am sorry, Dyke," he said, "that the conversation has taken this turn. These speculative guesses at potential clues distress you. If you took my advice, you would not worry about events until at least something tangible turns up." "Perhaps it is best so," murmured the other. "In any event, it is of little consequence. I cannot live long." "Oh, nonsense. You are good for another fifty years. Come, shake off this absurd depression. You can do no good by it. I wish now I had taken you with me to Monte Carlo. The fresh air would have braced you up while I hunted for Corbett." "Did you find him?" "No, but I dropped in for an adventure that would cheer the soul of any depressed author searching vainly for an idea for a short story." "What was it?" Claude, who possessed no mean skill as a _raconteur_, gave him the history of the Casino incident, and the thrilling _dénouement_ so interested the baronet that he lit another cigar. "Did you ascertain the names of the parties?" he said. "Oh yes. You will respect their identity, as the sensational side of the affair had better now be buried in oblivion, though, of course, all the world knows about the way we scooped the bank. The lady is a daughter of Sir William Browne, a worthy knight from Warwickshire, and her rather rapid swain is a youngster named Mensmore." "Mensmore!" shouted the baronet. "A youngster, you say?" and Sir Charles bounced upright in his excitement. "Why, yes, a man of twenty-five. No more than twenty-eight, I can swear. Do you know him?" "Albert Mensmore?" "That's the man beyond doubt." Dyke hastily poured out some whiskey and water and swallowed it. Then he spoke, with a faint smile: "You didn't know, Bruce," he said, "that you vividly described the attempted self-murder of a man I know intimately." "What an extraordinary thing! Yet I never remember hearing you mention his name." "Probably not. I have hardly seen him since my marriage. We were schoolboys together, though I was so much his senior that we did not chum together until later, when we met a good deal on the turf. Then he went off, roughing it in the States. It must be he. It is just one of his pranks. And he is going to marry, eh? Is she a nice girl?" The baronet was thoroughly excited. He talked fast, and helped himself liberally to stimulants. "Yes, unusually so. But I cannot help marvelling at this coincidence. It has upset you." "Not a bit. I was interested in your yarn, and naturally I was unprepared for the startling fact that an old friend of mine filled the chief part. What a fellow you are, Claude, for always turning up at the right time. I have never been in a tight place personally, but if I were I suppose you would come along and show me the way out. Sit down again and give me all the details. I am full of 

 Prev. P 53/232 next