'
'Nothing that I know of,' said Mrs. Rolland. 'The Baron and Mr. Ferrari
(if I may use such an expression) were "birds of a feather,"
so far as I could see--I mean, one was as unprincipled as the other.
I am a just woman; and I will give you an example. Only the day
before I left, I heard the Baron say (through the open door of his
room while I was passing along the corridor), "Ferrari, I want a
thousand pounds. What would you do for a thousand pounds?" And I heard
Mr. Ferrari answer, "Anything, sir, as long as I was not found out."
And then they both burst out laughing. I heard no more than that.
Judge for yourself, Miss.'
Agnes reflected for a moment. A thousand pounds was the sum
that had been sent to Mrs. Ferrari in the anonymous letter.
Was that enclosure in any way connected, as a result, with the
conversation between the Baron and Ferrari? It was useless to press
any more inquiries on Mrs. Rolland. She could give no further
information which was of the slightest importance to the object
in view. There was no alternative but to grant her dismissal.
One more effort had been made to find a trace of the lost man,
and once again the effort had failed.
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