"
"You're very kind, Francis," his friend replied, "but it isn't so
easy to sit tight. I was going to the police myself this
afternoon."
"Take my advice and leave it to me," Francis begged. "I have a
particular pal down at Scotland Yard who I know will be
interested, and I want him to take up the case."
"You haven't any theory, I suppose?" Wilmore asked, a little
wistfully.
Francis shook his head.
"Not the ghost of one," he admitted. "The reason I am advising
you to keep as quiet as possible, though, is just this. If you
create a lot of interest in a disappearance, you have to satisfy
the public curiosity when the mystery is solved."
"I see," Wilmore murmured. "All the same, I can't imagine Reggie
getting mixed up in anything discreditable."
"Neither can I, from what I remember of the boy," Francis agreed.
"Let me see, what was he doing in the City?"
"He was with Jameson & Scott, the stockbrokers," Wilmore replied.
"He was only learning the business and he had no
responsibilities. Curiously enough, though, when I went to see
Mr. Jameson he pointed out one or two little matters that Reggie
had attended to, which looked as though he were clearing up,
somehow or other."
"He left no message there, I suppose?"
"Not a line or a word. He gave the porter five shillings,
though, on the afternoon before he disappeared--a man who has
done some odd jobs for him.
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