“Shall I go and look for him?”
She knew what was in my mind. His late homecoming meant as a rule that he was to be found at the inn.
“Was he at home to dinner?”
“No. He has some friends living a few miles off whom I don’t know, and he rode over in the afternoon and proposed to stay to dinner. There he is.”
We both listened. Along the hard road came the sound of a horse’s hoofs.
Miss Gascoyne rose in alarm. Either the horse was riderless or it was no longer under control. It was not necessary to listen for more than a few seconds to be convinced of that.
We both went out on to the lawn. A figure came round the corner of the house and hastened on to the road. It was the groom.
“Oh, Mr. Rank, what can have happened?”
“I will go and see.”
But she went with me to the gate. The mare had evidently come to a full stop just outside, and was now held by the groom. She was steaming with sweat and gave every evidence of the greatest distress.