“I have heard of you. But—but”—
“Where is your father?”
“Father is dead.”
“What! dead! and I never heard of it! How long since?”
“Several weeks, I believe. I am not sure, sir.”
“Not sure? Did he not die here?”
“No, sir; he died in South Dakota, where he went to hunt for some good spot to locate a mill.”
“Well, this is indeed news. I wish I had heard of it before. I just came from Chicago.”
“While you were there did you meet Norton Bixby?” I asked quickly.
“Yes. But how do you know that?”