Learning that the woman servant was at that very moment in the house, I speedily saw to it that a rousing fire was kindled upon every hearth and in every stove; nor were they allowed to die out, as long as I remained beneath the roof. Felix Page would have no further use for his coal and kindling.
When Burke returned from discharging this errand, I continued my questioning.
"So it had been Mr. Page's intention to go to Duluth last night, eh? What for?"
"I don't know. About vessels or his wheat shipments, I suppose; something too important to entrust to the mail or telegraph."
"Did the coming of Mr. Maillot upset his plans?"
"I can't imagine what else caused him to change his mind at the last minute; the journey must have been unusually important to take him away from the city at this time."
Then Maillot's mission could not have been without exceptional weight, I reflected. And unless I was much mistaken, the deferred journey had seriously disarranged some material plan for Mr. Burke. I had nothing more to say, however, for the present.
I sent Burke back to the custody of Callahan and O'Brien, to await the completion of my investigation; for, until I became reasonably sure that I held in my hand all the available facts, it would be rank carelessness on my part to send the whilom secretary about his business.
I would have been hard put to it to interpret the impression which Alexander Burke had made upon my mind, if Stodger had demanded my opinion at that moment. As his round, cherubic face emerged between the curtains, I turned to him with considerable curiosity.
"Told it word for word as he did to me," was my companion's comment. "Could n't have told it better if it had been a piece learnt by heart."