“Which letter was that” asked Desmond.
“Why the one asking you to let me know when you would be back so that we might meet at last!”
Desmond shook his head.
“No,” he said, “I didn’t get that one. It must have gone astray. As a matter of fact,” he added, “I only got back this morning.”
“Oh, well then, I am fortunate in my visit,” said Mortimer. “Did everything go off all right?”
“Oh, yes,” Desmond hastened to say, not knowing what he was talking about, “everything went off all right.”
“I don’t in the least grudge you the holiday,” the other observed, “one should always be careful to pay the last respects to the dead. It makes a good impression. That is so important in some countries!”
He beamed at Desmond through his spectacles.
“Was there anything left in your absence?” he asked, “no, there would be nothing; I suppose!”
Desmond took a firm resolution. He must know what the man was driving at.