He let himself softly into the house and proceeded to make some coffee with the aid of the gas-ring. He was gulping it down, feeling the liquid driving the cold out of his bones, when Olga growled faintly; and looking up, he saw his wife standing in the doorway surveying him maliciously.
"Well? Has the lost lamb been found and returned to the fold?" Her tone was mockery itself.
"No." For an instant he wondered whether he should accuse her of her treachery; but suddenly he resolved to wait till he was more normal, after a rest.
"Really? Well, I don't think she will return just yet. I expect the next time her loving husband meets our dear Toni, the Divorce Court will be their meeting-place."
A wave of anger swept over Herrick.
"So that man was right—it was your doing." He put down his cup and looked steadily at her. "It was through your—your advice that that unfortunate girl left her home and wont off with Dowson."
"It wasn't through my advice," she said. "As a matter of fact I didn't know they had fixed it up so quickly. Three days ago it was only a vague notion—quite in the air, I assure you. I had no idea it had actually come off."
"You knew, then, that it was a possibility, at least?"
"Yes." Suddenly she stopped and stared at him. "But how do you know? She didn't leave any message, I suppose?"
"I know because Mrs. Rose's heart failed her when she had taken the first step. She gave this man Dowson the slip at Stratton and he immediately returned to Greenriver to ask if she had come back."