Part 27 (1/2)

She put her hand on his arm.

'If you loved me, I implore you to go. You don't know what you expose me to. And when I'm dead you must marry Susie. She loves you with all her heart, and she deserves your love.'

'Margaret, don't go. Come with me.'

'And take care. He will never forgive you for what you did. If he can, he will kill you.'

She started violently, as though she heard a sound. Her face was convulsed with sudden fear.

'For G.o.d's sake go, go!'

She turned from him quickly, and, before he could prevent her, had vanished. With heavy heart he plunged again into the bracken.

When Arthur had given his friends some account of this meeting, he stopped and looked at Dr Porhoet. The doctor went thoughtfully to his bookcase.

'What is it you want me to tell you?' he asked.

'I think the man is mad,' said Arthur. 'I found out at what asylum his mother was, and by good luck was able to see the superintendent on my way through London. He told me that he had grave doubts about Haddo's sanity, but it was impossible at present to take any steps. I came straight here because I wanted your advice. Granting that the man is out of his mind, is it possible that he may be trying some experiment that entails a sacrifice of human life?'

'Nothing is more probable,' said Dr Porhoet gravely.

Susie shuddered. She remembered the rumour that had reached her ears in Monte Carlo.

'They said there that he was attempting to make living creatures by a magical operation.' She glanced at the doctor, but spoke to Arthur. 'Just before you came in, our friend was talking of that book of Paracelsus in which he speaks of feeding the monsters he has made on human blood.'

Arthur gave a horrified cry.

'The most significant thing to my mind is that fact about Margaret which we are certain of,' said Dr Porhoet. 'All works that deal with the Black Arts are unanimous upon the supreme efficacy of the virginal condition.'

'But what is to be done?' asked Arthur is desperation. 'We can't leave her in the hands of a raving madman.' He turned on a sudden deathly white. 'For all we know she may be dead now.'

'Have you ever heard of Gilles de Rais?' said Dr Porhoet, continuing his reflections. 'That is the cla.s.sic instance of human sacrifice. I know the country in which he lived; and the peasants to this day dare not pa.s.s at night in the neighbourhood of the ruined castle which was the scene of his horrible crimes.'

'It's awful to know that this dreadful danger hangs over her, and to be able to do nothing.'

'We can only wait,' said Dr Porhoet.

'And if we wait too long, we may be faced by a terrible catastrophe.'

'Fortunately we live in a civilized age. Haddo has a great care of his neck. I hope we are frightened unduly.'

It seemed to Susie that the chief thing was to distract Arthur, and she turned over in her mind some means of directing his attention to other matters.

'I was thinking of going down to Chartres for two days with Mrs Bloomfield,' she said. 'Won't you come with me? It is the most lovely cathedral in the world, and I think you will find it restful to wander about it for a little while. You can do no good, here or in London.

Perhaps when you are calm, you will be able to think of something practical.'

Dr Porhoet saw what her plan was, and joined his entreaties to hers that Arthur should spend a day or two in a place that had no a.s.sociations for him. Arthur was too exhausted to argue, and from sheer weariness consented. Next day Susie took him to Chartres. Mrs Bloomfield was no trouble to them, and Susie induced him to linger for a week in that pleasant, quiet town. They pa.s.sed many hours in the stately cathedral, and they wandered about the surrounding country. Arthur was obliged to confess that the change had done him good, and a certain apathy succeeded the agitation from which he had suffered so long. Finally Susie persuaded him to spend three or four weeks in Brittany with Dr Porhoet, who was proposing to revisit the scenes of his childhood. They returned to Paris.

When Arthur left her at the station, promising to meet her again in an hour at the restaurant where they were going to dine with Dr Porhoet, he thanked her for all she had done.

'I was in an absurdly hysterical condition,' he said, holding her hand.