human
I knew it, he said simply.
gpt
She is in some trouble or other, some tangle, and fears to drag us into it. Who left a letter here this morning?
human
A small boy from Villefranche.
gpt
Just my luck, said Merrihew, his hands speaking eloquently.
human
I said that it would be of no use to hunt in the smaller towns. Well, we had better take the luggage back to the rooms.
gpt
Why?
human
I am going to Villefranche.
gpt
You will be wasting time. After what happened last night, I am certain that they will be gone. Let us not change our plans, and let us respect theirs, hard as it may seem to you.
human
But you?
gpt
Oh, don't bother about me. I have relegated my little romance to the garret of no-account things, at least for the present, said Hillard, with an enigmatical smile. He sought his watch.
human
Make up your mind at once; we have only twenty minutes.
gpt
Oh, divine afflatus! And you lay down the chase so readily as this?
human
I would travel the breadth of the continent were I sure of meeting this woman. But she has become a will-o'-the-wisp, and I am too old and like comfort too well to pursue impossibilities.
gpt
But why did she leave you that mask? demanded Merrihew.
human
She must have meant something by that.
gpt
True, but for the life of me I can't figure out what, unless she wished to leave with me the last page of the adventure.
human
But I don't like the idea of leaving Kitty this way, without a final effort to rescue her from the clutches of this fascinating adventuress. For you must admit that she is naught else.
gpt
I admit nothing, my boy, save that the keenness of the chase is gone. Hillard balanced his watch idly.
human
As for Kitty, she's a worldly little woman, and can take good care of herself. She is not likely to blunder into any serious conspiracy. Her letter should be sufficient.
gpt
But it isn't. A woman's 'don't' often means 'do.' If Kitty really expects me to search for her and I do not, she will never believe in me again.
human
Perhaps your knowledge of women is more extensive than mine,
gpt
Bosh! There's something you haven't told me about that makes you so indifferent.
human
A lady? Grace of Mary, that is droll!