his eyes, and I could see at once that he had had no rest.
Grooton had brought his bag from the house, and a note from Lady Angela.
He read it with unchanging face, and placed it carefully in his breast
coat-pocket.

"I am off to the village to send some telegrams," he said, "and
afterwards I shall go on for a walk." "What about lunch?" I asked,
glancing at the clock. "None for me," he answered. "Some tea at four
o'clock, if I may have it. I will be back by then." He swung off, and I
was thankful, for my work demanded my whole attention and very careful
thought. At a few minutes after four he returned, and Grooton brought
us some tea. Directly we were alone Ray looked across at me with a
black frown upon his face.

"You know what they are saying in the village about you, young man?"

"I can guess," I answered.

"Who is this girl, Blanche Moyat?"

"A farmer's daughter," I answered. "It seems that I paid her too much
or too little, attention, I am not sure which. At any rate, she has an
imaginary grievance against me, and this is the result."

"She tells the truth?"

"I have not heard her story," I answered, "but it is true that I
encouraged her to suppress the fact that she bad seen the man in the
village, and that he had asked for me."

"What folly!"

"Perhaps," I answered. "You see, I thought that a verdict of 'found
drowned' would save trouble."

"This accursed woman at the Grange is in it, I know," Ray remarked,
slowly filling his pipe. "I wonder if she knew that I was about? That
would give her a zest for the job."

"She knows that you were at Braster at the time," I said. "It was the
night of your lecture."

Ray began to blow out dense clouds of smoke.

"We're safe," he said thoughtfully, "both of us. There's just a link in
the chain missing."

"The police have been here with a warrant in search of that link," I
remarked.

"They'll never find it, for it's in my pocket," he remarked grimly.

"Colonel Ray," I said, suddenly nerving myself to risk his anger, "there
is a question which I must ask you."

I saw his lips come firmly together. He neither encouraged nor checked
me.

"Who was that man?"

"You are better ignorant."

"Was it my father?"

If he did not answer my question, it at least seemed to suggest
something to him.

"Has that woman been here?" he asked.

"Yes."

"She believes that it was your father?"

"She does."

He removed his pipe from his teeth and looked at it tho