“Oh. I thought perhaps you might know something about him. I believe you and he were—er—on friendly terms at one time?”
“Yes, we were. Why? Have you heard anything about him?”
“Er—well, I may say this much. I fancy the poor fellow is in need of assistance—if only I knew where he was.”
“Afraid I can’t help you to learn. Stay. It was only lately I was turning out a lot of old correspondence, and there was a whole bundle of Ralph’s letters. It was just before Chickie went away. I’ll hunt them up and see if they afford any clue.”
The other started. A scared, anxious look came into his face at the mention of the correspondence.
“Might I—might I just look over those letters?” he asked, eagerly.
“H’m. I’m afraid I can hardly agree to that. But if I find anything in them likely to be of service to you I won’t fail to let you know.”
With this, Mr Vallance was forced to be content. His late host stood shaking his head softly as he looked after his retreating figure, and that cynical half-smile played about the corners of his mouth.