|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 93
"Never."
"Hm. Tell me, Mr. Camber, where were you at twelve o'clock last night?"
"Here, writing."
"And where was Ah Tsong?"
"Ah Tsong?" Colin Camber stared uncomprehendingly. "Ah Tsong was in
bed."
"Oh. Did anything disturb you?"
"Yes, the sound of a rifle shot."
"You knew it for a rifle shot?"
"It was unmistakable."
"What did you do?"
"I was in the midst of a most important passage, and I should probably
have taken no steps in the matter but that Ah Tsong knocked upon the
study door, to inform me that my wife had been awakened by the sound of
the shot. She is somewhat nervous and had rung for Ah Tsong, asking him
to see if all were well with me."
"Do I understand that she imagined the sound to have come from this
room?"
"When we are newly awakened from sleep, Mr. Harley, we retain only an
imperfect impression of that which awakened us."
"True," replied Paul Harley; "and did Ah Tsong return to his room?"
"Not immediately. Permit me to say, Mr. Harley, that the nature of your
questions surprises me. At the moment I fail to see their bearing upon
the main issue. He returned and reported to my wife that I was writing,
and she then requested him to bring her a glass of milk. Accordingly,
he came down again, and going out into the kitchen, executed this
order."
"Ah. He would have to light a candle for that purpose, I suppose?"
"A candle, or a lamp," replied Colin Camber, staring at Paul Harley.
Then, his expression altering: "Of course!" he cried. "You saw the
light from Cray's Folly? I understand at last."
We were silent for a while, until:
"How long a time elapsed between the firing of the shot and Ah Tsong's
knocking at the study door?" asked Harley.
"I could not answer definitely. I was absorbed in my work. But probably
only a minute or two."
"Was the sound a loud one?"
"Fairly loud. And very startling, of course, in the silence of the
night."
"The shot, then, was fired from somewhere quite near the house?"
"I presume so."
"But you thought no more about the matter?"
"Frankly, I had forgotten it. You see, the neighbourhood is rich with
game; it might have been a poacher."
"Quite," murmured Harley, but his face was very stern. "I wonder if you
fully realize the danger of your position, Mr. Camber?"
"Believe me," was the reply, "I can anticipate almost every question
which I shall be called upon to answer."
Paul Harley stared at him in a way which told me that he was comparing
his features line for line with the etching of Edgar Allen Poe which
hung in his office in Chancery Lane, and:
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|