“Ah, good-morning, Barker. I felt unwell during the night, and thought a morning walk might do me good. What brings you down town at such an early hour?”
“Oh, sir, something terrible has happened at Elm Grove!”
“You astonish me. What is it? Is somebody ill?”
“Much worse than that. Colonel Conrad has been murdered.”
“What!”
Mr. Haywood’s astonishment was genuine. His face blanched with horror.
“We found him dead in his study, with an awful cut in his neck.”
“Barker, you terrify me. Tell me all about it. How did it happen?”
“No one knows how it happened, sir. It was done in the dead of night. Miss Florence is fairly wild, and the two women-servants are nearly frightened to death. I called in Tom to stay with them, while I ran down town. It’s lucky, sir, that I happened to meet you.”
“Well, well, it is awful. I am nearly overcome. Find some officers, quick, and I will go up to the house.”