Page:The Fate of Fenella (1892).djvu/221

 Broadway, and paraded Fifth Avenue, but saw none but unfamiliar faces. He had put up at one of the large New York hotels, where he had advisedly given a false name. He was not particularly anxious to make the acquaintance of the American interviewer, a gentleman who was unique until copied in England some few years ago. So far he had been able to preserve his incognito, as the police official, who was a kind fellow at heart, had promised to preserve the secret of his identity. So, chafing at the delay, he wandered about listlessly, until, to his great delight, he received one evening a summons to attend at the bureau.

"You see I have not forgotten you," said the official. "Now I think we can set to work. The boy you have been looking for has left the custody of the colonel—he is no longer in his care."

"And where is he?" asked Frank eagerly.

"That is a conundrum, my lord, that, for the moment, I cannot answer," was the reply. "The fact is, we have made a bit of a mess of it. A recruit—a sharp one, but still a recruit—was put upon your business, and he seems to have muddled it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look you here. He was ordered to keep his eye on the lad, and to report when the boy was removed from the colonel's custody.