“Send a boy down to Charing Cross with that at once, please,” he said to the night porter.
Fate which had brought Bruce Wright face to face with Mr. Jeekes gave the kaleidoscope another jerk that night. As Bruce Wright entered the Tube Station at Dover Street to go home to South Kensington, it occurred to him that he would ring up Robin Greve at his chambers in the Temple and give him an outline of his (Bruce’s) talk with Jeekes. Bruce went to the public callbox in the station, but the rhythmic “Zoom-er! Zoom-er! Zoom-er!” which announces that a number is engaged was all the satisfaction he got. The prospect of waiting about the draughty station exit did not appeal to him, so he decided to go home and telephone Robin, as originally arranged, in the morning.
Just about the time that he made this resolve, Robin in his rooms in the Temple was hanging up the receiver of his telephone with a dazed expression in his eyes. Mr. Manderton had rung him up with a piece of intelligence which fairly bewildered him. It bewildered Mr. Manderton also, as the detective was frank enough to acknowledge.
Mary Trevert had gone to Rotterdam for a few days in company with her cousin, Major Euan MacTavish. Mr. Manderton had received this astonishing information by telephone from Harkings a few minutes before.
“It bothers me properly, Mr. Greve, sir,” the detective had added.
“There’s only one thing for it, Manderton,” Robin had said; “I’ll have to go after her ...”
“The very thing I was about to suggest myself, Mr. Greve. You’re unofficial-like and can be more helpful than if we detailed one of our own people from the Yard. And with the investigation in its present stage I don’t reely feel justified in going off on a wild-goose chase myself. There are several important enquiries going forward now, notably as to where Mr. Parrish bought his pistol. But we certainly ought to find out what takes Miss Trevert careering off to Rotterdam in this way ...”
“It seems almost incredible,” Robin had said, “but it looks to me as though Miss Trevert must have found out something about the letter ...”
“Or found it herself ...”
“By Jove! She was in the library when Bruce Wright was there. This settles it, Manderton. I must go!”