And, being convinced, she answered promptly enough that Mrs. Clephane was not in—she had gone down-stairs about two hours ago telling her not to wait up. She had no idea where Mrs. Clephane went; she had said nothing about leaving the hotel.
“Ask her to call me at the Collingwood the moment she comes in,” said Harleston.
Then he got Ranleigh and told him of the Spencer episode and of Mrs. Clephane’s disappearance.
“You would better put Mrs. Clephane under lock and key—or else stay with her and keep her from rash adventures,” Ranleigh commented.
“I quite agree with you,” said Harleston. “Meanwhile I might inquire where was Mrs. Spencer’s shadow while she was taxiing up the avenue?”
“I fancy he was on his job, though you may not have seen him,” Ranleigh replied. “His report in the morning will tell.”
“I would sooner have a report as to Mrs. Clephane’s whereabouts,” Harleston remarked.
“I can’t see what good she would be to them now?” said Ranleigh. “She hasn’t a thing they want.”
“Granted; yet where is she? moreover, she promised me to do nothing unusual and to beware of traps.”
“She has the feminine right to reconsider,” Ranleigh reminded him. “However, I’ll instruct the bureau to get busy and—”