Three months! Peggy almost groaned aloud. “Have you any idea where he went?”
The woman shook her head slowly. “No. He didn’t leave a forwarding address. He said there wouldn’t be any mail.”
This matched the story Peggy had heard earlier that afternoon. “He didn’t give you any hint about where he was going?”
“No. None at all.” The woman looked at Peggy sympathetically. “I’m sorry. I wish I could help you, but I’m afraid....”
“Do you know why he left?”
The woman paused and stared down at the floor. “I think so,” she said in a troubled voice. “It was because he couldn’t afford to pay the rent any more. I was perfectly willing to let him stay, but he insisted on going. He said that he couldn’t allow himself to accept charity. I tried to explain that his presence gave us real pleasure and that was payment enough, but he wouldn’t listen. One day he went out and just never came back....” Her voice trailed off and she shrugged helplessly.
“Didn’t he take his banjo with him?”
“Yes, he took that. But not very far.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a little boy in the house next door. Tommy Stanton, his name is. Mr. Armour was very fond of Tommy. They used to spend hours together. He even taught Tommy how to play the banjo a little, and before he left, he gave it to him.”