When he spoke it was to accept defeat jauntily. 'You _are_ my jinx, young man. I said it all along. You're really set on my going? Say no more. I'll go. After all, it's quiet at the inn, and what more does a man want at my time of life?' I went out into the garden to interview Audrey. She was walking up and down on the tennis-lawn. The Nugget, lounging in a deck-chair, appeared to be asleep. She caught sight of me as I came out from the belt of trees, and stopped. I had the trying experience of walking across open country under hostile observation. The routing of Sam had left me alert and self-confident. I felt no embarrassment. I greeted her briskly. 'Good afternoon. I have been talking to Sam Fisher. If you wait, you will see him passing away down the drive. He is leaving the house. I am coming back.' 'Coming back?' She spoke incredulously, or, rather, as if my words had conveyed no meaning. It was so that Sam had spoken. Her mind, like his, took time to adjust itself to the unexpected. She seemed to awake to my meaning with a start. 'Coming back?' Her eyes widened. The flush deepened on her cheeks. 'But I told you--' 'I know what you told me. You said you did not trust me. It doesn't matter. I am coming back whether you trust me or not. This house is under martial law, and I am in command. The situation has changed since I spoke to you last night. Last night I was ready to let you have your way. I intended to keep an eye on things from the inn. But it's different now. It is not a case of Sam Fisher any longer. You could have managed Sam. It's Buck MacGinnis now, the man who came that night in the automobile. I saw him in the village after I left you. He's dangerous.' She looked away, past me, in the direction of the drive. I followed her gaze. A stout figure, carrying a suit-case, was moving slowly down it. I smiled. Her eyes met mine, and I saw the anger that had been lying at the back of them flash out. Her chin went up with the old defiant tilt. I was sorry I had smiled. It was my old fault, the complacency that would not be hidden. 'I don't believe you!' she cried. 'I don't trust you!'