"On the sidewalk."
"But last night? She said she was dining with her sister and going to the play. What did she do last night?"
"She did what she said. Believe me, sir—if I know anything of men and women, you're paying me to run fool's errands for you. They don't need any watching."
"You have seen them—kiss?"
"Never."
"Hold hands?"
"I haven't seen any physical demonstration. I guess they like each other a lot. And that's all there is to it."
But the "old man" made a scene with her, just such a scene as he would have made if the detective's report had been, in effect, the opposite of what it was. He assumed that she was guilty; but, for dread of scandal, he would not seek a divorce. He exacted a promise that she would not see Arthur, or write to him, or receive letters from him.
Then, having agreed with certain magnates to go out to China upon the question of a great railroad and a great loan, he carried her off with him, then and there. So that when Arthur called at the hotel, he was told that they had gone but that there was a note for him. If it was from the wife, the husband had dictated it: