It is certain that it did not diminish her
appetite for the coffee and the scrambled eggs, nor prevent her from
chatting a good deal about her approaching wedding.
But it was very different with Raffles Haw. The incident had shocked
him to his inmost soul. He had often feared lest his money should do
indirect evil, but here were crime and madness arising before his very
eyes from its influence. In vain he tried to choke down his
feelings, and to persuade himself that this attack of old McIntyre's was
something which came of itself--something which had no connection with
himself or his wealth. He remembered the man as he had first met him,
garrulous, foolish, but with no obvious vices. He recalled the change
which, week by week, had come over him--his greedy eye, his furtive
manner, his hints and innuendoes, ending only the day before in a
positive demand for money. It was too certain that there was a chain of
events there leading direct to the horrible encounter in the laboratory.
His money had cast a blight where he had hoped to shed a blessing.
Mr. Spurling, the vicar, was up shortly after breakfast, some rumour of
evil having come to his ears. It was good for Haw to talk with him, for
the fresh breezy manner of the old clergyman was a corrective to his own
sombre and introspective mood.
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