CHAPTER XXI
THE FIRST PIT
AT THE cottage that same night, Margaret made an excuse of fatigue, and withdrew to her chamber immediately when dinner was done, to the discomfiture of Saxe. May Thurston, too, vanished—perhaps because Roy was absent, and she preferred solitude in order that she might think of him without interruption. Presently Mrs. West said good night, and the three friends were left alone in the music-room. It was then that Saxe proposed to give to Billy Walker some information he had received from Margaret during their return trip in the canoe.
“I’ve found out who was in this room when you fell through the ceiling,” Saxe said to the sage.
“Oh, that!” Billy retorted contemptuously. “It was of no importance. I didn’t bother to tell you.”
“Do you mean,” Saxe demanded, in astonishment, “that you know already?”
“Certainly,” was the crisp answer. “It was Chris.”
“But how——”
“Elimination. There was no problem of interest.”
“But——”