ses. The next thing I knew,
as I was coming down with the news that everything was quiet, you blazed
away. It was quite a surprise."

"I fired in the air, not at you," Ruthven Smith excused himself, more or
less convinced. Annesley clutched the banisters in the sudden weakness of
a great revulsion from panic to relief. She might have known that _he_
would somehow rescue her, even from her own blundering.

The shamed red which had stained Annesley's cheeks at Ruthven Smith's
contempt died away. Her "lover"--he was openly that now--had miraculously
made his presence in the other Smith's room, after eleven o'clock at
night in this early bed-going household, the most natural thing in the
world. At least, Ruthven Smith's almost apologetic tone in answering
proved that he had been persuaded to think it so.

With Mrs. Ellsworth, however, it would be different. There would lie the
stumbling-block; but with all danger from the Browning ended, the girl
was in no mood to borrow trouble for the future, even a future already
rushing into the arms of the present.

"I should always fire the first shot in the air," Ruthven Smith went on,
"unless directly threatened."

"Lucky for me," replied the other. "I don't want to die yet. And it would
have been hard lines, as I was trying to do you a good turn: rid you of a
thief if there were one. But I suppose you or some servant must have left
the light on in your room."

"I'm pretty sure I didn't," said Ruthven Smith, still speaking with the
nervousness of a suspicious man, yet at the same time slowly, half
reluctantly, pocketing his pistol. "We must find out how this happened.
Perhaps there _has_ been a thief----"

"No sign of anything being disturbed in your room," the younger man
assured him. "However, you'd best have a look round. If you like"--and he
laughed a frank-sounding laugh--"I'm quite willing to be searched before
I leave the house, so you can make sure I'm not going off with any
booty."

"Certainly not! Nothing of the kind! I accept your explanation,"
protested Ruthven Smith. He laughed also, though stiffly and with an
effort. "I have no valuables in my luggage--I have brought none with me.
It's not worth my while to open the boxes in my room, as there's nothing
there to tempt a thief. Still, one gets a start coming to a quiet house,
at this time of night, finding a light in one's windows that ought to be
dark, and then seeing a man walk out of one's room. My nerves are