AlmostbeforeIcouldpointherout，shehadseizedherdaughterbythearmandhurriedhertowardstheelevator。Iwantedtofollowher，butyoumayprefertomakeyourowninquiries。Herroomisontheseventhfloor，number712，andhernameisWatkins。Mrs。HoraceWatkinsofNashville。”
Mr。Grycenoddedthoughtfully，butmadenoimmediateefforttorise。”Isthatallyouknowabouther?”heasked。”Yes；thisisthefirsttimeshehasstoppedatthishotel。Shecameyesterday。Tookaroomindefinitely。Seemsallright；butshedidblush，sir。Ieversawitsbeatinayounggirl。””Callthedesk。SaythatI’mtobetoldifMrs。WatkinsofNashvilleringsupduringthenexttenminutes。We’llgiveherthatlongtotakesomeaction。Ifshefailstomakeanymove，I’llmakemyownapproaches。”
Sweetwaterdidashewasbid，thenwentbacktohisplaceinthelobby。
Buthereturnedalmostinstantly。”Mrs。Watkinshasjusttelephoneddownthatsheisgoingto-toleave，sir。””Toleave?”
Theoldmanstruggledtohisfeet。”No。712，doyousay?Sevenstories，”hesighed。Butasheturnedwithahobble，hestopped。”Therearedifficultiesinthewayofthisinterview，”heremarked。”Ablushisnotmuchtogoupon。I’mafraidweshallhavetoresorttotheshadowbusinessandthatisyourwork，notmine。