on,
Andrew, that I must search for him myself. How, I do not know;
where, I do not know. But I shall not leave Paris until I have
found him.

"Andrew, what I want is a friend here. A few months ago I
should not have hesitated a moment to ask you to come to me.
To-day that is impossible. Your presence here would only be an
embarrassment to both of us. Do you know of any one who would
come? I have not a single relative whom I can ask to help me.
Would you advise me to write to Scotland Yard for a detective,
or go to one of these agencies? If not, can you think of any
one who would come here and help me, either for your sake as
your friend, or, better still, a detective who can speak
French and whom one can trust? All our lives Guy and I have
congratulated ourselves that we have no relation nearer than
India. I am finding out the other side of it now.

"I know that you will do what you can for me, Andrew. Write to
me by return.

"Yours in great trouble and distress,

"PHYLLIS POYNTON."

She sealed and addressed her letter, and saw it despatched. Afterwards
she crossed the courtyard to the restaurant, and did her best to eat
some dinner. When she had finished it was only half-past eight. She rang
for the lift and ascended to the fourth floor. On her way down the
corridor a sudden thought struck her. She took a key from her pocket and
entered the room which her brother had occupied.

His things were still lying about in some disorder, and neither of his
trunks was locked. She went down on her knees and calmly proceeded to go
through his belongings. It was rather a forlorn hope, but it seemed to
her just possible that there might be in some of his pockets a letter
which would throw light upon his disappearance. She found nothing of the
sort, however. There were picture postcards, a few photographs, and a
good many restaurant bills, but they were all from places in Germany and
Austria. At the bottom of the second trunk, however, she found something
which he had evidently considered it worth while to preserve carefully.
It was a thick sheet of official-looking paper, bearing at the top an
embossed crown, and covered with German writing. It was numbered at the
top "seventeen," and it was evidently an odd sheet of some document. She
folded it carefully up, and took it back with her to her own room. Then,
with the help of a G