"And I suppose you were ill there?"
"I suppose I was ill there; they said so. Marie spoke English; she had been at—at—at sea."
This was not very perspicuous, but Mrs. Dundyke did not care for minor details.
"How did you come home?" she asked. And she glanced suddenly down at his boots; an idea presenting itself to her, that she might see them worn and travel-stained. But they were not. They were the same boots that he had on that last morning in Geneva, and they appeared to have been little worn.
"How did I come home?" he repeated. "I came. Marie said I was well enough. Paul changed the note."
"What note?" she asked.
"The note from England. He didn't see that when he took the others."
"He" evidently meant Mr. Hardcastle. She began to comprehend a little, and put her questions accordingly.
"Mr. Hardcastle must have robbed you, David."
"Mr. Hardcastle robbed me."