"There was something else though. . . ." he said, searching in his confused and troubled mind. "Ah! I remember, now! Those glands!" "For Heaven's sake," I shouted, "leave 'em alone until you've had breakfast. You've all the day before you." "That's true, George!" "Don't start getting excited again." "Was I?" "I should think you were indeed! Look at that brandy bottle." He did as he was told, but was evidently still mystified as to exactly what had happened. "Have I--been drinking?" he asked, with a chuckle. "No! I had to _pour_ the stuff down your throat." "But why?" "Because--my dear old great-grandfather--you nearly fainted." "You don't say so! Good job it didn't happen in the States. I might have died!" He treated the matter so flippantly that I found it difficult to keep my temper. "It's not advisable to start the day with so much excitement," I pointed out. "It's bad for the appetite--especially yours." "Never felt better in my life, George!" ("That's the brandy!" I thought.) He stood up, a little shakily perhaps, but certainly with no indication that he had stumbled so near to Death's door. "I must take it quietly to-day," he said, realizing his weakness now that he was on his feet again. I encouraged him in this idea, hoping that by the following morning he would have forgotten the whole affair, and when I left to catch my train there seemed to be every likelihood of this fervent desire being fulfilled. To-morrow, he would be nodding by the fireside as of old, and glands and monkeys and professors would all be part of a very hazy and negligible past. It was a consoling thought, but, unfortunately, events shaped themselves quite differently. When I arrived home about six o'clock the following evening there was an air of consternation in the home. Nanny and Molly both met me at the door with long, solemn faces. "Hullo!" I exclaimed. "What's the matter with you two?" The first to answer was the dear old soul who had taken the place of both nurse and mother to Molly for practically the whole of the child's life. "Have you seen anything of Mr. Hadley?" she asked. "No!" "He went out just after lunch to get some tobacco and hasn't come back yet." "That's strange. He's not usually out so long as that, is he?" "He's never been away more than about an hour at a time before." "Didn't he _say_ anything, Nanny?" "Only that he wanted some more tobacco." I went into the dining-room, intending to glance through the evening post before proceeding further, and, as I picked up the first letter, my eye suddenly fell on the old man's pouch lying on the mantelpiece. I stepped over to it and pinched it. "This is very peculiar!" I said. "Here is his pouch--simply bursting with 'baccy.'" "Well, I never!" exclaimed Nanny. "I must go out and see if I can find him. If not, we must communicate with the police at once." "Can I come with you, Daddy?" cried Molly. "If you're quick."