'
'Well'--with misgivings--'Brookport, Long Island.'
'Thanks.'
'Bill, are you really going to make a fool of yourself?'
'Not a bit of it, old chap. I'm just going to--er--'
'To nose round?'
'To nose round,' said Bill.
Jerry Nichols accompanied his friend to the door, and once more
peace reigned in the offices of Nichols, Nichols, Nichols, and
Nichols.
The time of a man who has at a moment's notice decided to leave
his native land for a sojourn on foreign soil is necessarily taken
up with a variety of occupations; and it was not till the
following afternoon, on the boat at Liverpool, that Bill had
leisure to write to Claire, giving her the news of what had
befallen him. He had booked his ticket by a Liverpool boat in
preference to one that sailed from Southampton because he had not
been sure how Claire would take the news of his sudden decision to
leave for America. There was the chance that she might ridicule or
condemn the scheme, and he preferred to get away without seeing
her. Now that he had received this astounding piece of news from
Jerry Nichols he was relieved that he had acted in this way.
Whatever Claire might have thought of the original scheme, there
was no doubt at all what she would think of his plan of seeking
out Elizabeth Boyd with a view to dividing the legacy with her.
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