"Listen!" said Tom, though he never moved and never took his gaze from the fire.
"It's at the side door," exclaimed Christopher. "A visitor for my lodgers."
"Sparhawk," said Tom Horn. And while Christopher gazed at his friend, astonished, steps were heard descending a stairway; there was a murmur of voices, and then the stairs creaked under a double burden. "He knew last night they were lodged here," said Tom Horn. "I told him so."
"Do you think," said Christopher incredulously, "that was what he wanted to talk about?"
"It was partly that," nodded Tom. "But mainly it was about what they were doing in this country. He made me tell what I knew, without asking, just as he made you a few moments ago."
Christopher Dent looked completely mystified.
"It is all very odd," said he. "I wonder what he has in his mind?"
"Aye, I wonder," said Tom Horn, his gaze never leaving the flame in the open stove. "I wonder, indeed."