“I found two tiny scraps that had been crowded down between the cushions, and each one bore a part of a word. On one I found the letters 'Ar——' and on the other 'rk.' ”
“Not much clew in that.”
“Considerable, I thought.”
“Why?”
“Well, for one thing, 'Ar——' are the first two letters of the name Arthur, and 'rk' are the last two letters of New York.
“The date of Sara Varney's reply to George Hatfield's proposal was two days before her disappearance.”
“Well, what had that to do with—”
“Excuse me. I returned at once to the house and found Grayling still there.
“'Mr. Grayling,' I said, 'where were you at the very hour when Miss Varney was last seen?'
“'In New York,' he replied. “I had expected the answer, and without questioning him farther I set about reading the character of George Hatfield.”