Comethup waited for some moments and then followed him; discovered from the servant the number of Brian's room, and ran up the stairs. Without pause of any kind he knocked sharply at the door, turned the handle, and went in. His cousin had divested himself of his coat and waistcoat, and was evidently preparing to dress for the evening; he turned round quickly on hearing the movement at the door, and looked in astonishment at his visitor. Then gradually a smile stole over his face, and he cried out to Comethup with great cordiality: "Why, my dear boy, what on earth does this mean? How did you discover me? I thought I was hidden from all the world." "Yes," said Comethup, "I suppose you did. I have been searching for you for nearly three days. I followed you home just now." Something in his voice caused Brian's face to change; the mirthful light went out of it, and his lips, so pleasantly smiling a moment before, became a hard, thin line. He advanced a little from the dressing table where he had been standing, and looked at the other with a frown. "What the devil should you follow me for? What do you want?" Comethup backed away to the door, turned the key in the lock, and dropped the key in his pocket. His voice was very cool and steady when he spoke, only in his own ears it sounded as though some one else were speaking far away. "There's something I want to say to you--something that must be said now. Are you listening?" "Damn your impudence!" cried the other. "You were always a crack-brained fellow. What's your game now, that you force your way into my room like this and lock me in? Do you want to murder me?" "I am not quite sure," said Comethup, with a strange little laugh. "It might come to that, perhaps; it depends upon yourself--Come away from that bell"--for Brian had made a dash at the white electric button in the wall--"or, by God, I'll strangle you before any one can get this door open! And I'm a stronger man than you are; I've had a better training." Brian came back to the dressing table in a sidelong, furtive fashion, watching Comethup narrowly. "Well, what do you wish? I don't want to have a scene, and I may tell you that I have no time to waste. I'm going out." "Not yet," replied Comethup. "You've lots of time before we catch the night train." "The night train!" echoed Brian. "What the devil do I want with the night train?" "To take you back to London," said Comethup calmly. "I'm just going to explain, and it will be well for you to listen quietly. I know that it's quite useless to appeal to you; I've learned that long since. So now I'll put it more brutally, and tell you what you _must_ do." "Go on," said Brian sneeringly; "when one deals with a madman I suppose the best way is to humour him; at least I've always been told so."