"She has sold out nearly all her liquor," the girl informed him. "And
as there was scarcely anything to do, she allowed me to come away and
visit Mrs. Kind. I wish you would come also, doctor. Rachel is still
weak."
"I'll come," replied Browne, mechanically, as he was keeping his eye
on a tri-car--Lagonda make--which was slowly surging past them. The
next minute he swore loudly, for, although there was ample room, the
chauffeur insisted on crushing both himself and Elspeth against the
barbed wire fence, with painful results. "Here, confound you," cried
the doctor irritably. "Look out where you are going."
The occupant--the sole one besides the chauffeur--was a
dark-complexioned woman in the prime of life, with a haughty face, and
quite an aristocratic air. She was richly and fashionably dressed in
some lustreless black material, which she wore with infinite grace.
From her large, melting, dark eyes, and her olive complexion, together
with the strange fact that she was smoking a cigarette in public,
Browne thought that she was a Spaniard--a foreigner at least. But she
appeared to understand English, for on hearing his none too gentle
language, she turned her proud face in his direction, and taking the
cigarette from between her full red lips, flung it fairly in his face.
Then at a word from her--a foreign word--the car shot forward down the
road, leaving a vile smell behind. In another minute, the Lagonda was
speeding towards the station, so rapidly that Browne was unable to
follow, much as he wanted to. However, he shook his fist, and picked
up the stump of the cigarette, which had fallen at his feet.
"I wish I had caught sight of the number of that beastly machine,"
snapped the irascible little man. "I'd bring that woman into court and
have her fined. Good Lord, to think that this--this," he shook the
cigarette stump in Elspeth's face,--"should be thrown at me. I wish I
could,--hullo!" he stopped and examined the cigarette earnestly.
"Tangerian! Tangerian, as I'm a sinner."
"What do you mean?" asked Elspeth, astonished at his expression.
"Mean!" bellowed the doctor, seeing that no one was within earshot,
"why, I mean that this is a foreign cigarette, unknown in England."
"Well?"
"Well! Kind picked up a similarly marked cigarette stump in Herries'
bedroom, and it was dropped there by the murderer. That woman is,--she
is,--I say,--stop,--stop!" and Dr. Browne, brandishing his umbrella,
ran in a wild manner after the vanishing tri-car, shouting like a Red
Indian on the warpath.
CHAPTER XI
LOVERS