“Why didn’t you ask pa?”
“He never liked the boy nor his father, and I don’t think he would tell me.”
“That is true. He didn’t like either of them.”
“I suppose you couldn’t find out for me?”
“I don’t know but I could,” answered Clarence brusquely.
He had a special use for five dollars, and it struck him that he might just as well earn the money offered by the stranger.
“If you could I would cheerfully pay you the five dollars. You see I used to know Ernest Ray and his father, and I would be pleased to meet them again.”
“Just so,” said Clarence complacently. “How long are you going to remain in town?”
“I did think of going to Elmira to-night, but I think on the whole I will stay at the hotel here till to-morrow morning.”
“That will give me time to find out,” said Clarence.