“Good morning, sir,” he said.
“Good morning, Riggs.”
“Will you have your bath hot or cold, sir?”
“The colder the better.”
“Thank you, sir.”
A few moments later I was shaving with a razor which Riggs informed me had belonged to his late master, while a sizable column of cold water roared into the tub. While I bathed and dressed, the houseman repaired the rent in my sleeve. A half-hour afterward, feeling greatly rested and refreshed, I went down to breakfast. Miss Van Loan met me in the dining room where places had been laid for two.
“Dr. Dorp left early this morning for the city,” she informed me. “He asked me to have you wait here until his return this afternoon.”
“He could not have set me a more pleasant task,” I replied, receiving my cup of coffee from the hand of my charming hostess. “Did he mention what urgent business took him to the city?”
“Something about some investigations he wished to make, and some paraphernalia he would need for tonight,” she said. “He was in a great hurry. Wouldn’t even stop for a bite of breakfast.”
“That is his way,” I replied, “when engrossed in a particularly interesting investigation. He will probably neither eat nor drink until the mystery has been solved.”