ertheless he felt the importance of this, for Lord
Hartledon's sake.

"I met him by chance, in a place where I sometimes go of an evening to
smoke a cigar, and learned his name by accident," continued Mr. Taylor.
"It's the same man that was at Kedge and Reck's, George Gorton; he
acknowledged it at once, quite readily."

"And where has he been hiding himself?"

"He has been in Australia for several years, he says; went there directly
after he left Kedge and Reck's that autumn."

"Could you get him here, Taylor? I must see him. Tell me: what coloured
hair has he?"

"Red, sir; and plenty of it. He says he's doing very well over there,
and has only come home for a short change. He does not seem to be in
concealment, and gave me his address when I asked him for it."

According to Mr. Carr's wish, the man Gorton was brought to his chambers
the following morning by Taylor. To the barrister's surprise, a
well-dressed and really rather gentlemanly man entered. He had been
accustomed to picturing this Gorton as an Arab of London life. Casting
a keen glance at the red hair, he saw it was indisputably his own.

A few rapid questions, which Gorton answered without the slightest demur,
and Mr. Carr leaned back in his chair, knowing that all the trouble he
had been at to find this man might have been spared: for he was not the
George Gordon they had suspected. But Mr. Carr was cautious, and betrayed
nothing.

"I am sorry to have troubled you," he said. "When I inquired for you of
Kedge and Reck some years ago, it was under the impression that you were
some one else. You had left; and they did not know where to find you."

"Yes, I had displeased them through arresting a wrong man, and other
things. I was down in the world then, and glad to do anything for a
living, even to serving writs."

"You arrested the late Lord Hartledon for his brother," observed Mr.
Carr, with a careless smile. "I heard of it. I suppose you did not know
them apart."

"I had never set eyes on either of them before," returned Gorton;
unconsciously confirming a point in the barrister's mind; which, however,
was already sufficiently obvious.

"The man I wanted to find was named Gordon. I thought it just possible
that you might have changed your name temporarily: some of us finding it
convenient to do so on occasion."

"I never changed mine in my life."

"And if you had, I don't suppose you'd have changed it to one so
notorious as George Gordon."