ejaculated Colonel Harris with
hearty conviction, "but I'm not going to lament over it. After all's
said and done it's a very simple way out of an impossible situation."

"A very horrible way."

"Bah!"

And the good-natured old man shrugged his shoulders with a gesture of
supreme indifference.

"Well," said Luke quietly, "it's late now, sir. You'll want to get to
bed."

"Well," retorted the other with quite a touch of joviality "it's an
ill wind--you know."

"Good night, sir."

"Good night, my boy. How will you get back?"

"Oh, a taxi is the quickest. Edie might have heard something, and be
anxious. I must hurry home now."

Louisa was standing in the hall at the top of the steps. Luke raised
his hat to her and having shaken hands with Colonel Harris quietly
turned to go, and was soon lost in the gloom beyond.

No one who had been standing in the lobby of the hotel would have
guessed that these three people who had talked and bowed and shaken
hands so quietly were facing one of life's most appalling, most
overwhelming tragedies.

The world's puppets had been strung up again, because indifferent eyes
were there to watch and gape, and in the presence of these modern
Bulls of Bashan the puppets danced to the prevalent tune.

CHAPTER XVII

AND WHAT OF THE SECRET?

When Luke arrived at his uncle's house early the next morning, he was
met in the hall by Doctor Newington, who was descending the stairs and
who gravely beckoned to the young man to follow him into the library.

"They called me in last night," he said in reply to Luke's quick and
anxious query. "The butler--or whatever he may be--told me that he was
busy fastening up the front door preparatory to going to bed when he
heard a heavy thud proceeding from the library. He found his master
lying full length on the floor: the head had come in violent contact,
as he fell, with the corner of this table; blood was trickling from a
scalp wound, and Lord Radclyffe himself was apparently in a swoon. The
man is a regular coward and a fool besides. He left his master lying
just as he had fallen, but fortunately he knew me and knew where to
find me, and within ten minutes I was on the spot, and had got Lord
Radclyffe into bed."

"Is it," asked Luke, "anything serious?"

"Lord Radclyffe has not been over strong lately. He has had a great
deal to put up with, and at his age the system is not sufficiently
elastic or--how shall I put it?--sufficiently r