"Ah! I never thought of that!" I said. "Of course, it seems most likely." "Certainly. The second crime was committed undoubtedly in order to conceal the first." "Then how extraordinary it is that I was spared." "There was a motive, I believe, for that. We shall no doubt find that later." "You will communicate with Scotland Yard, I suppose," I remarked. "Perhaps we shall; perhaps not," answered the inspector, vaguely. "The affair must, of course, be fully investigated. Have you anything to add? You say that some woman treated you kindly. Have you any idea of her personal appearance?" "None," I answered. "The only fact I know was that she was in evening dress, and that upon her wrist was a curious smooth-worn bangle of a kind of fine plaited wire, very pliable, like those worn by African native women." "Eh! What--impossible!" gasped the inspector, in a voice which surprised me. But next moment he recovered his self-possession and made a calm remark that this fact did not lead to anything definite. Yet the sudden exclamation of startled surprise which escaped him aroused within me a belief that my words had given him some mysterious clue. "You have no further statement to make?" "None," I responded. There was a few moments' silence during which time the quill continued its rapid scratching. "You will kindly sign your information," the officer said, whereupon the constable brought me the sheet of foolscap and a pen wherewith I scrawled my name. "Good," observed the inspector, with a grunt of satisfaction. "And now I must ask you to excuse me further, Mr--Mr Heaton, and wish you good morning." I made my adieu, after obtaining from him a promise to communicate with me if anything transpired, and, accompanied by the constable, made my way out into the long passage again. I had not walked a dozen paces ere I knew instinctively that some persons were near me, and next instant felt myself seized roughly by both arms and legs. "What are you doing?" I shouted in alarm; "let me go!" But only for an instant I struggled. The force used was utterly irresistible, and not a single word was uttered. My arms were in a moment pinioned, rendering me helpless as a child. With my terrible affliction upon me, I could neither defend myself nor could I see my assailants. Whoever the latter were, it was evident that they were determined, and, further, that I had been cleverly entrapped. My first thought was that I had been arrested, but ere the lapse of a few moments the hideous truth became impressed forcibly upon me. I tried to fight for life, but my wrists had been seized in grips of steel, and after a few desperate wrenches I stood, bound, and utterly unconscious of where I was. My real position was, to a certain degree, plain. The man whom I had believed to be a constable was no police-officer at all, but some thief or London ruffian; I, far too confiding, had neglected to take the precaution of feeling his uniform.