"Because Geoffrey says----"
"Heron!" He rose to his feet. "What has he to do with all this?"
"He is a friend of Neil's, and----"
"A friend of Neil's?" Mr. Cass said, incredulously. "How can that be? They never even got on well together; they were rivals. I do not believe it."
"Will you believe me when I tell you that Geoffrey is nursing Neil at Bognor in Mrs. Jent's house? He is, then. And Geoffrey wrote telling you that he was abroad--and Neil, too--to keep you away from Bognor."
Mr. Cass stood as though turned to stone, and the haggard look on his face seemed to grow more marked.
"There appears to be a lot of plotting going on behind my back," he said, quietly. "My own daughter is plotting against me. Why did you not tell me all this? No, never mind. You have told me so many lies that I cannot believe you. Do not answer that question. But I must ask you to tell me what this means?"
"I have told no lies," cried Ruth, indignantly. "If you had been more open with me, papa, I would never have set to work to find out this affair. I will tell you all, just as it happened, and you can judge for yourself if I have been wrong."
"Nothing can excuse your silence," he said, bitterly. "You don't know what harm may come of this meddling with what does not concern you. Well, I will hear your story."
He sat down again and looked at the fire, while Ruth related all that had happened, and how Geoffrey and she had made up their minds to discover the truth. Mr. Cass listened without a word. Only when she had finished did he make an observation.