She led the way out into the hall, and, crossing to where the unconscious and heavily breathing Bentley lay propped upon the sofa amongst a pile of cushions, Colin bent down to inspect the bandages which encircled his head.
"Nothing the matter with this," he said approvingly. "You must have been having lessons from Mark in your spare time." He made a brief examination of the man's pulse and general condition, while the others stood by watching him in silence. "I don't think there'll be much to worry about when he comes round," he added, "but of course he'll have to keep to his bed for a day or two." He turned to Joe. "Put some of these cushions round him so that he isn't shaken about in the ambulance, and tell Marsden to take him to the hospital directly you reach London."
"I believe there must be some kind of curse on me," said Nancy rather ruefully. "I seem to bring trouble on everyone I have anything to do with."
"You ain't no call to feel like that, miss," objected Joe. "A cracked 'ead ain't much in the way of trouble—not for a policeman, any'ow."
"You can be pretty sure that that's the way in which Bentley will look at it," said Colin. "As for the Inspector"—his gray eyes lit up with a boyish twinkle—"well, if he hadn't told me that he was a married man with three children I should have been jolly careful not to ask him round to Shadwell this evening."
With a little laugh Nancy held out her hands toward him.
"Take me home, Colin," she said. "I feel like Charles Lamb when they gave him a pension. I want to go home for ever."
* * * * * * * * *
Mark filled up his empty glass, and, settling himself in his armchair, beamed paternally at Colin and Nancy, who were sitting opposite to him on the sofa.
"It only shows how careful one ought to be," he said. "Just think of the chance I missed when I took Nancy on as a secretary! If I'd had any idea that she was going to blossom out suddenly as a sort of female Rothschild I should immediately have adopted her as my daughter."