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You mean?"

Peel Edgerton."

Peel Edgerton?" said the Prime Minister in astonishment.

Yes. I see his hand in THIS." He struck the open letter. "He's there--working in

the dark, silently, unobtrusively. I've always felt that if anyone was to run Mr.

Brown to earth, Peel Edgerton would be the man. I tell you he's on the case now,

but doesn't want it known. By the way, I got rather an odd request from him the

other day."

"Yes?"

"He sent me a cutting from some American paper. It referred to a man's body

found near the docks in New York about three weeks ago. He asked me to collect

any information on the subject I could."

Well?"

Carter shrugged his shoulders.

"I couldn't get much. Young fellow about thirty-five--poorly dressed--face very

badly disfigured. He was never identified."

And you fancy that the two matters are connected in some way?"

Somehow I do. I may be wrong, of course."

There was a pause, then Mr. Carter continued:

I asked him to come round here. Not that we'll get anything out of him he doesn't

want to tell. His legal instincts are too strong. But there's no doubt he can throw

light on one or two obscure points in young Beresford's letter. Ah, here he is!"

The two men rose to greet the new-comer. A half whimsical thought flashed

across the Premier's mind. "My successor, perhaps!"

We've had a letter from young Beresford," said Mr. Carter, coming to the point at

once. "You've seen him, I suppose?"

"You suppose wrong," said the lawyer.

203

The Secret Adversary