"Conductor, do you happen to know," he questioned, "who the young man
is who took Section Three in the car forward?"
Connery gasped; but the question put to him the impossibility of his
being sure of any recognition from the description. "He gave his name
on his ticket as Philip D. Eaton, sir," Connery replied.
"Is that all you know about him?"
"Yes, sir."
"If you find out anything about him, let me know," Dorne bade.
"Yes, sir." Connery moved away and soon went back to look again at
Eaton. Had Mr. Dorne also seen the likeness of Eaton in the published
descriptions of the man whom Warden had said was most outrageously
wronged? the man for whom Warden had been willing to risk his life, who
afterwards had not dared to come forward to aid the police with
anything he might know? Connery determined to let nothing interfere
with learning more of Eaton; Dorne's request only gave him added
responsibility.
Dorne, however, was not depending upon Connery alone for further
information. As soon as the conductor had gone, he turned back to his
daughter and Avery upon the seat opposite.
"Avery," he said in a tone of direction, "I wish you to get in
conversation with this Philip Eaton. It will probably be useful if you
let Harriet talk with him too. She would get impressions helpful to me
which you can't."
The girl started with surprise but recovered at once. "Yes, Father,"
she said.
"What, sir?" Avery ventured to protest.
CHAPTER III
MISS DORNE MEETS EATON
Dorne motioned Avery to the aisle, where already some of the
passengers, having settled their belongings in their sections, were
beginning to wander through the cars seeking acquaintances or players
to make up a card game. Eaton, however, was not among these. On the
contrary, when these approached him in his section, he frankly avoided
chance of their speaking to him, by an appearance of complete immersion
in his own concerns. The Englishman directly across the aisle from
Eaton clearly was not likely to speak to him, or to anybody else,
without an introduction; the red-haired man, "D. S.," however, seemed a
more expansive personality. Eaton, seeing "D. S." look several times
in his direction, pulled a newspaper from the pocket of his overcoat
and engrossed himself in it; the newspaper finished, he opened his
traveling bag and produced a magazine.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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