Deprived of his hope of obtaining any information from Jessel, Inspector Kenly bethought himself of his old friend, the hall porter at Westminster Mansions. He began to haunt the place. Indeed, the revival of interest in his old comrade was quite touching. However, the old friend had lived long enough to understand that something more than interest in himself was at work, when a busy man like Inspector Kenly should happen to be passing twice in one day, and on each occasion have a whole hour to spend in gossip.
He told the Inspector so at last.
Kenly laughed. "You're quite right," he said, "there's not the slightest use in trying to hoodwink an old hand like you. Only, you know what it is in the Yard, we are not allowed to take our closest friends into our confidence. I only wish I could tell a man of your intelligence what I'm after." He sighed, as if such a conversation would have been a heartfelt relief.
The hall porter was flattered. "At least you can tell me who it is you are enquiring about?" he said.
"I don't know that I ought to do so," replied Kenly dubiously. "But," he added with the air of a man making up his mind to impart a tremendous secret, "I'll risk it, Dwyer. I know that you will treat anything I say as strictly confidential."
"Of course, you may. I hope you know me well enough for that," replied Dwyer.
"It's those Hora people on the top floor that I am anxious to find out something about," he remarked.
"The Horas," said the man, and a disappointed look spread over his face. "There can't be anything against them; they are just about the best tenants we've got in the place, been here ten years, too. Now, if you'd said the Lorimers, or that foxy little chap Griddle, I could have understood it."
"Still it is all about the Horas that I want to know," persisted Kenly. "Tell me all about them, Dwyer."
The hall porter did so, and was surprised himself to learn how little he knew about them. There was only one scrap of information which promised to be of any service to the detective. His ears caught the name of Guy. He remembered that Guy Marven had been the name of the other operator.