"I have seldom," he pronounced, looking fixedly at his companion, "seen a more amateurish piece of work than the arrangement of this so-called debauch. It seems pitiable, Mr. Wingate, that a man with brains like yours should have sought to deceive in so puerile a fashion."
"What is this leading up to?" Wingate demanded.
The inspector drew a little pamphlet from his pocket and passed it across. Wingate took it into his hands, opened it and stared at it in surprise.
"A list of Cunard sailings!" he exclaimed.
"One of the safest of lines," said Shields, with a nod. "The Agricola sails to-morrow morning. The boat train, I believe, leaves Euston at four."
Wingate glanced from the sailing list to his companion. The inspector was making movements as though about to depart. Wingate himself was speechless.
"The physician is able to certify," Shields went on, "that Lord Dredlinton's death is due to natural causes. There will therefore be no inquest. That being the case, it is not my business to make enquiries—unless I choose."
A newsboy went shouting across the square. The two men heard distinctly his hoarse cry:
"Great fall of wheat in every market! Cheap bread next week!"
The eyes of the two men met. There was almost a smile upon Shields' thin lips as he turned towards the door.