"You see," he explained, "I thought I'd better lock the room up so that nothing could be disturbed until your arrival———' "'Morning. Kitty, darling,' interrupted a voice the exact counterpart of the Captain's, finishing with the unmistakable sound of a kiss; then, 'How are you papa,' in a feminine voice. A moment's reflection convinced me that it was a parrot speaking, and looking up I found my surmise to be correct. "'Ah, Poll, old woman,' returned the Captain; then turning to me he enquired if I had breakfasted, and on my telling him I had, he poured a glass of wine from a decanter on the sideboard, pushed the cigars towards me, motioned me to be seated, and began: — "'First of all, Mr. Anderson, my small household consists of six persons — myself, my wife, my daughter Kate, a cook, a general servant, and the driver who brought you here. The three servants have been in my employ for years, and I would trust them with untold gold. Now, then, yesterday afternoon I received from Messrs. H——— and C———, jewellers, of Bond-street, a brooch set with a particularly precious stone — precious to me, and of priceless value by reason of old associations and circumstances connected with it; but I need not trouble you with them. The intrinsic value of the gem may not be more than five hundred pounds, and that of its setting perhaps another thirty———' "'Keep your hair on, old chap,' said the parrot. "'S — sh. Poll! Well,' continued the captain. 'I showed the brooch to my daughter only, for it was to be a surprise gift to my dear wife on her birthday, and such a gift as she would prefer, to anything the world contains, simply on account of the associations I hinted at just now. After hearing Kitty's rapturous expressions as to its beauty, and her assurance that for a similar present on her twenty-first birthday she would be as agreeably surprised as I could desire, I locked up the trinket in a private drawer of that cabinet in the corner. On coming downstairs this morning the first thing I did was to go to the cabinet to feast my eyes with a sight of the brooch, for I had been strangely anxious about it up to going to sleep, and had driven myself to dreaming of it I suppose by my anxiety; and ugly dreams they wore, too, and you would fully appreciate my anxiety if you were acquainted with the history of the gem and how it has been endeared to us for a quarter of a century. Mr. Anderson' — and his voice quivered — 'imagine my dismay — my agony — when on opening the drawer I found, it was empty. The brooch was gone!' "'The brooch, the brooch." muttered the parrot. "'I cannot describe my feelings at my loss, and, Mr. Anderson, though I am not a rich man, I will willingly pay five hundred pounds for the recovery of the brooch.' "'I will examine the cabinet, with your permission,' I said, and as I rose for the purpose of crossing the room the bird broke forth with:— "Keep your hair on, old boy,' this in the voice of the driver. 'Cook, how are we for butter? Pretty Poll!' the last two remarks in the sweet feminine tones imitated previously; then in a delicious drawl, ' For what, we are about to receive the Lord make us truly thankful.' I had great difficulty in restraining my laughter, even in the presence of the Captain's grief. "'A very clever bird that,' I remarked casually. "'She is a wonderful talker and mimic," he replied, and was instantly absorbed in my examination of the lock of the secret drawer. "Here the servant entered with a visiting card. "'Tell the gentleman I will be with him, immediately,' and as the servant left the room the Captain said:— "'It's Holmes, so perhaps you'll excuse me for a short time. I'll explain things to him, and bring him in to you; in the meantime make whatever examination you like.' "He had no sooner gone than I went to the window, which I found securely fastened; then I got my microscope out, opened the window, and carefully scanned every inch of the outside ledge with no success. There was not a scratch anywhere, nor a sign of the fine coating of dust having been disturbed. I again examined the lock of the private drawer, and that of the larger drawer of which it formed so cunning a portion, but nowhere was there evidence of either having been forced or picked. "'Keep your hair on, old boy! Ain't it 'ot? Woa! Keep your hair on, d——— you!' "All this was in the driver's voice, rendered with phonographic accuracy, — even to the slight Cockney accent; and as I looked up at the bird, and saw its head on one side and its eye fixed upon me so comically, it flashed across me all at once that it might possibly know something of the brooch. I remembered what I read in 'The Basket of Flowers' when a boy, and later of 'The Jackdaw of Rheims,' but I dismissed the thought at once, for however clever a parrot might be it could not pick two locks, even if it could get out of the cage to do so. "'Now then, stupid, who are you staring at?' it asked rudely, then laughed irritatingly, and shook its feathers.