The Shadow of Tyburn Tree

he is accustomed, for in a day out there are always frequent checks and pauses.

'He raved about having ridden twenty-five miles, but how can you be certain that he did so at topmost speed? If he left Goodwood after dinner, or even after midnight, 'twould have been mere hacking to reach here by dawn.'

'Damme! Do you not realise whom we have to thank for bringing us to this evil pass?'

'Humphrey spoke of a note from some Frenchman, with whom he did not appear to be acquainted. But what Frenchman has the ill-will to denounce me, or could possibly know. . . .'

' 'Twas not a Frenchman, but a man who habitually uses French. Vorontzoff, and no other. 'Tis thus he has avenged himself on us for our treatment of him last night.'

'Oh, the dastard!' Georgia breathed. 'How could any man bring himself to play so mean a trick?'

'You told me that you judged him to be a man of few scruples; and his provocation was considerable. I've not a doubt now but that he listened at the door to our laughing together over his discomfiture. He must then have gambled on my remaining with you till morning, and despatched one of his outriders post haste to Goodwood.'

She nodded. 'My mind has been so mazed since Humphrey's discovery of us that I have lacked the wits to put two and two together; but it must be so. The Russian understands more English than he pretends. He heard Charles Fox both speak with me yesterday of Humphrey s morbid spying upon me, and say that after the point-to- point at Goodwood he would be lying there to-night.'

'I know it. I was standing but a yard behind you at the time. Vorontzoff then remarked that he had once been at Goodwood. He knew where it lay and would have had no difficulty in giving his messenger directions how to find it.'

'But how could the man have done the journey and Humphrey returned here in so short a time?'

'You make my very point. 'Twas near a quarter to one before I joined you. The Russian would then have had to scribble his note, get old Barney to rout out one of his servants, and give the fellow his instructions. The courier could not have left much before half-past one; thus leaving no more than five hours for the double journey, including the rousing of Sir Humphrey from his bed and his dressing to set out. Nine-tenths of the way lies along the Portsmouth Road, where remounts are readily obtainable. Even so, he must have ridden hell for leather the whole distance to get here by dawn; and in his con­dition placing so great a tax upon himself might well have proved too much for him.' —

'I will say then that the strain resulted in a fit soon after he arrived. But what reason can I give for his coming to me through the night at such a breakneck pace?'

'Aye, there lies our worst conundrum. To give the real one will lead people to suppose that you were not alone, and any such suggestion would vastly increase our danger.'

'We dare not count on evading that. The Russian's courier may talk of the midnight mission on which he was despatched.'

'He would know nothing of the contents of the note.'

'Humphrey may have left it in his room, and if 'tis found there we would be undone.'

' 'Tis more likely that he has it on him,' Roger muttered, and stooping down, he began to hunt swiftly through the dead man's pockets.

After a moment he pulled out a paper and held it to the light that was now coming strongly between the still drawn curtains. Then he gave a cry of relief. 'Godbe thanked! I have it here! 'Tis anonymous, and brief but to the point. Sir Humphrey quoted it practically ver­batim. Well, we are safe on that score.'

Georgina shook her head. 'Nay!. On reaching Goodwood Voront­zoff's man would have had to rouse some of the household in order to gain access to Humphrey. 'Tis no every-day occurrence for a guest to call for his horse at three in the morning and gallop off in a flaming temper. In his state of mind he was quite capable of blurting out the fact that he meant to surprise me with a lover. I tell you we dare not count on the reason for his coming remaining secret.'

Roger now found himself faced by a most appalling dilemma. He could not deny that there were grounds for her fear. There could be no concealing that fact that Vorontzoff's messenger had caused Sir Humphrey to leave Goodwood for Stillwaters in the middle of the night. If he had disclosed the contents of the note before setting out, any explanation that Georgina might offer to account for his arrival, which did not tally with it, would be proved a lie. Her story as to the way in which he had died would then inevitably become suspect. And everything hung on its acceptance without question.

For these few moments Roger had it in his power to destroy the note.

If he did, and its contents were already known to someone at Goodwood, the very fact of its disappearance would jeopardise Georgina's position still further. It would be believed that she, or whoever had been with her, had searched her husband's body after his death and made away with the incriminating paper in an attempt to conceal their guilt.

On the other hand if he returned the note to the dead man's pocket it was certain to be found there; then suspicion would immediately be aroused that her husband had actually caught her in flagrante delicto,and had been killed in a brawl either by her hand or that of her lover. In that case, if her fears were groundless, it would be by his own act that he would have robbed them of their best chance of escap­ing the gallows.

A clock ticked on, seeming unnaturally loud. Barely five minutes had yet elapsed since Sir Humphrey had breathed his last, but every moment that Georgina now delayed in rousing the house made it more improbable that her story would be believed. Her husband's last effort in mounting the stairs at a run might have caused him to collapse within a few moments of entering her room, but given an interval for recovery such an attack was far less likely; and she could not say that he had been lying there for any length of time without her calling for help. Terribly conscious of the dreadful urgency of reaching some decision Roger stood staring at the floor; but it seemed that whichever course he chose the risk was equally appalling.

'Vorontzoff has revenged himself upon us far more terribly than he can ever have thought to do,' Georgina said with sudden bitterness. 'His denunciation of me to Humphrey was vicious enough in all conscience but inspired, I've not a doubt, by a grim humour. He meant to return our compliment of last night with interest, and make of us both this morning his April Fools.' .

Instantly Roger's glance lifted, and he exclaimed: 'Damme! I believe we can yet turn that vicious jest to our own advantage.'

'How so?'

'To divert suspicion from you of having had a lover here. How could one better make an April Fool of a man than to cause him to ride twenty-five miles in the middle of the night for no reason. Just think on it! The jealous husband roused from his bed by false intelligence and galloping up the Portsmouth road as though all the furies were after him, only to find his wife sleeping the sleep of innocence. But for its tragic ending 'twould have been the joke of the century.'

Georgina's eyes lit up. 'And if Humphrey had found himself so fooled, his choler might have been the final straw that led to his apoplexy.'

'If rage can kill that might have done it.'

'But wait! Why should Vorontzoff have played so bitter a jest on Humphrey, with whom he was not even acquainted?'

' 'Tis common knowledge that there was no love lost between you and your husband. You can say that he had been plaguing you recently with his jealousy; and that to teach him a lesson you put the Russian up to it.'

'He may deny that.'

'Nay! Why should he? I am convinced that you have hit upon the truth in thinking that Vorontzoff meant to make us April Fools. So 'tis but a modification of the truth to suggest that Sir Humphrey was his intended victim. What better explanation could he offer for the send­ing of his note?'

'The true one.'

'He dare not. As a diplomat he must regard his standing with society as a matter of importance; and he would be despised by every­one if he admitted to having taken so base a revenge upon a woman merely because she preferred another to himself.'

'Aye, we have him in a cleft stick there.'

Roger knelt down and slipped the note back into Sir Humphrey's pocket. Then, as he stood up he said: 'Put a