"
I have been drawn here into reminiscence that did not, at the
time, detain me in the hall. What my sister had discovered to
me, following Major Carrington's remark, left me distinctly
uneasy. It was very nearly two miles to the village, the road
was wholly forest and there would be no house on the way; for my
father, with an utter disregard for cost, had sought the
seclusion of a large acreage when he had built this absurdly
elaborate villa on Mount Desert Island.
Besides I was in no mood for sleep.
And, over all probability, there might be some not entirely
imaginary danger to Madame Barras. Not precisely the danger
presented in Major Carrington's pleasantry, but the always
possible danger to one who is carrying a sum of money about. It
would be considered, in the world of criminal activities, a very
large sum of money; and it had been lying here, as of no value,
in a drawer of the library table since the day on which the gold
certificates had arrived on my check from the Boston bank.
Madame Barras had not taken the currency away as I imagined. It
was extremely careless of her, but was it not an act in
character?
What would such a woman know of practical concern?
I spoke to the butler.
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