I don't know where 'e got the mackintosh from if 'e wasn't carrying it .sx They don't give 'em away downstairs , you know .sx " The inspector nodded .sx Grace had been silent all the time that Widgeon had been putting his questions .sx She was feeling a certain amount of resentment because Fred Beacham had imagined that she might have had a hand in luring Vining to his death .sx As there was a pause , she looked up .sx " Can I go now ?sx " she asked the inspector .sx Widgeon looked at her and a faint smile came into his face .sx " I suppose , " he said , " that as Beacham so unhesitatingly accepts your statement that you were not at Hyde Park Station yesterday afternoon , I'm expected to do the same , eh ?sx " .sx " I'm not lyin' !sx I'm not that sort , " protested Grace .sx " You can ask anybody .sx .. " .sx " Whom , for instance ?sx " queried Widgeon .sx " I'm not lyin' !sx You believe me , don't you , Fred ?sx " She turned to Beacham .sx " She's tellin' the truth , straight she is , mister .sx " There was a note of real sincerity in the ticket collector's voice .sx Perhaps the ticket collector himself realised it , for he checked himself and said no more .sx " You seem to know Grace pretty well , " observed Widgeon .sx Beacham hung his head .sx " I do .sx " " By the way , " went on Widgeon brightly .sx " I've gota note here for you - from Grace , I believe .sx I was curious enough to read it .sx " He handed Beacham the envelope that he had taken from Pamela .sx Beacham read it and crumpled it up in his hand .sx " Didn't you know better than that , Grace ?sx " he said to the girl .sx Grace's eyes filled with tears and she could hardly speak .sx " You .sx .. don't know what it meant for me , " she said half sobbing .sx " I think I understand , " said Widgeon not unkindly to Grace .sx " It's a pity that it's all happened like this .sx " " I was terribly afraid that it'd all come out in public , " went on Grace .sx " It's bad enough as it is .sx I don't know what to do .sx I don't know what to do .sx I only knew yesterday morning .sx That was what we spoke about .sx .. " .sx She wept bitterly now .sx " You're a fine sort of chap , " said the inspector sternly to Beacham .sx " Why can't you stick to your wife , 'stead of messing about .sx .. like this ?sx " .sx " You dunno my wife !sx " exclaimed Beacham defiantly ; then he checked himself again and remained silent .sx " Come Grace .sx " It was kindly Dr. Willing , who came forward and laid his hands gently on Grace's shoulder .sx " Come .sx I'll take you home .sx We'll see this business through all right .sx You mustn't cry .sx Come .sx " He led her gently to the door .sx Beacham followed them out slowly .sx As soon as they had gone the inspector picked up the telephone on his desk .sx His order was short and to the point .sx XII .sx Inspector Widgeon had not pressed Grace Unthorne or Fred Beacham for further details .sx Beacham's evidence had shed a great light on the whole case - the light , in fact , that Widgeon had been seeking .sx That was enough , and there was no need to pursue investigations that were as irrelevant as they might be painful .sx The fact that Grace Unthorne , an unmarried servant girl , had " got into trouble " with Fred Beacham , a married man , and was probably going to have a child by him , was sufficient to explain a good many things .sx It explained , in particular , all the reticence that Grace and Fred had shown over their conversation of the previous day .sx The poor girl had been terrified of what she called " her shame " being made public ; and it was this terror that had prompted her to send the incriminating note to Beacham .sx She had not known of his detention at Scotland Yard , and was afraid of being seen with him in public again .sx She had therefore cast about for a friend on whom she could rely to carry a message to him and had picked on Pamela Jackson , who had always been kind and sympathetic toward her .sx Pamela had taken the note to Hyde Park Station , and finding that Beacham was not there had enquired his address from another ticket collector , a friend of his , who had given her Beacham's old addressin ignorance of the fact that he had moved from there some weeks before .sx It was during her visit to his old address that Widgeon had come upon her .sx Widgeon himself had never been inclined to suspect Grace of playing a leading part in the mystery of Laurence Vining's death , and he was relieved that he could let her go .sx She had enough trouble of her own without being mixed up with a possible murder .sx The fact of the red hat , Widgeon put down as either a coincidence or else the result of a fiendish plot to implicate an innocent girl .sx On the whole everything pointed to it being a coincidence .sx After hearing Beacham's new evidence , Widgeon had more than an inkling of the manner in which Vining had met his death .sx But the immediate reason for it was by no means clear .sx As yet there was very little to go upon .sx He glanced through the reports once again .sx Jack Ransome , still at large .sx Suleiman still at large .sx But they were bound to be tracked before long .sx Widgeon had great faith in his minions .sx He then turned his attention to the little tin box containing the refuse and litter from the floor of the lift shaft .sx He went through everything in the box twice over , and found nothing of the slightest interest or bearing on the case .sx After Beacham's evidence however , this puzzled rather than disappointed him .sx The inspector then set himself to think .sx He thought very hard , and the more he thought , the easier he found it to visualise the scene as it must have been enacted on the previous afternoon at Hyde Park Tube Station , but the more difficult it became for him to recognise the .sx faces of the actors .sx He realised , more clearly than ever before , that he was up against something out of the common , some devilishly ingenious plot , planned with more than ordinary care and executed with consummate audacity .sx Slowly the light began to break .sx With no more to go upon than his investigations of the last twenty-four hours had revealed to him he not only pieced together the whole scene , but he filled in the faces of at least one of the actors .sx It was a shot in the dark , and must be tested without delay .sx While the Chief was thus meditating upon the problem , in the peace and comfort of his room at head-quarters , his henchmen were busily at work not only in the highways and by-ways of London , but throughout the length and breadth of the land .sx The long arm of the Law was being exerted to its utmost , in search of the two wanted men , Captain Jack Ransome and Suleiman , the Malayan .sx Their names were on everybody's lips :sx photo-graphs and descriptions of them were appearing in almost every newspaper in the country .sx Still they could not be found .sx It was now eight o'clock in the evening on the day after Vining's death , and along a street in the East End of London there sloped the tired and haggard figure of a man .sx All day he had wandered , alone , friendless and hunted , scarcely daring even to buy food for himself , for fear of being discovered .sx The kind of experience he had had earlier in the day with the men in the timber yard , had been repeated again and again , always in that half-jesting tone of the Englishman who refuses to believe , that anything sensational can ever happen to him .sx Loafers and the like , with whom Suleiman could hardly help exchanging a word or two at street corners , had remarked on his likeness to the wanted man , and yet it had never entered the head of any one of them that they were actually standing face to face with the very man himself .sx Had Suleiman ( who incidentally had never read any of Poe's tales ) only realised it , his best hiding place was where everybody could see him .sx But - quite excusably perhaps - he did not realise it :sx the fact that he had not yet been discovered , he regarded as little less than a miracle , and he felt much as Inspector Widgeon felt , only more acutely , that he was bound to be caught before long .sx It was only a matter of hours , perhaps only of minutes .sx This reflection , which had weighed on his mind all day , had reduced him , by the evening , to a state verging on nervous collapse .sx He had never been remarkable for his strength of mind , and the strain of suspense had told upon him to such an extent that his thoughts were hardly coherent and he scarcely knew what he was doing .sx To reason with himself about his position , to work out a sensible plan , indeed to " think straight " at all - these things were quite beyond his present powers .sx He could only drag himself along aimlessly and wonder vaguely when he would be caught up and whisked off to some underground dungeon where he would be slowly tortured to death !sx Such was the only fate he could imagine to be in store for him .sx There is little doubt that he would have continued to .sx wander about the streets all that night and all next day , and probably the day after that - indefinitely in fact , had not his own almost insane precipitancy cut his wanderings short .sx The end came in rather an absurd way .sx It was just after eight o'clock , and he was walking slowly along a somewhat crowded thoroughfare , casting furtive glances at the people who were passing , none of whom were taking the least notice of him .sx Suddenly he became aware that someone was pointing at him from the other side of the road .sx The someone in question was an old woman of immense proportions , who had been waddling along the pavement accompanied by a young and rather villainous-looking man ; she had apparently stopped in the middle of the pavement and , at the moment when Suleiman caught sight of her , she was undoubtedly pointing an umbrella in his direction .sx The man at her side looked round , also in Suleiman's direction , and immediately began to run across the road towards him .sx This was enough for the Malayan .sx It was the moment he had been expecting , ever since he had crept out of his wooden shed just below Hungerford Bridge .sx The game was up .sx He saw the man coming towards him , and with one stifled yell and almost blinded with fear , he took to his heels .sx In spite of the people on the pavement he made astonishing progress .sx He had run more than seventy-five yards ( without bumping into more than three people and knocking over one small boy ) before the passers-by began to realise that a runaway lunatic was apparently in their midst .sx One or two men started to follow him , shouting and signalling to others in front to stop him !sx Pale as his dark skin would .sx allow him to be , and foaming at the mouth , Suleiman sped on .sx He had not the slightest idea where to make for , or what had happened to the man who he supposed was his original pursuer .sx ( As a matter of fact this man had never had any idea of pursuing Suleiman :sx who or what he was pursuing , only he and the old woman with the umbrella knew) .sx All Suleiman was aware of was that the whole street seemed to be watching him and that it could only be a matter of seconds before he was caught .sx Suddenly he came upon a large and solid policeman in his path .sx Without a moment's thought or hesitation he did probably the wisest thing he could have done .sx He threw himself almost bodily into the arms of this somewhat astonished minion of the law .sx Broadly speaking , there is no more calm and impassive class of the community than the police .sx They are of all people the best at keeping their heads in an emergency , and in common with the British aristocracy regard it as bad form to exhibit surprise even in the most surprising circumstances .sx