ready life was settling down into a groove. Waiting on Mr. Sleuth was jus

mind, and in a way it amused her. The more so that whatever his oddities Mr. Sleuth had none of those tiresome, disagreeable ways with which landladies are only too familiar, and which seem peculiar only to those human beings who also happen to be lodgers. To take but one point: Mr. Sleuth

he certa

Bunting had soon discovered that there was a relation between the two books-seemed to be the lodger's only reading. He spent hours each day, gener

e had been with them he had allowed his money-the considerable sum of one hundred and eighty-four sovereigns-to lie about wrapped up in little pieces of rather dirty newspaper on his dressing-table. That had quite upset Mrs. Bunting. She

ssure you, Mrs. Bunting, that I hardly have to speak to a human being-especially to a woman" (and he ha

she would often hear Mr. Sleuth reading aloud to himself passages in the Bible that were very uncomplimentary to her sex. But Mrs. Bunting had no very great o

hadn't been, as Bunting funnily styled it, "just a leetle touched upstairs," he wouldn't be here, living this strange, solitary li

t of our own past lives which becomes for any reason poignantly memorable -wondered how soon it was that she had disc

of this strange nocturnal habit of Mr. Sleuth's happened to be during the night which preceded the day on which she had observed a ve

, the hour, the minute when these happenings took place! Much as she thought about it afterwards, even Mrs. Bunting never quite made up her mind whether it was dur

is the fact that her discovery coincided with various occurr

**

ss sleep by sounds at once unexpected and familiar. She knew at once what those sounds were. They were those made by Mr. Sleuth, first comi

ere she lay wide awake, afraid to move lest Bunting should waken up too, till she

tired, so tired indeed, that she had been very glad when Bunting good-nat

ppear pleased. This perfect lodger had one serious fault from the point of view of those who keep lodgings. Strange to say, he was a vegetarian. He would not eat meat in

long, and to remain so very vivid, it had been arranged that Mr. Sleuth was to have some

soul, and liked to have a gossip in the shops he frequented, Mrs. Bunting rose a

r a broken night, and it was a comfort to her to know

ddenly clanged through the quiet hous

kened one of those tiresome people who come

hen her face cleared, for it was that good youn

as if he had walked over-quick

n-do! Bunting's out, but he won't be very long now

know why, M

e, Joe was on a big job just now-the job of trying to catch The Avenger! Her husband had alluded to the fa

re before he went out, for now the room was nice and warm-and it was just horrible outside. She

jolly to be in here, out of that awful cold!" exclaimed

as well as cold. He was pale, almost pallid under his usual healthy, t

t to make you a cup of te

I should be right down

ked round, and again

tin

is it, Joe?" she asked. And then, in sudden terror, "You've never come t

ever made you think

e's been anot

. He was staring at her with unhappy,

And then what he meant flashed across her-"another of them

give her ill news of Bunting-that the feeling that she did experience on hearing this piece of news was

hole of London's nether-world. Even her refined mind had busied itself for the last two or three days with the strange problem so frequently prese

ting isn't here," she said, drawing in her breath. "He

pouring boiling water

e turned and glanced at him. "Why

ung fellow did look

ou all about it that made me turn queer. You see, this time I was one of the first there, an

wn the hot tea befo

he said, "I never would have thought, with all the horribl

e," he said. "And then-then-oh, Mrs. Bunting, 'tw

Avenger's bit of paper! Bunting always said it

-even-" (he lowered his voice, and looked round him as if the walls had ears)-"

'you think that a Bobby m

poor soul was still warm,"-he shuddered-"that brought me out West this morning. One of our bosses lives close by, in Prince Albert Terrace,

absently. "Yes

t on Chandler. "He had me up in his dressing-room, and w

omething now?" s

e said hastily. "I don't feel as if

y, for she was a sensible woman. And to please her he took a

And I've a goodish heavy day in fro

n they found-" she hesitated

oner either I or the officer who found her must have knocked up against that

like?" she as

was such an awful fog. But there's one thing

in a low voice. "Whatever sort

er middle, like-such a strange sensation,

loss to acc

xamining her, like-who was positive she had seen him, said, 'Just a tall,

. Bunting absently. "How v

deed with in something, Mrs. Bunting. We've always wondered how he h

the lodger had done with his bag. It was possible-in fact, when one came to think of it, it was very probable-that he had just los

hat'll help catch him. There isn't a London man or woman, I don't suppose, who wouldn'

longer for Bunting?"

ening or to-morrow, and tell you any more that's happened. Th

had enough to

have," he s

d his wife had quite a little tiff-the first tiff

as angry that Mrs. Bunting hadn't got more details of the horribl

d?" he said indignantly. "I suppose you put Chandler off -that's what you d

came for, if you wants to know. He could hardly speak of it at all-he felt so bad. In fact, he did

which the murderer had written his name was

sn't the sort of thing I sh

shouting out the awful discovery which had been made that morning-that of The Avenger's fifth murder

dently wakened Mr. Sleuth, for his landlady hadn't b