“Ah, yes!” said Carpentaria. “That thief. Two thousand five hundred pounds. And you say that Mr. Ilam has been carried off. Tell me all about that. Come this way. Come into the street—it is always the most private place.”
And in the Central Way, near the fountain, upon which coloured lights were reflected from below, Mr. Gloucester related in detail to Carpentaria the episode of the theft.
“You say it was a man dressed in blue, with grey hair?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And there were three of you, including Mr. Ilam, and you could not manage to disarm him?”
“It might have meant death for the first of us, sir.”
“Well,” said Carpentaria absently, “what if it did?”
Mr. Gloucester grunted.
“You said I was to consult Mr. Lapping, sir. Shall we go there?”
“No,” said Carpentaria, “not yet. I will look into it myself first. The principal mystery is that of the doorkeeper. What is his name?”