"Yesterday, sir. Dr. Just said they would go down for some shooting."
The man spoke glibly enough as he told his news, and I stood awkwardly in front of him, wondering what I should do. After a long pause I looked up, and asked, "Is there no one here at all, except yourself and the other servants?"
"Oh, yes, sir! I quite forgot," said the man. "Old Capper is here, and another party that the doctor left behind to look after him. Rather a rough sort of party, sir—name of Rabbit."
"Where are they?" I asked quickly. "I want to see them."
The man told me that they were in a little room at the back of the house, and I went there at once. I was more disturbed in my mind about this than about anything else; filled with perplexity that Capper should have been brought back to that house, as I guessed he must have been by Harvey Scoffold; still more puzzled to know why George Rabbit had appeared on the scene, and what the purpose could be in putting him in charge of that amiable old madman, Capper. I opened the door of the room and walked in.
George Rabbit was lounging on a window-seat by an open window, smoking a pipe; Capper sat upright on a chair, looking at the other man with that curious half-wistful, half-puzzled expression that I had seen on his face before. Mr. Rabbit did not take the trouble to move when I entered; he merely waved a hand nonchalantly, and went on smoking.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded of him.
"Got a noo job—an' a rummy sort o' job at that," he replied, with a jerk of his head in the direction of Capper. "Plenty to eat an' drink, 'an a nice fevver bed to sleep in, 'an on'y him to keep a eye on. Rum ole cove, ain't 'e?"
"I thought I warned you to keep away from this place, and to keep away from me," I said sternly.
"You did, 'an you wasn't too nice about the language you put it in," he said complacently, as he puffed out a huge volume of smoke. "But, yer see, I wasn't goin' to be ordered abaht by the likes o' you, an' so I jist made up my mind I'd come along, an' 'ave a little talk wiv the doctor. Nice man, the doctor—real tip-top gent."