第160章 Dreeing Out the Inch (5)

"All right, little son Eric," he said, with a sigh."We understand each other."But she went upstairs feeling miserable about him, and an hour or two later, when all the house was silent, her feeling of coming trouble grew so much that at length she yielded to one of those strange, blind impulses which come to some people and crept noiselessly out on to the dark landing.At first all seemed to her perfectly still and perfectly dark; but, looking down the narrow well of the staircase, she could see far below her a streak of light falling across the tiles in the passage.She knew that it must come from beneath the door of the study, and it meant that her father was still at work.He had owned to having a bad headache, and had promised not to be late.It was perplexing.She stole down the next flight of stairs and listened at Tom's door; then, finding that he was still about, knocked softly.Tom, with his feet on the mantel piece, was solacing himself with a pipe and a novel; he started up, however, as she came in.

"What's the matter?" he asked, "is any one ill?""I don't know," said Erica, shivering a little."I came to know whether father had much to do tonight; did he tell you?""He was going to write to Jackson about a situation for the eldest son of that fellow who died the other day, you know; the widow, poor creature, is nearly worried out of her life; she was here this afternoon.The chieftain promised to see about it at once; he wouldn't let me write, and of course a letter from himself will be more likely to help the boy.""But it's after one o'clock," said Erica, shivering again; "he can't have been all this time over it.""Well, perhaps he is working at something else," said Tom."He's not been sleeping well lately, I know.Last night he got through thirty-three letters, and the night before he wrote a long pamphlet."Erica did not look satisfied.

"Lend me your stove for a minute," she said; "I shall make him a cup of tea."They talked a little about the curious failure of memory noticed for the first time that evening.Tom was more like himself than he had been for several days; he came downstairs with her to carry a light, but she went alone into the study.He had not gone up the first flight of stairs, however, when he heard a cry, then his own name called twice in tones that made him thrill all over with a nameless fear.He rushed down and pushed open the study door.

There stood Erica with blanched face; Raeburn sat in his customary place at the writing table, but his head had fallen forward and, though the face was partly hidden by the desk, they could see that it was rigid and deathly pale.