“A man must take some risks now and then.”
“If the police were to hear?” he suggested.
“Who is to tell them?”
“It might be worth somebody's while.”
“And whom do you suspect of being that traitor?” I exclaimed.
With a very abject apology for giving any offence, Mr. Hankey withdrew.
“They still suspect me!” I said to myself, indignantly.
Then another suspicion, still more unpleasant, struck me. Was Mr. Hankey making an overture to me? I tried to dismiss it, but my spirits were not very high that night, not even after the explosive packing-case had been removed.
Before retiring to bed on the last night which I was going to spend in this land, a sudden and happy idea struck me. Not to write a single line of explanation to my late hosts was ungrateful and unbecoming in one who boasted of belonging to the politest nation in Europe. I had only promised not to write to Lady Shafthead and Dick. Well, then, there was nothing to hinder me from writing to Daisy. I admit that Sir Philip also was exempt, but this alternative did not strike me so forcibly. If I posted my letter in the morning, she would not get it till it was too late to take any steps that might interfere with our plans. I seized my pen and sat down and wrote:
“Dear Miss Shafthead,—Truly you must think me the most ungrateful and unmannerly of guests; but, believe me, gratitude and kind recollections are not what have been lacking. I am prevented from explaining fully, but I may venture to tell you this—since the occasion will be past even when you read these lines; I am again in the service of one who has the first call upon my devotion. Without naming him, doubtless you can guess who I mean. Silence towards the kind Lady Shafthead and towards my dear friend Dick has been enjoined upon me; but since you were not specifically mentioned I cannot resist the impulse to assure you of my eternal remembrance of your kindness and of yourself. Convey my adieus to Sir Philip and to Lady Shafthead, and assure them that their hospitality and goodness will never be forgotten by me.