“Do you mean mad?”
“Yes, and yet he was quite sensible for a little time. He said they’ve got Balder.”
He did not reply to her, and she thought he had not heard her.
“They’ve taken Balder, Mr. Elk’s assistant. I suppose that means he has been arrested?”
“I suppose so,” said John Bennett, and then: “My dear, you ought to be in bed. Which way did he go?”
“He went toward Shoreham,” said the girl. “Are you going after him, father?” she asked in surprise.
“I’ll walk up the road. I’d like to see him,” said John Bennett. “You go to bed, my dear.”
But she stood waiting by the door, long after his footsteps had ceased to sound on the road. Five minutes, ten minutes passed, a quarter of an hour, and then she heard the whine of a car and the big limousine flew past the gate, spattering mud, and then came John Bennett.
“Aren’t you in bed?” he asked almost roughly.
“No, father, I don’t feel sleepy. It is late now, so I think I’ll do some work. Did you see him?”