Sir Thomas' hand wavered.
"Do, if you like, of course," said Jimmy agreeably. "In any case, I shan't fire to kill you. I shall just smash your knees. Beastly painful, but not fatal."
He waggled the pipe suggestively. Sir Thomas blanched. His hand fell to his side.
"How are the theatricals going?" asked Jimmy. "Did you like the monologue?"
Sir Thomas had backed away from the bell, but the retreat was merely for the convenience of the moment. He understood that it might be inconvenient to press the button just then; but he had recovered his composure by this time, and he saw that the game must be his. Jimmy was trapped, and he hastened to make this clear to him.
"How, may I ask," he said, "do you propose to leave the abbey?"
"I suppose they'll let me have the automobile," said Jimmy. "They can hardly ask me to walk. But I wasn't thinking of leaving just yet."
"You mean to stop!"
"Why not? It's a pretty place."
"And what steps, if I may ask, do you imagine I shall take?"