Presently, inside the
lining of the breast pocket, where such a mark is usually found,
he discovered the label of a well-known West End firm.
"The police can confirm it, Knox!" he said, looking up, his face
slightly flushed with triumph; "but I, personally, have no
doubt!"
"You may have no doubt, Harley," I retorted, "but I am full of
doubt! What is the significance of this discovery to which you
seem to attach so much importance?"
"At the moment," replied my friend, "never mind; I still have
hopes--although they have grown somewhat slender--of making a
much more important discovery."
"Why not permit the police to aid in the search?"
"The police are more useful in their present occupation," he
replied. "We are dealing with the most cunning knave produced by
East or West, and I don't mean to let him slip through my fingers
if he is in this house! Nevertheless, Knox, I am submitting you
to rather an appalling risk, I know; for our man is desperate,
and if he is still in the place will prove as dangerous as a
cornered rat."
"But the man who dropped through the trap?"
"The man who dropped through the trap," said Harley, "was not Ali
of Cairo--and it is Ali of Cairo for whom I am looking!"
"The hunchback we saw to-night?"
Harley nodded, and having listened intently for a few moments,
proceeded again to search the singular apartments of the abode.
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