“‘A cry!’ Delaney exclaimed. ‘A cry? No. Did you?’
“‘I thought I did,’ the stranger said, moving away from the edge of the water; ‘that is why I hurried here. Perhaps he is somewhere about. Supposing we call.’
“They shouted till they were hoarse, and the great hills opposite hurled back the echoes of their voices, but there was no other reply. Not a sign of Davidson. At last the stranger touched Delaney on the arm.
“‘Come,’ he said with a shiver, ‘the night air is cold. Davidson must have gone back to the inn, and unless we make haste we shall be locked out. They go to bed at eleven.’
“Very reluctantly Delaney gave up the search, and the men were soon tramping along the road in silence—each apparently too pre-occupied with their own thoughts to speak. Occasionally Delaney glanced covertly at his companion, and whenever he did so, he surprised the latter in the act of peeping cautiously at him. Eventually the lights of Llanginney hove in view, and several of the other visitors at the inn strolled out to meet them.
“‘No, Davidson has not returned,’ was the reply to their enquiries. ‘We have seen nothing of him since you left. It’s not eleven yet, however; he has still half an hour, and on such a night as this it would be practically impossible to lose one’s way.’
“Delaney engaged his bed, and half an hour later, as Davidson had not yet come back, he made his way to the landlord’s private parlour. On the threshold he met his recent companion.
“‘Who is he?’ he enquired of the landlord, directly the door was closed, and he heard the stranger’s footsteps echoing softly down the passage.
“‘Who is he?’ the landlord sleepily exclaimed. ‘Why, Mr. Hartney, a London lawyer. Quite a well-known man in town, so I’m told. No, he has never been here before, and as far as I’m aware he had never met Mr. Davidson till to-day. Will I send someone to look for Mr. Davidson? Why, that is what Mr. Hartney has just asked me! No, sir, I have no one to send,’ and he spoke somewhat testily. ‘Some of my men have gone—those who sleep out, and the rest are in bed. I shall leave the door open. We aren’t afraid of burglars in this part of the country. No, as I told Mr. Hartney, there is no fear of the gentleman being lost—he has gone a little further than he intended, that is all.’ And the landlord yawned so emphatically that Delaney beat a hasty retreat.
“‘I’m going to bed,’ he said, as he passed Hartney in the hall. ‘The landlord assures me there is no fear of any harm having befallen Davidson, and that he is sure to turn up all right.’