The thoughts of Godfrey Boyne occupied so much position in Waller’s brain that he at once concluded something must be wrong with him, and rushing upstairs two at a time, and making sure that he was not followed, he continued the rest of his way in the darkness as silently as he could, pausing to listen at the top of the attic stairs, and then cautiously creeping to and trying the door of his den.
All was perfectly still there, and he found the door fastened from within.
“False alarm,” he said to himself; and he crept down again to make his way to the kitchen, from which, as he drew nearer, there came faint hysterical cries and a most unpleasant smell of burning.
Hurrying into the kitchen, Waller found that the cries came from Bella, who was lying upon her back upon the shred hearthrug in front of the kitchen fire, while Martha was trying to bring her fellow-servant round from a fainting fit, and causing the horrible stench by burning the dried wing of a goose close to the girl’s nostrils and making her sneeze violently.
“Oh dear! Oh dear!” cried Bella, uttering a sob, and then giving vent to a tremendous sneeze.
“Bless the King!” said Martha Gusset quietly. “Sneeze again, dear; it’ll do you no end of good.”
The advice came rather late, for the girl’s face was already wrinkling up for another nervous convulsion that seemed stronger than the last.
“Bless the King!” said the cook again, “There, there, dear: you will be better soon.”
“What’s the matter, Martha?” said Waller anxiously, and with a horrible dread upon him that all had been found out.