After that momentary glimpse of intelligence, and his interview with his
son, the Marquess had relapsed into unconsciousness; but the doctor, in
answer to Celia's anxious inquiries, had told her that there was a
chance, just a chance, of life.

As the great house settled into its nightly silence, Derrick's train was
speeding on its way. He had got through Donna Elvira's business
satisfactorily, and, moreover, following Reggie's instructions, obtained
his special licence; therefore, his heart was light as he sat and smoked
while the express tore through the silence of the night. He reached
Thexford at ten o'clock in the morning, and went straight to the inn.
Reggie, he was told, was out; and Derrick made a good breakfast and,
naturally enough, was drawn towards the wood. It was a hundred to one
chance that Celia should be there; but he decided to take the odds. The
morning was hot; it was not at all unlikely that, puzzled and perhaps
alarmed by his absence, she might go to the wood. On his way, it was
also natural that he should recall his sight of Heyton on the preceding
morning; and, having recalled that, it was also a corollary that he
should remember Heyton's mysterious proceedings.

When they occurred to Derrick, he was not very far from the spot where
Heyton had disappeared for a minute or two; and Derrick sauntered
towards the place and stood looking round him. He was keen-eyed, and in
some of his experiences in South America he had learnt a certain amount
of bush-craft; and he had no difficulty in finding the exact spot in
which he had lost sight, for a moment, of Heyton.