The House Of The Bears Read Online Free PDF Page B

it.’
    ‘I see,’ said Drusilla. ‘How long are we going to stay here, Sap?’
    ‘I hope to leave in good time to reach Corbin in daylight,’ said Palfrey. ‘There isn’t much point in staying here, and Markham certainly wouldn’t make us welcome guests. If things do turn out so that we’re asked to stay, how do you feel about it?’
    ‘I’ll stay if necessary,’ said Drusilla.
    ‘But only if I agree with you. I know one thing I mean to do,’ went on Palfrey, getting up. ‘Find out how Loretta is.’
    They went downstairs. No one was about. Gerry had not said more than a few words since their return, and, according to Mrs. Bardle, he was back in bed, already suffering from a chill; the housekeeper explained that Gerry was never in good health. There was no sign, either, of his mother.
    Palfrey picked up the telephone which Morne had used on the previous night. He had no difficulty in getting through to the sanatorium, and he was quickly reassured. Loretta Morne had passed a ‘comfortable’ night, and a post-operation X-ray showed that the crushed ribs were no longer likely to cause complications. The resident doctor at the sanatorium was dubious about her back, and Palfrey, knowing that it would be some days before anyone could judge the prospects of complete recovery, felt reasonably satisfied as he replaced the receiver.
    Then he strolled into the music room. The curtain was drawn across the door, and at first glance everything seemed as he and Morne had left it.
    He looked up at the minstrel gallery and stood staring, a cold chill in his blood. The balustrade had been repaired.
    At first he could not believe it, and went closer. The balustrade was all in one piece; he could even see where the joins had been made. There were traces of sawdust on the floor, and one or two grains on the piano.
    He swung round towards the inner room, startling Drusilla by his mood. He pulled the bell-rope by the fireplace savagely, went to the door and met a footman coming from the hall. ‘Who mended the minstrel gallery?’ he demanded abruptly.
    ‘Why, Blackshaw, sir, I presume. The estate carpenter, sir.
    ‘I want to see him at once,’ said Palfrey.
    After some minutes, footsteps sounded in the hall, and a short, compact man entered the room, a man with a browned, weather-beaten face and deep-set, dark blue eyes.
    ‘This is Blackshaw, sir,’ said the footman.
    ‘Did you mend the minstrel gallery this morning, Blackshaw?’
    ‘Yes.’ There was no ‘sir’. The man obviously resented being questioned by a guest.
    ‘On whose instructions?’
    ‘I had instructions in the usual way,’ answered Blackshaw, with scarcely veiled insolence.
    Palfrey looked at the footman. ‘Ask the inspector of police to come in here at once, please.’
    ‘Very good, sir.’
    Blackshaw stood motionless, without removing his gaze from Palfrey’s face. They waited for several minutes, but he did not once look away, nor did Palfrey look away from him. The man was as hostile and bleak as the moor outside. At last the police inspector arrived – a man named Hardy, big and solid, stolid of manner, a good-looking fellow in a dark way.
    ‘You wanted to see me, Dr. Palfrey.’
    ‘Yes. You have heard of Miss Loretta Morne’s accident, I suppose?’
    ‘A sad thing indeed, sir,’ said Hardy.
    ‘On my advice, Sir Rufus telephoned you last night to discuss it with you. There was evidence that the balcony of the minstrel gallery had been deliberately weakened at the place where Miss Loretta usually stood while listening to the piano. In my opinion, and in Sir Rufus’s, there were indications of foul play. Sir Rufus locked the staircase door and put the key in his pocket. As you now know, he is missing. The estate carpenter tells me that he repaired the balcony after receiving instructions in the usual way. He will not explain further.’
    Hardy fingered his chin. ‘I see, sir.’
    Blackshaw was still looking at Palfrey, but now there was a