The investigation marked time. Gertstein had been able to throw no light on the forgery, save that a cheque form was missing from his book, and in one or two interviews Labar found him more prickly than at first. He seemed gloomily to revel in giving up hope that any result would be achieved by the matter of fact methods of the police. The strange disappearance of Miss Noelson he put down entirely to the heavy-handed tactlessness of Labar. The latter had not thought it worth while to tell everything. "She has been terrified," declared Gertstein. "You made a big blunder in letting her see that you suspected her. That poor girl has been driven away, and you are responsible because you told her she was the thief." "She'll be back, all right," said Labar with a calmness that the little man felt bordered on callousness. "We'll find her." There Gertstein with a disbelieving grunt left the matter, although he mentally decided that if Penelope was not traced quickly he would enlist the aid of some other machinery than that of Scotland Yard. The burglarious Gold Dust Teddy was leading an apparently normal, half-drunken existence, with Down and Heath, both ambitious young officers, camping on his trail. So far he had afforded them no chance of getting nearer to proof against Larry. They had devised means--what they were Labar did not inquire, though he might make a close guess--of studying all the correspondence, both inward and outward, of his household. They had even used tests recommended to them by a Government chemist calculated to reveal the most obdurate sympathetic ink. And Heath patronising Teddy's favourite "pub" had stood the latter sundry drinks the while he conveyed that he himself was a "screwsman" much wanted, who was quite ready to take a hand in any exploit that might perchance lead to profit. Beyond this Down had his small coterie of "informants" on the qui vive. All this had hitherto gone for nothing. A very effective turn over of Larry's Hampstead house, under the powers of the search warrant that Malone had obtained, had been futile. It is to be doubted if the most inexperienced of the officers engaged seriously expected that anything incriminating would be found. Amid all the sumptuous equipment of the residence there was nothing that had not been honestly bought and paid for. It was the house of a very wealthy, very tasteful man. There were no dramatic secret doors or hiding places. The few servants about the place had antecedents that placed them beyond suspicion. They only knew that Mr. Hughes was a generous, if somewhat erratic, master, given to sudden comings and goings, in which he was usually attended by his valet, and his chauffeur. About these two men little could be learnt. Letters were found--tradesmen's bills and other quite innocent missives--that helped not at all.