he could venture to speak to Mrs. Wilder again about the night of the
29th of July, and implore her to let him know if she had seen Heath with
Absalom.

It seemed, judging by what Atkins had heard, that Heath was paying for
silence, and Hartley disliked the idea of working up evidence against
the Padré. The more he thought of it the less he liked it, and yet his
duty and his sense of responsibility would not let him rest. Mrs. Wilder
had said that she had seen Heath and Absalom, and had then refused to
say anything more, but Hartley saw in her reserve a suggestion of
further knowledge that could not be ignored or denied.

Mhtoon Pah was quieter for the moment. He believed that Leh Shin was
being cautiously tracked, and the pointing image had held no further
traces of bloodshed upon his yellow hands. Hartley had grown to loathe
the grinning figure, and to loathe the whole tedious, difficult tragedy
of the lost boy. If it had lain in the native quarter he could have
found interest in the excitement of the chase, but if it ramified into
the Cantonment, Hartley had no mind for it. He was a man first, a
sociable, kindly man, and, later, an officer of the law.




VIII

SHOWS HOW THE CLOAK OF DARKNESS OF ONE NIGHT HIDES MANY EMOTIONS, AND
MRS. WILDER IS FRANKLY INQUISITIVE