I
guess Mr. Bagley can about consider his twenty thousand to the bad,
unless his young friend takes a notion to return to his native land
before he's got it all spent."
"And that's your belief?" said Larcher to Bagley, "--that he went to some
other country with the money?"
"Absconded," replied the ready-money man. "Yes; there's nothing else to
believe. At first I thought you might have some notion where he was;
that's what made me send for you. But I see he left you out of his
confidence. So I thought you might as well know his real character.
Lafferty's going to give the result of his investigation to the newspaper
men, anyhow. The only satisfaction I can get is to show the fellow up."
When Larcher left the presence of Bagley, he carried away no definite
conclusion except that Bagley was an even more detestable animal than he
had before supposed. If the man whom Lafferty had traced was really
Davenport, then indeed the theory of suicide was shaken. There remained
the possibility of murder or flight. The purchases indeed seemed to
indicate flight, especially when viewed in association with South Street.
South Street? Why, that was Mr. Bud's street. And a hallway? Mr. Bud's
room was approached through a hallway. Mr. Bud had left town the day
before that Wednesday; but if Davenport had made frequent visits there
for sketching, was it not certain that he had had access to the room in
Mr. Bud's absence? Larcher had knocked at that room two days after the
Wednesday, and had got no answer, but this was no evidence that Davenport
might not have made some use of the room in the meanwhile.
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