Ten minutes later they were looking down the long columns of names in a directory; Mapperley suddenly pointed to what they wanted.
"There we are!" he said. "Mrs. Hannah Mallett—boarding-house proprietor."
"Come along!" said Hetherwick. "We'll see Mrs. Mallett, anyhow."
But on arrival at Little Smith Street, Mapperley looked round first, for his friend, Mr. Goldmark. Mr. Goldmark materialised suddenly—apparently from nowhere—and smiled.
"Afternoon, mithter!" he said politely to Hetherwick. "Lovely weather, ithn't it? Ain't theen nothing, Mapperley, old bean! Ain't been a thoul in or out o' that houth, thinth you hopped it! Theemth to me it'th locked up."
"We'll see about that," remarked Hetherwick. "Come with me, Mapperley. You stay here. Goldmark, and keep your eyes as open as before."
He advanced boldly, with the clerk at his heels, to the door of number 56, and knocked loudly on the stout panel, supplementing this with a ring at the bell. This dual summons was twice repeated—with no result.
"Somebody coming!" whispered Mapperley, suddenly. "Bolted—inside—as well as locked!"
Hetherwick distinctly heard the sound of a stout bolt being withdrawn, then of a key being turned. The door was opened—only a little, but sufficiently to show them the face and figure of an unusually big woman, an Amazon in appearance, hard of eye and lip, who glared at them suspiciously, and as soon as she saw that there were two of them, narrowed the space through which she inspected her callers. But Hetherwick got a hand on the door and a foot across the threshold.
"Mrs. Mallett?" he inquired in a purposely loud voice. "Just so! Is Doctor Baseverie in?"