He was thinking of his cabin--and the priceless achievement of his last months of work, his manuscript.

If Quade should destroy that---- He clenched his hands and walked swiftly toward his camp.

To "burn out" an enemy was one of Quade's favourite methods of retaliation.

He had heard this.

He also knew that Quade's work was done so cleverly that the police had been unable to call him to account.
Quade's status had interested Aldous from the beginning.