"And the next?"
"This. No one in the mines, not a soul, knew of his coming;—in fact, no one had ever heard of the existence of Max Fargus."
This time she could not repress an exclamation.
"So, that does surprise you," he said quickly.
"Why, yes—of course," she admitted grudgingly. She rose, took a step, and reseated herself. "Still, if he were thinking of buying a mine, wouldn't it be like him to look it over first without being known. That might be it."
Bofinger understood that she wished thus to convey to him her knowledge, but without appearing to notice the contradiction, he suddenly broke out:
"What luck, what damnable luck! And I did everything, scoured the country, offered a dozen rewards for the body! No use, not a trace, not a single clew!"
Sheila, who had expected to find him triumphant, recognized again with growing anxiety the note of disaster in his voice.
"Something is wrong?" she said, leaning forward suddenly.