He picked up a copy of the _Watchman_, and glanced at his two columns, which had somehow managed to make themselves into three, viewing the displayed lettering, the photograph of the dead man, the line drawing of the entry in Middle Temple Lane, and the facsimile of the scrap of grey paper, with a critical eye.

"Yes--merely a new method," he continued.

"The question is--will it achieve its object ?" "What's the object ?" asked Breton.
Spargo fished out a box of cigarettes from an untidy drawer, pushed it over to his visitor, helped himself, and tilting back his chair, put his feet on his desk.
"The object ?" he said, drily.

"Oh, well, the object is the ultimate detection of the murderer." "You're after that ?" "I'm after that--just that." "And not--not simply out to make effective news ?" "I'm out to find the murderer of John Marbury," said Spargo deliberately slow in his speech.

"And I'll find him." "Well, there doesn't seem to be much in the way of clues, so far," remarked Breton.