Suddenly he was checked by the sound of voices, which seemed to come from a lower level just in front of him.

Cautiously he stepped forward, till he could see through hazel bushes that there was a steep descent before him.

Below, two persons were engaged in conversation, and he could hear every word.
The two were Adela and Hubert Eldon.

Adela had come to sit for the last time in the green retreat which was painfully dear to her.

Her husband's absence gave her freedom; she used it to avoid the Rodmans and to talk with herself.