"I'll leave the fare to you, sir. You know what the information's worth; but I should think 'arf a thick-un wouldn't hurt you."
Thorndyke laid on the table a couple of sovereigns, at the sight of which the cabman's eyes glistened.
"We have your address, Wilkins," said he. "If we want you as a witness we shall let you know, and if not, there will be another two pounds for you at the end of a fortnight, provided you have not let this little interview leak out."
Wilkins gathered up the spoils gleefully. "You can trust me, sir," said he, "for to keep my mouth shut. I knows which side my bread's buttered. Good night, gentlemen all."
With this comprehensive salute he moved towards the door and let himself out.
"Well, Jervis; what do you think of it?" Thorndyke asked, as the cabman's footsteps faded away in a creaky diminuendo.
"I don't know what to think. This woman is a new factor in the case and I don't know how to place her."
"Not entirely new," said Thorndyke. "You have not forgotten those beads that we found in Jeffrey's bedroom, have you?"
"No, I had not forgotten them, but I did not see that they told us much excepting that some woman had apparently been in his bedroom at some time."
"That, I think, is all that they did tell us. But now they tell us that a particular woman was in his bedroom at a particular time, which is a good deal more significant."