第3章
“ToLUCILLE，DuchessedeSOUSPENNIER-
“YouwillbeattheWaldorfAstoriaHotelinthemaincorridoratfouro’clockthisafternoon。“
ThethinpapershookinMr。Sabin’sfingers。Therewasnosignature，buthefanciedthatthehandwritingwasnotwhollyunfamiliartohim。
Helookedslowlyuptowardsthecabman。
“Iammuchobligedtoyou，“hesaid。“Thisisofinteresttome。“
HestretchedouthishandtothelittlewadofnoteswhichDusonhadleftuponthetable，butthecabdriverbackedaway。
“Begpardon，sir，“hesaid。“You’vegivenmeplenty。Theletter’sofnovaluetome。Icameveryneartearingitup，butforthepeculiarcolourpencilit’swrittenwith。Kindertookmyfancy，sir。“
“Theletterisofvalue，“Mr。Sabinsaid。“IttellsmemuchmorethanIhopedtodiscover。Itisourgoodfortune。“
Themanacceptedthelittlerollofbillsanddeparted。Mr。Sabintouchedthebell。
“Duson，whattimeisit？“
“Nearlymidnight，sir！“
“Iwillgotobed！“
“Verygood，sir！“
“Mixmeasleepingdraught，Duson。Ineedrest。SeethatIamnotdisturbeduntilteno’clockto-morrowmorning。
Atpreciselyteno’clockonthefollowingmorningDusonbroughtchocolate，whichhehadpreparedhimself，andsomedrytoasttohismaster’sbedside。Uponthetraywasasingleletter。Mr。Sabinsatupinbedandtoreopentheenvelope。ThefollowingwordswerewrittenuponasheetoftheHollandHousenotepaperinthesamepeculiarcolouredcrayon。
“Thefirstwarningaddressedtoyouyesterdaywasafriendlyone。
Profitbyit。GobacktoLenox。Youareonlyexposingyourselftodangerandthepersonyouseektodiscomfort。Waitthere，andsomeoneshallcometoyoushortlywhowillexplainwhathashappened，andthenecessityforit。“
Mr。Sabinsmiled，aslowcontemplativesmile。Hesippedhischocolateandlitacigarette。
“Ourfriends，then，“hesaidsoftly，“donotcareaboutpursuitandinquiries。Itisridiculoustosupposethattheirwarningisgivenoutofanyconsiderationtome。Duson！“
“Yes，sir！“
“Mybath。Ishallrisenow。“
Mr。Sabinmadehistoiletwithsomethingofthesamedeliberationwhichcharacterisedallhismovements。Thenhedescendedintothehall，boughtanewspaper，andfromaconvenienteasy-chairkeptacloseobservationuponeveryonewhopassedtoandfroforaboutanhour。Lateronheorderedacarriage，andmadeseveralcallsdowntown。
AtafewminutespasttwelveheenteredthebaroftheFifthAvenueHotel，andorderingadrinksatdownatoneofthesmalltables。
Theroomwasfull，butMr。Sabin’sattentionwasdirectedsolelytoonegroupofmenwhostoodashortdistanceawaybeforethecounterdrinkingchampagne。Thecentralpersonofthegroupwasabigman，withanunusuallylargeneck，afatpaleface，abrownmoustachetingedwithgrey，andavoiceandlaughlikeafog-horn。Itwasheapparentlywhowaspayingforthechampagne，andhewasclearlyonintimatetermswithalltheparty。Mr。Sabinwatchedforhisopportunity，andthenrisingfromhisseattouchedhimontheshoulder。
“Mr。Skinner，Ibelieve？“hesaidquietly。
ThebigmanlookeddownuponMr。Sabinwiththesullenoffensivenessoftheprofessionalbully。
“You’vehititfirsttime，“headmitted。“Whoareyou，anyway？“
Mr。Sabinproducedacard。
“Icalledthismorning，“hesaid，“uponthegentlemanwhosenameyouwillseethere。Hedirectedmetoyou，andtoldmetocomehere。“
Themantorethecardintosmallpieces。
“Solong，boys，“hesaid，addressinghislatecompanions。“Seeyouto-night。“
Theyacceptedhisdepartureinsilence，andoneandallfavouredMr。Sabinwithastareofblatantcuriosity。
“Ishouldbegladtospeakwithyou，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“inaplacewherewearelikelytobeneitherdisturbednoroverheard。“
“Youcomerightacrosstomyoffice，“wasthepromptreply。“I
guesswecanfixitupthere。“
Mr。Sabinmotionedtohiscoachman，andtheycrossedBroadway。Hiscompanionledhimintoatallbuilding，talkingnoisilyallthetimeaboutthepalswhomhehadjustleft。Anelevatortransportedthemtothetwelfthfloorinlittlemorethanasmanyseconds，andMr。Skinnerusheredhisvisitorintoasomewhatbare-lookingoffice，smellingstronglyofstaletobaccosmoke。Mr。Skinneratoncelitacigar，andseatinghimselfbeforehisdesk，foldedhisarmsandleanedovertowardsMr。Sabin。
“Smokeone？“heasked，pointingtotheopenbox。
Mr。Sabindeclined。
“Getrightaheadthen。“
“IamanEnglishman，“Mr。Sabinsaidslowly，“andconsequentlyamnotaltogetherathomewithyourwaysoverhere。Ihavealwaysunderstood，however，thatifyouareinneedofanyspecialinformationsuchasweshouldinEnglandapplytothepolicefor，overherethereisaquickerandmoresatisfactorymethodofprocedure。“
“You’vecomealongwayround，“Mr。Skinnerremarked，spittinguponthefloor，“butyou’redeadright。“
“Iaminneedofsomeinformation，“Mr。Sabincontinued，“andaccordinglyIcalledthismorningonMr-“
Mr。Skinnerhelduphishand。
“Allright，“hesaid。“Wedon’tmentionnamesmorethanwecanhelp。Callhimtheboss。“
“HeassuredmethattheinformationIwasinneedofwaseasilytobeobtained，andgavemeacardtoyou。“
“Gorighton，“Mr。Skinnersaid。“Whatisit？“
“OnFridaylast，“Mr。Sabinsaid，“atfouro’clock，theDuchessofSouspennier，whosepictureIwillpresentlyshowyou，lefttheHollandHouseHotelfortheNewYork，NewHaven&HartfordDepot，presumablyforherhomeatLenox，towhichplaceherbaggagehadalreadybeenchecked。OnthewaysheorderedthecabmantosetherdownattheWaldorf-AstoriaHotel，whichhedidatafewminutespastfour。TheDuchesshasnotreturnedhomeorbeendirectlyheardfromsince。IwishtoascertainhermovementssinceshearrivedattheWaldorf。“
“Soundsdeadeasy，“Mr。Skinnerremarkedreassuringly。“Gotthepicture？“
Mr。Sabintouchedthespringofasmallgoldlocketwhichhedrewfromaninsidewaistcoatpocket，anddisclosedabeautifullypaintedminiature。Mr。Skinner’sthicklipswerepursedintoawhistle。
HewasonthepointofmakingaremarkwhenhechancedtoglanceintoMr。Sabin’sface。Theremarkremainedunspoken。
Hedrewasheetofnote-papertowardshimandmadeafewnotesuponit。
“TheDuchessmanyfriendsinNewYork？“
“Atpresentnone。ThefewpeoplewhomsheknowshereareatNewportorinEuropejustnow。“
“AnyideawhomshewenttotheWaldorftosee？Moreweknowthebetter。“
Mr。Sabinhandedhimtheletterwhichhadbeenpickedupinthecab。
Mr。Skinnerreaditthrough，andspatoncemoreuponthefloor。
“Whattheh——’sthisfunnycolouredpencilmean？“
“Idonotknow，“Mr。Sabinanswered。“YouwillseethatthetwoanonymouscommunicationswhichIhavereceivedsincearrivinginNewYorkyesterdayarewritteninthesamemanner。“
Mr。Sabinhandedhimtheothertwoletters，whichMr。Skinnercarefullyperused。
“Iguessyou’dbettertellmewhoyouare，“hesuggested。
“IamthehusbandoftheDuchessofSouspennier，“Mr。Sabinanswered。
“TheDuchesssendanywordhomeatall？“Mr。Skinnerasked。
Mr。Sabinproducedaworntelegraphform。ItwashandedinatFifthAvenue，NewYork，atsixo’clockonFriday。Itcontainedthesingleword’Good-bye。’“
“H’m，“Mr。Skinnerremarked。“We’llfindallyouwanttoknowbyto-morrowsure。“
“WhatdoyoumakeofthetwoletterswhichIreceived？“Mr。Sabinasked。
“Bunkum！“Mr。Skinnerrepliedconfidently。
Mr。Sabinnoddedhishead。
“Youhavenosecretsocietiesoverhere，Isuppose？“hesaid。
Mr。Skinnerlaughedloudlyandderisively。
“Iguessnot，“heanswered。“Theykeepthatsortofrubbishontheothersideofthepond。“
“Ah，！“