"But what about Mitchel? Do you know whether he was connected with her in any way?"
"I can't give you that dead straight. There was some mystery there. I used to go to the Royal Street place, and I knew Mitchel in a sort of way. He was always hanging around there. Then there was a while that he didn't show up, and then he turned up again and was introduced as La Montalbon's husband. There was a story going that he had married another girl and deserted her. A young Creole I think, though I never heard her name."
"Did you know anything about a child, a girl?"
"That was another queer part of it. There was a girl, little Rosy. Some said it was the Creole's, but La Montalbon always claimed it was hers."
"What became of Mitchel?"
"About a year after he passed as La Montalbon's husband he skipped out—vanished. Several years after that there was another sensation. The child was kidnapped. La Montalbon offered big rewards to recover her, but she never did. Then about three years ago her place began to run down; she lost money, and finally she too disappeared."
"If this story is true it may be quite important. Do you think you could identify this man Mitchel?"
"Well, I don't know for certain. But see here, come to think of it, there were two Mitchels, and both named Leroy too."
"Are you sure of that?"
"Pretty sure. They were cousins. The other fellow was younger. I didn't know him myself. He was a Young-Men's-Christian-Association sort of a boy, and not quite in my line. But I sort of remember hearing that he was in love with the Creole girl. But say, I'll tell you who can give it to you straight as a shingle."