"Oh, no; he did not stay the night."
"But on this particular occasion, how did you know that Mrs. Petre and Horton were in the room with him?"
"Because I listened from the top of the stairs, and could hear voices. The gentleman was in there too, I believe, listening to the noise of Ali's pipes."
Had the stranger fallen a victim to the serpent, I wondered?
Who could he have been, and what was his fate?
"Has your mistress and her two servants left you suddenly like this before?" I inquired.
"Never, sir. I can't make it out. They seem to have gone out with the gentleman who called—and evidently they left all of a hurry."
"Why?"
"Because when I got back I found that my mistress had pulled out the first coat and hat she could find, and had not taken even a handbag. Besides, if she knew she was to be absent she would have left me a note." And she added in a tone of resentment: "It isn't fair to leave me by myself in a lonely house like this!"
"No, it isn't," I agreed. "But, tell me, does your mistress have many callers?"