He was about to raise his cup to his lips, having removed his old briar pipe and laid it in the ash-tray, when Mrs Bentley tapped and, re-entering, said:

"There's Miss Sandys to see you, sir."

The rector rose and, rather surprised, ordered his visitor to be shown in.

Next moment from the square stone hall the pretty young girl, warmly clad in furs, entered the room.

She met the eyes of the grey old man, and after a second's pause said:

"I have to apologise for this intrusion, Mr Homfray, but--well, I have seen in the paper that your son is missing. He went out on Sunday night, it is said, and has not been seen since."

"That is so, Miss Sandys," replied the old man, offering her a chair beside the fire. "As you may imagine, I am greatly concerned at his disappearance."

"Naturally. But I have come here, Mr Homfray, to speak to you in confidence," said the girl hesitatingly. "Your son and I were acquainted, and--"

"I was not aware of that, Miss Sandys," exclaimed the rector, interrupting her.

"No. I do not expect that he told you. My father does not know either.

But we met quite casually the other day, and last Sunday we again met accidentally after church and he walked home with me. I suppose it was half-past nine when we parted."

"There was no reason why he should not return home, I suppose?" asked Mr Homfray eagerly.

"None whatever. In wishing me good-bye he told me that he might be leaving here very soon, and perhaps we might not have another opportunity of meeting before he went. I thanked him for walking so far with me, and we parted the best of friends."

"He said he would be leaving Little Farncombe very soon, did he?"

remarked the rector thoughtfully.

"Yes. I understood from him that he was obtaining, or had obtained, a concession to prospect for a deposit of emeralds somewhere in the Atlas Mountains, in Morocco."

"That is true. Some ancient workings are known to exist somewhere in the wild Wad Sus region, and through a friend he has been in treaty with the Moorish Government, with the hope of obtaining the concession. If he found the mine which is mentioned by several old Arabic writers it would no doubt bring him great fortune."

"Yes. But where can he be?"

"Who knows, Miss Sandys!" exclaimed the distracted father blankly.

"He must be found," declared the girl. "He left me to return home.

What could possibly have occurred to prevent him from carrying out his intention?"

What indeed, reflected the old man, except perhaps that he met Gordon Gray and perhaps left for London with him? He was now more than ever inclined to believe the rather vague story told by the village tobacconist.

"Yes, Miss Sandys, he must be found. I have now asked the police to circulate his description, and if he is alive no doubt he will be discovered."

"You surely don't suspect that something tragic has happened to him--for instance, that he has met with foul play?" cried the girl.

"It certainly looks like it, or he would no doubt have set my mind at rest by this time," replied his father.

By the girl's anxiety and agitation he saw that she was more than usually concerned regarding his son's whereabouts. He had had no idea that Roddy was acquainted with the daughter of the great financier who had purchased Lord Farncombe's estates. Yet, after all, he reflected, Roddy was a fine, handsome boy, therefore what more natural than the pair should become attracted by each other.

He saw that the girl was uneasy, and was not surprised when she said:

"I trust, Mr Homfray, that you will treat what I have told you in entire confidence. My father does not approve of my making chance acquaintances. I got into an awful row a little time ago about it. I know he would not object to my knowing your son if we had been properly introduced. But, you see, we were not!" she laughed.

"I quite understand," said the old rector, smiling. "One day I hope you will be properly introduced to my son when we find him."

"We must, Mr Homfray. And we will!" cried the pretty young girl determinedly.

"Ah!" exclaimed the old man, his thin fingers clasped before him. "If we only could. Where can my boy be?"

Elma Sandys rose a few moments later, and taking the old man's hand urged patience and courage, and then walked down the hill and back to the Towers full of grave reflections.

She was the last person to see and speak with the alert, athletic young man who had so suddenly and strangely come into her life. At Park Lane she met many young men-about-town, most of them wealthy and all of them idlers, but no second thought had she given to a single one of them. As she walked she examined her own mind, and was compelled to admit that thoughts of Roddy Homfray now absorbed her.

The mystery of his disappearance after bidding her farewell had gripped her, heart and soul.

During the two days that followed the description of Roderick Homfray, the young mining engineer, was circulated to every police station in the country, and all constables in London and the great cities had had that description read out to them before going on duty. There was scarcely a police constable in the United Kingdom who did not know it by heart, with the final words of the official notice: "The missing man is greatly interested in wireless telephony, of which he has a deep and scientific knowledge."

That sentence had been added by the Surrey County Constabulary in case the young man might be hiding from his friends, and might betray himself by his expert knowledge of radio science.

Of the woman Freda Crisp, or of Gordon Gray, old Mr Homfray had heard nothing. The whole village sympathised with him in his distress, and, of course, all sorts of rumours--some of them cruel indeed--were afloat.

Fortunately Elma's name was not coupled with Roddy's, for with the exception of the rector n.o.body knew of their acquaintance. Yet some ill-natured gossip, a low-bred woman at the end of the village, started a story connecting Roddy with a young married woman who had left her husband a fortnight before, gone to London, and disappeared.

This cruel story was not long in reaching Elma's ears, and though she disbelieved it, nevertheless it naturally caused her both wonder and anger.

On the afternoon of the third day after the circulation of the description of the missing young man, a stout, pleasant-faced lady named Boydon chanced to read it in the paper, and then sat staring before her in wonderment.

Then, after a few moments, she rose, crossed the room, and rang the telephone.

A few seconds later she was speaking with a Mr Edwards, and asked him to come along to see her upon an important matter, to which he at once consented.

Now Miss Boydon was the matron of the Cottage Hospital at Pangbourne, a pretty Thames-side village well known to river folk as being one of the prettiest reaches in Berkshire, and Mr Edwards was the local police sergeant of the Berks. Constabulary, and lived at the other end of the long wide village street which led out upon the Reading road.

Ten minutes later Edwards, a portly, rather red-faced man, arrived on his bicycle, and on entering the matron's room, his helmet in his hand, was shown the description.

"By jove, miss?" he exclaimed. "I believe it's him! We've had the notice at the station, but I never connected him with it!"

"Neither did I--until now," declared the stout Miss Boydon. "He only became conscious this morning--and now he tells us a rambling and altogether incoherent story. Personally I think he's slightly demented.

That's what the doctor thought when he saw him at noon. He's waiting to see his condition to-night."

"Well, the description is exactly like him," declared the sergeant, re-reading it. "When he was brought into the station the other night I took him to be intoxicated. Then when Doctor Maynard saw him, he ordered him here."

"The doctor thinks he is suffering from drugs," said the matron. "He has been unconscious ever since he was brought here, nearly a week ago, and now he certainly has not regained his senses. He talks wildly about a girl who was murdered in a wood and died in his arms. Apparently he is suffering from delusions."

"In any case, miss, I think I ought to telegraph to Guildford that a young man answering the description is here, don't you think so?"

"I should not be in too great a hurry if I were you, Edwards," was the reply. "Wait until Doctor Maynard has seen him again. We shall probably know more to-night. I've ordered nurse to keep him quite quiet and listen to his stories as though she believes every word."

"The young man is missing from a place called Little Farncombe, in Surrey," said the sergeant. "I wonder how he came to be lying on the tow-path at the foot of Whitchurch Bridge? He must have been there all night, for one of the men working on the Thames Conservancy dredger found him when on his way to work at six o'clock on Tuesday morning."

"All clues to his ident.i.ty have been removed," remarked the matron.