" His fleshy bulk afforded a
certain prima-facie confirmation of the dictum.
With a roll more suggestive of the quarter-deck than the saddle, the
great man bore off O'Moy in quest of material consolation. Yet as
they went the adjutant's eyes raked the ballroom in quest of his
wife. That quest, however, was unsuccessful, for his wife was
already in the garden.
"I want to talk to you most urgently, Ned. Take me somewhere where
we can be quite private," she had begged the captain. "Somewhere
where there is no danger of being overheard."
Her agitation, now uncontrolled, suggested to Tremayne that
the matter might be far more serious and urgent than Miss Armytage
had represented it. He thought first of the balcony where he had
lately been. But then the balcony opened immediately from the
ante-room and was likely at any moment to be invaded. So, since
the night was soft and warm, he preferred the garden. Her ladyship
went to find a wrap, then arm in arm they passed out, and were lost
in the shadows of an avenue of palm-trees.
"It is about Dick," she said breathlessly.
"I know - Miss Armytage told me."
"What did she tell you?"
"That you had a premonition that he might come to you for assistance.
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