And in pondering the matter, the fact that he had spared that man's life became a greater puzzle to me than ever.

Depressing, too, the thought that if he did so stop on, it was because he considered the measures he had taken for his own safety as effective as death itself, and he was undoubtedly a shrewd and far-thinking man.

That meant that my chances of ever turning up again in Sercq were small indeed.

And, on the other hand, if a wholesome discretion drove him to the point of flitting, I had reason enough to fear for Carette.

He had vowed his son should have her, and both father and son were men who would stick at nothing to gain their ends.
So my thoughts were black enough.