“The entries on this page are not in my handwriting,” he replied. He opened his desk, took out a small book and glanced at it. “At that time I was absent from the fort,” he added. “From the end of March to the beginning of May, 1788, I was in Quebec.”
“But are none of the old employees here now?”
“No; not one. There are a few who have served a long time, but not prior to 1790.”
“Failure at every point!” exclaimed Mr. Burley, with a gesture of disappointment. “But I will not despair. This clew must lead to others. I cannot return to England without proofs of Osmund Maiden’s death.”
“I do not know where you will get them,” said Macdonald. “The man has been missing for nearly thirty years.”
“And you made constant inquiries for him in the north,” I added.
“But he may not have remained in the wilderness,” cried the law clerk. “Perhaps he went south again by another road. It is even possible that he claimed his trunk and that by mistake this name was not erased.”
“We never did business here in that loose way,” replied the factor a little sharply. “Come, Mr. Burley, I will give you a final satisfaction. It would be useless to search the file of receipts, for I am positive that Osmund Maiden’s is not there. But I will readily show you his trunk—trunk 409. Will you please to follow me, gentlemen?”