“I was eating my dinner and reading when I heard someone screaming with laughter. There seemed to be a good deal of moving about on the stairs and down here. Naturally I paid no attention to it.”
“You didn’t come out to investigate, as you did on Saturday night, when you thought Mrs. Graham or Anita had screamed?”
“Certainly not! That was all foolishness! My dear sir, between ourselves, this entire household appears to have gone quite mad! Take yourselves for example! Who invited you? Where do you come from? We’ve never been introduced! I mean no offense, of course, but there you are!”
“You didn’t come out to investigate!” exclaimed Landis. “In that case, it must have been before the commotion that you locked Miss Mount’s door!”
Joel stared in amazement. His expression changed slowly to one of haughty reproof.
“Is this more nonsense?” he demanded. “I know nothing of Miss Mount’s door! That goes without saying! Let me add, please, that if you have anything of moment to communicate to me I shall be glad to give you an appointment in the morning! Now I must ask you both to withdraw!”
“You locked Miss Mount’s door tonight!” thundered Bernard suddenly. “Don’t try to deny it!”
Instantly Joel’s manner changed. He subsided in his chair like a pricked balloon. His haughty expression vanished to be replaced by one of harassed conciliation. The pathos beneath the humor of his muddled intelligence and quaint changes of mood was nothing to the pathos of this swift submission to a bullying tone. The elderly brother of the strong-willed millionaire cringed like a child and like a child tried to avert calamity by winning forgiveness.
“I apologise!” he exclaimed quickly. “I had no intention to offend. Entirely an oversight—”