Somebody knocked and entered. "Ain't here," said the voice.
"Are you sure this is his room?" said Gray, entering and looking about.
"This is the room all right," said the boy; "'e ain't 'ere." Some words ensued on the landing by Gray endeavouring to make a search of the house, from which he was finally persuaded by the landlady, a portly dame of fifteen stone.
As the departing footsteps reached the bottom of the stairs, George came forth with a smile.
"Find him?" said the landlord downstairs to the boy.
"Ain't there," said the boy.
"Now I come to think of it," said the landlord, who had taken a dislike to Gray, "he went down to the post-office just before you came in. You'll catch him up if you hurry; it's only a couple of miles."
Gray prepared to depart. "If I should miss him," he said, "you can say the gentleman who called came from—from Mrs. Early."
The landlord grunted, and Gray went off, having first satisfied himself that the man he wanted was not lurking about outside.
From his bedroom window George watched until Gray was nearly out of sight, and at once prepared to take advantage of so favourable an opportunity for slipping off. To go down the stairs would mean creating suspicion; he raised the window and looked out; nobody was about He promptly climbed into the sill, dropped into the yard below, and walked round to the front.