Shelley made sympathetic noises once more, and said: “Go on, Mr. Fairhurst. All this is most interesting; and you will understand its value in the present case when I tell you some-thing later on. For the moment I want all the information about Mr. Wallace that I can conveniently lay my hands on.”

Henry almost purred with pleasure. “The present case, did I understand you to say, Mr. Shelley?” he asked. “Well, all this is very gratifying; very gratifying indeed. I hope that I shall be able to tell you something which will be of real assistance in this case.”

“I am sure you will, sir,” answered Shelley gravely. “Do go on with your story. I am sure that Cunningham is just as eager as I am to hear the rest of it; and how the unfortunate affair ended.”

“Well,” said Henry and paused irresolutely for a moment. “He went on borrowing more and more money from me, still paying it back with—shall I say a little pressure from time to time? I didn’t like to refuse the poor chap. He always had such a good excuse for wanting a little cash, just to tide him over a difficult time.”

“He would,” said Shelley grimly.

“This went on, as I said,” continued Henry, “for some months. One week he would pay me back half a crown and borrow five shillings. The next week he would borrow another five shillings; and, after asking him several times, I should recover the ten shillings a month later. I trust that I make myself perfectly clear, Inspector?”

“Perfectly clear, Mr. Fairhurst,” returned Shelley. “I only wish that all the witnesses we had to deal with could express themselves half as clearly.”

Again Henry preened himself with satisfaction. Such praise from the great men of Scotland Yard, he told himself, did not come everyone’s way.

“Once, however, he borrowed five pounds from me. He was, he informed me, on the point of being thrown out of his lodgings, as he owed several weeks’ rent.” Henry paused, and looked at his listeners to see if they had any remarks to make with regard to this somewhat surprising proceeding on the part of Mr. Wallace.

As no comment was forthcoming, however, he went on: “I asked him countless times to return this five pounds, as, though I am by no means a poor man, Inspector, five pounds is more money than I care to throw down a drain, so to speak.”

“I quite understand,” said Shelley.

“But,” went on Henry, “he showed no desire whatever to pay this perfectly just debt. Every time I asked him for the money, he had some excuse to make. He would have some other debt which was more urgent, as his creditor had threatened to issue a summons if the cash wasn’t paid by a certain date. Or there would be some books which he had to buy for the literary research he was engaged upon—”