I wanted
to be alone. I'd guessed at my x, and I wanted to test it--to
test it every way, by everything we'd discovered. I simply had
to be alone just then. So--" he smiled and added, "Well, I knew
you wanted a drink."
"You are a devil," said Bill, staring at him. "And your interest
when I told you that a woman had been staying there--"
"Well, it was only polite to be interested when you'd taken so
much trouble."
"You brute! You--you Sherlock! And then you keep trying to
steal my matches. Well, go on."
"That's all. My x fitted."
"Did you guess Miss Norris and all that?"
"Well, not quite. I didn't realize that Cayley had worked for it
from the beginning--had put Miss Norris up to frightening Mark.
I thought he'd just seized the opportunity."
Bill was silent for a long time. Then, puffing at his pipe, he
said slowly, "Has Cayley shot himself?"
Antony shrugged his shoulders.
"Poor devil," said Bill. "It was decent of you to give him a
chance. I'm glad you did."
"I couldn't help liking Cayley in a kind of way, you know.
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