then very pale and almost tottered as he
walked. Men do get at times intoxicated with rage, you know, Will."

"I know that, and I can well imagine what happened at that interview.
Radclyffe had become such a confounded fool that he would not move or
do anything without this Philip's permission: and Luke was determined
to get him down to Algeciras at once. As Philip was at the club, he
thought that he would tackle him then and there."

"Quite so. He did tackle him. And equally of course the two men
quarrelled."

"But hang it all, one's not going to murder every man with whom one
quarrels."

"Stop a moment, Will. As you say, one does not murder every man with
whom one quarrels. But you must admit that this is altogether an
exceptional case. There was more than a mere quarrel between these two
men. There was deadly enmity--justified enmity, I'll own, on Luke's
side. We have already come across--it was not very difficult--two or
three of the servants who were in Lord Radclyffe's house before Luke
and his brother and sister were finally turned out of it. They all
have tales to tell of the terrible rows which used to go on in the
house between the cousins. You, Will, must know how Luke hated this
Philip de Mountford?"

Again Colonel Harris was silent. What was the use of denying such an
obvious truth?

"You wanted," continued the other man quietly, "to hear the truth,
Will, and you've got it. For Louisa's sake, for all our sakes, in
fact, I made up my mind to tell you all--or most--that is officially
known to me at this moment. You must get Louisa out of town at
once--take her abroad if you can, and keep English newspapers away
from her."

"She won't come," said Colonel Harris firmly.

"Oh, yes, she will, if you put it the right way."

Which saying on the part of the acute chief of our Criminal
Investigation Department was but a further proof--if indeed such
proofs were still needed nowadays--of how little clever men know of
commonplace women.

"The case will be extremely unpleasant," resumed Sir Thomas who was
quite unconscious of the ignorance which he had just displayed. "It
will be hateful for you, and quite impossible for Louisa."

"Always supposing," retorted the other, "that Luke is guilty, which
neither I nor Louisa will admit for a moment."

"That," rejoined Sir Thomas, "is as you please."

He put down his cigar, crossed one leg over the other, leaned back in
his chair, and folded his tapering hands