en, his solemn face crimson, pushed the woman gently away from him
towards a girl and a young man who were apparently waiting for her.
"There, there; that will do. Let us know if everything does all right.
Won't keep you a moment, sir," and he disappeared along the corridor.

When he returned he had recovered something of his usual impassivity.
But he could not be oblivious to the twinkle in Foyle's eyes. "Women are
the very devil," he said as if in answer. "There's no knowing what
they'll do. Now, the young girl there wanted to run away with a man of
fifty, who is already a married man. So her mother--the old lady you saw
kissing me--brought her up here, evidently under the impression that we
can do anything. I took the girl into my room and gave her some good
advice, telling her she had much better marry the young man you
saw--they had been engaged, and quarrelled--and I told of some cases
like her own that had come under my own knowledge. She wept a bit,
admitted I was right, and then suddenly flung herself on top of me and
started hugging and kissing me. I got her outside, told her mother that
the matter was all right, when I'm blessed if she didn't try it on too.
That was just as you came out. You may have noticed that I side-stepped
warily round the young man."

"Be careful, Green. Is she a widow?" laughed Foyle. And then, more
seriously: "How far is it to this place? Our man may be out when we get
there."

"Shall we leave it till to-night, sir? It will be more certain then."

"No, we'll chance it. Let's have a look at the letter." He fished a note
out of his pocket and paused to read it through, carefully replacing it
in its envelope as he finished.

It was the letter that had been addressed to Floyd on the barge "Flowery
Land." It read--

"DEAR MR. FLOYD,--I have tried to carry out your instructions, but
luck has been against me, as I have to be very careful. It has been
easy enough to buy the seamen's discharges that you require, but I
have been unable to see Lola since she took the advertisement
to-day, so do not know if she has managed to raise money. I believe
I am fairly safe here, and my friends are to be relied upon, though
they are much occupied with the gambling and the smoke, so there is
not much quietness. If you write, address me as Mackirty, 146 Smike
Street, Shadwell."

It had needed little penetration to identify the writer of the note as
Ivan,