The landlord and the maids stared at the three adventurers in amazement when, in the chill light of the winter dawn, they presented themselves at the inn once more. Each of them seemed to have aged five years in the night. Mr. Mason, with the reaction upon him, threw himself down upon the horsehair sofa in the humble coffee-room and was instantly asleep.
“Poor chap! He looks pretty bad!” said Malone. Indeed, his white, haggard face and long, limp limbs might have been those of a corpse.
“We will get a cup of hot tea into him,” Lord Roxton answered, warming his hands at the fire, which the maid had just lit. “By Jove! We shall be none the worse for some ourselves. Well, young fellah, we’ve got what we came for. I’ve had my sensation, and you’ve had your copy.”
“And he has had the saving of a soul. Well, we must admit that our objects seem very humble compared to his.”
They caught the early train to London, and had a carriage to themselves. Mason had said little and seemed to be lost in thought. Suddenly, he turned to his companions.
“I say, you two, would you mind joining me in prayer?”
Lord Roxton made a grimace. “I warn you, padre, I am rather out of practice.”
“Please kneel down with me. I want your aid.”
They knelt down, side by side, the padre in the middle. Malone made a mental note of the prayer.
“Father, we are all Your children, poor, weak, helpless creatures, swayed by Fate and circumstance. I implore You that You will turn eyes of compassion upon the man, Rupert Tremayne, who wandered far from You, and is now in the dark. He has sunk deep, very deep, for he had a proud heart which would not soften, and a cruel mind, which was filled with hate. But now he would turn to the light, and so I beg help for him and for the woman, Emma, who, for the love of him, has gone down into the darkness. May she raise him, as she had tried to do. May they both break the bonds of evil memory which tie them to earth. May they, for to-night, move up towards that glorious light which sooner or later shines upon even the lowest.”