"Surely," he reflected, "Abingdon will not give another thought to my proceedings. Philip Anson is not a boy in leading strings."
He wired to Evelyn:
"Sorry for misunderstanding. Blue Atom must wait until my return."
Here was a way out. Whatever that wretched speck of color meant, it could be dealt with subsequently.
But Evelyn's prompt reply only made confusion worse confounded:
"Delay is impossible. The man has put off the duchess two days already."
So a man, and a duchess, and a period of time were mixed up with a blue atom. He must do something desperate; begin his plan of alienation sooner than he intended. He answered:
"Too busy to attend to matter further. Going to Leeds to-day. Letters here as usual."
And to Leeds he went. Residence in York was a fever—a constant fret. In Leeds he was removed from the arena. He passed the afternoon and evening in roaming the streets, consumed with a fiery desire to be doing, daring, braving difficulties.
But he must wait at least another day before he could lay hands on any portion of Philip Anson's wealth save the money stolen from his pockets.