I did not want him to think I had come with any deliberate intention, so
I answered casually:
"No. As a fact I am rather busy. I came out to Chelsea to think. Chelsea air is rather good for thinking, you know."
"It used to be," he answered. "I'm glad I have given up criminal hunting, Wigan."
"I still find excitement in it," I answered carelessly, "and really I think criminals have grown cleverer since your time."
He looked at me sharply. I thought the remark would pique his curiosity.
"That means you have had some failures lately."
"On the contrary, I have been remarkably successful."
"Glad to hear it," he returned. "What makes you say criminals are more clever then?"
"The Queen's Square Mystery."
"I don't read the papers as carefully as I did," he remarked.