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 in the death or capture of some notorious malefactor, was vexing his brain. She had watched the spreading of the net without troubling him with questions about the meshes. So now, though inwardly disquieted by this recrudescence of the professional instinct, she abstained from worrying him, confident that the veteran would achieve his purpose as ruthlessly as the zealous young captain of thirty years ago.

Without demur the ordering of the carriage was agreed to, and when it came round at the appointed hour the Sadgroves were reinforced by Mrs. Sherman and Leonie, who, at a hint from the General, had been induced to accompany them. During the drive the General fidgeted a good deal about the pace at which his fine pair of bays was being driven, and once or twice checked the coachman; but his wife, who had learned to notice trifles, observed also that he frequently consulted his watch, and concluded that his anxiety was not entirely on the score of his cattle. Of this she was assured when, as the equipage turned into the courtyard of the hotel, he replaced his watch with a scarcely audible sigh of relief. What was it for which they were neither too late nor too early, she wondered.