Masters took a few lumbering paces, as though he were measuring spots in the carpet. Then he turned in angry uneasiness.
"Just so. Just so, sir. And that's what jars me about your orders. You've refused to let me question Miss Carewe, or question her yourself.?'
"Ho ho! You're jolly well right I have, son."
"And you don't seem to want to question Rainger either. Eh? Barring, I mean, your going into a conference with Emery and telling him to get Rainger sober as soon as possible. "
H. M. opened one eye. "I don't think you quite understood what I said, Masters. My instructions, to Emery were to keep Rainger as sodden drunk as possible. Uh huh. To sit by his bedside with a wary eye out, and shove a drink under his nose the moment he showed signs of stirrin'. Emery thinks I'm off my onion. Like you. But I promised to introduce him to the murderer of his wife, and he's obeying orders. Like you."
A slow, weird expression began to dawn across Masters' face, and H. M. nodded with malevolent glee.
"At last! I knew sooner or later you'd see it. Uh huh, And you're exactly right. That's it. I don't want to question either the Carewe girl or Rainger, especially Rainger. I tell you frankly, son, that if once Rainger gets the opportunity of replyin' to the accusation against him, then I'm licked… All I need is a couple of hours free, but I need 'em badly. And this is by way of prelude to requestin' you, Miss Bohun, whatever else you do in the next three hours, for God's sake don't mention Dr. Wynne's report about your friend. Got it?"
His voice was very low, lower than the wind that had begun to rumble in the chimney, but it seemed to echo in the cold room. He was bending forward with his dusty bald head under the light; but it was as though he grew to enormous size against massive gray-and-black furnishings. Snowflakes ticked and flew against the windows. The nightmare sensation had come back to Bennett. With that shift in the wind, he thought he could distinguish in its blast an echo of something he had heard that morning.
"Do you," said Katharine suddenly, "do you hear a dog howling?"
They all heard it; but nobody spoke until Katharine turned round and nodded briefly. "You'll have to excuse me," she said in a colorless voice. "It's late. I must dress."