he turned a woebegone
countenance toward me. "It's heartrending, sir--if I may be permitted to
say so--to think of a nice gentleman like Mr. Billings wandering over to
the club with nothing on but red pajamas."

But when I telephoned they stated that Mr. Billings had not been at the
club since last evening. Some one who answered the 'phone thought Mr.
Billings was with his friend, Mr. Lightnut, in the Kahoka Apartments.
And, of course, I knew jolly well he was not.

As I turned from the telephone, something in Jenkins' expression
arrested my attention.

"Well?" I said impatiently, for he has so many devilishly clever
inspirations, you know; and, dash it, I like to encourage him.

"Pardon, sir, but don't you think--" Here he looked straight up at the
electrolier and coughed. "About Mr. Billings, sir; I was going to
suggest that though he isn't over at the club, he's _somewhere_, sir."

Why, dash it, I thought _that_ jolly likely, myself! I said so.

"Yes, sir," said Jenkins darkly. "And Mr. Billings usually knows _where_
he is. I guess, sir, he's in this neighborhood--h'm!"

I just sat staring at him a minute, thinking what a devilish wonderful
thing intuition is for the lower classes.

"By Jove, Jenkins!" I said; "then you think--"

"I think Mr. Billings, sir, might prefer to find himself--h'm! Yes,
sir." Jenkins lifted the breakfast tray with deliberation, removed it
from the room, and returned, moving about the furniture and busying
himself with an air of mystery. Dash it, I knew he had up his sleeve
some other devilish clever notion, and so presently I spoke up just to
touch him off.

"By Jove!" I remarked.

"Yes, sir." Jenkins rested the end of the crumb brush on the table and
considered me earnestly. "You know, Mr. Lightnut, last night as Mr.
Billings was retiring, he says to me: 'Jenkins, Mr. Lightnut has
promised to go up home with me to-morrow for the week end. There's a
tenner coming your way if he doesn't forget about it. He's to go
_to-morrow_, now, mind you, Jenkins; and it don't matter _what_ comes
up. _You_ see that he goes up to-morrow.'"

"By Jove!" I said as he paused, and I screwed my monocle tighter and
nodded. "I see."

Of course I didn't see, but I knew the poor fellow was driving at
something, and I wanted to give him a run.

"Exactly, sir." And he stood waiting. "So, shall I pack, sir? You'll
want to take the four-ten express, I suppose?"

By Jove, it was the most amazingly,