Legendary Women Detectives

“On numerous occasions he has presented checks for five or ten thousand pounds, and drawn the money out in notes. Then a few days later he would come and pay it all back, perhaps a little more, perhaps a little less.

“Ten days ago he called at the bank and came into my private room – nothing unusual in that, though. He often does. Now, the moment he came in I noticed that he was wearing horn-rimmed spectacles, a thing which he has never done before. I commented on it and he said that he’d had trouble with his eyes, and had been to an oculist.”

“Mention his name?” casually.

“He did. James Adwinter, of Queen A

Daphne Wrayne made a note of it.

“Please go on, Sir John.”

“I asked him if he was drawing out any money and he said he was – would I tell him what his balance was. I sent out and found it was about thirty thousand pounds. In front of me he took his check-book and wrote a check for twenty-five thousand pounds. I sent for one of my cashiers and we paid it over to him in thousand pound notes. Now comes the amazing part of the story. Two days ago he came into the bank and presented a check for fifteen thousand pounds. The cashier told him he hadn’t got it, and reminded him of the twenty-five-thousand-pound one. He indignantly denied it – said he’d been out of town for nearly a fortnight, and he could prove it. Declared that some one must have impersonated him. This morning we received a letter from his solicitors threatening us with an action.”

“But the signature, Sir John? If it was Richard Henry Gorleston’s usual signature with no irregularity-”

“That’s the trouble, Miss Wrayne. This-” handing her a check “-is his usual signature. This-” handing her another-“is the disputed check.”

Daphne Wrayne’s eyebrows went up as she sca

“How did you come to pass this check without comment?” she queried. “The difference is not very great, I admit, but still-”

“Miss Wrayne, I put it to you! You have an old client whom you know well. He comes in, sits down and talks to you, writes out a check. You send for your cashier who knows him equally well. You’ve seen him write the check. You’re satisfied. You cash it without question.”

“Oh, I know. But will the law exonerate you?”

“I’m afraid it won’t,” a little ruefully.

“Tell me, Sir John-” after a slight pause “-had you any shadow of doubt when this man presented that twenty-five-thousand-pound check but that he was Richard Gorleston?”

“Not the faintest, Miss Wrayne.”

“When he came in two days ago was he wearing spectacles?”

“He wasn’t. He said he’d never worn them in his life, and never heard of Adwinter.”

“What was his ma

“Oh, he was naturally very upset, but he quite appreciated our position, though he said, of course, that we should have noticed the difference in the signature. He went on to say that he’d known for some time that he had a ”double,“ but he’d never been able to run him to earth.”

The girl wrinkled her forehead thoughtfully.

“He told you he’d been out of London all the time. Did he say where?”

“Yes. He gave me his address. ”The Golden Crown, Portworth, Tavistock“ – trout fishing. Incidentally I have verified this by one of our local branches. He was there the whole time.”

“Well, Sir John, in about a week’s time I’ll report to you. In the meanwhile say nothing to anybody.”

“What am I to tell my solicitors to do?” a little perplexedly.

She laughed merrily.

“Oh, come, Sir John, you don’t want to throw in your hand yet! Instruct ”em to say that you repudiate all liability. After all, if you have to climb down – still, let’s hope you won’t!“

In a comfortably furnished room in the I

The big, ta

And these were the four Adjusters…

The clock on the mantelpiece chimed out the hour, and as it did so the door opened and the four men rose to their feet, as Daphne Wrayne stood in the doorway.

“Well, Peter Pan!” exclaimed Sylvester.

“Well, you dear Knights!”

Very lovely she looked as she came forward, and her eyes were for all of them. But it was Lord Trevitter who, as if by tacit understanding, helped her off with her cloak and put her into her chair. Very naturally, yet quite openly too, she slipped her hand into his and let it stay there. But the other three only smiled indulgently though their smiles spoke volumes. You felt, somehow, that they had known her from childhood – looked on her now almost as a beloved child. That even if she had singled out Trevitter – as indeed she had – she loved none of them less dearly for that.

“Oh, it’s great to be here!” she exclaimed with shining eyes. “I can still hardly believe it’s true.”

“It’s a wonderful stunt,” murmured Everest thoughtfully.

“We’ve been lucky, Martin,” answered the girl. “If it hadn’t been for the Duchess’s pearls-”

“And then you giving an interview to the Monitor,” chimed in Lord Trevitter. “That was the master stroke, Daph.”

“Well, it was just the right moment, Jim. Having had a big success it seemed to me to be the very wisest thing to do.”

“By Jove, it was, my dear,” chuckled Sylvester. “It couldn’t have come at a better time. If you’d given it before, the public would only have scoffed. But as we had recovered that necklace they couldn’t afford to scoff.”

“Incidentally,” remarked the girl, “the Duchess sent us a check for five hundred pounds.”

“Good for her,” said Lord Trevitter. “I suppose you’ve – oh, of course, Jim! Anonymously, needless to say.”

“Quite right,” murmured Everest. “Well, what’s the big idea this evening?”

“How do you know I’ve got one?”

“Listen to her!” exclaimed Williamson. “Breaking off a dance at twelve o’clock and keeping us out of our beds-

“But it’s rather a puzzling one, Hugh-” interrupting him. “We shall want all our ingenuity to get home this time.”

“Splendid! Let’s have it, my dear.”

Leaning forward in her chair, slim hands clasped, Daphne Wrayne outlined the story to them. Then, as she came to the end:

“But I can add a good deal to this. It seemed obvious to me from the start that there was no double at all – it was just a ruse, carefully pla

“Particularly why, Daph?” queried Lord Trevitter.

“The signature, Jim, alone. In a forgery of this size your forger never makes a mistake with the signature. It’s miles too risky. Besides, assuming that it was Gorleston himself, look at all there is to support the idea. If they detect the flaw in the signature they can’t collar him – it’s merely a slip. But if it gets by, what happens then? Why the bank’s in the cart and they’re liable for carelessness.”

“You’re a true woman, my dear,” smiled Everest. “Jump to a conclusion first and fit your facts to it afterwards.”

Daphne pouted adorably.

“I hate you, Martin,” she said. “Still, I was right.”

“You’re sure?” demanded Williamson.

“Absolutely. All the same, as my legal friend here will tell you – laying her hand on Everest’s arm with a smile – ”it’s going to be very difficult to prove. However, let me first give you all the facts I have.“