e the library window.

I lit a reading-lamp and tried to interest myself in "La Cruelle
Enigme." But my wits were restless, and I could not keep my eyes on
the page. I flung the book aside and sat down again by the window.
The feeling came over me that I was sitting in a box at some play. The
glen was a huge stage, and at any moment the players might appear on
it. My attention was strung as high as if I had been waiting for the
advent of some world-famous actress. But nothing came. Only the
shadows shifted and lengthened as the moon moved across the sky.

Then quite suddenly the restlessness left me and at the same moment the
silence was broken by the crow of a cock and the rustling of trees in a
light wind. I felt very sleepy, and was turning to bed when again I
heard footsteps without. From the window I could see a figure moving
across the garden towards the house. It was Lawson, got up in the sort
of towel dressing-gown that one wears on board ship. He was walking
slowly and painfully, as if very weary. I did not see his face, but
the man's whole air was that of extreme fatigue and dejection. I
tumbled into bed and slept profoundly till long after daylight.

III

The man who valeted me was Lawson's own servant. As he was laying out
my clothes I asked after the health of his master, and was told that he
had slept ill and would not rise till late. Then the man, an
anxious-faced Englishman, gave me some information on his own account.
Mr. Lawson was having one of his bad turns. It would pass away in a
day or two, but till it had gone he was fit for nothing. He advised me
to see Mr. Jobson, the factor, who would look to my entertainment in
his master's absence.

Jobson arrived before luncheon, and the sight of him was the first
satisfactory thing about Welgevonden. He was a big, gruff Scot from
Roxburghshire, engaged, no doubt, by Lawson as a duty to his Border
ancestry. He had short grizzled whiskers, a weatherworn face, and a
shrewd, calm blue eye. I knew now why the place was in such perfect
order.

We began with sport, and Jobson explained what I could have in the way
of fishing and shooting. His exposition was brief and business-like,
and all the while I could see his eye searching me. It was clear that
he had much to say on other matters than sport.

I told him that I had come here with Lawson three years before, when he
chose the site. Jobson continued to regard me curiously. "I'