A waiter who was questioned said that he remembered seeing him: "I watched him go down the steps and go off alone, and the wind seemed as if it would blow him away.

He wasn't just himself, sir, I'm afraid." If a knife had cut down into the father's quivering flesh, the pain would have been as nothing to that inflicted by this last sentence.

It only confirmed his worst fears.
The afternoon papers contained a notice of the fact that a young gentleman who had gone away from a fashionable party at a late hour on the night before had not been heard of by his friends, who were anxious and distressed about him.

Foul play was hinted at, as the young man wore a valuable diamond pin and had a costly gold watch in his pocket.
On the morning afterward advertisements appeared offering a large reward for any information that would lead to the discovery of the young man, living or dead.

They were accompanied by minute descriptions of his person and dress.