"Has the bird been here the whole time?"
"Yes, sir."
"He was not moved, taken elsewhere, even for a moment?"
Pitting's pale face began to look almost expressive, and his lips were pursed.
"Certainly not, sir."
"Thank you. That will do."
The butler retired, moving with a sort of ostentatious rectitude. When he had reached the door, and was just going out, his master called,
"Wait a minute, Pitting."
The butler paused. Guildea bit his lips, tugged at his beard uneasily two or three times, and then said,
"Have you noticed—er—the parrot talking lately in a—a very peculiar, very disagreeable voice?"