It must not be thought that Herrick took his discovery calmly. He suffered greatly on learning the worthlessness of the man he had so trusted. He had saved Robin's life by nursing him through a dangerous illness, and had been attracted by his ambition to become a great novelist. He had also tried to make a man of him by strengthening his will and mending his nerves, being sorry for the tortured creature. But since the man was so inherently bad Herrick sternly cut himself off from him. He waited only to be certain of the worst to cast Robin out of his life. But until he was certain, he gave him the benefit of the doubt. It was a painful position, but Jim set his teeth and stuck to it. The journey to town was a complete failure. Herrick watched at Hyde Park Corner all day, and thereby incurred the unjust suspicions of the police. But he saw neither the eccentrically-dressed individual, who had described himself in the cipher, nor the ex-sailor, whom he hoped to recognise by his monstrous stoutness, and if chance offered, by the scar on his forehead. Neither one of them came to the rendezvous, so Dr. Jim returned to Saxham a sadder but not a wiser man. Bess consoled him. "They must have got some suspicion that they were being watched," she said, "sooner or later another of these ciphers will appear in the paper and you will have a chance of catching them." "Humph!" said Jim disbelieving, "if they are suspicious, they will make some other arrangements for you see, they must have guessed that in some way I had solved the cipher. It is all darkness and mystery," said Herrick vexedly. "For the time being at all events I intend to put it out of my head." This he did and with considerable success. There was much to do at "The Pines" and with its new master. The estate had to be put in order, more servants had to be engaged with the assistance of Ida, and the walls and fences had to be put up again. Also the new vault was rapidly approaching completion and Stephen hoped to have his uncle's body removed into it before Christmas. In the meantime he did not neglect to go monthly and even weekly to the family sepulchre to see that all was safe. As yet nothing had been disturbed. Stephen began to think that the necessity of protecting the body of the wicked Colonel was all moonshine. But Herrick knew better. He still believed in the existence of a conspiracy, and kept his eyes and ears open. It was well in these days, that Marsh-Carr had so watchful a guardian.