of his affairs," he said. "He always seemed to have plenty of money, though." "Doesn't the bank-book prove it?" the young man exclaimed excitedly. "Every one who knew anything about him says the same. There was I half starved in Cape Town, and here was he spending two thousand a year. Beast, he was! I'll find out where it came from if it takes me a lifetime." Wrayson leaned back in his chair. Nothing since the events of that night itself had appealed to him more than the coming of this young man and his strange story. "I am sorry that I have no information to give you," he said. "On the other hand, if I can help you in any other way I shall be very glad." "What should you advise me to do?" the young man asked. "I should like to think the matter over carefully," Wrayson answered. "What are your engagements for to-day? Can you lunch with me?" "I have no engagements," his visitor answered eagerly. "When and what time?" Wrayson repressed a smile. "I shall be ready in twenty minutes," he answered. "We will go out together if you don't mind waiting." "I'm on," Mr. Sydney Barnes declared, crossing his legs. "Don't you hurry on my account. I'll wait as long as you like." CHAPTER XIII SEARCHING THE CHAMBERS Wrayson took his guest to a popular restaurant, where there was music and a five-course luncheon for three and six. Their conversation during the earlier part of the meal was limited, for Mr. Sydney Barnes showed himself possessed of an appetite which his host contemplated with respectful admiration. His sallow cheeks became flushed and his nervousness had subsided, long before the arrival of the coffee. "I say, this is all right, this place is," he said, leaning back in his chair with a large cigar between his teeth. "Jolly expensive, I suppose, isn't it?" Wrayson smiled. "It depends," he answered. "I don't suppose your brother would have found it so. A bachelor can do himself pretty well on two thousand a year." "I only hope I get hold of it," Mr. Sydney Barnes declared fervently. "This
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