I want you to show me the revolver you picked up in the
tulip bed."
So he had known all along!
"It WAS a revolver, Mr. Jamieson," I admitted, cornered at
last, "but I can not show it to you. It is not in my
possession."
CHAPTER XXII
A LADDER OUT OF PLACE
At dinner Mr. Jamieson suggested sending a man out in his place
for a couple of days, but Halsey was certain there would be
nothing more, and felt that he and Alex could manage the
situation. The detective went back to town early in the evening,
and by nine o'clock Halsey, who had been playing golf--as a man
does anything to take his mind away from trouble--was sleeping
soundly on the big leather davenport in the living-room.
I sat and knitted, pretending not to notice when Gertrude got up
and wandered out into the starlight. As soon as I was satisfied
that she had gone, however, I went out cautiously. I had no
intention of eavesdropping, but I wanted to be certain that it
was Jack Bailey she was meeting. Too many things had occurred in
which Gertrude was, or appeared to be, involved, to allow
anything to be left in question.
I went slowly across the lawn, skirted the hedge to a break not
far from the lodge, and found myself on the open road. Perhaps a
hundred feet to the left the path led across the valley to the
Country Club, and only a little way off was the foot-bridge over
Casanova Creek. But just as I was about to turn down the path I
heard steps coming toward me, and I shrank into the bushes.
Pages:
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177