"Now you'd better mizzle," observed the man at the window.
"Thank you," replied Thorndyke, "I think we had;" and, with a pleasant nod at the custodian, he proceeded to adopt the hospitable suggestion.
"Mr. Marchmont has been here, sir, with Inspector Badger and another gentleman," said Polton, as we entered our chambers. "They said they would call again about five."
"Then," replied Thorndyke, "as it is now a quarter to five, there is just time for us to have a wash while you get the tea ready. The particles that float in the atmosphere of Limehouse are not all mother-of-pearl."
Our visitors arrived punctually, the third gentleman being, as we had supposed, Mr. Solomon Löwe. Inspector Badger I had not seen before, and he now impressed me as showing a tendency to invert the significance of his own name by endeavouring to "draw" Thorndyke; in which, however, he was not brilliantly successful.
"I hope you are not going to disappoint Mr. Löwe, sir," he commenced facetiously. "You have had a good look at that hat--we saw your marks on it--and he expects that you will be able to point us out the man, name and address all complete." He grinned patronizingly at our unfortunate client, who was looking even more haggard and worn than he had been on the previous morning.
"Have you--have you made any--discovery?" Mr Löwe asked with pathetic eagerness.
"We examined the hat very carefully, and I think we have established a few facts of some interest."
"Did your examination of the hat furnish any information as to the nature of the stolen property, sir?" inquired the humorous inspector.
Thorndyke turned to the officer with a face as expressionless as a wooden mask.
"We thought it possible," said he, "that it might consist of works of Japanese art, such as netsukes, paintings, and such like."
Mr. Löwe uttered an exclamation of delighted astonishment, and the facetiousness faded rather suddenly from the inspector's countenance.
"I don't know how you can have found out," said he. "We have only known it half an hour ourselves, and the wire came direct from Florence to Scotland Yard."
"Perhaps you can describe the thief to us," said Mr. Löwe, in the same eager tone.
"I dare say the inspector can do that," replied Thorndyke.