"Thank you, Lester," he said, and held out his hand. "I didn't want to seem to be imposing on you."
"You're not," I assured him again, and rose. "Now I think I'd better be getting to work."
"Can I be of any help?" he asked, rising too. "If not, I'll take the four-ten back to New York. I think Curtiss needs a little looking after. I'll hunt him up and take him with me. Besides, my wife is so wrought-up over this affair that she wants to get home."
"Very well," I assented. "Curtiss will need some one to protect him from the reporters. It's a wonder they haven't treed him before this."
"They tried to," said Mr. Royce, smiling grimly. "I succeeded in keeping them off. He was too preoccupied to notice. There's nothing else I can do?"
"No, I think not. If I need you, I'll wire."
"You won't need me," and he smiled again. "You know I'm no good at this kind of work."
"I know you'll be working harder than I will, keeping up with things at the office."
"Don't worry about that. You intend to stay here?"
"Yes; but only for a day or two, I trust. I can't think it a very difficult task to find a young woman who has run away in broad daylight in her wedding finery. Somebody must have seen her—that is, if she ran away at all."