"
"Then these fellows might be another pair of London burglars!" I
exclaimed eagerly, as the startling theory occurred to me.
"They might be. But, of course, we can't form any opinion until we hear
what Scotland Yard has to say. I'll write a full report in the morning
if you will give me minute descriptions of the men, as well as of the
captain, Mackintosh."
Next morning I handed over my charge of the Consulate to Frank, and then
assisted him to go through the papers in the safe which had been
examined by the thieves.
"The ruffians seem to have thoroughly overhauled everything," remarked
the Consul in dismay when he saw the disordered state of his papers.
"They seem to have read every one deliberately."
"Which shows that had they been in search for the cipher-books they
would only have looked for them alone," I remarked decisively. "What on
earth could interest them in all these dry, unimportant shipping reports
and things?"
"Goodness only knows," replied my friend. Then, calling Cavendish, a
tall, fair young man, who had now recovered from his touch of fever and
had returned to the Consulate, he commenced to check the number of those
adhesive stamps, rather larger than ordinary postage-stamps, used in
the Consular service for the registration of fees received by the
Foreign Office.
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