"Lyle stopped, with an exclamation of chagrin.
"'How stupid of me!' he exclaimed. He turned quickly and pointed to a
narrow slit cut in the brass plate of the front door. 'The house has
a private letter-box,' he said, 'and I had not thought to look in it!
If we had gone out as we came in, by the window, I would never have
seen it. The moment I entered the house I should have thought of
securing the letters which came this morning. I have been grossly
careless.' He stepped back into the hall and pulled at the lid of the
letter-box, which hung on the inside of the door, but it was tightly
locked. At the same moment the postman came up the steps holding a
letter. Without a word, Lyle took it from his hand and began to
examine it. It was addressed to the Princess Zichy, and on the back
of the envelope was the name of a West End dressmaker.
"'That is of no use to me,' Lyle said. He took out his card and
showed it to the postman. 'I am Inspector Lyle from Scotland Yard,'
he said. 'The people in this house are under arrest. Everything it
contains is now in my keeping. Did you deliver any other letters here
this morning?'
"The man looked frightened, but answered, promptly, that he was now
upon his third round.
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