"Come out of there! Come on, step out! No tricks-no tricks, now, by God — yes, I've got you covered-come on—"
The murderer…?
CHAPTER XVII
No Longer Bullet-Proof
Hugh's uppermost thought was that he had got to see this, even if he blundered and wrecked all the plans. It occurred to him — where was Inspector Murch? Murch was supposed to be here, in hiding. If by any ironical chance Spinelli had stumbled on Murch in mistake for the man he hoped to meet, there was an end to everything…
He swallowed hard; tried to control his inexplicable trembling; and slid forward boldly into the mouth of the clearing. Mud squished under his foot,' but he paid no attention to it.
Its scrolls and deformities darkened, but its barred windows gleaming almost hypnotically, the Guest House seemed to be watching too. Hugh had a sharp feeling that this was not fancy at all; that it literally was watching, or that somebody was watching in a dead man's place. The cool air struck his face again. He peered to the right, and drew back.
About thirty feet away, back turned towards him,
Spinelli was standing and facing a thick oak tree beside the brick path. His pistol was held close in against his side, to avert its being knocked away.
"Come out," he was muttering, with a rising inflection that sounded like hysteria. "I can see your hand— give you just a second more — don't stand there; Fm not going to hurt you; but you're going to pay me, and keep on paying me, get me?"