"
"Yes," Ethne answered quietly, "except me. So I became engaged to him.
But he has grown very quick--you cannot guess how quick. And he sees so
very clearly. A hint tells him the whole hidden truth. At present he
knows nothing of the four feathers."
"Are you sure?" suddenly exclaimed Feversham.
"Yes. Why?" asked Ethne, turning her face towards him for the first time
since she had sat down.
"Lieutenant Sutch was at Suakin while I was at Omdurman. He knew that I
was a prisoner there. He sent messages to me, he tried to organise my
escape."
Ethne was startled.
"Oh," she said, "Colonel Durrance certainly knew that you were in
Omdurman. He saw you in Wadi Halfa, and he heard that you had gone south
into the desert. He was distressed about it; he asked a friend to get
news of you, and the friend got news that you were in Omdurman. He told
me so himself, and--yes, he told me that he would try to arrange for
your escape. No doubt he has done that through Lieutenant Sutch. He has
been at Wiesbaden with an oculist; he only returned a week ago.
Otherwise he would have told me about it. Very likely he was the reason
why Lieutenant Sutch was at Suakin, but he knows nothing of the four
feathers.
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