you?”
“Yes. I don’t know. There was only candlelight. I don’t think I noticed whether it was clear or not. David! I hope you’ve told Mrs. Daley not to use the well water!” She sat up, frightened.
“What do you suggest we use for water, then?”
“We get big cases of spring water, for use when the well isn’t tasting right and we are waiting for it to be tested. Please tell Mrs. Daley to use that!”
“I shall, indeed, though the water didn’t upset anyone as much as it did you. Now, stop getting so excited. You’ve got to rest. Have you forgotten this is the day before Christmas and tonight is Christmas Eve?”
Laura groaned. “Oh, what a mess I’ve caused! I had everything planned so wonderfully! David, do give me something, so that I can go down to dinner and join the celebration.”
“You won’t need anything. But you had a bad — attack. There was blood, Laura, which I could see clearly, even by the candlelight from the bedroom. Now, I want you to listen carefully. Don’t take any medicine, not even that soda in your bathroom, or anything else, until I’ve sampled it. I want to be sure that everything you eat and drink is all right. And keep under those covers. I can’t see for the life of me,” he said irritably, “why you didn’t install an auxiliary system in this outpost.”
“You’re so kind, David.” Laura smiled at him. “Poor Henry. Did he have a terrible scare? I don’t know what I’d have done without him during all that.”
“In what way?”
“Well, his holding me so tight, when I was being so sick, and whispering to me, and everything.” Her pale cheeks colored a little.
“Good for old Henry,” David said. He hesitated, then patted her hand. “I’ll bring up your breakfast tray, personally. Alice can take over later.”
He went into the freezing hall, and looked at Henry’s closed door, wondering if he were downstairs. Cautiously he turned the knob and looked inside. The room was empty. He heard water running in a bathroom, and closed the door. That could be the explanation. Shrugging his shoulders, he went downstairs, eager for a cup of coffee.
But Henry was not in the adjoining bathroom. He had made certain that John Carr was having his breakfast, and had listened to him joking with Mrs. Daley in the dining room. Then he had gone into John’s room, closing the door behind him. I’m not used to this sort of thing, he thought. He opened the clothes-closet door where John’s clothes were hanging neatly on the hangers, and felt one pair of trousers. They were wet. Bending down, he examined a pair of shoes, which were black and stained with moisture. He stood up, trembling violently. The suitcase was on its rack, but closed. He hardly expected it to be unlocked, but it was. He lifted the lid quickly. A gun lay on top of a couple of books and a robe which had not been taken out. The gun was heavy and smelled faintly of cordite. He examined the cylinder. There were five bullets; the sixth was missing. He ejected one of the bullets. It was a forty-five, and looked exactly like the one which had been fired at him.
He dropped the gun back into the suitcase and slipped out of the room. There was no doubt about it. John Carr had fired that gun at him; he had climbed out of the window of the room in the attic. Reaching the corner of the house, he had only to brace himself against the roof and half-turn to see the woodshed. Henry had made a perfect target. The bullet had missed him by a few inches. John Carr had tried to kill him!
But why? He had come to him, on business, three weeks ago by the purest accident. If old Mr. Bancroft had not been taken sick, Henry would not now be handling Carr’s affairs.
Henry had not been entirely satisfied at the glib and easy explanations offered so far. He was, by nature, a man who questioned everything. He had trusted no one in his life except Laura, and he trusted her absolutely. She sometimes did foolish and childish
“Yes. I don’t know. There was only candlelight. I don’t think I noticed whether it was clear or not. David! I hope you’ve told Mrs. Daley not to use the well water!” She sat up, frightened.
“What do you suggest we use for water, then?”
“We get big cases of spring water, for use when the well isn’t tasting right and we are waiting for it to be tested. Please tell Mrs. Daley to use that!”
“I shall, indeed, though the water didn’t upset anyone as much as it did you. Now, stop getting so excited. You’ve got to rest. Have you forgotten this is the day before Christmas and tonight is Christmas Eve?”
Laura groaned. “Oh, what a mess I’ve caused! I had everything planned so wonderfully! David, do give me something, so that I can go down to dinner and join the celebration.”
“You won’t need anything. But you had a bad — attack. There was blood, Laura, which I could see clearly, even by the candlelight from the bedroom. Now, I want you to listen carefully. Don’t take any medicine, not even that soda in your bathroom, or anything else, until I’ve sampled it. I want to be sure that everything you eat and drink is all right. And keep under those covers. I can’t see for the life of me,” he said irritably, “why you didn’t install an auxiliary system in this outpost.”
“You’re so kind, David.” Laura smiled at him. “Poor Henry. Did he have a terrible scare? I don’t know what I’d have done without him during all that.”
“In what way?”
“Well, his holding me so tight, when I was being so sick, and whispering to me, and everything.” Her pale cheeks colored a little.
“Good for old Henry,” David said. He hesitated, then patted her hand. “I’ll bring up your breakfast tray, personally. Alice can take over later.”
He went into the freezing hall, and looked at Henry’s closed door, wondering if he were downstairs. Cautiously he turned the knob and looked inside. The room was empty. He heard water running in a bathroom, and closed the door. That could be the explanation. Shrugging his shoulders, he went downstairs, eager for a cup of coffee.
But Henry was not in the adjoining bathroom. He had made certain that John Carr was having his breakfast, and had listened to him joking with Mrs. Daley in the dining room. Then he had gone into John’s room, closing the door behind him. I’m not used to this sort of thing, he thought. He opened the clothes-closet door where John’s clothes were hanging neatly on the hangers, and felt one pair of trousers. They were wet. Bending down, he examined a pair of shoes, which were black and stained with moisture. He stood up, trembling violently. The suitcase was on its rack, but closed. He hardly expected it to be unlocked, but it was. He lifted the lid quickly. A gun lay on top of a couple of books and a robe which had not been taken out. The gun was heavy and smelled faintly of cordite. He examined the cylinder. There were five bullets; the sixth was missing. He ejected one of the bullets. It was a forty-five, and looked exactly like the one which had been fired at him.
He dropped the gun back into the suitcase and slipped out of the room. There was no doubt about it. John Carr had fired that gun at him; he had climbed out of the window of the room in the attic. Reaching the corner of the house, he had only to brace himself against the roof and half-turn to see the woodshed. Henry had made a perfect target. The bullet had missed him by a few inches. John Carr had tried to kill him!
But why? He had come to him, on business, three weeks ago by the purest accident. If old Mr. Bancroft had not been taken sick, Henry would not now be handling Carr’s affairs.
Henry had not been entirely satisfied at the glib and easy explanations offered so far. He was, by nature, a man who questioned everything. He had trusted no one in his life except Laura, and he trusted her absolutely. She sometimes did foolish and childish
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