"He can't have stopped at this hotel," he said to himself.
Next he went to the Spencer House. It occurred to him that possibly his uncle's name might be recognized, so he asked the clerk:
"Has a gentleman named James Grey stopped with you lately?"
"Grey? I believe so," said the clerk, after a moment's reflection. "He left us about a week since."
"Yes, it is the same," said Gilbert, eagerly. "Was he here long?"
"Only two or three days."
This, of course, made the examination easy. In point of fact, ten days back Gilbert found recorded on the books:
James Grey, Clayton, Illinois.
"Clayton, Illinois," repeated Gilbert; "that's a place I never heard of. I wonder where it is? It can't be much of a place. Can you tell me in what part of Illinois Clayton is?" he inquired of the clerk.
"Never heard of it," said that official, indifferently.