"Ah! The faithful Ambrose--do you want me, Sault?" His tone was mild, he seemed to wilt under the steady gaze of the man in the doorway. Ambrose Sault beckoned and the drunken intruder shuffled out, shamefaced, fearful. "Quite an interesting evening," said Sir John Maxton as he closed the car door on the Mervilles that night. VII Two days later Sir John Maxton made an unexpected call upon the doctor and it occurred to him that he might also have made an unwelcome appearance; for he interrupted a tête-à-tête. "I thought I should find the doctor in. Well, Ronnie, how are you after all these years?" Ronnie was relieved to see him--that was the impression which the lawyer received. And Beryl, although she was her sweet, equable self, would gladly have excused his presence. Maxton had an idea that he had surprised them in the midst of a quarrel. The girl was flushed and her eyes were unusually bright. Ronnie's countenance was clouded with gloom. Sir John was sensitive to atmosphere. "No, I really won't stay, I wanted to have a chat with the doctor about the extraordinary story he told us the other night. I was dining with the Lord Chief and some other judges last night and, without mentioning names, of course, I repeated the story. They were remarkably interested, Berham says that he had heard of such a case--" "What is all this about?" asked Ronnie curiously. "You didn't tell me anything, Beryl. Who, what and where is the 'case'?" "Mr. Sault," she said shortly. "Oh, Sault! He is an extraordinary fellow--I must meet him. They say that he cannot read or write." "Is that a fact?" Sir John Maxton looked at the girl. "Yes--I believe so. Ronnie on the contrary is in the way of becoming a famous writer, Sir John." "So I hear." He wondered why she had so deliberately and so abruptly brought the conversation into another channel. Ronald Morelle, for his part, was not inclined to let the subject drift. "It is quaint how that coon intrigues you all," he said, "oh, yes, he is colored. You haven't seen him, John, or you wouldn't ask that question." "I have seen him; it did not appear to me that he was colored--he has a striking face." "At any rate, he seems to have struck you and Beryl all of a heap," said Ronnie smiling. "Really I must meet him. Are you going, Sir John?" Maxton was taking his farewell of the girl. "Because if you are, I'll walk a little way with you. 'Bye, Beryl." "Goodbye, Ronnie," she said quietly. Once in the street Maxton asked: "What is the matter with you and Beryl?" "Nothing--Beryl is just a little grandmotherly. She went to the theatre last night with some people and she spotted me in a box." "I see," said Sir John drily, "and of course you were not alone in the box." "Why on earth should I be?" demanded the other. "Beryl is really unreasonable. She swore that my friend was a girl she had seen me with in the park." "And who was it--is that a discreet question?"