“Possibly we might recover the money you lost.�
“I’d rather lose it than to go back to those places after it.�
“Still, if it was practically all you had——â€�
“And, anyhow, my recollection of the night is very vague. I don’t know half the places I did go to.�
“Did you go alone to the theater?�
“No; I went with an acquaintance I picked up at the hotel. He was my guide that night, and I reckon is the one who got my dough.�
“Possibly. By the way, have you ever made the acquaintance of a Mrs. Babbington?�
Nick asked the question casually. Without appearing to do so he watched the face of Carleton narrowly when he did ask it, but there was not the flicker of an eyelid nor the suggestion of wavering in those steady eyes when the man replied:
“Can’t say that I have, unless she happened to be—— Oh! I see. You are referring to that woman who was tried for the murder of my cousin whom I never saw?â€�
“Yes. I was referring to her.�