he garden?"

"Yes, sir."

"Is--is Mr. Leith at home?"

"He's just come home, sir, and gone to Mrs. Leith in the garden."

Mr. Darlington stood for a moment pulling his beard and raising and
lowering his eyebrows. Then he said doubtfully:

"Thank you. I won't disturb them now. I shall be here with Canon Wilton
at half-past seven."

Annie stood staring at him in silence.

"They--Mr. and Mrs. Leith expect us, I believe?" added Mr. Darlington.

"They haven't said anything to the contrary, sir."

"No?"

Slowly Mr. Darlington turned away, slowly he disappeared into the
darkness; his head was bent, and he looked older than usual. Annie gazed
after him. Once she opened her lips as if she were going to call him
back, but no sound came from them.

"Annie! Annie!" cried a voice in the house behind her.

She turned sharply and confronted Robin's nurse.

"Where's Master Robin?" said the nurse, almost fiercely.

"I don't know. He hasn't come back with master."

"I'm going into the garden," said the nurse.

"For God's sake, don't!" said Annie.

"Why not?" asked the nurse.

Suddenly Annie began to cry. The nurse pulled her in and shut the door
of the house.

CHAPTER X

Rosamund did not know how long she sat in the garden after she had heard
the footfall in the Dark Entry. Perhaps five minutes, perhaps many more
had slipped by before she was aware of feeling cold. A chill had gone
through her mind when she heard the footfall; now her body was chilled.
She shivered and got up. She must go into the house.

It was now very dark. The path was a pale grayish blur at her feet. On
her left the shrubs which concealed the house from her showed as a heavy
morose blackness against the softer and more mysterious blackness of
the night. The dampness which rose in the garden was like the dreary
whispering of sad earth voices.

She shivered again.

Then she heard a faltering step on the path beyond the shrubs. It was
certainly Dion's step. At last they had come back!

With a movement of her shoulders she tried to throw off her depression,
as if it were something heavy resting upon her, something which a
physical effort could get rid of. Then she called out in a brisk and
cheerful voice:

"Dion, I'm here. How late you are! What have you shot?"

It was too late now for the nursery tea, but they had come back and all
was well.

"Dion!"

The step had stopped on the path and no voice answered her. Nevertheless
she