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She went straight up to Miss Delora's room, and I have not seen them apart since." "Do they come down to the cafe?" I asked. "So far, sir," the man answered, "they have had everything served in their sitting-room." I went back to my room and rang up number 157. The voice which answered me was the voice of the woman who had denied me admission to the room. "I wish to speak to Miss Delora," I said.
Even now he was in hiding, it could not be called anything else, and the one person with whom I had come in touch who was searching for him was, without a doubt, on the side of law and justice, with at least some settled position behind him. Delora's deportment was more the deportment of a fugitive from justice than of a man in the confidence of his government.
Without any clear idea as to what was best to be done, I still felt that I was justified in making a few inquiries as to the cause of Delora's presence in Newcastle with that particular companion. I went to the telephone, therefore, and rang up the County Hotel. I asked to speak to the manager, who came at once to the instrument.
"I am sorry," I answered, "but I cannot at present answer any more questions, except with Miss Delora's permission." "You can tell me this, Captain Rotherby," the detective asked, looking at me keenly, "do you know whether Miss Delora has been in communication with her uncle since she reached the hotel?" "I have no idea," I answered.
Louis hesitated. "If there were some plot against this man Delora," he said, "to prevent his carrying out some undertaking, monsieur would help to frustrate it?" "With all my heart," I answered. "There is only one thing I would ask. What is Mr. Delora's undertaking? To sell his coffee?" Louis' inimitable smile spread over his face. "Ah!" he said, "monsieur is pleased to be facetious!"
I could learn nothing there. His words had left me partly unconvinced. Somehow I felt that the only time he had spoken the entire truth was when he had spoken of Felicia. Yet it was certainly true that I owed these people something, and I had no wish to shrink from paying my debt. "Tell me," I said, "if I take Delora's place to-night, and if your scheme is successful, does that free him?
"In an hour," he said, "it will be safe for monsieur to go to Mr. Delora's room. You need not pass through the sitting-room at all. There is a door into the bedroom connecting with the corridor. If mademoiselle hears anything, she will think that it is the doctor." "I shall be quite ready," I answered. "There are only one or two things I want to ask you.
"My visit, as a matter of fact, was intended for your niece." She took a step towards me, but Delora's outstretched arm barred her progress. "My niece is very much honored," he answered, "but her friends and her acquaintances are mine.
The corridor was empty, and with the key which Louis had given me I opened the door of Mr. Delora's bedroom without difficulty. The room was in darkness, but the electric-light knob was against the wall. I turned it on quickly.
"He is here, and perfectly willing to see you. But it is against the doctor's orders, and my instructions were that I was to warn you not to excite him. You must speak slowly, and you may have to repeat anything which you wish him to understand." "Who are you?" the newcomer asked. "I am Mr. Delora's servant," Louis answered. The newcomer looked a little puzzled.
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