Haskins laughed, and did all that was desired, as it was just as well to keep Tod from fretting after the wife he had left at Amsterdam. But Macandrew did not do things by half: having come over to help his friend, he did not keep reminding him of the sacrifice he had made. Tod ate an excellent dinner, and laughed at a musical comedy, and went to sleep in Gerald's extra bedroom, after a smoke and a glass of whisky slightly diluted with water. Macandrew, as became a native of Scotland, liked his drink strong.
Next morning the two friends went down to the west of England in very good spirits. At Exeter Tod alighted to see Arnold--having obtained the Monmouth Hotel address from Gerald--and the other amateur detective proceeded to Silbury, where as usual he put up at the Prince's Head. Mrs. Jennings was pleased to see him, but could tell him very little about the murder likely to throw any light on its darkness. It seemed to Gerald that she took very little interest in the matter.
"That crazy girl can't be found," she told her guest, "so I expect, poor soul, she has been drowned--that is the general opinion, sir. As that is the case, and Miss Bellaria is buried in Leegarth graveyard, there is no more to be said."
"What of the Pixy's House?"
"Major Rebb has shut it up--in a way, that is. For that mad girl's rooms were beautifully furnished. I saw them myself," added Mrs. Jennings breathlessly, "when I went over after the inquest, to Leegarth. But Major Rebb has been living in those rooms, with his man----"
"Geary?"
"No, sir. Geary is still the landlord of the Devon Maid. He was fiddling with a pistol and hurt himself: but he is all right now. Major Rebb brought his own man from town, who cooks and looks after the place. I expect the Major likes better to live in the Pixy's House than in the hotel at Denleigh. I would not live in that wicked house myself," ended Mrs. Jennings, with a shudder. "I should be afraid of Miss Bellaria's ghost."
"Is Major Rebb there now?" asked Gerald quickly.
"He comes again to-morrow or the next day, I believe," answered the landlady, who knew all the gossip of the neighborhood, "and they say that he intends to repair the house against his marriage with a London lady."
Haskins nodded, and took his way over the hills to Denleigh. It was apparent that Rebb really believed Mavis to be drowned, according to common report, and, since no one was likely to question his right to the income or the house, he intended to reap as a married man the fruit of his villainy. It seemed strange to Gerald that Mavis should not have any relative who would dispute the will, but he knew how often old families dwindle down to a single person. In this case, he believed that there were two twigs still sprouting from the Durham family tree, in the persons of the twin girls.