Uncle Joseph looked up from the last letter, and gave Mr. Turner a polite good-morning. The sleuth-hound replied in suitable terms, and embarked upon a tactful yet deadly cross-examination, long laid up in readiness for such an opportunity as this.
But he was faced with a difficulty at the outset. Anxious not to alarm his quarry, he had decided to open the attack with a few pleasant observations upon the convenient situation of the office and the tasteful character of its furniture and appointments. So, hastily reining back his opening sentence, which began: "This is a snug little establishment of yours, sir. I expect you get through a lot of solid business here,"—which sprang automatically to his lips,—Mr. Turner remarked:—
"I have called in reference to a circular which you sent me a few days ago."
"Did I?" replied Uncle Joseph blandly.
"Yes. It was an appeal for funds for the International Brotherhood of Kind Young Hearts."
"This is most interesting," said Uncle Joseph, putting his letters back into their envelopes. "But tell me, how do you know that it was I who sent you a circular; and why have you tracked me to an empty flat in Soho to talk to me about it?"
"Aren't these the offices of the Brotherhood of Kind Young Hearts?" asked Turner, a little abashed.
Uncle Joseph smiled indulgently, and looked round him.
"They don't look very like the offices of a charitable organization," he said—"do they? Charity begins in a home, you know. That being the case, I rather fancy your Kind-Hearted friends would at least have furnished themselves with something to sit down on."
But Turner, although he was young and inexperienced, was no fool. Otherwise he would not have been upon the staff of the "Searchlight."