"They were not brought to reason."
The grim tone alarmed me.
"What do you mean?"
I stopped under a street lamp to look into the face of my companion.
"I simply mean this," said he. "The madman shot him dead!"
Involuntarily I reeled against the lamp post.
"You can't mean that," I said feebly.
"If only we could deceive ourselves!" said Coverdale, in a hoarse tone. "All the time I sat at supper with that—that woman I was trying to persuade myself that the thing had not happened. The whole business ought to be a fantastic dream, but my God, it isn't!"
"Well, it was his life or Fitz's, I suppose?"
"Yes, there can be no question about that. The Embassy people admit it. And there is this to be said for those fellows, they know how to play the game."