“What do you know about it?” Dunn turned to the butler. “When did you last see the sofa pillows on the hall sofa?”
Kelly stared.
“I saw them this morning, sir,—yes, and I saw them this afternoon,—when I set the picnic baskets out. I didn’t——”
“How did you happen to notice the pillows, Kelly?” Bill watched him closely.
“Why, I didn’t exactly notice them,—but,—well, if they hadn’t been in place I should have noticed it.”
“That’s right,” Dunn gave a satisfied nod. The pillow episode seemed important to him, though he could get no meaning to it as yet. “Now Kelly, tell me the truth. When you’ve been around, in the dining room, or the living rooms, haven’t you heard conversations between Miss Varian and her father that showed some friction between the two?”
“Oh, now, sir, Miss Betty’s a saucy piece——”
“I don’t mean gay chaff,—I mean real, downright quarreling. Did you ever hear any of that? Tell me the truth, Kelly, you’ll serve no good purpose by trying to shield either of them.”
“Well, then, yes, sir, I did,—and often. But not to say exactly quarreling,—more like argufying——”
“Why do you say that, Kelly? They do quarrel,—all the time they quarrel,—and you know it.”