"You will never go to Salisbury House again, Archie?" she asked.
"Never, Dolly. Never, that I declare most positively."
"Cannot we go into the country, then, for a time?" she suggested.
"I should like to go anywhere away from London," he answered.
After a short time she led the conversation back to his interview with Mr. Swanland.
"I cannot imagine," she said, "how it happens that amongst the papers that went from Homewood they never happened to find any of your formulæ."
"It would have puzzled them to do that," he answered, opening his tired eyes and looking at her with an expression she could not exactly understand.
"You must have had formulæ," she persisted.
"Well, yes," he agreed; "perhaps you think they extended to eight volumes of manuscript bound in morocco. You poor little woman, it would be a bad thing for colour-makers if trade secrets were not more easily carried than all that comes to. Look," and taking out his pocket-book he handed her a couple of sheets of note-paper, "every receipt of mine worth having is written down there; they are all clear enough to me, though if I lost them to-morrow they would prove Greek to any other person."