturbed in his mind about Mr. Stormont to hold any unnecessary intercourse with him. Repayment of the thousand pounds loan was evidently meant. The expected remittance was not a myth, as he had fancied more than once, but had actually arrived.