He went to his bedroom and got a pack of patience cards.
"There'll be no theatre to-night!" he said. "I think I'll play 'Miss Milligan.' ..."
14
The silence of the house made him feel restless.
"I'll go to bed," he exclaimed. "I may as well get all the sleep I can."
He went to his room, and stumbled towards the windows.
"I'll close the shutters while I'm undressing;" he went on. "I don't want to be 'potted' needlessly!"
He tried to see into the Park, but the great masses of trees that undulated like a rough sea, prevented him from seeing anything. There were figures at the gate ... on guard!
"I wonder if that little red-haired man's still there," he thought. "Poor devils! Some of them must feel damned queer to-night!..."
He closed the shutters, and switched the light on, and then, when he had undressed he darkened the room again. "I must have some air," he said, opening the shutters.