SADLER paused. I knew Jamison too.

“What was Jamison coming to Por-tate for?” I asked. “Did he say?”

“He did,” said Sadler. “His conversation was meaty. I'm makin' a dramatic pause.”

Then he paused some more.

“I don't think much of that birthday present!” said Susannah, scornfully.

“Then I'll expand your imagination, Susannah,” said Dr. Ulswater. “Huayna Capac was the great Inca who died in 1527, the year Pizarro landed. Three of his sons contended for the throne, Huascar, Atahualpa and Manco, but how many other children he left is nowhere stated, to my knowledge. The marital system of the royal house, however, being such as it was, it is probable they were numerous. The mummies discovered some four years ago were five in number, each with a copper plate sewn to the cerements, and inscribed, ostensibly by one Padre Geronimo Valdez. Each of the inscriptions states that the enclosed person was a daughter of Huayna Capac, who had been baptised and buried by himself, Padre Geronimo. The date given on this plate is 1543. We have yonder then, in all probability, all that remains of a daughter of the Incas.”

“It isn't expanded at all,” said Susannah, meaning her imagination.

“What was her name?” asked Mrs. Ulswater.

“Curiously,” said Dr. Ulswater, “the inscription doesn't state.”

“Her name's Hannah Atkins,” said Sadler.

“Fiddlesticks!” said Mrs. Ulswater. “What happened next?”

Dr. Ulswater continued the narrative. “Mr. Jamison was a Scotch person, with dusty eyebrows and considerate eyes, his speech compact of caution and a burr. Sadler told him of our acquisition and inquired about the man Beteta.

“'Because,' I added, 'if the gentleman is no amateur of mummies, why should he have a mummy in his possession? And if he hadn't any,—if, in fact, he stole it from the Museum,—why should he risk so much for the no great sum the mummy is worth, in fact, for the yet smaller sum which he received? It seems more probable that in some way it must have been his.'

“'I hae doots of it,' said Jamison, drily.

“'Does he know anything of archaeology?'

“'I hae doots of it.'

“'Did he steal it, then?'

“'I hae doots it was something resembling that, though maybe no precisely.'

“'For that absurdly small compensation?' “'I hae doots about the size of it.'

“'What for, then?'

“'I hae doots ye'll find some pink military at Portate that'll maybe explain.'

“Sadler here burst into spacious laughter.

“'We're speeding to our doom, doctor,' he said. 'Ho, ho!'

“'I hae doots, said Jamison, 'he may have it,' said Jamison.

“'But,' I said, 'that doesn't explain Beteta.'

“'I hae doots,' said Jamison, 'he may have an understanding with his Department.'

“'Why,' I said, 'you grow in mystery, Mr. Jamison. You cover the land with darkness. If the sum he received was too small to explain him by himself, it is surely too small to explain an arrangement implying a distribution. Ha!' I exclaimed. Let me consider.'

“'Right you are, doctor,' said Sadler. 'You have the idea now. He wan't anywhere round when we left.'

“Certainly, on consideration it seemed to me, that if we were accused of ourselves extracting her whom Sadler insists on calling Hannah Atkins—feloniously from the Museum, we would have some difficulty in proving the culprit to have been Beteta.

“'Beteta,' said Jamison, slowly, after a pause, 'has some sma' penetration. Without knowing much about archaeology, he might consider that a gentleman with a steam yacht is maybe a man of some substance, that might pay a bit more for immunity than for a mummy. For the interests of the Museum, he might consider it proper to attract a strategic contribution from a foreigner. I hae doots the appropriations for the Department of Public Monuments and Memorials don't support its offeecials to their satisfaction. He might arrange the circumstances so that the circumstances would be suffeecient. He might so put it to persons who might be suffeeciently authoritative to make it suffeeciently safe. They might send an authoritative despatch to the Mayor of Portate. I have a bit of information the facts are no so far from that supposition. No that I'd care to be an authority for the statement.'

“'He's an infernal scoundrel!' I exclaimed.

“'It may be so,' said Jamison, 'but he has some sma' penetration. It's my recollection too that our friend Sadler was in no verra good odour with the authorities when he left some years ago. Folk said he ran away a wee bit surrepteetiously, or maybe he'd deny that.'

“Sadler again roared with laughter.

“'I hae doots Beteta has the penetration to remember that too,' said Jamison.

“'However,' I said. 'Kirby will see us through.

“'Aye! Kirby? Is he a friend of yours?'

“I told him of my old friendship with Kit.

“'Oo! Is it so? But I hae doots Kirby has troubles of his own. I hae doots it would be better to keep the two troubles apart.'

“Here Sadler got up suddenly from his seat, asking of Jamison:

“'Say, does Steve Dorcas live where he used to?'

“'Aye,' said Jamison. 'He does.'

“'Well,' said Sadler, 'it's this way, doctor. Seeing I got you into it, I guess it's mine to get you out,' and he left the car. I asked who was Dorcas.

“'Oo—he's superintendent of The Transport Company,' said Jamison, 'but I doot if Sadler will be able to find him the night. His house is outside of Portate a bit. We pass it on the railroad.'

“He paused and looked thoughtfully through the window. The night was falling. A desolate country indeed, a sandy and rocky desert, is this coastland, for the most part. I was reflecting that, if Sadler had a plan, I might as well take what comfort was passing, whatever meat of conversation on several subjects this shrewd Scotchman might afford. I started on the subject of South-American archaeology, but Jamison did not respond. His mind seemed to be elsewhere. At last he said:

“'Ye'll maybe make a reasonable compromise, if Dorcas is with you, and I hae no great doots but he will be, for he was friendly with Sadler once. And leaving that, I'll no deny I'm going down to Portate myself on a soommons from Dorcas, but it's no aboot you and your mummy. It's to take charge of The Union Electric's plant. Whereby, as you're a man, I see, of no sma' penetration yourself, doctor, ye'll be seeing it's likely Kirby's no expected to be in a poseetion to run the plant to-morrow night.' “'It seems to follow, Mr. Jamison,' I said, 'that the Mayor means to arrest him tomorrow.'

“He nodded.

“I hae some information he did so this morning, but I opine the Mayor will be letting him out this night to run the plant, or Portate will be dark again.'

“'On account,' I questioned, 'of there being no train that would get you to Por-tate before ten?'

“'Your penetration is no sma' matter, doctor,' he said. 'It's working well.'

“'It's a wild thing, Mr. Jamison,' I continued, after some thought, 'a frivolous intelligence, a restless and turbulent member. Its mad quest after information is always making me trouble. It wants to know now how you and the Superintendent of The Transport Company happen to be so willing, not to say eager, to get into collusion with these corrupt and debt-dodging municipal thieves in Portate, and thereby to spoil Kirby's most enlivening and pleasant stratagem for collecting a just debt. It wants to know whether Kirby's being in jail is any personal gratification to either of you gentlemen.'

“He broke into a dry but not unkindly laugh.

“'No personal, doctor. Kirby is a good man. Oo—a wee bit hasty and cocksure, but he's only a lad. But your penetration is doing well. I'm thinking it might better go on.'

“'On your suggestion, it will,' I assented. 'The Transport Company and The Union Electric are rivals presumably. Presumably, then, the former has no objection to winning favour with the authorities at the expense of the latter. Waiving the question of fairness or morality——'

“'Aye, better waive 'em,' said Jamison, drily.

“'Waiving them entirely,' I said, 'The Transport Company seems to be in line with prosperity at the present moment.'

“Here Sadler came back in the car.

“'Engineers and conductors are easy on this road,' he said. 'One dollar apiece. We'll pull up where the road crosses to Dorcas' place, and disappoint that there pink military.'

“'Verra good,' said Jamison, nodding kindly. 'I'll go with ye, and I'm thinking we'll be there in a few moments now.' Presently the train slowed down and stopped. Sadler shouldered Hannah Atkins, and we got out. The train went on its way. The glimmer of the not distant city showed that the electric plant was working. To the left some distance stood a large house among trees, and to it a road ran from the railway crossing. It stood near the bank of the river, a yellow, stuccoed house with a patio. A man who met us at the door exclaimed:

“'What, Jamison! What, what! Why, why! Sadler! Come in, come in. What's that box? How d'ye do? Have a cigar! Have a drink. Good Lord!'

“He was introduced to me as 'Steve Dorcas.'”