the　girl　an　acplice　in　the　treason　by　telling

her　his　plans。 It　is　all　very　bad。〃

〃But　surely；　Holmes；　character　goes　for　something？ Then；　again；

why　should　he　leave　the　girl　in　the　street　and　dart　away　to

mit　a　felony？〃

〃Exactly！ There　are　certainly　objections。 But　it　is　a

formidable　case　which　they　have　to　meet。〃

Mr。　Sidney　Johnson；　the　senior　clerk；　met　us　at　the　office　and

received　us　with　that　respect　which　my　panion's　card　always

manded。 He　was　a　thin；　gruff；　bespectacled　man　of　middle　age；

his　cheeks　haggard；　and　his　hands　twitching　from　the　nervous

strain　to　which　he　had　been　subjected。

〃It　is　bad；　Mr。　Holmes；　very　bad！ Have　you　heard　of　the　death　of

the　chief？〃

〃We　have　just　e　from　his　house。〃

〃The　place　is　disorganized。 The　chief　dead；　Cadogan　West　dead；

our　papers　stolen。 And　yet；　when　we　closed　our　door　on　Monday

evening；　we　were　as　efficient　an　office　as　any　in　the　government

service。 Good　God；　it's　dreadful　to　think　of！ That　West；　of　all

men；　should　have　done　such　a　thing！〃

〃You　are　sure　of　his　guilt；　then？〃

〃I　can　see　no　other　way　out　of　it。 And　yet　I　would　have　trusted

him　as　I　trust　myself。〃

〃At　what　hour　was　the　office　closed　on　Monday？〃

〃At　five。〃

〃Did　you　close　it？〃

〃I　am　always　the　last　man　out。〃

〃Where　were　the　plans？〃

〃In　that　safe。 I　put　them　there　myself。〃

〃Is　there　no　watchman　to　the　building？〃

〃There　is；　but　he　has　other　departments　to　look　after　as　well。

He　is　an　old　soldier　and　a　most　trustworthy　man。 He　saw　nothing

that　evening。 Of　course　the　fog　was　very　thick。〃

〃Suppose　that　Cadogan　West　wished　to