A Woman at Bay

"[...] "I can, at least, make the effort." "I should tell you one thing before you become too sanguine." "Well, what is it?" "Hobo Harry is largely a mystery. There are those-detectives, I mean-who insist that he does not exist at all, save in imagination." Nick nodded. "They say that he is only a figurehead; that he is only a name; that he is in reality an imperceptible, intangible idol, whom hoboes worship, and to whom they refer as their common leader, while, in reality, there is no real leader at all." "It is possible that they are correct in that idea," said the detective [...]".