FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82  
83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   >>   >|  
ore, I saw him bring it into the coffee-room later on, and place it on the table at which he had some supper. I saw it again in his room when I went in there to look at the plans of the Norwegian estate which he had told me about. He didn't take those plans out of that hand-bag; he took them out of a side flap-pocket in a suit-case." "Did you have supper with him that night?" "No--I was sitting at another table, talking to a lady who had been with us on the _Perisco_. A lot of _Perisco_ passengers--twenty, at least--had come to the hotel by that time." "Did any of them join Mr. James Allerdyke--at his table, I mean?" "I don't remember--no, I think not. He sat at a table, one end of which adjoined the wall--he put the hand-bag at that end. I remember wondering why he carried his bag about with him. But then I, of course, was carrying what I believed to be my jewel-case." "Did you see him talking to any of your fellow-passengers that night?" "Oh, yes--to two or three of them--in the hall of the hotel. I didn't know who they were, particularly--except the doctor with the big beard. I saw him talking to Mr. Allerdyke at the door of the smoking-room." "Had you taken any special notice of your fellow passengers on board the _Perisco_?" "No--not at all. They were just the usual sort of passengers--I wasn't interested in them. Of course, I talked to some of them, in the ordinary way, as one does talk on board ship. But I don't remember anything particular about them, nor any of their names, even if I ever knew their names. Of course I remember Mr. James Allerdyke's name, because of the business talk." The chief, who had been making shorthand notes of this conversation, paused for a moment, evidently considering matters, and then turned to Celia with a smile. "Why did you leave the hotel at Hull so suddenly?" he asked. "I daresay you had good reasons, but I should just like to know what they were, if you don't mind." "I'd no reason at all," replied Celia, with almost blunt directness. "At least, if I had, they were only a woman's reasons. I was a bit upset at being left alone. I didn't like the hotel. I knew I shouldn't sleep. It was a most beautiful moonlight night, and I suddenly thought I'd like to go motoring. I knew enough of the geography of those parts to know if I motored across country I should strike the Great Northern main line somewhere and catch a train to Edinburgh in the early morning. So--
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82  
83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
remember
 

passengers

 

Allerdyke

 

Perisco

 

talking

 
fellow
 
supper
 

reasons

 
suddenly
 

conversation


making

 

shorthand

 
business
 

matters

 
turned
 

evidently

 
moment
 
daresay
 

paused

 

motored


country

 

strike

 

geography

 

motoring

 

Northern

 

Edinburgh

 

morning

 

thought

 

moonlight

 

directness


replied

 
reason
 

beautiful

 

shouldn

 

sitting

 
twenty
 

adjoined

 
pocket
 

coffee

 
Norwegian

estate
 

wondering

 
notice
 
special
 

smoking

 

interested

 
talked
 

ordinary

 
believed
 

carried