stoop to be his
colleague. But now for others more important. I will this day obtain
the judge's notes of the trial, and give the whole case the deepest
consideration. Inquiry shall be set on foot as to Keane, with whom
he has gone, and in what direction. Linton, too, must be watched; the
report is that he lies dangerously ill at his country house, but that
story may be invented to gain time."

Cashel could scarcely avoid a smile at the rapidity with which the
lawyer detailed his plan of operation, and threw out, as he went, the
signs of distrust so characteristic of his craft As for himself, he was
enjoined to remain in the very strictest privacy,--to see no one, nor
even to leave the house, except after nightfall.

"Rely upon it," said Hammond, "your every movement is watched; and our
object will be to ascertain by whom. This will be our first clew; and
when we obtain one, others will soon follow."

It was no privation for Cashel to follow a course so much in accordance
with his wishes. Solitude--even that which consigned him to the saddest
reveries--was far more pleasurable than any intercourse; so that he
never ventured beyond the walls of his house for weeks, nor exchanged a
word, except with Hammond, who regularly visited him each day, to report
the progress of his investigation.

The mystery did not seem to clear away, even by the skilful contrivances
of the lawyer. Of Keane not a trace could be discovered; nor could any
clew be obtained as to his companion. All that Hammond knew was that
although a doctor's carriage daily drove to Linton's house, Linton
himself had long since left the country,--it was believed for the
Continent.

Disappointed by continual failures, and wearied by a life whose only
excitement lay in anxieties and cares, Cashel grew each day sadder and
more depressed. The desire for vengeance, too, that first had filled his
mind, grew weaker as time rolled on. The wish to reinstate himself
fully in the world's esteem diminished, as he lived apart from all its
intercourse, and he sank into a low and gloomy despondency, which soon
showed its ravages upon his face and figure.

One object alone remained for him,--this was to seek out Corrigan and
place in his hand the document of his ancestor's pardon; this done,
Roland resolved to betake himself to Mexico, and again, among the haunts
of his youth, to try and forget that life of civilization which had cost
him so dearly.

CHAPTER XXXII