e sure. Well, well, you never can tell which way a
cat will jump, and that's a fact.

Purviss, eh? So he, too, was in the know, was he? Of course he must be,
to be playing the role of Mercury and carrying messages between them in
this secret manner. Cleek decided to have a look at Mr. Purviss, and a
word or two as well, by George! For now, of course, he would make no
attempt to go near that window.

The thought had no sooner presented itself to him than he acted upon it.
With the speed of a hound, but with no more noise than a moving shadow,
he left his hiding-place, skirted the house, got round to the front of
it, crawled up the steps, then, rising suddenly, appeared to come out of
the doorway and down the steps whistling, as he descended to the gardens
and moved leisurely along in the direction of the shrubbery.

When he was within a foot of it he suddenly stopped, pulled out his
cigarette case, struck a match as if for the purpose of smoking, and by
the aid of that light saw standing within a yard of him Miss Ailsa Lorne
in close conversation with a mild-mannered, mild-faced elderly person,
upon whom the word "valet" was clearly written.

"Hullo, Miss Lorne, enjoying an evening ramble, too? May I be allowed to
join you?"

"With pleasure, Mr. Barch," said Ailsa. Then she motioned toward the
valet, who had stepped meekly back.

"Purviss has just come over from Lady Clavering to inquire for Mr.
Geoffrey----"

"Ah, yes," said Cleek, smiling to himself unnoticed in the dark. "He
left this afternoon, did he not? You have evidently just missed Sir
Philip, who was himself here."

"Yes," added Ailsa, "I was just telling him, but it seems he has a
message for General Raynor from Lady Clavering----"

"I thought as much," said Cleek to himself triumphantly, though aloud he
remarked, calmly enough: "Ah! but the General has gone to bed. I heard
him say that he was not to be disturbed, but if you care to give any
message or letter, I'll go and knock him up."

"Oh, no, there's no need to do that, sir," replied Purviss hurriedly.
"It's only a request for a gardening book if I happened to see General
Raynor; of no importance at all, sir."

"I quite understand," said Cleek, the smile on his face hidden in the
screening darkness.

"As for Mr. Geoffrey," put in Ailsa kindly, "he is quite safe. He went
up to town on an errand for Lady Katharine----"

"Thank you, Miss," returned Purviss respectfully. "That will be a relief