"It will be waiting for you at the corner of the first road past the house, on the way from London. You will not speak to the chauffeur and he will not speak to you. In the car you will find sufficient money for your immediate needs. Is there any necessity to explain further?" "None whatever, monsieur," said the soft voice, and Raoul dropped his head on one side as though he were sleeping. As for the colonel, he did not simulate slumber, but passed into dreamland, sleeping quietly and calmly, with a look of benevolence upon his big face. The only other occupant of the cooling room, a big-framed man who was reading a newspaper, closed his eyes too--but he did not sleep. CHAPTER XVII SOLOMON COMES BACK At nine o'clock that night the colonel, in immaculate evening-dress, sat playing double-dummy bridge with his two companions. In the light of the big shaded lamp overhead there was something particularly peaceful and innocent in their occupation. No word was spoken save of the game. It was a quarter to nine, noted the colonel, looking at the little French clock on the mantelpiece. He rose, walked to the window and looked out. It was a stormy night and the wind was howling down the street, sending the rain in noisy splashes against the window panes. He grumbled his satisfaction and returned to the table. "Did you see the paper?" asked Pinto presently. "I saw the paper," said the colonel, not looking up from his hand. "I make a point of reading the newspapers." "You see they've made a feature of----" "Mention no names," said the colonel. "I know they've made a feature about it. So much the better. Everything depends----" It was as he spoke that Solomon White came into the room. Boundary knew it was he before the door handle turned, before the hum of voices in the hall outside had ceased, but it was with a great pretence of surprise that he looked up. "Why, if it isn't Solomon White!" he said. The man was haggard and sick-looking. He had evidently dressed in a hurry, for his cravat was ill-tied and the collar gaped. He strode slowly up to the table and Boundary's manservant, with a little grin, closed the door. "Where have you been all this time, Solomon?" asked Boundary genially. "Sit you down and play a hand." "You know why I've come," breathed Solomon White. "Surely I know why you've come. You've come to explain where you've been, old boy. Sit down," said Boundary. "Where is my daughter?" asked White. "Where is your daughter?" repeated the colonel. "Well, that's a queer question to ask us. _We've_ been saying where is Solomon White all this time." "I've been to Brighton," said the man, "but that's nothing to do with it." "Been at Brighton? A very pleasant place, too," said Boundary. "And what were you doing at Brighton?"