On the following afternoon, having completed all his arrangements, Westenhanger ushered Rollo Dangerfield and Eileen into the Corinthian’s Room.
“Mind if I lock the door for a short time?” he asked, turning to his host. “I’d rather not be interrupted by anyone in the middle of this affair. You’ll agree with me when you’ve seen what I have to show you.”
Old Rollo’s face showed more than a trace of suspicion. Westenhanger had vouchsafed no information about his project; and the old man evidently felt mistrustful. However, he nodded his consent and waited while Westenhanger turned the key in the lock.
“What’s the glass of water for?” Eileen demanded, pointing to a tumbler which Westenhanger had in his hand.
“You’ll see before long,” he assured her, putting the glass down on a table. “I think we’ll take things one at a time.”
Rollo seemed to think that he had been kept in the dark long enough.
“May I ask why you have brought us here?”
Westenhanger noticed the old man’s glance at Eileen as he spoke, so he resolved to put matters on a plain footing at once.
“Miss Cressage knows almost as much about this matter as I do myself. Between us, we seem to have hit upon something which you ought to know at once. Miss Cressage, I may say, gave me the key to the mystery. Without her help I don’t think I’d have hit on the thing at all.”
At the word “mystery,” a shadow gathered on Rollo’s face. He glanced from the engineer to Eileen as though trying to read their thoughts. Westenhanger hastened to reassure him.