"
"I have no doubt the face was there," he said, gravely; "but I do not
think it will come again, so long as Brenda is alive. Nevertheless, I
should be careful. Desperate men are capable of desperate deeds."
The first post next morning brought me a letter from Mr. Craven, which
proved Mr. Harringford entertained for the present no intention of
proceeding to extremities with me.
He had been in Buckingham Street, so said my principal, and offered to
buy the freehold of River Hall for twelve hundred pounds.
Mr. Craven thought he might be induced to increase his bid to fifteen
hundred, and added: "Miss Blake has half consented to the arrangement,
and Miss Elmsdale is eager for the matter to be pushed on, so that the
transfer may take place directly she comes of age. I confess, now an
actual offer has been made, I feel reluctant to sacrifice the property
for such a sum, and doubt whether it might not be better to offer it for
sale by auction--that is, if you think there is no chance of your
discovering the reason why River Hall bears so bad a name. Have you
obtained any clue to the mystery?"
To this I replied in a note, which Munro himself conveyed to the office.
"I have obtained an important clue; but that is all I can say for the
present.
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