I had some little difficulty in inducing him to see me at that late hour. He was a busy solicitor, and his servant referred me to his office in Bull Street, where, she said, he would see me in the morning. But, being pushful, Mr. Pooley at last consented to see me. "Yes," he said, as I sat with him in his diningroom, "it is quite true that Professor Greer lectured before us last night, and made a most interesting announcement--one which seems to have caused a good deal of stir in the world of metallurgy. The papers were full of it to-day." "I understood the Professor was abroad," I remarked rather lamely. "So he was. He came home specially to fulfil a long-standing engagement. He promised us to lecture, and gave us the date as far back as November last." "Do you know where he arrived from?" I inquired. "Yes. He dined with us here before the lecture, and stayed with us the night. He told us at dinner that he had just returned from Roumania." "Then he did not leave Birmingham until this morning!" I cried. "Ah, how I wish I had known! Have you any idea where he has gone?" "I went with him to the station this morning, and he took a ticket to Sheffield--to visit Sir Mark Edwards, I believe. He met at the station a friend who had been to the lecture and who had stayed at the Grand that night. He was introduced to me as Mr. Kirk. Do you know him?" "Kirk?" I gasped. "Yes; a tall, thin, grey-haired man--Mr. Kershaw Kirk." "Yes. They travelled together," said the Alderman. "It seemed as though Kirk came from London to meet the Professor, who had returned by the Hook of Holland to Harwich, and came on by the through carriage to Birmingham." "And you believe that Kirk has gone with the Professor to visit Sir Mark Edwards?" I exclaimed eagerly. "I think so. If you sent a letter to the Professor at Sir Mark's address, it's quite probable that he would get it." "Had you ever met the Professor before?" I inquired. "No, never. Of course I knew him well by repute." "Did he mention that Edwards and Sutton were old friends of his?" "I gathered that they were not. He had simply concluded an arrangement with them for working his process as a matter of business. Indeed, he mentioned that Sir Mark Edwards had invited him for a few days." "Then they are not friends of long standing?" I asked. "Probably not. But--well, why do you ask such curious questions as these, Mr.--Holford! What, indeed, is the motive of all this inquiry? The Professor is a well-known man, and you could easily approach him yourself," the keen solicitor remarked. "Yes, probably so. But my inquiry is in the Professor's own interest," I said, because I had to make my story good. "As a matter of fact, I have learnt of an attempt to steal the secret of his process, and I'm acting for his protection. When my inquiries are complete, I shall go to him and place the whole matter before him."