夜雨聆风The men exchanged glances. At that moment a respectable, clean-shaven man, neatly dressed in blue serge, came up to them.
“Excuse me, gentlemen. I am Mr. Jefferson’s valet. He is awake now andsent me to find you, as he is very anxious to see you.”
Once more they went up to Conway Jefferson’s suite. In the sitting roomAdelaide Jefferson was talking to a tall, restless man who was prowlingnervously about the room. He swung round sharply to view the new-comers.
“Oh, yes. Glad you’ve come. My father-in-law’s been asking for you. He’sawake now. Keep him as calm as you can, won’t you? His health’s not toogood. It’s a wonder, really, that this shock didn’t do for him.”
Harper said:
“I’d no idea his health was as bad as that.”
“He doesn’t know it himself,” said Mark Gaskell. “It’s his heart, you see.
The doctor warned Addie that he mustn’t be overexcited or startled. Hemore or less hinted that the end might come any time, didn’t he, Addie?”
Mrs. Jefferson nodded. She said:
“It’s incredible that he’s rallied the way he has.”
Melchett said dryly:
“Murder isn’t exactly a soothing incident. We’ll be as careful as we can.”
He was sizing up Mark Gaskell as he spoke. He didn’t much care for thefellow. A bold, unscrupulous, hawk-like face. One of those men who usu-ally get their own way and whom women frequently admire.
“But not the sort of fellow I’d trust,” the Colonel thought to himself.
Unscrupulous—that was the word for him.
The sort of fellow who wouldn’t stick at anything….
