Day had already come, when a sharp "Hist!" sounded from the
thicket. I started from the ground; but the voice of Northmour was
heard adding, in the most tranquil tones: "Come here, Cassilis,
and alone; I want to show you something."
I consulted Clara with my eyes, and, receiving her tacit
permission, left her alone, and clambered out of the den. At some
distance of I saw Northmour leaning against an elder; and, as soon
as he perceived me, he began walking seaward. I had almost
overtaken him as he reached the outskirts of the wood.
"Look," said he, pausing.
A couple of steps more brought me out of the foliage. The light of
the morning lay cold and clear over that well-known scene. The
pavilion was but a blackened wreck; the roof had fallen in, one of
the gables had fallen out; and, far and near, the face of the links
was cicatrised with little patches of burnt furze. Thick smoke
still went straight upwards in the windless air of the morning, and
a great pile of ardent cinders filled the bare walls of the house,
like coals in an open grate. Close by the islet a schooner yacht
lay to, and a well-manned boat was pulling vigorously for the
shore.
"The RED EARL!" I cried. "The RED EARL twelve hours too late!"
"Feel in your pocket, Frank. Are you armed?" asked Northmour.
I obeyed him, and I think I must have become deadly pale. My
revolver had been taken from me.
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