“About that automobile accident?”
“Oh, it was mentioned.”
“About the work I’d done for you?”
“In a general way. He’d won my confidence by that time.”
“About the presents you’d received from Josephine Dell?”
“Yes. I mentioned those.”
“Then what?”
“We came here. I didn’t even know what city it was. He said he’d have to do some telephoning and for me to wait in the car. I waited in the car. He came back and seemed be much disappointed, said that it was going to be quite late tonight or early tomorrow before we could see her. Something had developed. She regretted it very much and wanted him to tell me how sorry she was. We had a bite to eat. Then Bollman got me this room, said he had some work to do, and that he’d see me in the morning.
“I have a watch by which I can tell time. I unscrew the crystal and feel the position of the hands. It’s my only way of telling when it’s daytime — to know the time. If I ever lose track of the hour, I get all mixed up — can’t tell whether it’s eleven in the morning or eleven at night. I slept until about nine o’clock; then I got up, dressed, and waited. It took me a while to get a bath and get dressed. This is a strange room, and I had to feel my way around until I finally got everything all listed and memorized. One thing bothered me; I couldn’t tell whether the lights were on or off. I couldn’t remember whether Bollman had switched them off when he went out. A man hates to make a spectacle of himself, and I didn’t know but what there might be some room right across the narrow court from me, so I kept the curtains pulled down. Well, after a while, when I thought surely it was time, I picked up the telephone and asked them if they’d ring Mr. Bollman’s room. They told me there was no Bollman registered. That bothered me. I don’t eat very much as a rule, and I’d had a hearty dinner the day before and a bite after we got here, so I didn’t eat any breakfast. I found the radio, turned it on, listened to music for a while, dozed off, woke up, and finally began to worry. Then, when I was playing the radio, a news programme came on, and I heard about Bollman. Well, I didn’t know what to do.”
“You telephoned me?”