“No; not fair, and not dark. Almost chestnut colour, I think it was.”
“Was she tall?”
“Middling. She came in a hansom, and it waited for her. She was evidently a lady.”
“She gave no name?”
“No; she was very discreet. And that’s what made me scent a mystery when you called and asked for the same person, and to see the same rooms.”
“Well, it is extraordinary,” I remarked. “Most extraordinary!”
I was sorry that I had no money to give him a tip, but my last half-crown reposed in the corner of my pocket, and I could not summon courage to leave myself penniless; so I merely thanked him, and, descending the steps, left him with disappointment plainly depicted upon his face.
The man might be useful, I felt, therefore I had decided to return at an early date, when my funds were not so low, and give him a similar tip to the one he had received from the veiled lady.
Who was she? I wondered. Surely it could not have been Beryl herself.
By good fortune, on my return to Rowan Road, I found a letter awaiting me, and on opening it discovered that it was from a doctor practising in Bayswater, who, in reply to my application a week before, appointed me his locum tenens. Therefore, on the following day, I thanked Bob warmly, for all his hospitality towards me, and bade him good-bye.