Her hands, too, were
peculiar--long, flexible, white, with a strange movement as of waving
gently to and fro. She appeared quite at ease, and, after thanking Adam, said that if any of
his uncle's party were going to Liverpool she would be most happy to join
forces. "Whilst you are staying here, Mr. Salton, you must look on the grounds of
Diana's Grove as your own, so that you may come and go just as you do in
Lesser Hill. There are some fine views, and not a few natural
curiosities which are sure to interest you, if you are a student of
natural history--specially of an earlier kind, when the world was
younger." The heartiness with which she spoke, and the warmth of her words--not of
her manner, which was cold and distant--made him suspicious. In the
meantime both his uncle and Sir Nathaniel had thanked her for the
invitation--of which, however, they said they were unable to avail
themselves. Adam had a suspicion that, though she answered regretfully,
she was in reality relieved. When he had got into the carriage with the
two old men, and they had driven off, he was not surprised when Sir
Nathaniel spoke. "I could not but feel that she was glad to be rid of us. She can play
her game better alone!" "What is her game?" asked Adam unthinkingly. "All the county knows it, my boy. Caswall is a very rich man. Her
husband was rich when she married him--or seemed to be. When he
committed suicide, it was found that he had nothing left, and the estate
was mortgaged up to the hilt. Her only hope is in a rich marriage. I
suppose I need not draw any conclusion; you can do that as well as I
can." Adam remained silent nearly all the time they were travelling through the
alleged Vale of Cheshire. He thought much during that journey and came
to several conclusions, though his lips were unmoved. One of these
conclusions was that he would be very careful about paying any attention
to Lady Arabella. He was himself a rich man, how rich not even his uncle
had the least idea, and would have been surprised had he known. The remainder of the journey was uneventful, and upon arrival at
Liverpool they went aboard the _West African_, which had just come to the
landing-stage. There his uncle introduced himself to Mr. Caswall, and
followed this up by introducing Sir Nathaniel and then Adam. The new-
comer received them graciously, and said what a pleasure it was to be
coming home after so long an absence of his family from their old seat. Adam was pleased at the warmth of the reception; but he could not avoid a
feeling of repugnance at the man's face. He was trying hard to overcome
this when a diversion was caused by the arrival of Lady Arabella. The
diversion was welcome to all; the two Saltons and Sir Nathaniel were
shocked at Caswall's face--so hard, so ruthless, so selfish, so dominant. "God help any," was the common thought, "who is under the domination of
such a man!" Presently his African servant approached him, and at once their thoughts
changed to a larger toleration. Caswall looked indeed a savage--but a
cultured savage. In him were traces of the softening civilisation of
ages--of some of the higher instincts and education of man, no matter how
rudimentary these might be. But the face of Oolanga, as his master
called him, was unreformed, unsoftened savage, and inherent in it were
all the hideous possibilities of a lost, devil-ridden child of the forest
and the swamp--the lowest of all created things that could be regarded as
in some form ostensibly human. Lady Arabella and Oolanga arrived almost
simultaneously, and Adam was surprised to notice what effect their
appearance had on each other. The woman seemed as if she would not--could
not--condescend to exhibit any concern or interest in such a creature. On
the other hand, the negro's bearing was such as in itself to justify her
pride. He treated her not merely as a slave treats his master, but as a
worshipper would treat a deity. He knelt before her with his hands out-
stretched and his forehead in the dust. So long as she remained he did
not move; it was only when she went over to Caswall that he relaxed his
attitude of devotion and stood by respectfully. Adam spoke to his own man, Davenport, who was standing by, having arrived
with the bailiff of Lesser Hill, who had followed Mr. Salton in a pony
trap. As he spoke, he pointed to an attentive ship's steward, and
presently the two men were conversing. "I think we ought to be moving," Mr. Salton said to Adam. "I have some
things to do in Liverpool, and I am sure that both Mr. Caswall and Lady
Arabella would like to get under weigh for Castra Regis." "I too, sir, would like to do something," replied Adam. "I want to find
out where Ross, the animal merchant, lives--I want to take a small animal
home with me, if you don't mind. He is only a little thing, and will be
no trouble." "Of course not, my boy. What kind of animal is it that you want?" "A mongoose." "A mongoose! What on earth do you want it for?" "To kill snakes." "Good!" The old man remembered the mound of stones. No explanation was
needed. When Ross heard what was wanted, he asked:

"Do you want something special, or will an ordinary mongoose do?" "Well, of course I want a good one. But I see no need for anything
special. It is for ordinary use." "I can let you have a choice of ordinary ones. I only asked, because I
have in stock a very special one which I got lately from Nepaul. He has
a record of his own. He killed a king cobra that had been seen in the
Rajah's garden. But I don't suppose we have any snakes of the kind in
this cold climate--I daresay an ordinary one will do." When Adam got back to the carriage, carefully carrying the box with the
mongoose, Sir Nathaniel said: "Hullo! what have you got there?" "A mongoose." "What for?" "To kill snakes!" Sir Nathaniel laughed. "I heard Lady Arabella's invitation to you to come to Diana's Grove." "Well, what on earth has that got to do with it?" "Nothing directly that I know of. But we shall see." Adam waited, and
the old man went on: "Have you by any chance heard the other name which
was given long ago to that place." "No, sir." "It was called--Look here, this subject wants a lot of talking over. Suppose we wait till we are alone and have lots of time before us." "All right, sir." Adam was filled with curiosity, but he thought it
better not to hurry matters. All would come in good time. Then the
three men returned home, leaving Mr. Caswall to spend the night in
Liverpool. The following day the Lesser Hill party set out for Castra Regis, and for
the time Adam thought no more of Diana's Grove or of what mysteries it
had contained--or might still contain. The guests were crowding in, and special places were marked for important
people. Adam, seeing so many persons of varied degree, looked round for
Lady Arabella, but could not locate her.