to go in search of Dinwiddie,
but before he had finished he heard a sound in the next room and opened
the connecting door unceremoniously.

Mr. Dinwiddie braced himself as he saw Clavering's set face.

"Too bad," he muttered, but Clavering cut him short.

"I want the truth. What took Mary to New York?"

"Surely she explained in her letter."

"She explained nothing. There's some mystery here and I want it
cleared up at once."

"By God! I'll tell you!" Mr. Dinwiddie burst out. "Mary exacted no
promise--I suppose she took for granted I'd not tell you, for she told
me what she had written. But if she had I'd tell you anyhow. I'd
rather break a promise to a woman than lie to a friend. Believe men
should stand by one another. She went down there this morning to meet
Hohenhauer."

"Hohenhauer!" Clavering's face turned almost black.

"Yes. Trent telegraphed me yesterday that Hohenhauer was arriving at
Huntersville last night and would come up here in the morning to see
Mary. He said the matter was most important. I went to Mary's room
after you came in from the lake and showed her the message. She was
extremely annoyed and said at first that she wouldn't see him. But I
pointed out that she couldn't possibly avoid it. Then she said he
shouldn't come up here, and she was very emphatic about it. The only
thing to do was to take her down. Of course you will be reasonable and
see there was nothing else to be done."

"What did that infernal blackguard want of her? And why did she go off
with him?"

"She didn't go off with him. She hired a car directly after lunch
intending to drive as far as Saratoga and take a train from there. She
left Hohenhauer to cool his heels until it was time to take the local
for the Adirondack Express. She could easily have taken him along, but
I think she was meting out punishment."

"Punishment?"

"Yes. They had a private conference for nearly two hours, and,
whatever happened, it put her in an infernally bad humor. She scarcely
opened her mouth during luncheon, and as Mary is a woman of the world,
used to concealing her feelings, I thought it highly significant. She
looked as if she were in a secret frozen rage. Hohenhauer, however,
was quite himself, and the meal--corned beef and cabbage!--went off
very well."

"What did he want of her?"

"Of that I haven't the vaguest idea. Something momentous, beyond a
doubt. If I may hazard a guess, it has something to do