“There’s the yellow pillow,——” suggested Potter.
“I know,—but that may have some simple explanation,—housemaid took it out to clean it,—or something.”
“Then, Bill, there’s got to be a secret passage; there’s just got to.”
“Well, there ain’t. Tomorrow, I’ll sound the walls and all that sort of thing, but I’ve measured and estimated, and I vow there ain’t no space unaccounted for in this whole house. But there’s a lot of questionin’ yet to be done. I’ll say there is!”
By this time some of the servants had heard of the affair and had returned.
Potter and Bill Dunn went to the kitchen to see them, and found Kelly the butler and Hannah the cook in a scared, nervous state.
“Do tell us, sir, all about it,” Kelly begged, his hard face drawn with sympathy. “The master——”
“It’s true, Kelly, your master is dead. He was killed, and we are investigating. What can you tell us? Do you know of anybody who had it in for Mr Varian?”
“Oh, no, sir! I’m sure he hadn’t an enemy in the world.”
“Oh, no, you can’t be sure of that, my man. But tell me of the circumstances. When you all went away, this afternoon, there was no sign of disturbance,—of anything unusual?”