"So you fancy you may be able to trace his identity through his
connection with the stage?"
"Your reasoning is always brilliant, Hastings."
"It might have been better," I said coldly, "if the idea had come to
you sooner. We have wasted a lot of time."
"You are in error, _mon ami_. No more time has been wasted
than was unavoidable. For some months now my agents have been
engaged on the task. Joseph Aarons is one of them. You remember him?
They have compiled a list for me of men fulfilling the necessary
qualifications--young men round about the age of thirty, of more or
less nondescript appearance, and with a gift for playing character
parts--men, moreover, who have definitely left the stage within the
last three years."
"Well?" I said, deeply interested.
"The list was, necessarily, rather a long one. For some time now, we
have been engaged on the task of elimination. And finally we have
boiled the whole thing down to four names. Here they are, my friend."
He tossed me over a sheet of paper. I read its contents aloud.
"Ernest Luttrell. Son of a North Country parson. Always had a kink of
some kind in his moral make-up. Was expelled from his public school.
Went on the stage at the age of twenty-three. (There followed a list
of parts he had played, with dates and places.) Addicted to drugs.
Supposed to have gone to Australia four years ago. Cannot be traced
after leaving England. Age 32, height 5 ft. 10-1/2 in., clean-shaven,
hair brown, nose straight, complexion fair, eyes gray.
"John St. Maur. Assumed name. Real name not known. Believed to be
of cockney extraction. On stage since quite a child. Did music hall
impersonations. Not been heard of for three years. Age, about 33,
height 5 ft. 10 in., slim build, blue eyes, fair colouring.
"Austen Lee. Assumed name. Real name Austen Foly. Good family. Always
had taste for acting and distinguished himself in that way at Oxford.
Brilliant war record. Acted in--(The usual list followed. It included
many Repertory plays.) An enthusiast on criminology. Had bad nervous
breakdown as the result of a motor accident three and a half years
ago, and has not appeared on the stage since. No clue to his present
whereabouts. Age 35, height 5 ft. 9-1/2 in., complexion fair, eyes
blue, hair brown.
"Claud Darrell. Supposed to be real name. Some mystery about his
origin. Played at music halls, and also in Repertory plays. Seems to
have had no intimate friends. Was in China in 1919. Returned by way of
America. Played a few parts in New York. Did not appear on the stage
one night, and has never been heard of since. New York police say most
mysterious disappearance. Age about 33, hair brown, fair complexion,
gray eyes. Height 5 ft. 10-1/2 in.
"Most interesting," I said, as I laid down the paper. "And so this is
the result of the investigation of months? These four names. Which of
them are you inclined to suspect?"
Poirot made an eloquent gesture.
"_Mon ami_, for the moment it is an open question. I would just
point out to you that Claud Darrell has been in China and America--a
fact not without significance, perhaps, but we must not allow ourselves
to be unduly biased by that point. It may be a mere coincidence."
"And the next step?" I asked eagerly.
"Affairs are already in train. Every day cautiously worded
advertisements will appear. Friends and relatives of one or the other
will be asked to communicate with my solicitor at his office. Even
to-day we might--Aha, the telephone! Probably it is, as usual, the
wrong number, and they will regret to have troubled us, but it may
be--yes, it may be--that something has arisen."