And as Claudius thought of it, his teeth set, and he looked capable of breaking any number of necks, then and there.
But for all his wrath and his suspicions, the real cause of Barker's strange behaviour never presented itself to his mind.

It never struck him that Barker could aspire to Margaret's hand; and he merely concluded that the young man had laid a plot for getting his money.

If any one had related to Claudius the scene which took place at Mrs.Van Sueindell's the very night when he sent his telegram, he would have laughed the story to scorn in perfect good faith, for he could not have believed it possible.

Nor, believing it, would he have cared.

And so he rushed across Europe, and never paused till he had locked himself into his stateroom on board the steamer, and had begun a long letter to Margaret.