It is interesting to record that Simon Templar got his own way. Basher Tope obeyed his injunctions to the letter before moving off with the obvious intention of informing his boss of the disreputable policeman whom he was being compelled to entertain. Of course, Basher Tope was prejudiced about policemen; and it must be admitted that the Saint used menaces to enforce obedience. There was the little matter of a robbery with violence, for which Basher Tope had been wanted for the past month, as the Saint happened to know, and that gave him what many would consider to be an unfair advantage in the argument,

Left alone with a tankard of beer at his elbow, the register on his knee, a cigarette between his lips, and his fountain-pen poised, Simon read the previous entries with interest before making his own. The last few names were those which particularly occupied his attention:

A.E. Crantor Bristol British

Gregory Marring London British

E. Tregarth London British

Professor Bernhard Raxel Vienna Austrian

All these entries were dated about three weeks before, and none had been made since.

Simon Templar smiled, and signed directly under the last entry;

Professor Rameses Smith-Smyth-Smythe..

Timbuctoo, Patagonian

"And still," thought the Saint, as he carefully blotted the page, "the question remains--who is E. Tregarth?"

The saint went to bed early that night, and he had not seen any of the men he hoped to find. That fact failed to trouble him, for he reckoned that the following day would give him all the time he needed for making the acquaintance of Messrs. Raxel, Marring, and Crantor.

He got up early the next morning and went out to have a look round. The mist had cleared, and although it was still bitterly cold the sky was clear and the sun shone.