to her ladyship to know that. She was very anxious. Good-night, Miss!
Good-night, sir!" With a deferential salute, the man turned and
disappeared swiftly into the night.

"You see now," said Ailsa, "that I was right, that Geoff's absence would
create such a panic at the Close that they would scour the place for
news of him. First his father, and now Purviss. I thought you would be
satisfied as to the truth of his mission directly I spoke."

"Yes," said Cleek quietly, "but he did not come here to seek Geoff
Clavering. That was a lie. He came for the purpose of having an
interview with some one else, and for the second time this night, Miss
Lorne, you have unfortunately prevented me from hearing something which
might have cleared this mystery up without any further search on my
part. You remember how I rushed past you at the time when Dollops had
set me on the track of the lady in pink? She came and she had an
interview, or, at least, she had the beginning of an interview, with the
man she was there to see. What's that? No, she was not Margot. She was
Lady Clavering. Sh-h-h! Quiet! Quiet! Yes, she was Lady Clavering. And
she had just accused the man she came to meet of having murdered De
Louvisan, when your approach startled the pair of them and made them
separate hurriedly. Miss Lorne, can you stand a shock? Good! Then hold
your nerves under tight control. The man Lady Clavering met at the wall
door to-night was the master of this house, General Raynor!"

She all but collapsed when she heard that.

"General Raynor?" she breathed in a horrified voice. "General Raynor?
And Lady Clavering? Oh, but why, but how? Dear Mr. Cleek, it--it is like
some horrible dream! What possible connection could there be between
those two people of all others?"

"I don't know. I have a suspicion--it is my business to have that, you
know--but I want something stronger. I shall have it soon. My work here
in this house is pretty well finished, I fancy. Maybe to-morrow, maybe
the next day, but this week certain, I shall be off to Malta. I am going
to hunt up a man's army record there."

"The General's?"

"Yes. His and--well, possibly, some one's else. When I come back I
promise you that I will have the solution to this riddle in my hands.
What's that? Oh, yes, Margot is in it."

"Then why--then how can Lady Clavering----"

"Lady Clavering, it appears, knows Margot. So does the General,
evidently, for she mentioned her name to him."

"