And indeed if I were to tell you all that I know you might not be
very much the wiser after all. I would have you understand this,
however--that my father is as sane as you or I, and that he has very
good reasons for living the life which he does. I may add that his wish
to remain secluded does not arise from any unworthy or dishonourable
motives, but merely from the instinct of self-preservation."
"He is in danger, then?" I ejaculated.
"Yes; he is in constant danger."
"But why does he not apply to the magistrates for protection?" I asked.
"If he is afraid of any one, he has only to name him and they will bind
him over to keep the peace."
"My dear West," said young Heatherstone, "the danger with which my
father is threatened is one that cannot be averted by any human
intervention. It is none the less very real, and possibly very
imminent."
"You don't mean to assert that it is supernatural," I said
incredulously.
"Well, hardly that, either," he answered with hesitation. "There." he
continued, "I have said rather more than I should, "but I know that you
will not abuse my confidence. Good-bye!"
He look to his heels and was soon out of sight round a curve in the
country road.
A danger which was real and imminent, not to be averted by human means,
and yet hardly supernatural--here was a conundrum indeed!
I had come to look upon the inhabitants of the Hall as mere eccentrics,
but after what young Mordaunt Heatherstone had just told me, I could no
longer doubt that some dark and sinister meaning underlay all their
actions.
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