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240 "None that I know of," I said, still rather uneasy in my mind. "Were you out in the garden, Arthur?"

"I? No."

"I thought I heard the window open?"

"My dear Elsie," he said, "why should I go into the garden by the window? You forget I am not strong enough yet to jump. If I wanted a walk, I should suggest an airing in a proper way." Arthur's manner was by no means reassuring.

"Then the window was not open?" I asked carelessly.

He hesitated a moment. "No," he replied, "it was not."

The matter was certainly not worth pursuing any further, I could have sworn that I had heard the window shut, but then perhaps my imagination, stimulated by a locked door, may have led me into error.

That night Arthur informed me he would accompany me to America any time I chose. I was delighted, and thought of nothing but the probable success of our journey away from scenes fraught with so many painful associations.