Whether Lewis Gordon spoke truth or not regarding the part he had to
play, there could be no doubt that Dan found his anything but sorry. A
subdued sort of radiance softened yet brightened the man as he came out
to ask Rose for the loan of her _dandy_, Mrs. Boynton being anxious to
get home as soon as possible. There seemed no need for words; the
situation explained itself, and even Lewis, looking at his rival's
eager face, could not help acknowledging that Dan was more likely to
give Gwen the support she evidently needed than he was. Besides, the
sudden change for the future seemed lost sight of in that, which the
opportune arrival of the Ayodhya pot had on the present, and on
Chandni's impudent claim. It was of course clear evidence against the
truth of the story so far as Gwen was concerned, but whether it would
prevent the woman raking up the true facts of George Keene's death, out
of sheer wanton malice, was another thing. Lewis felt himself rather
helpless before the phenomenon of such a nature as hers, and confessed
as much when Dan came racing back, breathless and excited after seeing
Mrs. Boynton safely home, for a council of war. He brought a quick
decision and intuition with him. The sluice had been opened by
treachery of course, and now that he was free to speak of his
engagement, Dan told the story of the open locket, which to him seemed
proof-positive that George had voluntarily taken the blame on himself
when thrown off his balance by the discovery that the happiness of the
man and the woman he loved best in the world depended on Dan's getting
his promotion. How the sluice had been opened was another matter.
Chandni had always said by means of a key made after an impression sent
from Simla; but this was manifestly impossible unless some servant had
done it. Indeed he had never paid much attention to this assertion, for
the woman in making it had contradicted herself more than once, and
evidently had no definite story as to how the impression had been
secured. In his own mind he had decided that the key itself had been
stolen from the boy while he slept so heavily, and that the knowledge
that this was so had had the lion's share in bringing about his
self-sacrifice. So that even if the real facts came out, nothing beyond
carelessness could be laid to George's charge, now that the potter was
there to prove that Azizan had had the Ayodhya pot all the time, and
that they were there to prove that the pearls had remained in the pot.
So much for Chandni and the only possible cause of further action--a
woman's wanton cruelty. For the rest, the old Diwan was dead, Khush-hal
seemed to be out of it, and Dalel had everything to lose and nothing to
gain by a scandal. Finally, these intrigues were always as a house of
cards; remove one support and the whole structure disappeared.