Anyway, I'll
write to them, Pascoe, at once."
"You don't know where the fellow is," said Pascoe. "What's the good?"
"No--but we know where he last was," retorted Eldrick. He turned to
Collingwood as the junior partner sauntered out of the room. "Rather odd
that Pascoe should draw my attention to that just now," he remarked.
"This man Parrawhite was, in a certain sense, mixed up with Pratt--at
least, Pratt and I are the only two people who know the secret of
Parrawhite's disappearance from these offices. That was just about the
time of your grandfather's death."
Collingwood immediately became attentive. His first suspicions of Pratt
were formed at the time of which Eldrick spoke, and any reference to
events contemporary excited his interest.
"Who was or is--this man you're talking of?" he asked.
"Bad lot--very!" answered Eldrick, shaking his head. "He and I were
articled together, at the same time, to the same people: we saw a lot of
each other as fellow articled clerks. He afterwards practised in
Nottingham, and he held some good appointments. But he'd a perfect mania
for gambling--the turf--and he went utterly wrong, and misappropriated
clients' money, and in the end he got into prison, and was, of course,
struck off the rolls. I never heard anything of him for years, and then
one day, some time ago, he turned up here and begged me to give him a
job.
Pages:
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184