[“Confronting the old woman, with a look of hate gleaming in his eyes”]

[“Now we could distinctly see the glimmer of white paper”]

[“ ‘Go and pack your boxes and leave the house this instant’ ”]

[“Still talking shrilly … the pseudo Mrs. Stein dragged her into our own sitting-room”]

[“Lady Irene, with a cry of agony, fell senseless in my dear lady’s arms”]

[“Philip Baddock looked defiant, and Felkin taciturn and sulky”]

[“ ‘Ask Philip Baddock if my threats are paltry’ ”]

LADY MOLLY OF SCOTLAND
YARD

I.
THE NINESCORE MYSTERY

Well, you know, some say she is the daughter of a duke, others that she was born in the gutter, and that the handle has been soldered on to her name in order to give her style and influence.