outlet to your abundant energy, and to give you some object in life.
Next, to satisfy a curiosity that has been consuming me for years. I
am more than anxious to know what has become of Henry Redmond. And
finally, for the sake of my paper. If you should prove successful,
what a write-up it will make, for you will have a wonderful story to
tell. Doesn't the thing appeal to you? Why, it makes my blood tingle
at the thought of such an undertaking."

"It does stir me a bit," Reynolds acknowledged. "But where am I to go?
Have you any idea where Redmond is? The world is big, remember, and
without any clue, the chase would be absolute folly."

"I am well aware of all that. I have no idea where Redmond is, and
that makes the venture all the more interesting. If I could tell you
where he is, and you merely went and found him, bah! that would not be
worth the trouble. But the uncertainty of it all is what appeals to
me. The whole world is before you, and somewhere in the world I
believe Henry Redmond is living. Your task is to find him. Can you do
it?"

For a few minutes Reynolds did not speak. He was interested, but the
undertaking seemed so utterly hopeless and ridiculous that he
hesitated. If he had the slightest clue as to the man's whereabouts it
would be different.

"How old a man was Redmond when he disappeared?" he at length asked.

"About fifty, I understand, although he appeared much older at times.
He was a fine looking man, over six feet in height, and a large head,
crowned with a wealth of hair streaked with gray, when last I saw him.