He had no
companions, of course, but there were always animals around him. He had
the look of a man who had suffered."
"He was to have gone to Australia," Brooks said. "It was from there
that we expected news from him. I cannot see what possible reason he
had for changing his plans. There was no mystery about his life in
London. It was one splendid record of self-denial and devotion to what
he thought his duty."
"From what he told me," his vis-a-vis continued, handing again his
cigarette-case, and looking steadily into the fire, "he seems to have
left England with the secret determination never to return. But why I
do not know. One thing is certain. His mental state was not altogether
healthy. His desire for solitude was almost a passion. Towards the
end, however, his mind was clear enough. He told me about your mother
and you, and he handed me all the papers, which I subsequently sent to
London. He spoke of no trouble, and his transition was quite peaceful."
"It was a cruel ending," Brooks said, quietly. "There were people in
London whom he had befriended who would have worked their passage out
and faced any hardships to be with him.
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