From the stepped pyramid of Sakkara with its encaustic tiles to mediaeval church floors; from Elizabethan woodwork to Mycaenaean pottery, and thence to the industrial arts of the Stone Age and the civilisation of the Aztecs.

I began to suspect that my two legal friends were so carried away by the interest of the conversation that they had forgotten the secret purpose of the meeting, for the dessert had been placed on the table (by Mrs.Gummer with the manner of a bereaved dependant dispensing funeral bakemeats), and still no reference had been made to the "case." But it seemed that Thorndyke was but playing a waiting game; was only allowing the intimacy to ripen while he watched for the opportunity.

And that opportunity came, even as Mrs.Gummer vanished spectrally with a tray of plates and glasses.
"So you had a visitor last night, Doctor," said Mr.Bellingham.

"I mean my friend Jellicoe.

He told us he had seen you, and mighty curious he was about you.