This was more than Sir Evelyn could stand. He stood up and rang the bell.
"I shall direct my servant," he said, "to show you out and not to admit you into my house again."
Mr. East, by this time sweating at every pore and tingling with acute discomfort, bowed and turned towards the door.
"I ought to add," he said as he went out, "that no attempt to remove the dutiable goods from the cave in which we believe them to be stored will be permitted. To-morrow at noon, unless you have complied with the terms of the department's proposal, our officers will enter the cave and seize the goods."
"Your officers," said Sir Evelyn, goaded to extreme exasperation, "may search the cave as much as they damned well choose. They'll find nothing there."
Chapter XVII
The departure of the last guest from the Manor House was almost as great a relief to Lord Colavon as to Sir Evelyn. It was he who drove the judge and his suit case to the railway station in Morriton St. James. Having handed over the case to the porter and waved farewell to the judge he felt that duty had no further claim upon him. He swept the car round, picked his way through the narrow streets of the town and set out upon the road which led to Hailey Compton. There he indulged in a joyous burst of speed. The Pallas Athene, restored by the new parts sent from London, responded and showed herself to be the sort of car he hoped and supposed when he bought her.
The twenty miles to the top of the cliff were covered in less than half an hour, and when Jimmy changed gear for the descent into the village he felt well satisfied. He had reason to be. The weather which had pleased Sir Evelyn, resting in his study, delighted Jimmy who had the sparkling sea in front of him. Beth was at the vicarage and he was on his way to see her. He had stored safely in the cave six dozen pairs of silk stockings. He looked forward to seeing the pleasure of the two girls when he made his present to them. There were also in the cave a number of cases of brandy, some hundreds of bottles of champagne and a quantity of other wine, the property of James Hinton. There were some large bales of silk which belonged to Mr. Linker. Jimmy was not concerned about these. He had helped to land them and helped to store them, without, as he believed, attracting any attention or giving rise to any questions or inquiries. The business had been carried through with the greatest ease and Jimmy's part of it was over. The removal and final disposal of the goods was the affair of the owners. All Jimmy had to do was to pick up his own parcel, tuck it under his arm and walk out of the cave with it.
The car drew up at the vicarage door and Jimmy was greeted by the two girls with shouts of welcome.
"We're just starting off to bathe," said Mary.