Gertrude shuddered.
"We examined every inch of track. There was--no sign."
"But surely--he can't be--gone!" I cried. "Aren't there traces
in the mud--anything?"
"There is no mud--only dust. There has been no rain. And the
footpath there is of cinders. Miss Innes, I am inclined to think
that he has met with bad treatment, in the light of what has gone
before. I do not think he has been murdered." I shrank from the
word. "Burns is back in the country, on a clue we got from the
night clerk at the drug-store. There will be two more men here
by noon, and the city office is on the lookout."
"The creek?" Gertrude asked.
"The creek is shallow now. If it were swollen with rain, it
would be different. There is hardly any water in it. Now, Miss
Innes," he said, turning to me, "I must ask you some questions.
Had Mr. Halsey any possible reason for going away like this,
without warning?"
"None whatever."
"He went away once before," he persisted. "And you were as sure
then."
"He did not leave the Dragon Fly jammed into the side of a
freight car before."
"No, but he left it for repairs in a blacksmith shop, a long
distance from here. Do you know if he had any enemies? Any one
who might wish him out of the way?"
"Not that I know of, unless--no, I can not think of any."
"Was he in the habit of carrying money?"
"He never carried it far. No, he never had more than enough for
current expenses."
Mr. Jamieson got up then and began to pace the room.
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