of annoyance.

"Dismissed her! See here, Dido, do you think Therese was rude or
anything?"

"I'm sure I don't know. I didn't like to ask, naturally. Miss Rowe
didn't say anything, she simply seemed in rather a hurry to get away."

"And you let her go without seeing me?"

"You were asleep, dear. We neither of us thought we ought to disturb
you. Besides it isn't as if she were leaving Cannes, we shall soon see
her again."

He frowned, dissatisfied.

"That's not the point. A moment ago she sent me a message by Chalmers
saying she wanted to speak to me about something important. I dashed
into my clothes expecting to find her downstairs, but she'd
disappeared."

"It is odd. Still, I should find out if the doctor is about. I hear
he was going to drive her into Cannes."

"Oh, was he? I'll look for him."

He discovered Sartorius in his own bedroom, sorting out the contents of
his black leather bag.

"Have you seen Miss Rowe, doctor?" he demanded rather abruptly.

With a visible effort the big man tore his attention away from his
occupation.

"Miss Rowe?" he repeated vaguely. "Oh, yes, I believe she left the
house a little while ago."

"But wasn't she going with you?"

"I offered to drive her, but as I was not ready as soon as she was
Captain Holliday gave her a lift instead."

"Holliday!" exclaimed Roger, puzzled. "Are you sure?"

He noticed that the doctor had the air of being slightly bored by his
importunities, but he was indifferent, merely determined to get to the
bottom of the matter.

"Oh, quite, Mr. Clifford. I helped the Captain transfer her luggage
from my car to his, and I saw them start off."

It seemed conclusive enough; there was no question as to her being
gone. Roger thanked the doctor briefly and left him, feeling perplexed
and exasperated. Why had she sent him that urgent message, only to
hurry away before he could possibly get downstairs to see her? Why,
for that matter, was she in such a rush to be off that she had accepted
Holliday's offer of a lift? Not that she had any reason for disliking
Arthur, only the whole affair struck him as decidedly odd, unlike
Esther. He resolved to wait a quarter of an hour and then telephone
the Pension Martel, which was where he knew she had intended to go: he
had heard her say so several days before.

On the telephone the proprietress of the pension informed him that no
person of the name of Rowe had arrived, in fact there had be