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me. The first is, what do I think of it? I'm not prepared at present to say. I should like myself to witness the phenomena you have described. The second and more important point relates to the immediate present and to Mrs. Saxon. You are rightly anxious about her. I think you ought to have someone in the house whom you can trust. Not a nurse, I don't suggest that for a moment, but a cheerful companion.'
Saxon told him of the invitation that had been sent to Miss Hordern, the medical missionary, who was a cousin of his wife.
`Excellent!' he said; `an admirable person to have with you at this juncture. When she comes, I should very much like to have a talk with her.'
Their conversation was brought to an end by the entrance of Mrs. Saxon, who reminded Luttrell that he must not go without seeing her garden.
`And what about the new addition to my lab.?' said Andrew. `We'll go back that way. It won't take us more than a few minutes.'
The minutes, however, lengthened out, as Andrew dilated on the beauties of his new equipment, half-forgetful in his enthusiasm of the dark cloud which hung over him. He was busy explaining a rather complicated piece of apparatus to Luttrell, when they were startled by the noise of something falling and the sound of broken glass.
`I'm awfully sorry, my dear fellow,' said Luttrell. `It was inexcusably clumsy of me. I knocked it off the bench in turning.'
`Richard,' shouted Saxon, and there was something curiously hard in his voice, `leave that job you are doing at once, and come and clear up this mess. A bottle of sulphuric acid has broken on the floor. Molly, dear, you go on. We'll be with you in a minute. I just want to see that the boy knows what to do.'
`Luttrell,' he said, when they were alone, `you lied like a gentleman. But she threw that vitriol. You couldn't see her from where you were, but I could. The bottle came from there,' and he pointed to an empty place in the shelf at the