“You see, Sir Eustace, I fancied—and now indeed I am sure—it was Rayburn.”
“Rayburn?”
“Yes, Sir Eustace.”
I shook my head.
“Rayburn has far too much sense to attempt to wake me up in the middle of the night.”
“Quite so, Sir Eustace. I think it was Colonel Race he went to see. A secret meeting—for orders!”
“Don’t hiss at me, Pagett,” I said, drawing back a little, “and do control your breathing. Your idea is absurd. Why should they want to have a secret meeting in the middle of the night? If they’d anything to say to each other, they could hob-nob over beef-tea in a perfectly casual and natural manner.”
I could see that Pagett was not in the least convinced.
“Something was going on last night, Sir Eustace,” he urged, “or why should Rayburn assault me so brutally.”
“You’re quite sure it was Rayburn?”