"
He smiled.
"I wished to see you about something else," he said. "As for
Thomas, it is Mrs. Armstrong's wish that you would allow her to
attend to the expense. About his relatives, I have already
notified his brother, in the village. It was heart disease, I
think. Thomas always had a bad heart."
"Heart disease and fright," I said, still on the edge of my
chair. But the doctor had no intention of leaving.
"I understand you have a ghost up here, and that you have the
house filled with detectives to exorcise it," he said.
For some reason I felt I was being "pumped," as Halsey says.
"You have been misinformed," I replied.
"What, no ghost, no detectives!" he said, still with his smile.
"What a disappointment to the village!"
I resented his attempt at playfulness. It had been anything but
a joke to us.
"Doctor Walker," I said tartly, "I fail to see any humor in the
situation. Since I came here, one man has been shot, and another
one has died from shock. There have been intruders in the house,
and strange noises. If that is funny, there is something wrong
with my sense of humor."
"You miss the point," he said, still good-naturedly. "The thing
that is funny, to me, is that you insist on remaining here,
under the circumstances. I should think nothing would keep you."
"You are mistaken. Everything that occurs only confirms my
resolution to stay until the mystery is cleared."
"I have a message for you, Miss Innes," he said, rising at
last.
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