He had looked forward to exhibiting and expounding these features to his friend Mr Burnett, and felt considerably disappointed when upon the morning of the day when the minister should have come, a telegram arrived instead. It ran--
"Unavoidably prevented from coming to stay with you. Shall explain later. Many regrets. Don"t trouble reply. Leaving home immediately.
"BURNETT."
As Mr Drummond studied this telegram he began to feel not only disappointed but a trifle critical.
"Alec Burnett must have come into a fortune!" he said to himself. "Six words--the whole of threepence--wasted in telling me not to reply! As if I"d be spending my money on anything so foolish. I never saw such extravagance!"
On the following morning Mr Drummond was as usual up betimes. He had retired a year or two before from a responsible position in an insurance office, but he still retained his active business habits, and by eight o"clock every morning of the summer was out and busy in his garden. It still wanted ten minutes to eight, and he was just b.u.t.toning up his waistcoat when he heard the front-door bell ring. A minute or two later the maid announced that Mr Topham was desirous of seeing Mr Drummond immediately.
"Mr Topham?" he asked.
"He"s a Navy Officer, sir," said the maid.
Vaguely perturbed, Mr Drummond hurried downstairs, and found in his study a purposeful-looking young man, with the two zigzag stripes on his sleeve of a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve.
"Mr Drummond?" he inquired.
"The same," said Mr Drummond, firmly yet cautiously.
"You expected a visit from a Mr Burnett yesterday, I believe?"
"I had been expecting him till I got his wire."
"His wire!" exclaimed Lieutenant Topham. "Did he telegraph to you?"
"Yes: he said he couldn"t come."
"May I see that telegram?"
Caution had always been Mr Drummond"s most valuable a.s.set.
"Is it important?" he inquired.
"Extremely," said the lieutenant a trifle brusquely.
Mr Drummond went to his desk and handed him the telegram. He could see Topham"s eyebrows rise as he read it.
"Thank you," he said when he had finished. "May I keep it?"
Without waiting for permission, he put it in his pocket, and with a grave air said--
"I am afraid I have rather serious news to give you about Mr Burnett."
"Dear me!" cried Mr Drummond. "It"s not mental trouble, I hope? That was a queer wire he sent me!"
"He didn"t send you that wire," said Lieutenant Topham.
"What!" exclaimed Mr Drummond. "Really--you don"t say so? Then who did?"
"That"s what we"ve got to find out."
The lieutenant glanced at the door, and added--
"I think we had better come a little farther away from the door."
They moved to the farther end of the room and sat down.
"Mr Burnett has been knocked on the head and then nearly drowned," said the lieutenant.
Mr Drummond cried aloud in horror. Topham made a warning gesture.
"This is not to be talked about at present," he said in a guarded voice. "The facts simply are that I"m in command of a patrol-boat, and last night we were off the Berwickshire coast when we found your friend in the water with a bad wound in his head and a piece of cord tied round his feet."
"You mean some one had tried to murder him?" cried Mr Drummond.
"It looked rather like it," said Topham drily.
"And him a minister too!" gasped Mr Drummond.
"So we found later."
"But you"d surely tell that from his clothes!"
"He had no clothes when we found him."
"No clothes on! Then do you mean----"
"We took him straight back to the base," continued the lieutenant quickly, "and finally he came round and was able to talk a little.
Then we learned his name and heard of you, and Captain Blacklock asked me to run up and let you know he was safe, and also get you to check one or two of his statements. Mr Burnett is naturally a little light-headed at present."
Mr Drummond was a persistent gentleman.
"But do you mean you found him with no clothes on right out at sea?"
"No; close under the cliffs."
"Did you see him fall into the water?"
"We heard a cry, and picked him up shortly afterwards," said the lieutenant, rather evasively, Mr Drummond thought.
"However, the main thing is that he will recover all right. You can rest a.s.sured he is being well looked after."
"I"d like to know more about this," said Mr Drummond with an air of determination.
"So would we," said Topham drily, "and I"d just like to ask you one or two questions, if I may. Mr Burnett was on his way to the Windy Islands, I believe?"