"I expect they saddled him with them because he was the least likely to be suspected," Arnold suggested. "There's the water boiling already. Now for it."
He cut some bread and butter and made the coffee. They ate and drank almost in silence. Through the open window now the roar of traffic was growing every minute in volume. Across the bridge the daily stream of men and vehicles had commenced to flow. Presently he glanced at the clock and, putting down his coffee cup, rose to his feet.
"In a few minutes, dear, I must be off," he announced. "You won't mind being left, will you?"
Her lips trembled.
"Why should I?" she murmured. "Of course you must go to work."
He went behind his little screen, where he plunged his head into a basin of cold water. When he reappeared, a few minutes later, he was ready to start.
"I expect those fellows will have cleared out from your rooms by now," he said, throwing open the door. "Hullo, what's this?"
A trunk and hatbox had been dragged out onto the landing. A policeman was sitting on a chair in front of the closed door, reading a newspaper.
"We have collected the young lady's belongings, so far as possible, sir," he remarked. "If there is anything else belonging to her, she may be able to get it later on."
"Do you mean to say that she can't go back to her own rooms?" Arnold demanded.