"Where is Vernon?"
"Ah! I do not know. Perhaps he is with my uncle."
"But the young man, Craig. Why is he watching you? It can only be with evil intent."
She drew a long breath, but said nothing. And to all my further questions she remained dumb, so that when I bent over her outstretched hand and left, I felt annoyed at her resolute secrecy—a secrecy which must, I felt, result fatally.
And yet by her manner I was confident that she was still prevented by fear from revealing everything to me. Yes, after all, I pitied her deeply.
At the Grand I found Rayner awaiting me. He had already learnt from the police that the car in which Craig had driven away belonged to a garage in Bournemouth.
On going there he had found the car had just returned. It had been hired for the evening by Craig himself, who had first driven out to Boscombe and was afterwards driven to Christchurch, where he had caught the express for London.
He had, therefore, gone.
This news I scribbled in a note to Lola, and before midnight Rayner had delivered it at Mr. Featherstone's house.