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nized the touch of the Binver Steam Laundry. In fact, it would be very suspicious in these parts if you found a dead man wearing one of his own handkerchiefs. Well, there seemed no point in keeping any of them, so I dropped the lot into Masterman's letter-box. Unusual, perhaps, but I felt it would save explanations."

"Well, I'm sure we're all very grateful to Mr. Gordon for his splendid work among the Mastermen. But it begins to look as if we were left very much where we were. We still don't even know who the corpse was."

There was a knock at the door, and the unwelcome figure of Carmichael obtruded itself. "Sorry if I interrupt," he said, "but I thought you might be interested in this poor fellow we found yesterday. My caddie this morning was giving me the latest news. It's extraordinary how these caddies pick up everything except one's ball."

"What news?" gasped Reeves.

"Well, it seems that Brotherhood was insured at one of these American offices. And they're a great deal more particular than our own Insurance people. And after all they're right to be: one's so apt to think of the Insurance Company as a set of sharks, when in reality they are only protecting the interests of their policy-holders."

"Granted," said Gordon. "Proceed."

"Well, as soon as they heard of the bankruptcy and then saw the news in the morning paper about the Links Tragedy, the Insurance Company pricked