Battle, Superintendent (Fictitious character) -- Fiction; Detective and mystery stories; Police -- England -- Fiction
And, doing so, he made a discovery. There was an angle at the corner of
the house in which was a window set farther back. Standing on one spot,
you counted this window as the first, and the first one built out over
the Council Chamber as the second, but move a few yards to the right
and the part built out over the Council Chamber appeared to be the end
of the house. The first window was invisible, and the two windows of
the rooms over the Council Chamber would have appeared the first and
second from the end. Where exactly had he been standing when he had
seen the light flash up?
Anthony found the question very hard to determine. A matter of a yard
or so made all the difference. But one point was made abundantly clear.
It was quite possible that he had been mistaken in describing the light
as occurring in the second room from the end. It might equally well
have been the _third_.
Now who occupied the third room? Anthony was determined to find that
out as soon as possible. Fortune favoured him. In the hall Tredwell had
just set the massive silver urn in its place on the tea tray. Nobody
else was there.
“Hullo, Tredwell,” said Anthony. “I wanted to ask you something. Who
has the third room from the end on the West side? Over the Council
Chamber, I mean.”
Tredwell reflected for a minute or two.
“That would be the American gentleman’s room, sir. Mr. Fish.”
“Oh, is it? Thank you.”
“Not at all, sir.”
Tredwell prepared to depart, then paused. The desire to be the first to
impart news makes even pontifical butlers human.
“Perhaps you have heard, sir, of what occurred last night?”
“Not a word,” said Anthony. “What did occur last night?”
“An attempt at robbery, sir!”
“Not really? Was anything taken?”
“No, sir. The thieves were dismantling the suits of armour in
the Council Chamber when they were surprised and forced to flee.
Unfortunately they got clear away.”
“That’s very extraordinary,” said Anthony. “The Council Chamber again.
Did they break in that way?”
“It is supposed, sir, that they forced the window.”
Satisfied with the interest his information had aroused Tredwell
resumed his retreat, but brought up short with a dignified apology.
“I beg your pardon, sir. I didn’t hear you come in, and I didn’t know
you were standing just behind me.”
Mr. Isaacstein who had been the victim of the impact waved his hand in
a friendly fashion.
“No harm done, my good fellow. I assure you no harm done.”
Tredwell retired looking contemptuous, and Isaacstein came forward and
dropped into an easy-chair.
“Hullo, Cade, so you’re back again. Been hearing all about last night’s
little show?”
“Yes,” said Anthony. “Rather an exciting week-end, isn’t it?”
“I should imagine that last night was the work of local men,” said
Isaacstein. “It seems a clumsy, amateurish affair.”
“Is there anyone about here who collects armour?” asked Anthony. “It
seems a curious thing to select.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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