The Egyptian Cross Mystery

“Listen,” snapped the Inspector, his good humor quite deserting him, “now that I come to think of it, you must have spent half the Queen bank account hiring airplanes and whatnot on that wild and woolly chase of yours up, down, and across country. Do I have to foot the bill?”

Ellery chuckled. “Let me apply logic to the problem. I have one of three courses open. The first is to charge my expenses to Nassau County.” He looked at District Attorney Isham, who, started, began to speak, and finally sank back with an uncomfortable and rather silly grin on his stout face. “No, I see that — to say the least — is impracticable. The second: to stand the loss myself.” He shook his head and pursed his lips. “No, that’s much too philanthropic... I told you I had a cataclysmic thought.”

“Well,” grumbled Inspector Vaughn, “if you can’t put it down on a swindle sheet, and you won’t stand it yourself, I’ll be damned if I see how—”

“My dear Inspector,” drawled Ellery, “I’ll write a book about it, call it as a memento of my sometimes impulsive erudition The Egyptian Cross Mystery, and let the public pay for it!”