“That is bluff,” he said. “I didn’t leave this house last night. What happened at Heavytree Farm?”
“Miss Leicester was abducted. You are surprised, almost agitated, I notice.”
“Do you think I had anything to do with it?” asked Monty steadily.
“Yes, and the police share my view. A provisional warrant was issued for your arrest this morning. I thought you ought to know.”
Now the man drew back, his face went from red to white, and then to a deeper red again. Manfred laughed softly.
“You’ve got a guilty conscience, Newton,” he said, “and that’s half-way to being arrested. Where is Jane?”
“Gone abroad, I tell you.”
He was thrown off his balance by this all too successful bluff and had lost some of his self-possession.
“She is with Mirabelle Leicester: of that I’m sure,” said Manfred. “I’ve warned you twice, and it is not necessary to warn you a third time. I don’t know how far deep you’re in these snake murders: a jury will decide that sooner or later. But you’re dead within six hours of my learning that Miss Leicester has been badly treated. You know that is true, don’t you?”
Manfred was speaking very earnestly.