h its engines still humming, by the
roadside. But the figure remained seated in its attitude of waiting. It
waited while we crossed the moor; and as we climbed the hillock we became
intensely aware of it and of its immobility.

We saw its face fixed on us with an expression of tranquil patience and
expectation. I may say that I felt an intolerable embarrassment before
this quietness of the hunted thing that we had run to earth; especially
as it was on me, and not Norah, that Viola's face was fixed as we came
nearer.

Then she smiled at me; there was neither conciliation nor defiance
in her smile, but a sort of serene assurance and--yes, it was
unmistakable--contempt.

She said, "Whatever do you think you're doing _now_?"

I said we might not know what we were doing, but we knew what we were
going to do. We were going to take her back with us in the car.

At that she asked us (but without any sign of perturbation) if we had got
Jimmy there?

Norah said No, our idea was to run back to Amershott before Jimmy got
there.

"Where were you running to when you saw me sitting up here?" she said.

I said we'd meant to catch her at Selham but we missed the train and were
trying to get to Horsham before the London train started.

She was looking at me now with a sort of compassion, the tenderness of
her contempt.

"I see," she said. "You _were_ clever, weren't you?"

She looked at her watch. "Well, as you _are_ here," she said, "I'd let
you run me down to Horsham, if you want a run, only I can't very well use
Jimmy's car."

I think it was Norah who asked her what on earth she was doing at
Fittleworth.

"Can't you see," she said, "that I'm waiting for the next train?"

"Did you walk here from Amershott, or what?" I said.

She said, "Rather not. I was in the train."

Then Norah said, "What happened?"

It had dawned on us both how odd it was that Viola should be here,
apparently alone, at Fittleworth. It was also odd how we were all
ignoring Charlie. I believe I had a sort of idea that she had got him
hidden somewhere in the landscape.

Viola smiled a reminiscent smile. "If you _must_ know," she said, "what
happened was that Charlie was in that train, too--he came bursting out on
to the platform at Selham, awfully pleased with himself, because he'd
picked my luggage up at Midhurst and bagged a corner seat for me, and
made faces at people to keep them out."

"Did you know he was going up to town?" I said.

"N