"His place of residence?"
"Sydney, I believe."
"A long way off. The letter was to have been written this morning?"
"Yes. He at first intended to write it last night, but he put it off till to-day. The postponement was most unfortunate."
"To you?"
"To me."
"I should have urged him to carry out his intention last night, as he designed."
"Ah! Aprés dommage chacun est sage--except the dead. Why should you have urged him?"
"It would have been to my interests--and his, I fear."
"Leave his out of the question; he has done with the world. Yours is another matter. How could a simple letter to a lawyer have been in your interests? A letter is not a legal document." His preternatural sharpness as he made this remark was a revelation to an honest nature like Basil's. There seemed to be no limit to Gilbert Bidaud's cunning.