Seeking for an explanation, he came to the conclusion that James, who had a slight weakness for the society of ladies connected with the stage, had made the acquaintance of some actress or other, ballet-dancer, singer, artiste, and had given her the nickname of Princess.
That was all there was to be got from the diary.

It amounted to nothing.

There were, however, the loose papers.

He began to examine these methodically.

They were few in number--James was the sort of man who never keeps anything which can be destroyed: Allerdyke knew from experience that he had a horror of accumulating what he called rubbish.
These papers, fastened together with a band of india-rubber, were all business documents, with one exception--a letter from Allerdyke himself addressed to Stockholm, to wait James's arrival.