Graham shook his head.
“Ten or fifteen minutes past seven, maybe. I’m not sure.”
“Go on.”
“But that’s all!” retorted Graham. “I didn’t see or hear anything at all! When the gong rang I cleared the desk and walked down the library to the little door just as Harrison did on Saturday night!” Graham writhed nervously under the bedclothes at the recollection. “Just as I got to the doorway into the front room some blind instinct made me swerve aside a little and walk faster. Maybe it was association of ideas. Maybe it was a tiny sound behind me, though I don’t remember hearing a thing. The next instant something hit my right arm. It was just like being punched violently. Only there was a fierce, grinding sort of pain with it. Anyhow, my legs gave out and I spun round and fell at the same moment. I just crumpled in the doorway. The shock or the pain knocked the wits clean out of me. I heard Susan’s scream in a dim sort of way. But I never thought of looking back into the library to see who had shot me!”
“Was there anybody in the front room?” Landis asked.
“Yes. Miss Mount and Susan were there. I believe Miss Mount was over by the window and Susan near her with a tray.”
“What happened then? Did anyone see anything at all?” demanded Bernard in evident exasperation.
Graham shook his head.
“Miss Mount says the way I fell blocked the doorway so she ran round through the hall into the library and switched on the top lights as before. But she saw nothing unusual. She ran to the end of the library and looked into the back hall. It was deserted. Susan was screaming like mad, so she ran into the front room.”