And this being
decided, what could he do with Ravengar? Retain him under lock and key?
Why? To what end? Such illegal captivities were not practicable for long
in London. Besides, they were absurd, melodramatic, and futile. As the
moments passed and the fumes of a murderous intoxication gradually
cleared away, Hugo had regained his natural, sagacious perspective, and
he had perceived that there was only one thing to do with Ravengar.
He let Ravengar go. He showed him politely out.
It was an anti-climax, but the incalculable and peremptory processes of
the heart often result in an anti-climax.
The night was cold and damp, as the morning had been, and Hugo shivered,
but not with cold. He shivered in the mere exciting eagerness of
anticipation. He had chosen the drawing-room window because the panes
were very large. He found it perfectly simple, by means of the treacled
cardboard which he carried, to force in the pane noiselessly. He pushed
aside the blind, and crept within the room. So simple was it to violate
the will of a dead man, and the solemnly affixed seals of his executor!
He had arranged that the pane should be replaced before dawn, and the
new putty darkened to match the rest. Thus, no trace would remain of the
burglarious entry.
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