excitement, I feel. One supposes that Ray decided to go farther, and sent the horse home. You will probably find that he caught the bus into Bodmin.”
“But Ray never did such a thing in his life!” Conrad objected. “Besides, why shouldn’t he have ridden into Bodmin?”
“Too hot,” said Eugene, yawning. “I expect it would be too much to ask of Sybilla that she should send up some other sandwiches than cucumber. One would have thought that she must have known by now that cucumber is poison to me.”
Bart jumped up. “To hell with you and your fads!” he exclaimed. “Something’s wrong! Something must have happened to Ray!”
“Well, I don’t know,” said Clara, rubbing the end of her nose. “It’s a queer thing to do, but I don’t see that there’s any need to get in a fuss about it. If Courtier had had his bridle on, I should have said Ray had had a tumble, but if he took it off the gee, there can’t be much wrong.”
“Ray may be hurt,” Bart said, hurriedly swallowing the rest of his tea in a couple of gulps. He glanced towards his twin, and his voice hardened. “Did you send anyone out to look for him?”
“No, I didn’t,” replied Conrad. “Why should I? If Ray were hurt, he wouldn’t have been able to unbridle the horse. Or if he was able to, then he must also have been able to mount him again. He probably had his reasons for sending Courtier home.”
Aubrey wandered across the room to hand his cup to Clara. “My dear, how thrilling!” he remarked. “Personally, I feel sure Ray has fled the country.”
“Thai isn’t funny!” Bart rapped out.
“Oh, don’t you think so? I find that there’s something exquisitely humorous in the idea that Ray-the- Imperturbable may be fleeing from justice. Obviously, the news that Jimmy is about to divulge what he quarrelled with Father about has proved to be too much for his stoical unconcern.”
“You swine!” Bart said, through his teeth, and tried to knock him down.
Aubrey, who had been watching him closely under his lazy eyelids, saw the blow coming, and dodged it, closing with his young brother an instant afterwards, and grabbing his right arm. “Now, Bart! Now, my little one!” he said soothingly. “I should simply hate to break your arm, lovey, so don’t struggle! I did warn you, didn’t I?”
“Let go!”
“That’s another of the Crown Derby cups gone,” said Clara, gloomily picking up the pieces. “I wish you boys wouldn’t be so rough.”
“Oh, what a good deed!” said Aubrey, letting Bart go. “I do hope it was I who knocked it over? I can’t think of anything as repellent as Crown Derby.”
“Damn you!” Bart said, massaging his arm. “It’s just like you to learn a lot of filthy. Japanese tricks! I’m going down to organise a search-party!”
“Isn’t that touching?” Aubrey said, addressing the room at large, as Bart walked out. “Shall we get up a sweepstake on what has happened to Ray?”
“Come to think of it, it is queer,” remarked Clara, looking rather worried. “What can have possessed him to go settin’ his horse loose? I don’t see any sense in it. Unless he’s trainin’ him for somethin’.”
“Training him for what, darling Clara? A circus?”
“No, he wouldn’t do that,” Clara said decidedly.
“I wonder if Aubrey’s right?” put in Clay. “I mean, do you think he can possibly have got the wind up, and made off somewhere?”
“Do, for heaven’s sake, learn to recognise a joke when you hear one!” begged Eugene wearily.
“Well, it’s all very well, but I don’t see —”
“Hush!” said Aubrey. “Can’t you see that your brothers are sick and tired of the sound of your voice, child?”
Clay said angrily: “Considering I’ve only made one remark during the past twenty minutes, I call that rich! You seem to think...”
“One remark in twenty minutes is all we have patience to bear,” said Aubrey firmly.
Clay got up, scraping his chair aggressively. “This place was bad enough before you came home, but it’s absolutely bloody now!” he said, and stalked out of the room.
“Well, that’s got rid of him,” said Aubrey, sinking into the most comfortable chair he could find.
“You shouldn’t tease the boy,” Clara said, shaking her head. “I daresay he won’t be here much longer.”
“That is a very lovely thought, Clara love, and practically the only one that at all sustains me during this trying time.”
“I think I’ll step round to the stables, and see what’s happenin’,” Clara decided, in her inconsequent way.
“The more I think of it the less I like the sound of it.”
Vivian, who had all the time been silent, watched her trail out of the room, and then glanced at Aubrey. “Did you mean that? Do you really think it’s got something to do with the police finding Jimmy? Could he have runaway?”
“My pet, don’t you think he would have taken his car if he had been running away?” suggested Eugene, tweaking her ear.
“Yes, I suppose he would,” she agreed, with a short sigh.
Clifford came back into the room just then, and announced that since there did not seem to be anything he could do, he thought he would be getting back to Liskeard. He wanted to know where his mother was, and when he heard what had taken her down to the stables, he looked rather startled, and said that he hoped to God nothing had happened to Raymond. “Perhaps I’d better wait to see that he’s all right,” he said. “I’ll go and see what they’re doing about sending out to search for him.”
“He’ll turn up all right,” replied Conrad indifferently.
However, Clifford continued to look grave, and took himself off to join Clara. They both returned half-an hour later, with little to report, except that Bart had sent several grooms off in various directions, and had himself ridden up towards the Moor.
“One of the men saw him by the Upper Paddock, watching the colts,” said Clifford. “But that was some hours ago! I can’t make out where he can possibly have gone to. He hasn’t been to the stud-farm, according to Mawgan. The whole thing is utterly incomprehensible!”
“Oh, I hope there isn’t more trouble comin’ upon us!” Clara said, her gaunt countenance wrinkled into lines of foreboding.
Charmian, who had been sitting apart from the others, reading a book, looked up to say dryly: “Well, if you’re wise, you won’t say anything about this to Faith, until we discover just what has happened. Judging by what I can see of the state she’s in, I should say that she’d go into hysterics on the slightest provocation.”
“Lord, Faith wouldn’t worry her head over Ray!” Conrad said scornfully.
“Listen! What’s that?” Clara said sharply.
“Only Ingram,” Conrad answered, recognising the halting tread.
The door was thrust open; Ingram, his florid countenance strangely pale, and an expression of scarcely controlled excitement in his eyes, came in, and swallowed twice before he could manage to speak. “My God!” he uttered, dragging his handkerchief from his pocket, and passing it over his face. “Have you heard? No, I know you haven’t. Gosh, I can’t get over it!”
He was so obviously struggling under the burden of strong emotion that even Eugene was roused from his pose of languid boredom. “Well, what is it?” he demanded. “Don’t stand there gobbling at us, Ingram!”
“Ray!” Ingram jerked out. “Ray!”
“Yes, dear, we’ve already grasped that you have come to tell us something about Ray,” said Aubrey kindly. “Has he attempted to fly the country, or what?”
“He’s shot himself!”
A moment’s shocked, incredulous silence greeted this announcement. Conrad broke it. “Christ.”
Clara gave a moan, and collapsed on to the sofa, rocking herself dumbly to and fro. Charmian sprang up from her chair. “It isn’t possible!”
“I tell you he has! Good God, you don’t think I’d make up such a story, do you? What do you take me for? It’s true!”
