rooms for himself and four others;
that he had called upon her on the Monday previous, paid her an
advance upon the rooms, and informed her that his friends would arrive
in three days, if not sooner.

'They should have been here,' she concluded, 'the day before
yesterday, but they have not appeared, and we have had no word from
them. It is very inconvenient for me. Of course, the rooms are secured
until Monday, but I have no means of knowing if they will come then;
or when I may consider them at my disposal.'

It was evident she had not seen the papers, and I at once put the
notice in her hand, and told her the nature of my business.

There seemed but one opinion of Gerald Trent. When she had read the
paper and heard my statement, she said, at once, what the inmates of
the hotel had said before her:

'Something has happened him. He never went away like this of his own
accord. I never saw a more simple and sincere young man.' And then, as
if by an afterthought, 'He had too much money about him; he was too
well dressed, and--I don't think he was of a suspicious nature.'

I learned from her very little to help my further search. Trent had
met none of the guests of the house upon either of his visits there.
In reply to a question, she had said:

'He seemed in the best of spirits when he paid the advance money and
went away; and he said that he meant to spend the day in the
Plaisance. I remember that he laughed when he said this, and added
something to the effect that he wanted to decide, before the ladies
came, where it would pay to go on the Plaisance, and what were the
things they would not care for. He had a rather frank and boyish way
of expressing himself.'

'And you think he went from here to the Fair?'

'I believe he went from here to Midway Plaisance. There is an entrance
on this street, three blocks south, and I walked to the door with him
and pointed the way to it.'

And this was all. Of course I took from her lips, as from the people
up-town, a minute description of Trent's dress and appearance on the
day of his disappearance, and then I went back to the Fair by the
Midway gate, and wished impatiently for the time to come when I should
meet Brainerd and consult with him. This I knew would not be until a
late hour, and as I lounged down the Plaisance I began to look about
for the handsome guard, in whom I had taken a decided interest.

I found him easily--as erect, soldierly, attentive to duty as
usua