Chapter 14

THE SPREAD OF THE BLIGHT.

It may be that Laura did not look upon the removal of her father as an
unmixed misfortune. Nothing was said to her as to the manner of the old
man's seizure, but Robert informed her at breakfast that he had thought
it best, acting under medical advice, to place him for a time under some
restraint. She had herself frequently remarked upon the growing
eccentricity of his manner, so that the announcement could have been no
great surprise to her. It is certain that it did not diminish her
appetite for the coffee and the scrambled eggs, nor prevent her from
chatting a good deal about her approaching wedding.

But it was very different with Raffles Haw. The incident had shocked
him to his inmost soul. He had often feared lest his money should do
indirect evil, but here were crime and madness arising before his very
eyes from its influence. In vain he tried to choke down his
feelings, and to persuade himself that this attack of old McIntyre's was
something which came of itself--something which had no connection with
himself or his wealth. He remembered the man as he had first met him,
garrulous, foolish, but with no obvious vices. He recalled the change
which, week by week, had come over him--his greedy eye, his furtive
manner, his hints and innuendoes, ending only the day before in a
positive demand for money. It was too certain that there was a chain of
events there leading direct to the horrible encounter in the laboratory.
His money had cast a blight where he had hoped to shed a blessing.

Mr. Spurling, the vicar, was up shortly after breakfast, some rumour of
evil having come to his ears. It was good for Haw to talk with him, for
the fresh breezy manner of the old clergyman was a corrective to his own
sombre and introspective mood.

"Prut, tut!" said he. "This is very bad--very bad indeed! Mind
unhinged, you say, and not likely to get over it! Dear, dear! I have
noticed a change in him these last few weeks. He looked like a man who
had something upon his mind. And how is Mr. Robert McIntyre?"

"He is very well. He was with me this morning when his father had this
attack."

"Ha! There is a change in that young man. I observe an alteration in
him. You will forgive me, Mr. Raffles Haw, if I say a few serious words
of advice to you. Apart from my spiritual functions I am old enough to
be your father. You are a very wealthy man, and you have used your
wealth nobly--yes, sir, nobly. I do not think that there is a man in a
thousand who would have done as well. But don't you think sometimes
that it has a dangerous influence upon those who are around you?"

"I have sometimes feared so." "We may pass over old Mr.