ult," Julia assured him; "you might as well say it
is father's for being so foolish and obstinate about his whisky--a
great deal better and more truly say it is mine for leaving you, and
for driving him into this corner, for not having managed the whole
thing better."

Johnny, though a little relieved that she did not think him to blame,
was not comforted. "Let us go and find him," he said; "we must find
him; never mind about dinner--we must go and look for him--though I
don't know where."

"We must look beyond the garden," Julia said; "he must have got
further than we first thought--but I don't see how he can be far in
this weather. Cut some cheese and bread; we can eat it as we go
along."

In a little while they set out together, Julia taking restoratives
with her, though she was also careful to leave some on the
kitchen-table in case Captain Polkington should make his way back and
feel in need of them in her absence. Outside the garden wall one felt
the force of the wind more fully, and realised how impossible it was
that the Captain should have gone far. Julia stood a moment by the
gate. Before her lay the road to Halgrave; her father might have gone
down it a little way; but if he had he must have turned off and sought
concealment somewhere for she had seen no sign of any one when she
came home. To the left stretched the heath-land, brown and bare, to
the belt of wildly tossing pines; it was hard to imagine her father
choosing that way. To the right lay the sandhills, a place of unsteady
outline, earth and sky alike pale and blurred as the north-west wind
fled seawards, lifting and whirling the fine particles till the air
seemed full of them; it was impossible to think of any one choosing
that way.

"We will go down the road to begin with," Julia said, and started.

All through the early part of the afternoon they searched; sometimes
stopped for a moment by a gust of wind; Julia caught and whirled,
Johnny brought to a panting standstill. But on again directly,
struggling down the road, looking in ditches and behind scant bushes,
leaving the track first on the right hand then on the left, searching
in likely and unlikely places. But always with the same result, there
was no sign of the missing man. At last, when they had reached a
greater distance than it was possible to imagine the Captain could
have gone, they turned towards the house across the heath. It was
difficult to think of the Captain going that way