He greeted the children gravely, sat
down, and watched the brushing with a respectful attention. Now and
again he asked Elsie a question, which seemed too idle to be
impertinent, but her answers told him all he wished to know; and
presently he felt, with Tinker, that her uncle was a gentleman in great
need of kicking.
[Illustration: It was his first essay as coiffeur.]
At last Tinker had finished; Elsie rose with a luxurious sigh, and he
looked at his work with fond pride. It was very beautiful, fine hair;
and its sheen of changing light well repaid him for his trouble. Sir
Tancred proposed that they should stroll down to the Casino, and find
her uncle. Lord Crosland joined them in the hall and went with them.
When they came to the Casino, they found a little crowd already
gathered about its doors, waiting for them to open.
But Richard Brand was not in it, and at once Elsie's face grew anxious.
As soon as the doors opened, Sir Tancred went in to ask if her uncle
has made any inquiries about Elsie, or left word where she might find
him. In ten minutes he came out again and said, "No; he has made no
inquiries. Suppose you stroll with Elsie along towards the Condamine,
Crosland; that is the way he would come.
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