onscience disappeared to return shortly with a tray containing cold
meat and bread, and to her husband she said: "Eben, I can't find the
famous Madeira. Where is it?"

He rose, and announced that he would bring it at once, disappearing
beyond the swinging door of the pantry.

While he was absent, Conscience turned to the man in the bath robe. A
smile half of amusement and half of self-accusation tilted the corners
of her lips.

"You see," she said thoughtfully, "I've just let myself think of him as
elderly until, to me, he's become elderly. Yet to-night he's younger
than either of us, isn't he?"

"To-night neither one of us is very young, dear," he replied with a wry
smile.

In the pantry Eben Tollman poured three glasses of Madeira, and placed
them on a tray carefully noting their relative positions. With fingers
that trembled violently for a moment Eben grew as abruptly steady; he
drew from his waistcoat pocket a small envelope such as druggists use,
and into two of the glasses he divided its supply of small tablets.

"Ebbett said they were tasteless and readily soluble," he reminded
himself. "And that the amount should be enough for a dog or a man."

Then he patted his breast pocket, where lay an envelope yellowed with
age, bearing the legend "S. F. & C. W."

Of that he meant also to make use later.

CHAPTER XXXII

The living-room held a glow of mellow light, but as Eben returned with
the three brimming glasses, Conscience touched a button which darkened
the wall sconces and left only the large lamp on the table, where she
had placed her tray.

"Inasmuch as two members of this party are more or less gauzily
appareled," she suggested, "it doesn't seem to be necessary to make an
illumination of it."

Tollman, with a seeming of absent-mindedness set down his light burden
on a small side table, somewhat remote, but it was with no want of
certainty that he marked the relative positions of its contents. One
glass was alone at the edge of the silver platter. Two others were
closer together at the center.

Now he came over, empty-handed, and as he regarded the larger tray of
food, he rubbed his palms appreciatively with a convincing relish.

"You have prepared a feast for the traveler on very short notice," he
smilingly attested while inwardly and more grimly he added in
apposition--"'a table in the presence of mine enemies!'"

His wife modestly disclaimed credit. "You are easy to please, Eben.
Th