At first he seemed thunderstruck. There was a look in his face which made Nick say to himself, "It isn't true."
But whether the accusation was true or false, Nick knew at once that Hammond recognized Gaspard.
Yet he couldn't be a regular visitor to the place, because Gaspard had said that he had never seen either of the two men before the fatal evening.
Therefore, as Hammond had recognized Gaspard, he must be the man who was in room A, because the man in room B had not seen the head waiter, according to Gaspard's story.
Hammond, after the first shock of surprise, recovered his nerve wonderfully.
He calmly took a chair and sat there in deep thought for nearly five minutes. He paid no attention to questions.
Finally he looked up and said:
"I don't know why I should deny it to you. There is no charge against the man in room A."
"None whatever," said Nick. "He is wanted merely as a witness."
"It occurred to me that you might have some theory of a conspiracy in which both men were concerned."