He was sitting in their office shack one bitter day when a sled arrived with supplies, and the teamster brought him a cablegram. His face grew grave as he read it aloud to Harding:
"'Bertram killed in action. Challoner.'"
"That sets you free, doesn't it?" Harding asked after expressing his sympathy.
"I can't tell," Blake answered. "I haven't thought of it in that light. I was very fond of my cousin."
When Blake reached England, Millicent met him at the station. Mrs. Keith, she told him, had taken a house near Sandymere. She looked grave when he asked about his uncle.
"I'm afraid you will see a marked change in him, Dick. He has not been well since you left, and the news of Bertram's death was a shock."
She was with him when he met Challoner, who looked very frail and forlorn.
"It's a comfort to see you back, Dick; you are all I have now," he said, and went on with a break in his voice: "After all, it was a good end my boy made—a very daring thing! The place was supposed to be unassailable by such a force as he had, but he stormed it. In spite of his fondness for painting, he was true to the strain!"
When Blake was alone with Millicent in the dimly lighted drawing-room, he took her into his arms very gently.
"My secret must still be kept, dear," he said; "I can't speak."