’Iamquitealone，’Arthurexplainedastheywalkedon。’Mypartnerisaway，busilyengagedatadistanceonhisbranchofourbusiness，andyoushalldojustasyoulike。’
’Thankyou。Youdidn’ttakeparticularnoticeoflittleAltrojustnow；didyou？’saidPancks。
’No。Why？’
’He’sabrightfellow，andIlikehim，’saidPancks。’Somethinghasgoneamisswithhimto-day。Haveyouanyideaofanycausethatcanhaveoversethim？’
’Yousurpriseme!Nonewhatever。’