"This is a statement of the services rendered the Adelaide, and a claim in respect of them," he said. "I am going to take it along to Merril's office in a few minutes, and one or more of you can come with me."
They went out together, but when they reached Merril's office Jordan and Jimmy alone went in. They found a good many other people waiting there, and had some little difficulty in securing attention, while the clerk to whom Jordan spoke appeared anxious and embarrassed.
"Mr. Merril is not here," he said. "He went out of town last night, and executed a trust deed before he left. Mr. Cathcart, one of the trustees, is now inside."
Jordan looked at Jimmy. "I don't mind admitting that I expected this," he said. Then he turned to the clerk: "Take our names in."
They were shown into the inner office, where a gray-haired gentleman listened gravely to what they had to say. Then he took the salvage claim from Jordan, and laid it beneath a pile of other papers.
"It will be considered in its turn," he said. "I do not know whether we shall attempt to contest it, or whether there will be funds to meet it, but I may be able to tell you more to-morrow, and would ask you to take no further steps until you have seen me. I am at liberty to say that Mr. Merril's affairs appear to be considerably involved."
Jordan promised to wait, and when he turned toward the door, the trustee, who took up an envelope, made a sign to Jimmy.
"I was instructed to hand you this, Captain Wheelock, and to tell you that Miss Merril leaves for Toronto by to-day's express, on the understanding that you make no attempt to communicate with her. It contains her address."
Jimmy went out with his thoughts confused. All that had come about was, he felt, the result of his action, but he realized that in any case the crisis could not have been much longer delayed. They found the others awaiting them, and when Forster had quietly but firmly insisted on escorting Eleanor into a dry-goods store and leaving her there, they went back together to Jordan's office, where the latter related what he had heard.
"To be quite straight, I must admit that I had a notion of what Jimmy meant to do last night, and took no steps to restrain him," he said. "If I had done so, Merril would not have got away. We are both in your hands, but, while you may think differently, I am not sure that what has happened is a serious misfortune from a business point of view."