The Colonel looked up. Joe was coming rapidly along the cliff from the direction of Beau-nez. He too disappeared down the way Ruth had already taken.
The Colonel removed his glasses.
"I shall give em a quarter of an hour to make emselves quite comfortable," he muttered "and then—"
"Spy," said Mrs. Lewknor.
A moment later, Anne, the parlour-maid, showed Mr. Alfred Caspar on to the loggia.
The face of the Manager of Caspar's Syndicate was very long. Alf, cherishing the simple faith that the Colonel because he had been a soldier must be in the secrets certainly of the War Office and possibly of the Government, had come to ask what he thought of the European situation.
The Colonel was not reassuring, but he refused to commit himself. Alf turned away almost sullenly.
"See, it matters to me," he said. "I start Bank Holiday. Don't want no wars interfering with my Syndicate."
"It matters to us all a bit," replied the Colonel.
Alf departed aggrieved, and obviously suggesting that the Colonel was to blame. He walked away with downward eyes. Suddenly the Colonel saw him pause, creep to the cliff-edge, and peep over. Then he came back to the hostel in a stealthy bustle.