I could not control my laughter at this unconscious pleasantry, but the little man glared at me, and Keys frowned me into silence.
"Whenson, he has given me a clue; get my gum boots and a piece of blotting paper."
Accustomed to obey his strange commands without question, we were soon following Mr. Bloggs to his home.
Once inside the gate, without hesitation Keys strode across the lawn till he reached a place under which, owing to the unevenness of the ground, it was easy to see the pipe was laid, and stooping down he placed the sheet of blotting paper on the grass, and a second later he held it up saturated with water.
"There is a break in the pipe, Mr. Bloggs," he said. "Get it mended."
III.
THE ADVENTURE OF TWO AND TWO
Keys was giving way to one of those orgies of spring onions and Limburger cheese to which he occasionally succumbed—for even the greatest of men have failings—and the atmosphere of our dining room was very unpleasant to one with my delicate olfactory nerves, so that it was with a feeling of positive relief that I welcomed the pungent odor of the smoke from a strong black cigar that was wafted in on us as the door opened to admit a stranger.
A tall, nervous looking man, he commenced to apologize for having interrupted us at supper, but Keys waved aside his explanations and said abruptly. "You are a married man, sir, and very fond of your wife."
Wonderingly our visitor pleaded guilty to both indictments, and Keys resumed: