"But why?" asked Mrs. Mildmay. "You identified the poor fellow sufficiently, I should think, and what questions could you have to ask?"
The captain drew nearer, with an expression of troubled perplexity.
Suddenly he laid his hand upon Mrs. Mildmay's arm, and, with a grave look, said:
"I had better tell you. I had better tell you, so that you may be on your guard, and keep the news from Violet. I have seen the man, and something else—a hat which was found lying beside him."
Mrs. Mildmay glanced at the window, but the captain did not seem to notice.
"The hat was Leicester Dodson's—I knew it by the initials marked inside it—and the flower was one which I gave him late last night."
Mrs. Mildmay uttered a cry of horror, and it was echoed by a voice behind the curtain.
The next moment Violet confronted him.
"What!" she breathed, her eyes distended and her face white.
"You here!" exclaimed the captain, in a tone of self-reproach. "Nothing, my dear young lady!"