He looked up with a start.
"Amiss, sir?" he repeated, with obvious embarrassment.
"I said 'amiss.' Out with it."
He seemed, for some moments, unable to meet my glance. Then suddenly he faced me unflinchingly.
"Yes?" I said encouragingly, as he did not speak.
"I'll tell you what's amiss, sir," he answered abruptly, forcing himself to speak. "The day after you'd left, a peculiar-looking man called here, and asked to see you. When I told him you were not at home, he asked if you were out of town. I didn't answer that, sir, but I asked him quite politely if I couldn't give you any message. He answered No, that he must see you himself. Then he started to question me, in a kind of roundabout way, about you and your movements, sir."
"I hope you kept your counsel," I exclaimed quickly, for, excellent servant though Simon, was, he occasionally lacked discretion.
"Indeed I did, sir. Though I was quite courteous, I was a bit short with him. The next day he come again, about the same timeit was close on dinner timeand with him this time was another mana rather younger man. They questioned me again, sir, quite friendly-like, but they didn't get much change out of me. Yesterday they tried it on a third timeboth of them come againand, well, sir, happing to put my hand into my jacket pocket soon after they were gone, I found these in it."
As he spoke he dived into his jacket, and pulled out an envelope. Opening the envelope, he withdrew from it what I saw at a glance were bank-notes. Unfolding them with trembling hands, which made the notes crackle noisily, he showed me that he had there ten five-pound notes.
"And they gave you those for nothing?" I asked, meaning to be ironical.