“Tell me, Miss Drummond,” I urged, “are you aware of the reason I am staying here?”
“I know it all,” she replied, in a strained voice. “I am well aware that you are searching for the hidden gold, which you cannot find. I am aware, too, that you hold the key to the plan, and that by aid of that key the place of concealment could be at once ascertained.”
“Mr. Purvis bought the plan from old Knutton,” I remarked.
“Yes; the drunken old idiot sold it, even though it had been in possession of his family for centuries. The treasure would be partly his if it could be discovered.”
“But does Mr. Purvis know anything definite regarding the place where it is hidden?”
“He believes it to be in the Manor House, and for that reason they have reopened the old subway from the Glebe to the Manor. He has with him the man Bennett, said to be one of the worst characters outside the walls of a gaol.”
“I know; they call him Black Bennett,” I said.
“Beware of them,” she urged. “They will hesitate at nothing to possess themselves of the treasure. They would kill you.”
The recollection of what Reilly had witnessed in London flashed through my mind. It was on the tip of my tongue to mention it, yet I feared to do so, not knowing what effect it might have upon her highly strung temperament.
“What Knutton has told me regarding your romantic life has aroused my interest, Miss Drummond,” I said presently. “Did you never know your parents?”