“The Croft-Thornton Institute,” said the inspector, promptly.
“Bull's eye, I believe,” the Chief Constable ejaculated. “You could hardly jam more T's together in English than there are in these three words. Let's sift 'em out.”
The Inspector bent eagerly forward to see if the necessary letters could be found. Sir Clinton separated the ones which he required for the three words, and the arrangement stood thus:
HYOSCINE THE CROFT-THORNTON
INSTITUTE AAA CC D E HH OO SS TT WJUSTICE.
“I think this is getting outside the bounds of mere chance,” Sir Clinton adjudged, with more optimism in his tone. “Now we might go a step further without straining things, even if it's only a short pace. Let's make a guess. Suppose that it's meant to read: “Hyoscine at the Croft-Thornton Institute.” That leaves us with the jumble here:
AA CC D E HH OO SS T W
“What do you make of that, Inspector?”
“The start of it looks like ACCEDE—no, there's only one E,” Flamborough began, only to correct himself.
“It's not ACCEDE, obviously, Let's try ACCESS and see if that's any use.”
The Chief Constable shifted the letters while the Inspector, now thoroughly interested, watched for the result.