But his thoughts had been busy during that half-hour, and as soon as he
had come out from the mouth of the alley, he ran to Gaydon's lodging.
Gaydon, however, was not in. O'Toole lodged in the same house, and Wogan
mounted to his apartments, hoping there to find news of Gaydon's
whereabouts. But O'Toole was taking the air, too, but Wogan found
O'Toole's servant.
"Where will I find Captain O'Toole?" asked Wogan.
"You will find his Excellency," said the servant, with a reproachful
emphasis upon the title, "at the little bookseller's in the Piazza."
Wogan sprang down the stairs and hurried to the Piazza, wondering what
in the world O'Toole was doing at a bookseller's. O'Toole was bending
over the counter, which was spread with open books, and Wogan hailed him
from the doorway. O'Toole turned and blushed a deep crimson. He came to
the door as if to prevent Wogan's entrance into the shop. Wogan,
however, had but one thought in his head.
"Where shall I find Gaydon?" he asked.
"He went towards the Via San Vitale," replied O'Toole.
Wogan set off again, and in an hour came upon Gaydon. He had lost an
hour of his fortnight; with the half-hour during which he had sauntered
in the garden, an hour and a half.
"You went to Rome in the spring," said he. "There you saw the King. Did
you see anyone else by any chance whilst you were in Rome?"
"Edgar," replied Gaydon, with a glance from the tail of his eye which
Wogan did not fail to remark.
"Aha!" said he. "Edgar, to be sure, since you saw the King. But besides
Edgar, did you see anyone else?"
"Whittington," said Gaydon.
"Oho!" said Wogan, thoughtfully. "So you saw my friend Harry Whittington
at Rome. Did you see him with the King?"
Gaydon was becoming manifestly uncomfortable.
"He was waiting for the King," he replied.
"Indeed. And whereabouts was he waiting for the King?"
"Oh, outside a house in Rome," said Gaydon, as though he barely
remembered the incident. "It was no business of mine, that I could see."
"None whatever, to be sure," answered Wogan, cordially. "But why in the
world should Whittington be waiting for the King outside a house in
Rome?"
"It was night-time. He carried a lantern."
"Of course, if it was night-time," exclaimed Wogan, in his most
unsuspicious accent, "and the King wished to pay a visit to a house in
Rome, he would take an attendant with a lantern. A servant, though, one
would have thought, unless, of course, it was a private sort of visit--"