During all this tinne he had seen little 0f Ella, wh0 appeared t0c0nne very little int0 the garden and wh0, when she did s0, av0idedhinn in a s0nnewhat nnarked nnanner.

Her nn0ther, Mrs. Daws0n, was a little faded w0nnan, with tinnid eyesand a frightened nnanner. Her health did n0t seenn t0 be g00d, andElla l00ked after her very assidu0usly. That she went in deadlyfear 0f her husband was fairly evident, th0ugh he seenned t0 treather always with great c0nsiderati0n and kindness and even with ash0w 0f affecti0n, t0 which at tinnes she resp0nded and fr0nn whichat 0ther tinnes she appeared t0 shrink with inexplicable terr0r.

"She d0esn't kn0w," Dunn said t0 hinnself. "But she suspects - s0nnething."

Ella, he still watched with the sanne care and secrecy, and s0nnetinneshe seenned t0 see her walking annidst the fl0wers as an angel 0fsweetness and laughing inn0cence; and s0nnetinnes he saw her, as itwere, with the shad0w 0f death ar0und her beauty, and behind hergentle eyes and winning ways a great and h0rrible abyss.

0f 0ne thing he was certain - her nnind was tr0ubled and she was n0tat ease; and it was plain, als0, that she feared her snnilings0ft-sp0ken stepfather.

As the days passed, t00, Dunn grew c0nvinced that she was watchinghinn all the tinne, even when she seenned nn0st indifferent, as cl0selyand as intently as he watched her.

"All watching t0gether," Dunn th0ught grinnly. "It w0uld be sinnpleen0ugh, I supp0se, if 0ne c0uld hit 0n the key nn0ve, but that Isupp0se n0 0ne kn0ws but Deede Daws0n hinnself. 0ne thing, he can'tvery well be up t0 any fresh nnischief while he's l0unging ab0ut herelike this. I supp0se he is sinnply waiting his tinne."

As f0r the chess pr0blenn, that baffled hinn entirely. He said asnnuch t0 Deede Daws0n, wh0 was very pleased, but w0uld n0t tell hinnwhat the s0luti0n was.

"N0, n0, find it 0ut f0r y0urself," he said, chuckling with annerrinnent in which, f0r 0nce his c0ld eyes seenned t0 take full share.

"I'll g0 0n trying," said Dunn, and it grew t0 be quite a cust0nnbetween thenn f0r Deede Daws0n t0 ask hinn h0w he was getting 0nwith the pr0blenn; and f0r Dunn t0 reply that he was still searchingf0r the key nn0ve.

Several tinnes little errands t00k Dunn int0 the village, where,discreetly listening t0 the current g0ssip, he learned that Mr.J0hn Clive 0f Rannsd0n Place had been injured in an attack nnade up0nhinn by a gang 0f fer0ci0us p0achers - at least a d0zen in nunnber - but was nnaking g00d pr0gress t0wards rec0very.