Featherstone looked disturbed by her boldness, but Foster felt a thrill.  Alice was on his side and meant to show the others her confidence in his honesty.  He wondered what Featherstone would do, and was not surprised when he made a gesture of resignation.  Foster knew his comrade well, and imagined that Featherstone was very like Lawrence.  The latter was physically brave, but sometimes gave way to moral pressure and vacillated when he should be firm.  Both showed a certain lack of rude stamina; they were, so to speak, too fine in the grain.  Foster, however, had other things to think about, and indeed felt rather like a culprit brought before his judges.  Then Mrs. Featherstone relieved the unpleasant tension.

“We have not heard from Lawrence yet and do not understand it.  Can you do anything to set our fears at rest?”

“I’m sorry I can’t,” said Foster, and seeing he must deal with the matter boldly, asked Featherstone:  “Have you any ground for believing I have not been frank?”

“It is an awkward question.  You are our guest and my son sent you to us.  I must add that we had begun to like you for your own sake; but I have grounds for supposing that you kept something back.  To begin with, Daly, whom you told us you meant to mislead, was here again yesterday.”

“Did you give way to his demands?  It’s important that I should know.”

Featherstone hesitated, and Foster saw where his suspicions led, but for the next moment or two was absorbed by speculations about Daly’s visit.  Then Alice looked at her father with a smile.

“You can tell Mr. Foster.  It’s obvious that if he was in league with the fellow he would have no need to ask.”

“I did not give way,” said Featherstone.  “He must have seen that I was determined, because after the first I thought he did not press me very hard.”

“Ah!” said Foster; “that was curious, but we’ll let it go in the meantime.  I suppose there is something else?”

“Since you left, the police have paid me another visit.  They asked some rather strange questions, besides inquiring where you were.”

“Which you couldn’t tell them!”

“I didn’t know,” Featherstone rejoined pointedly, and Foster saw that Alice had said nothing about his recent visit.  She gave him an inquiring glance, as if she wondered why he did not state his reasons for going to Newcastle, but he looked as unobservant as he could.  He could not signal her, because while this might escape his host’s notice he was afraid of Mrs. Featherstone.

“Well,” he said, “it might be better if you, so to speak, formulated your suspicions and made a definite charge.  After all, I’m entitled to hear it.”