The waiter shrugged:
"The Patron went away this morning. I do not know where. He has not yet returned."
"Are you quite certain?"
"Perhaps Monsieur had better ask the caissière. Maybe the Patron has returned."
So Warner entered the café. In the cool, subdued light of the interior, he saw the cashier behind her counter—a fresh-faced, plump, dark-eyed country girl, who returned his salute with a smile that showed her white teeth.
"Monsieur Wildresse?" he inquired. "May I see him for a moment?"
"The Patron is absent, Monsieur."
"When do you expect him to return?"
"We do not know. Sometimes he goes to Paris and remains a week or two."
"Do you suppose he has gone to Paris?"