The Zeppelins Passenger | Page 8

mean by this
extraordinary behaviour?" she demanded.
"It is my earnest intention to do so without delay," he assured her, his
eyes apparently rivetted upon Philippa. "Kindly pardon me."
He held out his arm to stop Helen, who, with her eye upon the bell, had
made a stealthy attempt to slip past him. Her eyes flashed as she felt his
fingers upon her arm.
"How dare you attempt to stop me!" she exclaimed.
"My dear Miss Fairclough," he remonstrated, "in the interests of all of
us, it is better that we should have a few moments of undisturbed
conversation. I am taking it for granted that I have the pleasure of
addressing Miss Fairclough?"
There was something about the man's easy confidence which was, in its
way, impressive yet irritating. Helen appeared bereft of words and

retreated to her place almost mildly. Philippa's very delicate eyebrows
were drawn together in a slight frown.
"You are acquainted with our names, then?"
"Perfectly," was the suave reply. "You, I presume, are Lady Cranston? I
may be permitted to add," he went on, looking at her steadfastly, "that
the description from which I recognise you does you less than justice."
"I find that remark, under the circumstances, impertinent," Philippa told
him coldly.
He shrugged his shoulders. There was a slight smile upon his lips and
his eyes twinkled.
"Alas!" he murmured, "for the moment I forgot the somewhat unusual
circumstances of our meeting. Permit me to offer you what I trust you
will accept as the equivalent of a letter of introduction."
"A letter of introduction," Philippa repeated, glancing at his disordered
clothes, "and you come in through the window!"
"Believe me," the intruder assured her, "it was the only way."
"Perhaps you will tell me, then," Philippa demanded, her anger
gradually giving way to bewilderment, "what is wrong with my front
door?"
"For all I know, dear lady," the newcomer confessed, "yours may be an
excellent front door. I would ask you, however, to consider my
appearance I have been obliged to conclude the last few miles of my
journey in somewhat ignominious fashion. My clothes - they were
quite nice clothes, too, when I started," he added, looking down at
himself ruefully - " have suffered. And, as you perceive, I have lost my
hat."
"Your hat?" Helen exclaimed, with a sudden glance at Nora's trophy.
"Precisely! I might have posed before your butler, perhaps, as

belonging to what you call the hatless brigade, but the mud upon my
clothes, and these unfortunate rents in my garments, would have
necessitated an explanation which I thought better avoided. I make
myself quite clear, I trust?"
"Clear?" Philippa murmured helplessly.
"Clear?" Helen echoed, with a puzzled frown.
"I mean, of course," their visitor explained, "so far as regards my
choosing this somewhat surreptitious form of entrance into your
house."
Philippa shrugged her shoulders and made a determined move towards
the bell. The intruder, however, barred her way. She looked up into his
face and found it difficult to maintain her indignation. His expression,
besides being distinctly pleasant, was full of a respectful admiration.
"Will you please let me pass?" she insisted.
"Madam," he replied, "I am afraid that it is your intention to ring the
bell."
"Of course it is," she admitted. "Don't dare to prevent me."
"Madam, I do not wish to prevent you," he assured her. "A few
moments' delay - that is all I plead for."
"Will you explain at once, sir," Philippa demanded, "what you mean by
forcing your way into my house in this extraordinary fashion, and by
locking that door?"
"I am most anxious to do so," was the prompt reply. "I am correct, of
course, in my first surmise that you are Lady Cranston - and you Miss
Fairclough?" he added, bowing ceremoniously to both of them. "A very
great pleasure! I recognised you both quite easily, you see, from your
descriptions."
"From our descriptions?" Philippa repeated.

The newcomer bowed.
"The descriptions, glowing, indeed, but by no means exaggerated, of
your brother Richard, Lady Cranston, and your fianc=82, Miss
Fairclough."
"Richard?" Philippa almost shrieked.
"You have seen Dick?" Helen gasped.
The intruder dived in his pockets and produced two sealed envelopes.
He handed one each simultaneously to Helen and to Philippa.
"My letters of introduction," he explained, with a little sigh of relief. "I
trust that during their perusal you will invite me to have some tea. I am
almost starving."
The two women hastened towards the lamp.
"One moment, I beg," their visitor interposed. "I have established, I
trust, my credentials. May I remind you that I was compelled to ensure
the safety of these few minutes' conversation with you, by locking that
door. Are you likely to be disturbed?"
"No, no! No chance at all," Philippa assured