"And that look; where have I seen it?
I believe that Ralph Mainwaring is more than half right after all, and there is something back of all this!" So absorbed was he in his own reflections as to be wholly unaware of the presence of the detective in the hall, near the doorway, where he had paused long enough to witness the parting between Scott and the attorney, and who now passed quietly up-stairs, remarking to himself, "Whitney is pretty sharp, but he's more than got his match there.

That young fellow is too deep for him or any of the rest of 'em, and he's likely to come out where they least expect to find him." Half an hour later, Mr.Merrick, stepping from the private library into the upper southern hall, heard the sound of voices, which, from his familiarity with the rooms, he knew must proceed from Mrs.
LaGrange's parlor.

He cautiously descended the stairs to the lowest landing, in which was a deep window.

The shutters were tightly closed, and, concealing himself behind the heavy curtains, he awaited developments.

He was now directly opposite the door of the parlor, and through the partially open transom he could hear the imperious tones of Mrs.LaGrange and the soft, insinuating accents of Hobson.