"I am not feeling very well to-day, and that's a fact."
"You don't look very well. By the by, how came this double of mine to mention the name?"
Mr. Townsend nodded towards the sheet of paper, almost, as it seemed to me, as if he were unwilling to pronounce the name which was upon it.
"He merely mentioned that he had been down to Brighton to look for a woman named Louise O'Donnel."
Mr. Townsend's glass came down on to the table with the same startled gesture as before. If he was not careful, he would break a second one. And, since he glanced our way, so the waiter seemed to think.
"Been looking for her? What had he been doing that for?"
"That is more than I can tell you."
Mr. Townsend sat and stared at me as if doubting whether I spoke the truth.
"May I ask you, in my turn, what you know about this mysterious Louise O'Donnel?"
He looked down, and then up at me. He smiled, his smile striking me as being more than a little forced.