ded to tell you in a day or two."

"I shall be glad to hear something, I can assure you," said the old
man, "but in the meantime we will try to forget about it. You have had
a tiring journey, Mr. Burnham, followed by a strange initiation into
what is probably a new sphere of life altogether--the sphere of
mysteries and detectives, and so forth. No, Ronald, we'll give Mr.
Burnham a rest for to-night."

But just as I was congratulating myself that we had escaped from the
painful necessity of putting him off with an evasive answer, if not a
deliberate lie, the butler entered and announced that he had shown
Mr. Hilderman into the library.

"Well, as we are ready, we had better join him," said the old man, and
we adjourned to the other room.

Now if Hilderman should by any tactless remark betray our strange
experience in the afternoon there would be the devil to pay. I
followed the General into the library, beckoning to the American with
a warning finger on my lip. He saw at once what I meant, fortunately,
and held his tongue, and we all talked of general matters for some
little time. Then Hilderman took the bull by the horns.

"As a matter of fact, General," he announced boldly, "I ran over to
have a word with Mr. Ewart about a certain matter which is interesting
us all. I don't suppose you wish me to worry you with details at the
moment?"

"I should be very glad to hear what you have to tell us, Mr.
Hilderman, but unfortunately I--er--I have a few letters I simply
must write, so I hope you will excuse me. My daughter is in the
drawing-room, so perhaps you fellows would care to join her there. Her
counsel will be of more use to you than mine in your deliberations, I
have no doubt."

However, when we looked for her in the drawing-room Myra was not
there, and I found her in her den.

"Why not bring him in here?" she asked. "He won't bite, and it will
be more conducive to a free and easy discussion. I should like to
hear what he has to say for himself in view of his running away this
afternoon, and I shouldn't feel comfortable in the drawing-room with
this shade on. In here I feel that he must just put up with any
curiosities he meets."

So we made ourselves comfortable in the den, and Hilderman sat in a
chair by the window.

"Of course, you know what I have come to speak about, Mr. Ewart," he
began at once. "You must have thought my conduct this afternoon was
very strange--very unsportsmanlike, to say the least.