Au revoir!"
Francis, after a pleasant lunch at Ranelagh, and having arranged
with Margaret to dine with her in Curzon Street, spent an hour or
two that afternoon at his chambers. As he was leaving, just
before five, he came face to face with Shopland descending from a
taxi.
"Are you busy, Mr. Ledsam?" the latter enquired. "Can you spare
me half-an-hour?"
"An hour, if you like," Francis assented.
Shopland gave the driver an address and the two men seated
themselves in the taxicab.
"Any news?" Francis asked curiously.
"Not yet," was the cautious reply. "It will not be long,
however."
"Before you discover Reggie Wilmore?"
The detective smiled in a superior way.
"I am no longer particularly interested in Mr. Reginald Wilmore,"
he declared. "I have come to the conclusion that his disappearance
is not a serious affair."
"It's serious enough for his relatives," Francis objected.
"Not if they understood the situation," the detective rejoined.
"Assure them from me that nothing of consequence has happened to
that young man. I have made enquiries at the gymnasium in
Holborn, and in other directions. I am convinced that his
absence from home is voluntary, and that there is no cause for
alarm as to his welfare."
"Then the sooner you make your way down to Kensington and tell
his mother so, the better," Francis said, a little severely.
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