He was not in financial trouble, he does not seem to have been
entangled with any young woman, he had not quarrelled with his
people, and he seems to have been on the best of terms with the
principal at the house of business where he was employed. His
disappearance, therefore, is, to say the least of it, mysterious."
Sir Timothy assented gravely.
"The lack of motive to which you allude," he pointed out, "makes
the case interesting. Still, one must remember that London is
certainly the city of modern mysteries. If a new 'Arabian
Nights' were written, it might well be about London. I dare say
Mr. Shopland will agree with me," he continued, turning
courteously towards the detective, "that disappearances of this
sort are not nearly so uncommon as the uninitiated would believe.
For one that is reported in the papers, there are half-a-dozen
which are not. Your late Chief Commissioner, by-the-bye," he
added meditatively, "once a very intimate friend of mine, was my
informant."
"Where do you suppose they disappear to?" Francis enquired.
"Who can tell?" was the speculative reply. "For an adventurous
youth there are a thousand doors which lead to romance. Besides,
the lives of none of us are quite so simple as they seem. Even
youth has its secret chapters. This young man, for instance,
might be on his way to Australia, happy in the knowledge that he
has escaped from some murky chapter of life which will now never
be known.
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