"Except," began the latter in a voice hushed with amazement, "that he's
got the coolest cheek of any mortal being I ever met."...
Dunbar's grim face relaxed, and he laughed boyishly, his square
shoulders shaking.
"He was leading up to the confidence trick!" he said, between laughs.
"Damn it all, man, it was the old confidence trick! The idea of a
confidence-merchant spreading out his wares before three C. I. D. men!"
He was choking with laughter again; and now, Sowerby and Stringer having
looked at one another for a moment, the surprised pair joined him in
his merriment. They turned up their collars and went out into the rain,
still laughing.
"That man," said Sowerby, as they walked across to the stopping place
of the electric trains, "is capable of calling on the Commissioner and
asking him to 'find the lady'!"
XXI
THE STUDIO IN SOHO
Certainly, such impudence as that of Mr. Levinsky is rare even in
east-end London, and it may be worth while to return to the corner of
the billiard-room and to study more closely this remarkable man.
He was sitting where the detectives had left him, and although their
departure might have been supposed to have depressed him, actually it
had had a contrary effect; he was chuckling with amusement, and, between
his chuckles, addressing himself to the contents of the pewter with
every mark of appreciation.
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