Louis was dimly aware that the district already had talked, but he was not aware to what extent it had talked. Neither he nor anybody else was aware how the secret had escaped out of the house. Mrs. Tarns would have died rather than breathe a word. Rachel, naturally, had said naught; nor had Louis. Old Batchgrew had decided that his highest interest also was to say naught, and he had informed none save Julian. Julian might have set the secret free in South Africa, but in a highly distorted form it had been current in certain strata of Five Towns society long before it could have returned from South Africa. The rough, commonsense verdict of those select few who had winded the secret was simply that "there had been some hanky-panky," and that beyond doubt Louis was "at the bottom of it," but that it had little importance, as Mrs. Maldon was dead, poor thing. As for Julian, "a rough customer, though honest as the day," he was reckoned to be capable of protecting his own interests. And then, amid all his apprehensions, a new hope sprouted in Louis' mind. Perhaps Julian was acquainted with some fact that might lead to the recovery of a part of the money. Had Louis not always held that the pile of notes which had penetrated into his pocket did not represent the whole of the nine hundred and sixty-five pounds? Conceivably it represented about half of the total, in which case a further sum of, say, two hundred and fifty pounds might be coming to Louis. Already he was treating this two hundred and fifty pounds as a windfall, and wondering in what most pleasant ways he could employ it!... But with what kind of fact could Julian be acquainted?... Had Julian been dishonest? Louis would have liked to think Julian dishonest, but he could not. Then what ...? He heard movements above. And the front gate creaked. As if a spring had been loosed, he jumped from the chair and ran upstairs--away from the arriving Julian and towards his wife. Rachel was just getting up. "Don't trouble," he said. "I'll see him. I'll deal with him. Much better for you to stay in bed." He perceived that he did not want Rachel to hear what Julian had to say until after he had heard it himself. Rachel hesitated. "Do you think so?... What have you been doing? I thought you were coming up again at once." "I had one or two little things--" A terrific knock resounded on the front door. "There he is!" Louis muttered, as it were aghast. CHAPTER XI JULIAN'S DOCUMENT I