THE DOUBLE ALIBI 163 



Oxford bibliophile. ' Wharton,' he went on, ad- 

 dressing me, ' this is Mr. Thomas from Blocksby's.' 



I bowed. Mr. Thomas seemed embarrassed. 

 ' Can I have a word alone with you, sir ? ' he 

 murmured to Allen. 



' Certainly,' answered Allen, looking rather 

 surprised. ' You'll excuse me a moment, Wharton,' 

 he said to me. ' Stop and lunch, won't you ? 

 There's the old " Spectator " for you ; ' and he led 

 Mr. Thomas into a small den where he used to 

 hear his pupils read their essays, and so forth. 



In a few minutes he came out, looking rather 

 pale, and took an embarrassed farewell of Mr. 

 Thomas. 



' Look here, Wharton,' he said to me, ' here is 

 a curious business. That fellow from Blocksby's 

 tells me that the Longepierre Theocritus disap- 

 peared yesterday afternoon ; that I was the last 

 person in whose hand it was seen, and that not 

 only the man who always attends in the room, 

 but Lord Tarras and Mr. Wentworth, saw it in my 

 hands just before it was missed.' 



'What a nuisance!' I answered. 'You were 



