"Mrs. Amber, of Geneva Square, Pimlico." "Ach, she was in a gombany of mine. I know her. Vell, yes, I am a frent of Miss Corton, but she haf left me. I do not know vere she is now." "Has she not seen you lately?" "Not, not des many veeks. And Mrs. Moxton haf gone?" "Yes, she called at Pimlico for her sister, and they went off together." "Why do you want to finze zem?" "Because I have something to tell Mrs. Moxton." "Zo! About ze murder of dat boor man?" "Well, not exactly, but Busham, the--" The eyes of Schwartz suddenly flashed with rage. "Ah, he is a pig, zat man. I could kill him." "Do you know him?" "Ach, I knows him. I did throw him out of mine music-halls. Vell, vell, do not talk of him, or I vill be angry. If you wish to know of Mrs. Moxton zee Zirknitz." "Will he know?" "I zink zo. If he does not, no one vill." With this information Ellis was obliged to be content, but as he left the hall he observed that the German looked after him with a very singular expression. CHAPTER XVI ANOTHER MYSTERY The behaviour of Schwartz perplexed Ellis, and during his homeward journey he pondered over the meaning of that glance. Could it be possible that the German was lying; that Janet Gordon had seen him, and had confessed what she knew of the crime? Ellis did not know what to think, but he was satisfied that the woman could solve the mystery. But she was not to be found; she had vanished as suddenly as Mrs. Moxton, and it seemed as though both of them were keeping out of the way lest they should get into trouble. But Ellis was bent upon discovering them at all costs. In order to achieve this necessary purpose he kept a close watch on Myrtle Villa for the next few days, but all in vain. The house remained empty, and Mrs. Moxton gave no sign of reappearing. Ellis advertised judiciously in the _Standard_, but no notice was taken of his advertisement; he waited impatiently for the post, but no letter arrived. Mrs. Moxton and her sister had vanished as completely as though the earth had swallowed them up. The anxiety began to tell on Ellis's health, and Harry Cass advised him to abandon his pursuit of these shadows. As an intimate friend, Cass was brutally candid. "It is no use mincing matters, Bob," said he, "the widow never loved you, and has made use of you only to secure her own ends. She will never return to Dukesfield." "She must, Harry; if only to take the furniture out of her house." "Oh, I daresay she will delegate that office to Zirknitz. There is no doubt that Janet Gordon knows the truth about the murder, and has confessed it to Mrs. Moxton. That is why both women are keeping out of the way." "Zirknitz," repeated Ellis, paying no attention to the latter part of this speech. "I quite forgot about him. He may know where they are?" "If he does he will not tell." "I'll see about that, Harry. To-morrow I shall call on Zirknitz."