gone by, and not a word had disturbed the impenetrable
silence which surrounded the fate of Peter's brother. That the time
had passed not unpleasantly did not alter the fact that no single thing
had been done, nor a single clue discovered. Peter had ridden about,
talked to all sorts and conditions of men, had taken one or two
journeys, and was still as far as ever from any trace of his brother.
Purvis had ridden over several times from his own estancia, bringing
his little boy with him. His treatment of the boy was affectionate to
the point of sentimentality. He looked after him with a woman's
carefulness, was over-anxious about his health, and treated him as
though he were much younger than his actual age.

Peter greeted Mr. Purvis's visits to Las Lomas with cordiality, induced
by the feeling that even a chance word dropped by a man who knew the
country and its people as intimately as Purvis did might throw some
light on his quest. Added to this, the fair, mild-mannered man was an
intelligent talker on the rare occasions when he spoke at any length;
though for the most part he contented himself with regretting in his
dismal way the existing state of commerce in South America, and asking
naive questions which exposed his ignorance on many subjects. The
conversation of the three public-school men who knew the world of
London, and still spoke its language and discussed its news, who knew
moreover their friends' stories and jokes, and had stayed in a dozen
country houses together, was widely different from Mr. Purvis's
constant melancholy comments upon the state of Argentine finance.
Still, there was no doubt about it, the man might be useful; and, after
consulting with Ross and Toffy, Peter Ogilvie had decided to give him a
hint of the reason which had brought him to Argentine. Without
definitely stating that he had anything to discover, he had allowed
Purvis to know that if he could pick up information about a child who
had been lost sight of twenty-five years ago it would be of
considerable interest to himself and others to hear it.

Purvis thought inquiries might be set on foot, but that it would cost
money to do so; and, without actually adopting the case professionally,
he promised to keep his eyes open, and had already made a journey to
investigate what at first sight seemed like a clue to traces of the
missing man.

He and his son rode over very early to Las Lomas to-day; and, the boy
having been sent in