"In connection with an expedition which came out from England some two years ago, you say. If you wait a moment, I will see if there is anyone who can help you. Do sit down."
I sat down and waited, feeling rather sick with excitement, wondering if I were on the verge of discovery.
After a while the young man came back.
"Will you come this way?"
I rose and followed him. He paused before a glass door, opened it and stood aside for me to enter.
A man rose from a desk.
"Good morning."
We shook hands.
"I understand you are enquiring about Mr. David Gutheridge."
"Yes. 1 know that he came out here on an expedition some time ago."
"It is about two years."
"Yes, that's so. I thought this might be his headquarters and I was wondering if you could give me his address."
"He does have his mail sent here, but at the moment he is not in Sydney."
"You know where he is?" I asked excitedly.
"We never know where people are when they are on these expeditions. They plan to go to some place and get side-tracked and decide to go off in another direction. I know that he was going to Queensland at one time and from there to the Barrier Reef. Some of those islands have flora that you find nowhere else."
"Oh." I was disappointed.
"He has been gone some six months," he said. "We did hear recently that he was on the mainland ... so it may well be that he will be here before long."
"What do you mean by before long? A week... two weeks... ?"
"Oh I should hardly think so. I imagine a month at the earliest."
"A month!" I felt deflated. But at least they knew him. It was a little step forward.
"When he does come will you tell him that I called. And will you ask him to get into touch with me. I may be at this property ... If not I will give you a change of address. The property is some miles out of Sydney and I shall be staying there with friends."
"Certainly I will."
"My name is Miss Mallory."
"Oh... any relation to the map people?"
"It is my family."
"We had a Mallory out here from England... Yes ... he came, of course, with David Gutheridge."
"That was my brother. It is he with whom I am trying to get into touch. Do you know whether he stayed in Sydney or when he left?"
"I'm afraid I don't. He did come in here once or twice with Mr. Gutheridge. And then we didn't see him any more."
"Thank you," I said. "You have been very kind."
"I'll make sure Mr. Gutheridge knows you called... just as soon as he gets back. And that's the address. Goodo. I'll make a note of it. Don't worry. As soon as he comes in he'll get the message."
I came out into the sunshine.
A start. Not a very propitious one. But a start.
When I returned to the hotel the first person I met was Milton Harrington.
"You've been out," he cried. "You've stolen a march on us."
"It is pleasant in the early morning. It will be hot later."
He looked at me intently. "You've got something on your mind," he said.
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Tell me. Perhaps I can help."
I shook my head. "It's nothing. Where are the others?"
"The bridegroom, I imagine, is sleeping a little late. The bride-to-be likewise. That leaves us free. I suggest a little ride round the city. I'm rather proud of it. It's come a long way since the first fleet came out here, I can tell you. Come on. We'll take a buggy."
I allowed myself to be hustled into one. I was still thinking of David Gutheridge who might provide the key to the mystery.
It was a happy morning. Milton showed me the harbour as we drove in and out of the coves; he took me through narrow winding streets which had once been tracks, and he told me something of the city's history, and I was wondering how those people who had arrived here with the first fleet had felt when they stepped ashore on the land which was to be their home for the rest of their lives.
I forgot my disappointment at not finding David Gutheridge. He would return and perhaps have something to tell me. I realized that when I was in the company of Milton Harrington I became an optimist. I caught his belief that everything was possible; something of his ebullient nature was passed on to me.
We stopped at a store and bought a sun hat for me, and I chose one for Felicity in a shade of pale lavender which I thought would suit her.
"Now," said Milton, "I can quieten my fears. The beautiful complexion is safe from the enemy."
"It seems an odd way of describing the sun—the life-giver to us all on this planet."
"Ah. A good friend but a bad enemy. That is the nature of life. The sea. Fire. Great friends and at times implacable enemies."
"It doesn't say much for friendship if it can turn like that."
"Why is it, Miss Annalice Mallory, that whenever I am with you you turn the lightest discourse into a psychological discussion?"
"I'm sorry," I said. "I suppose I can be rather pedantic."
"You can never be anything but fascinating. How soon shall I see you in Cariba?"
"I don't know. I shall not stay long on this Granville property."
"No. I am sure you will not want to do that."
"I am a little uneasy about Felicity. If you know anything against this man I think she ought to know."
He was silent for a moment as though grappling with himself, which was unusual for him. He was usually so sure.
"She sees him for herself," he said at length.
"He drank quite a lot last night, but he was sober."
"He is accustomed to it and he can, as they say, take his drink. What effect it has, I don't know. I doubt that he stopped drinking when we left him. He would continue in the privacy of his own bedroom, I imagine."
"Don't you think Felicity should be told?"
"It is always difficult in such circumstances to know whether one should tell or not. I think Felicity is able to see for herself. It may be that she is in love with the fellow. Love is blind. We all have to work out our own lives, you know."
"When they are married it will be too late. I can't help feeling she is making a mess of her life."
"My dear Annalice, that is for her to decide."
"You don't think ..."
"I think you should stop worrying. Let her make her own decisions. Everyone has a right to do that. Go with her and see her settled in. Think a little more about yourself... about us. And as soon as possible come to Cariba. Every Wednesday the boat sails. I shall be watching ... and waiting ..."
I laughed at him. But oddly enough those words gave me comfort.
INTERLUDE
IN A DARK HOUSE
We were on our way to the Granville property. Events had moved quickly, and now I sat in one of the much publicized coaches of Cobb and Company which was carrying me away from the city and into what I learned was the "outback."
Felicity was now Mrs. Granville; she seemed to have shut herself away since her marriage, which was only of a few days' duration. It was hard to understand what she was feeling. Moreover Milton Harrington had gone back to his sugar island and had left an emptiness behind. While he had been around my uneasiness had abated a little. It came back in full force after the Wednesday boat had sailed.
The wedding had been quiet and brief. There were many such weddings in Sydney; brides coming out to join husbands, and the object was to get the ceremony over as quickly as possible.
There was an absence of family for one thing; and usually only a few friends attended. The sort of wedding with white dresses, orange blossom and bouquets would have been out of place here.