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Page 16
Mr. Gryce again bowed low and ventured another question. The answer
came as before, distinctly to my ears.
"O, I may have seen her, I can not say about that; I very often run
across the servants in the hall; but whether she is tall or short,
light or dark, pretty or ugly, I know no more than you do, sir." Then
with a dignified nod calculated to abash a man in Mr. Gryce's
position, inquired,
"Is that all?"
It did not seem to be, Mr. Gryce put another question.
Mr. Blake give him a surprised stare before replying, then courteously
remarked,
"I do not concern myself with servants after they have left me. Henry
was an excellent valet, but a trifle domineering, something which I
never allow in any one who approaches me. I dismissed him and that
was the end of it, I know nothing of what has become of him."
Mr. Gryce bowed and drew back, and Mr. Blake, with the haughty step
peculiar to him, passed by him and reentered his house.
"I should not like to get into that man's clutches," said I, as my
superior rejoined me; "he has a way of making one appear so small."
Mr. Gryce shot an askance look at his shadow gloomily following him
along the pavement. "Yet it may happen that you will have to run the
risk of that very experience."
I glanced towards him in amazement.
"If the girl does not turn up of her own accord, or if we do not
succeed in getting some trace of her movements, I shall be tempted to
place you where you can study into the ways of this gentleman's
household. If the affair is a mystery, it has its centre in that
house."
I stared at Mr. Gryce good and roundly. "You have come across
something which I have missed," observed I, "or you could not speak
so positively."
"I have come across nothing that was not in plain sight of any body
who had eyes to see it," he returned shortly.
I shook my head slightly mortified.
"You had it all before you," continued he, "and if you were not able
to pick up sufficient facts on which to base a conclusion, you
mustn't blame me for it."
More nettled than I would be willing to confess, I walked back with
him to the station, saying nothing then, but inwardly determined to
reestablish my reputation with Mr. Gryce before the affair was over.
Accordingly hunting up the man who had patrolled the district the night
before, I inquired if he had seen any one go in or out of the side
gate of Mr. Blake's house on ----- street, between the hours of eleven
and one.
"No," said he, "but I heard Thompson tell a curious story this morning
about some one he had seen."
"What was it?"
"He said he was passing that way last night about twelve o'clock when
he remarked standing under the lamp on the corner of Second Avenue, a
group consisting of two men and a woman, who no sooner beheld him
than they separated, the men drawing back into Second Avenue and the
woman coming hastily towards him. Not understanding the move, he
stood waiting her approach, when instead of advancing to where he
was, she paused at the gate of Mr. Blake's house and lifted her hand
as if to open it, when with a wild and terrified gesture she started
back, covering her face with her hands, and before he knew it, had
actually fled in the direction from which she had come. A little
startled, Thompson advanced and looked through the gate before him to
see if possible what had alarmed her, when to his great surprise, he
beheld the pale face of the master of the house, Mr. Blake himself,
looking through the bars from the other side of the gate. He in his
turn started back and before he could recover himself, Mr. Blake had
disappeared. He says he tried the gate after that, but found it
locked."
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