“Good! Now I know where my duty lies!”
With a sinking heart I heard him. Such a phrase, coming at such a time, seemed to close the door to my hopes of enlightenment.
“What do you mean?” I asked, feeling that my question was a feeble one.
His answer emphasized my fears:
“Trelawny knows what he is doing. He had some definite purpose in all that he did; and we must not thwart him. He evidently expected something to happen, and guarded himself at all points.”
“Not at all points!” I said impulsively. “There must have been a weak spot somewhere, or he wouldn’t be lying here like that!” Somehow his impassiveness surprised me. I had expected that he would find a valid argument in my phrase; but it did not move him, at least not in the way I thought. Something like a smile flickered over his swarthy face as he answered me:
“This is not the end! Trelawny did not guard himself to no purpose. Doubtless, he expected this too; or at any rate the possibility of it.”
“Do you know what he expected, or from what source?” The questioner was Miss Trelawny.
The answer came at once: “No! I know nothing of either. I can guess...” He stopped suddenly.
“Guess what?” The suppressed excitement in the girl’s voice was akin to anguish. The steely look came over the swarthy face again; but there was tenderness and courtesy in both voice and manner as he replied: