“Beg pardon, Mr. Hale, but here is a telegram for Miss Davis,” and she extended it to him. “The messenger refused to take it to her house address.”
“Very well, I will see that it is forwarded.” Hale put on his glasses, inspected the Western Union envelope and its address, then laid the telegram on the table. “Has Mr. John returned, Anna?”
“No, sir,” and Anna limped away to the pantry by way of the dining room as Mrs. Hale stepped between the portières in front of the doorway leading to the central hall.
“Now, don’t say I am late, Robert,” she began. “I have lost no time, and I do believe I am down before Judith,” with a quick glance about the library. “What did you do with yourself this afternoon?”
“Took a walk,” laconically. Hale drummed his fingers on the chair, and Richards wondered for the second time what made him so restless. He had always an alertness of manner, but to Richards it now appeared almost furtive. Hale pointed to the clock. “Why do we have to wait for Judith and John?” he demanded. “Suppose we go in to dinner.”
Richards left his place by the mantel. “I’ll go for Judith,” he volunteered. “I would have done so before, Mrs. Hale; I but stopped in here on our return, thinking she would come in every minute.”
As he crossed the library, a door slammed in the distance and heavy footsteps approached just as Richards reached the portières. They were dragged aside and he came face to face with John Hale whose labored breathing indicated haste or excitement, or both combined.
“So you are here!” John Hale exclaimed in high satisfaction, and called over his shoulder, “Come in, Ferguson. No, you don’t,” as Richards, who had stepped back courteously to permit him to advance into the library, started for the hall. “You’ll stay here and face the music,” and he thrust out his hand to push him back.
“Take your hands off my shoulder,” commanded Richards, his anger rising both at his words and action. “What do you wish with me?”
“I wish you to explain in the presence of witnesses”—John Hale cast a triumphant look at his brother and sister-in-law before continuing—“how you obtained this watch,” and, drawing it out of his pocket, he swung it before Richards.