arnold rent seemed to be striving for words to express his feelings. he pressed his hand to his throat, as if something had risen and choked him. there was a deadly pallor on his face, too, which some of the guests did not fail to notice. they were quiet now, for this dénouement was calculated to suppress the frivolous spirits even of mrs. bromley-martin's guests.
"tell us some more," the hostess murmured.
"there is very little to say," the man who was telling the story went on. "i met a policeman within a few yards of charlock's lodge gate and sent him off headlong to bring his inspector and a doctor. then i went back to the scene of the tragedy to see if i could do anything. i heard voices in the garden and went down towards that now famous sundial. i had heard of the thing before; in fact, i remember reading a paragraph or two in the papers when charlock bought it. at any rate, there it was, looking pale and ghostly in the gloom, and by the side of it stood charlock and grey bending over an object on the grass. as a matter of fact, they had no business to disturb the body at all. still, the thing was done, and i helped to carry the poor creature into the house. i came away as soon as i decently could, because it was no place for an outsider."
"dreadful!" mrs. bromley-martin shuddered. "what a fate for a beautiful creature! and what did john charlock say? how did he seem to take it?"
the man who was telling the story shrugged his shoulders.
"don't ask me," he murmured. "charlock is not like other people. you see, he is a genius, and geniuses are allowed to express their feelings in their own way. so far as i could see, the discovery made not the slightest difference to him; excepting that he lives and breathes like most of us, he might have been carved out of stone. there was no expression whatever on his features, not one word escaped his lips. i was glad to get away."
arnold rent listened to this recital with the air of a man who dreams. more than once he appeared as if desirous of asking a question. then he changed his mind. by this time it had already reached those who were deeply immersed in cards. as the various rubbers were finished people began to gather by the fireplace and discuss the tragedy. the first feeling of awe had passed away and everybody was talking at once.
rent was unnoticed. he seemed to have fallen into the background, and before anyone was aware of the fact, he had slipped out of the drawing-room into the hall, where he donned his coat and hat. then, without the formality of saying good-night to mrs. bromley-martin, he walked down the spacious drive into the road. he came presently to the lodge gate of charlock's house, where he paused. now and again he passed his handkerchief over his forehead to wipe away the beads of moisture which had gathered. the night was warm, but not sufficiently so to account for the water trickling down his face.
"i've got to do it," he groaned. "lord, what a coward i am!"
the last words came with an accent of bitter self-reproach. it seemed as if rent were taking hold of himself and impelling his feet unwillingly forward. he came at length to the house, where the lights were still burning in the front room, where he could see john charlock and grey standing facing each other across the table. there were other shadows in the background, but of these rent took no notice. he would have liked to knock at the door and make inquiries, but even his audacity shrank from going so far. it was not the time to face john charlock. the only thing was to wait until grey came out.
the young scientist emerged presently and closed the door behind him. he turned very coldly, almost offensively, to rent when the latter accosted him.
"what can i do for you?" he asked.
"i have just heard the news," rent said hoarsely. "i had gone as far as mrs. bromley-martin's when colonel suffield came in and told us. he was the man you sent for the police. it seems incredible. it seemed all the more impossible to grasp because it was told before that frivolous lot yonder. i could not wait a moment. suffield told me you were here. of course, i could not ask for charlock in the circumstances."
"that would be playing the blackguard," grey remarked pointedly.
"you are altogether unjust," rent murmured. "if you knew the whole story you would not blame me in the least. i only acted on mrs. charlock's behalf as any other man would have done. surely, a good and pure woman is above scandal. but i am not going to discuss that. i want to know what has happened."
"there is very little to tell you," grey said. "i came here by appointment to see mr. charlock. he wanted me to be present because his wife was coming back, and he deemed it best to have a third party at the interview. we heard a cry of distress from the bottom of the garden and immediately proceeded in that direction. to make a long story short, we found mrs. charlock's dead body lying in the fountain by the sundial, precisely in the same way as her late maid's was discovered. beyond that i can tell you nothing. what more would you know?"
it appeared as if rent could have known a great deal more, but he restrained his feelings and walked silently down the drive by grey's side. the two parted at a turning in the road, and rent made his way across the foreshore to his offices. there was no light, so far as he could see, and this seemed to fill him with relief.
"i suppose swift is away to-night," he muttered. "well, perhaps it is for the best. and yet i told him particularly that i wanted him at eleven. that accursed drink again, i suppose! i shall have to get rid of him."
rent struck a match and fumbled with his key in the lock. he left the front door open on the off-chance of swift coming back. then he proceeded to the inner office and switched on the electric lights. from a safe let in the wall he proceeded to take out some electrical appliances, and with these in his hand he turned rapidly towards the door. then he stepped back with an oath and a cry of vexation as he saw someone standing there. the intruder's face wore a wide grin, but his dark eyes were set in stern determination. ephraim bark was not pleasant to look at.
"what the devil are you doing here?" rent demanded.
by way of reply bark closed the door and took a seat. then he produced a cigarette, which he lighted coolly.
"what is the good of talking that rot to me?" he said. "i have been looking for you for the past week, and you have been keeping out of the way because you were afraid to meet me. oh, it is all very well to smile, but if you weren't afraid, why didn't you toe the scratch like a man?"
"i have been away on business," rent said, lamely enough.
"business be hanged! now, look here, i am not going to waste words with you. after that little affair in paris you promised me two hundred pounds, not a penny of which i have had yet. why should i be walking about on my uppers while you are rolling in money? a rich man like yourself——"
"i am not a rich man," rent protested. "as a matter of fact, i have an allowance which is quite insufficient for me, and, apart from that, i am dependent for every penny upon my mother, who can leave it all away from me if she pleases. yes, and she would do it, too, if she knew the sort of life i have been leading."
"i know all about that," bark grinned. "i make every allowance. but you must have something to spare. i tell you, i am penniless, desperate almost, and i am going to have a hundred pounds or its equivalent before i leave you to-night."
rent burst out into furious epithets.
"i tell you, i haven't got it," he protested. "i have never been so hard up as i am now. there are particular reasons why i cannot appeal to my mother just now. in the course of a fortnight or so i may be able to accommodate you."
bark laughed insultingly. he made use of expressions which brought the blood flaming to rent's cheeks, but he dared not retaliate openly. he was in this man's power, as he reflected bitterly. a murderous instinct rose within him. he reached out and grasped a heavy ruler, and ere he knew what he was doing he was holding the weapon threateningly over bark's head. there was no mistaking the gleam in his eyes. there was no time for further argument, as bark saw. he closed at once with rent. he crooked his foot dexterously behind the latter's heel and rent fell heavily to the ground. he staggered as he fell, so that his head came in violent contact with the corner of the iron fender of the fireplace. he lay still and motionless, with bark bending over him.
"lord, i've done it now," the latter said ruefully. "i believe i've killed the beggar. well, if i have——"
bark paused suddenly and lifted up his head like a hare. he seemed to hear footsteps coming closer. if he had dealt rent a fatal blow, he had no mind to be caught red-handed. and no one had seen him come. he darted from the room like a flash and raced across the sands as if the powers of darkness were after him.
