“No; I return the check to you,” I said, and briefly gave my reasons.
“Heron, most any one can obey orders, but the man who knows enough to disobey them to save a principal is above price,” he said, as he shook my hand again. “I couldn't say a word of my suspicions, for, you know, one has to be careful not to injure a lady. For fear of that I couldn't bring myself to engage a detective to watch her—it seemed so brutal and ruthless and cold-blooded.”
He turned away, and for a moment neither spoke.
“I was sure that you would know how to do the errand,” he added. .
Mr. McCarthy drew a letter from his pocket and flung it on the table, and said:
“You will understand me when you have read that.”
I drew the letter from the envelope, and read as follows:
Mr. McCarthy,—You are being deceived, and I write to warn you about Miss Manning. If you or any friend of yours would go to her hotel unexpected, almost any evening about dinner-time, you could learn where to find her. I could tell you many things, but you might as well learn them for yourself.
A Well-Wisher.
“I think it was written by her maid,” said McCarthy, as I returned the letter. “But come, come, we are due at the Commodore's.”