"No. He had with him, when he came into the office, an individual whose face remains fixed in my memory—indeed I cannot get it out of my head."
Instantly I became all excitement.
"What was this second person like?" I asked.
"Well, I can hardly tell you—that is to say, I can hardly give you a good enough description of him to make you see him as I saw him. He was tall and yet very slim, had black hair, a sallow complexion, and the blackest eyes I ever saw in a man. He was clean-shaven and exquisitely dressed, and when he spoke, his teeth glittered like so many pearls. I never saw another man like him in my life."
"Nikola, for a thousand!" I cried, bringing my hand down with a thump upon the table.
"It looks as if we're on the track at last," said the Inspector. Then, turning to Mr. Goddard again: "And may I ask now what excuse they made to you for wanting these things!"
"They did not offer any; they simply paid a certain sum down for the hire of them, gave me their address, and then left."
"And the address was?"
"83, Charlemagne Street. Our van took the things there and fetched them away last night."
"Thank you. And now one or two other questions. What name did the hirer give?"