“Have you questioned any other travelers who stay at the inn?” asked the country policeman.
“Oh, precious few people stay here.”
“What about the lady we caught sight of just now as we rode up to the inn?”
“A lady?”
“Yes, a lady. She just came out of this door and went straight in again. It rather looked as if she wanted to avoid us.”
“A lady? In this inn? It isn’t possible!”
“A lady in gray. She was too far off for us to be able to recognize her face again. But we saw her gray dress; and she is wearing a hat with flowers in it.”
“The devil she is!” cried the detective. “We must look into this!”
They said no more, but there came the ominous clumping of large police boots along the flagged path of the garden.
During this conversation Ralph and the young woman had listened without uttering a word, staring at one another. As these new facts came to his ears, Ralph’s face had grown darker and darker. She made no attempt to rebut them.