'Why not? I meant well by the girl.'
'And then she disappeared?'
Hugo spoke with a certain cynicism.
'How do you know?' Ravengar demanded angrily.
'I only guess.'
'Well, she did. I can't imagine why. I meant well by her. And the next thing is, I find her working in your shop, and in the arms of that scoundrel, Tudor.' He hesitated, and then, as he proceeded, his tones softened to an appeal. 'Owen, why were you watching last night? I must know. It's an affair of life or death to me.'
Hugo did not believe most of Ravengar's story, and he perceived the difficulty of his own position and the necessity for caution.
'I was watching because Miss Payne thought herself in some mysterious danger,' he said.
'She came to me, as you have done, to ask my help. And I won't hide from you that it was she herself who informed me definitely that Tudor had invited her to marry him, and that she had consented.'
'She shall not marry him!' cried Ravengar, exasperated.