too late," answered the other. "If harm has happened--it
has happened. We can only pray they've preserved some sanity among
them."

"That's why I say I hope they're not bullying Mary," answered Lennox.
"Of course, she'd be dead against her father-in-law's idea. But she
won't count. She can't control him if Sir Walter goes over to his side."

"Let us not imagine anything so unreasonable. We'll telegraph to hear if
all's well at the first moment we can."

The storm sent a heavy wash of rain against the side of the carriage. It
was a famous tempest, that punished the South of England from Land's End
to the North Foreland.

They were distracted from their thoughts by the terrific impact of the
wind.

"Wonder we can stop on the rails," said Mannering. "This is a fifty-knot
gale, or I'm mistaken."

"I'm thinking of the Chadlands trees," answered the other. "It's rum
how, in the middle of such an awful business as this, the mind switches
off to trifles. Does it on purpose, I suppose, to relieve the strain.
Yes, the trees will catch it to-night. I expect I shall hear a grim tale
of fallen timber from Sir Walter by the time I get back to-morrow."

"If nothing's fallen but timber, I sha'n't mind," answered Mannering;
"but you've made me devilish uneasy now. If anything further went
wrong--well, to put it mildly, they would say your uncle ought to have
known a great deal better."

"He does know a great deal better. It's only that temporarily he's
knocked off his balance. But I hardly feel as anxious as you do. There's
Mary against May; and even if my uncle were for him, on a general, vague
theory of something esoteric and outside nature, which you can't fairly
call unreasonable any more, Mannering, seeing what's happened--even if
Sir Walter felt tempted to let him have his way, I don't believe he'd
really consent when it came to the point."

"I hope not--I hope not," answered the other. "Such a concession would
take a lot of explanation if the result were another of these disasters.
There ought to be an official guard over the room."

"After to-morrow there certainly will be," replied Henry. "You may be
sure the police won't leave it again till they've satisfied themselves.
All the same, I don't see how a dozen of them will be any safer than
one--even if it's some material and physical thing that happens, as
we must suppose. And for that matter, if it's really supernatural, why
should a dozen be safer than one? Obvious