'All that will remain, then, for us,' said Bryan, 'will be to break it to her in the most delicate manner possible, and it is most lucky that we have found you to aid us in that difficult task.'
'I will do my best most willingly,' said Carey; 'and after I have settled upon the matter, I may be of some use. At present, I confess that the news has come upon me so suddenly, my obligation to this unfortunate gentleman is so great, and my regard for him and his wife so essentially a portion of my life, that I cannot trust myself to give anything like clear advice or reliable aid.'
'I perfectly comprehend your feelings,' said Bryan Duval, 'and there is no need for us to prolong this painful interview--in fact, Miss Montressor and myself have our duties to attend to at the theatre, and we must go to them. We may, however, rely upon you to take the one step immediately necessary--namely, to apprise Mr. Warren by telegraph that his presence is most desirable in New York.'
'You may depend upon my doing so,' said Carey, 'and upon my being here tomorrow to take my part in any further consultation.'
So they parted.
Thornton Carey was completely overwhelmed by the news he had just heard. He would have disbelieved it, but he was never in the habit of allowing his common sense to be over-ridden by his sympathies; and that rare and inestimable quality told him that Mr. Bryan Duval had, indeed, good foundation for the deductions he had drawn. The more he thought over it, the less real doubt had he that the soi-disant Foster and his friend and benefactor, Alston Griswold, were one. He knew that Griswold's one idea in life had been to achieve such a fortune as would enable him to vie with the proudest millionaire in New York, and to retire altogether from business. It was evident that, in this endeavour, he had gone in for some great stake; so great as to require the exercise of what in the commercial world is known as tact, but in free-spoken circles, outside the commercial world, is called duplicity. This change of name, for instance--it could be easily learned whether the secret had been confided to Warren alone, or was known to the clerks in Griswold's house of business--that could be learned from the clerks themselves; and Thornton Carey determined at once to inquire of them.
Wall-street, hot, rushing, and demented as usual; closing hour just at hand, and everybody anxious to make a few hundred or thousand more dollars before returning up-town for the day; telegraphs ticking from attic to basement in each of the enormous houses between Canal-street and Bowling-green; messengers rushing about in frantic haste, and the bar at Delmonico's at the corner of Chambers-street actually for five minutes without an occupant. Hustled on all sides, and swayed hither and thither by the fluctuating crowd, Thornton Carey at last made his way into Griswold's office. Telegraph instrument madly clicking in one corner, and white serpents winding out from it and covering the floor with their tortuous folds; clerks running races with the telegraph instrument, and endeavouring to drown its noise with the scratching of their pens over the paper; men in shiny hats tumbling in and out, and adding to the general confusion.
After some delay, Thornton Carey was recognised by one of the principal clerks, who vouchsafed him three minutes' conversation. 'Mr. Griswold still in Europe; hoped he would be back very shortly; should be able to say more to-morrow, as letters were expected by the morning mail, giving the date of his return.'
Plainly everybody there was wholly unconscious of any evil having befallen the head of the establishment. 'That argued nothing,' Thornton Carey thought to himself, 'save that Griswold had placed no confidence in his servants.' He must try Warren's office next.
Being a partner of Mr. Griswold's, Trenton Warren had the use of the clerks and appliances of his friend's office. For his own particular service he kept but one quiet, silent, trustworthy individual, who looked up when Carey entered, and in reply to his inquiry, announced that Mr. Warren was at Chicago. 'I forward his letters to him every day,' said the man, 'and if you have anything to send, it can go with my lot.'