“'I hae doots,' said Jamison, 'he may have an understanding with his Department.'
“'Why,' I said, 'you grow in mystery, Mr. Jamison. You cover the land with darkness. If the sum he received was too small to explain him by himself, it is surely too small to explain an arrangement implying a distribution. Ha!' I exclaimed. Let me consider.'
“'Right you are, doctor,' said Sadler. 'You have the idea now. He wan't anywhere round when we left.'
“Certainly, on consideration it seemed to me, that if we were accused of ourselves extracting her whom Sadler insists on calling Hannah Atkins—feloniously from the Museum, we would have some difficulty in proving the culprit to have been Beteta.
“'Beteta,' said Jamison, slowly, after a pause, 'has some sma' penetration. Without knowing much about archaeology, he might consider that a gentleman with a steam yacht is maybe a man of some substance, that might pay a bit more for immunity than for a mummy. For the interests of the Museum, he might consider it proper to attract a strategic contribution from a foreigner. I hae doots the appropriations for the Department of Public Monuments and Memorials don't support its offeecials to their satisfaction. He might arrange the circumstances so that the circumstances would be suffeecient. He might so put it to persons who might be suffeeciently authoritative to make it suffeeciently safe. They might send an authoritative despatch to the Mayor of Portate. I have a bit of information the facts are no so far from that supposition. No that I'd care to be an authority for the statement.'
“'He's an infernal scoundrel!' I exclaimed.
“'It may be so,' said Jamison, 'but he has some sma' penetration. It's my recollection too that our friend Sadler was in no verra good odour with the authorities when he left some years ago. Folk said he ran away a wee bit surrepteetiously, or maybe he'd deny that.'
“Sadler again roared with laughter.
“'I hae doots Beteta has the penetration to remember that too,' said Jamison.
“'However,' I said. 'Kirby will see us through.