As West reached the bottom of the stairway a voice came out of the darkness:
"Are you looking for something, Mr. West?"
"Yes, Cartwright," said West. "I am looking for you."
"You must not be too concerned with what Rosie did," Cartwright said. "Don't let it upset you. Belden had it coming to him for a long time. He was scarcely one of us, really, never one of us. He pretended to go along with us because it was the only way that he could save his life. And life is such a small thing to consider. Don't you think so, Mr. West?"
CHAPTER FOUR
The Last Man
West stood silently at the bottom of the stairs. The room was too dark to see anything, but the voice was coming from somewhere near the table's end, close to the lighted painting.
I may have to kill him, West was thinking, and I must know where he is. For the first shot has to do it, there'll be no time for a second.
"Rosie had no mind," the voice said out in the darkness. "That is, no mind to speak of. But she was telepathic. Her brain picked up thoughts and passed them on. And she could obey simple commands. Very simple commands. And killing a man is so simple, Mr. West.