‘I am of opinion better not,’ he said at last. ‘If Sir William found us so engaged, he would be very annoyed.’
‘Maybe you’re right, Mr Parkes. What do you suggest?’
‘I think we had better wait as we are a while longer. Take another cigar, and make yourself comfortable.’
As both men settled themselves in easy chairs, the conversation began to wane, and before the clock struck again their steady breathing showed that each had adopted the most efficient known way of passing monotonous time.
About six o’clock the butler awoke with a start. He felt cold and stiff, and for a moment could not recall what had happened. Then, remembering, he woke the valet.
‘Six o’clock, Innes. We had better go and see if Sir William has returned.’
They retraced their round of the previous night, but everything was as before. They could find no trace of their master.
‘It’s daylight,’ went on Parkes, when their search was complete. ‘We might have a walk out now, I think.’
Leaving by the small conservatory door at the side of the billiard-room wing, they walked down the drive. The sun had just risen—a glorious, ruddy ball in the clearest of blue skies, giving promise of a perfect day. Everything was delightfully fresh. The sparkling dew-drops made the scene fairylike, and the clean, aromatic smell of the trees and earth was in their nostrils. Not a breath of wind stirred, and the air was full of the songs of birds, with, like a mighty but subdued dominant pedal, the sullen roar of the distant fall.
After passing between the two rows of magnificent beeches, whose branches met over the drive, they reached the massive iron gates leading on to the road. These, as was usual at night, were closed, but not locked.