ethel hargrave did not appear to hear what charlock was saying. her mind had gone back to the moment when arnold rent had laid violent hands upon her and spoken so harshly. she thought there was something more than madness here, something in the nature of overpowering fear. rent had cast away his peculiar vagueness of manner and appeared calm and rational. if he had only been an acquaintance snatching her from some unexpected peril his words could not have rung out more truly and sensibly. yet, on the face of it, it seemed absurd that there could be any danger in simply walking on the lawn, though lately two tragedies had occurred there. it was small wonder, then, that ethel trembled from head to foot with a sense of some great impending discovery. charlock repeated his remark twice before the girl appeared to heed him.
"i am frightened," she whispered. "i don't know what to make of it. did you see what happened?"
there was a peculiar thrill in her voice and her eyes filled with tears. charlock looked slightly puzzled, but if anything could be gleaned from the expression of grey's face, the mystery was no sealed book to him.
"i saw," he said curtly. "everything will be explained in due time. meanwhile, mr. charlock is right in saying this is no place for you. you must go back to your lodgings."
there was almost a command in grey's tone, but ethel did not offer to move.
"but it is impossible," she persisted. "how could i leave arnold rent? what would his mother say when she heard what i had done?"
"nevertheless, you must do exactly what i tell you," grey went on. "there is a mystery which must be solved, even thought it breaks mrs. rent's heart, and you suffer into the bargain. and if you will allow mr. charlock to take you quietly home, i will pledge my word that arnold rent shall come to no harm. within an hour i will see that he is back."
ethel would have ventured some protest, but the stern, hard expression on the speaker's face checked her. she turned almost imploringly to charlock, as if seeking his protection.
"i don't understand," she murmured. "the whole thing is inexplicable. still, if you must have your own way, i will bow to the inevitable. mr. charlock, would it be too much trouble to ask you to come as far as——"
"not in the least," charlock said eagerly; "it would be a pleasure. and i hope you won't think mr. grey censorious. he is acting for the best."
"i pledge my word to that," grey said, with a stern ring in his voice. "believe me, miss hargrave, i am not here on pleasure bent. but the truth must be told, even only for the sake of innocent people. i will do my best not to abuse the trust you have put in me. i promise you that before long arnold rent shall be safe back in bed again. meanwhile, there is one thing i must ask you to do. as you go along the quay you might stop and tell the boatman who is waiting to row me back to the yacht that dr. tanza is wanted at once. don't say more than that, for tanza will know what i mean. i don't think i need say more."
silently charlock offered his arm to ethel hargrave, and they vanished into the darkness. no word passed between them till after they had interviewed the sleepy boatman and sent him off on his errand. then ethel turned to her companion and faced him resolutely.
"i think you are a good man," she said, in a voice that shook a little. "at any rate, i know you to be generous and truthful. now, mr. charlock, kindly tell me what all this means. what is the object of so much mystery? why could not arnold rent have accompanied us home instead of staying behind in that gloomy old house? it is hardly fair to two defenceless women to make them puppets in a game like this."
"i swear i cannot tell you," charlock said passionately. "i really don't know. but i am sure grey knows what he is doing and will never rest till he gets to the bottom of the mystery."
"what is the mystery?" ethel asked.
"surely a superfluous question," charlock said quietly. "within a few days my wife and her maid have both met with strange deaths. it may be coincidence. on the other hand, it may be crime of a terrible, if ingenious, character. i should not have suspected it myself, but mr. grey does."
"it seems impossible," ethel murmured.
"oh, it does. i agree with you. but one never can tell. the whole thing is maddening. is there nothing mysterious, think you, in this strange illness of arnold rent's? mind you, i am trying to speak without prejudice. i am trying to think the best of that man. but there are moments when the most awful suspicions come into my mind, and i have literally to expel them."
ethel was silent for a while. she could not forget her own haunting suspicions. they came back to her now with vivid force—arnold rent's violence, the unsteady terror in his voice as he snatched her from some unseen danger. his conduct and his manner were not consistent with innocence and integrity.
"what do you think?" she asked timidly.
"i don't know what to think," charlock burst out. "as i said before, i have my suspicions. but i am prejudiced. i decline to believe that arnold rent is the upright, honourable man people believe him to be. but it is hardly fair to speak of a man in this way when he is in trouble. i think the best thing we can do is to drop the subject."
for some time the two walked side by side in silence until they reached mrs. rent's lodgings. to ethel's surprise, the door was open and mrs. rent was standing in the hall. there was a look of stern displeasure on her face. she spoke to ethel with a harshness which she had never used before.
"what is the meaning of this?" she demanded. "what has become of my son? and why is mr. charlock here?"
"i am very, very sorry," ethel faltered. "i went to sleep, and when i woke arnold had gone. of course, it was exceedingly careless of me to allow myself——"
"careless? is that the only word you have for it? it seems strange there is no one whom i can trust. but where have you been? why do you waste your time like this——"
"i assure you she had not been wasting her time," charlock said coldly. "you can rest easy in your mind, mrs. rent, for your son is found. he will be here by-and-bye. meanwhile, it will be well not to make any noise at this time of night. there is no occasion to arouse the good people here, unless, indeed, you have already done so."
there was something so curt and incisive in charlock's voice that mrs. rent's manner grew quieter and more subdued.
"i am only just downstairs," she explained. "i went into my son's room just now and, to my surprise, found it empty. but if my boy is all right there is nothing more to be said. perhaps i said too much to you, ethel, but i was speaking on the spur of the moment——"
"oh, please don't apologise," ethel said. "i feel that i am to blame. when i discovered what had happened i went to arnold's workshop, and mr. swift told me where i might find him. he is coming later with mr. grey, and i don't think you will find he is any the worse for his adventure."
a faint smile passed over mrs. rent's face.
"then there is no more to be said," she murmured. "my dear child, how white and tired you look! i insist upon your going to bed at once. mr. charlock will perhaps keep me company till arnold comes back."
ethel was only too glad to be alone. she shook hands somewhat timidly with john charlock and made her way upstairs. then mrs. rent turned to charlock and suggested that it would be better if they talked the matter over in her sitting-room. once inside, the lady's manner changed. she grew agitated and distressed; her face was white and haggard.
"now tell me what this means," she said. "i implore you to be candid with me. i am not the first mother who has worshipped a golden idol only to find that it has feet of clay. this is the punishment for my pride in my son. it was my fancy to regard him as something better and more upright than other men, and i begin to see different, now that he has deceived me. people come to see him who fill me with dread. i know that he is deeply in debt and that he has been deliberately deluding me. i suppose he is afraid to tell me, lest i should stop his allowance and perhaps leave the bulk of my money to some worthier object."
"there is nothing novel in the situation," charlock said grimly. "you are by no means the first parent who has been deceived in the same way. i have known scores of such instances."
"that does not render the discovery less bitter," mrs. rent said sadly. "but i am sure that is not all. there is something worse behind. and if you will tell me what it is——"
"i cannot," charlock said, "because i do not know. but you will need all your courage and strength before long."
