well , what do you think ? she scoffed , her brilliant eyes challenging him . he made no answer . there was nothing to be said . he lifted his glass and drained it , feeling the sweat breaking out on the palms of his hands . when at last he looked up she was standing right in front of him , smiling as if nothing had happened ! he could hardly believe it and blinked several times . well , do n&apos;t I get a drink tonight ? she asked boldly . of course &amp;hellip; anything you like , he murmured , relief flooding over him . Kitty &amp;hellip; I &apos;m sorry &amp;hellip; . his throat went tight and words failed him . aw , forget it , she said cheerfully . I &apos;ll sting you for a double for being a naughty boy . how about the telly tomorrow afternoon ? he felt a glow of happiness steal over him . everything was all right now , thank God . she was n&apos;t going to break with him , after all . for the moment it was the only thing in the world that mattered . of course , Kitty , he said fervently , his eyes misty behind their thick lenses . well , I &apos;ll be off now . see you tomorrow &amp;hellip; and thank you &amp;hellip; . so long , Bob , she said , waving her hand to him . Harry followed him to the door , opened it for him and stood outside on the step , looking up at the sky , where a few pale stars shone between puffs of light cumulus cloud . nice night , he remarked affably . but they forecast rain for tomorrow . do they ? Bone glanced up at the sky , his thoughts elsewhere . personally , he did n&apos;t care if it rained cats and dogs and he knew that Harry did n&apos;t either . he waited , pulling on his gloves and adjusting his hat . look , Bob , Harry began , after a brief silence , I do n&apos;t mean to butt in , but if you take my advice you &apos;ll &apos;ave no more truck with &apos;er . he jerked his thumb over his shoulder . that girl &apos;s nothing but a load of trouble , I &apos;m warning you . Kitty &apos;s all right , Bone contradicted flatly . it &apos;s her boy-friend that &apos;s the trouble . if we could get rid of him &amp;hellip; . Harry nodded his grizzled head like an old hound . you &apos;re right there , Bob , he muttered . but it &apos;s easier said than done . Kitty encourages him , too . no work , no background , no regular money so far as I can make out . probably on the crook . but there you are , the girl &apos;s wild and headstrong . I can n&apos;t do nothing with &apos;er . do n&apos;t worry , Harry , the other said quietly . I will n&apos;t make a fool of myself . Kitty needs a good friend and I &apos;ll always be that . he paused , hatred of Stevie Hewitt rising like gall in his throat . and I &apos;ll find a way of getting rid of that chap , Hewitt , too . leave it to me . O.K , Bob , but watch your step . he &apos;s a tough customer , mark my words , Harry said in a low voice . Bone half smiled in the darkness . I &apos;ll remember , he said . good night , Harry . good night , Bob . Bone walked down the road , his cr&amp;ecirc;pe-soled shoes making no sound on the asphalt surface . as he walked he concentrated on the problem of Stevie Hewitt . by comparison with the manner in which he had dispatched Henry Mansell the elimination of a little spiv from Brighton seemed an easy undertaking &amp;hellip; once he &apos;d set his mind to it . back at the cottage he prepared his supper and ate it beside the fire in the living-room , his thoughts once more on Kitty . if she was really in love with Stevie Hewitt it was madness to go on worrying about her , he told himself moodily . yet it was not as clear-cut as that . he not only felt his need of her but was equally aware of the necessity to help and protect her , even against her will . tonight , for the first time , he had abandoned all pretence and shown her the honest desperation of his feeling for her . she had neither encouraged nor completely rejected him . in some perverse way their brief quarrel had forged a bond between them . no doubt she had every intention of keeping both of them on a string . on the whole he probably had a slight advantage over the young man , inasmuch as he had money to spend and she was a girl who had a healthy respect for the material things of life . towards eleven o&apos;clock he locked up , turned out the light in the sitting-room , and went up to his bedroom . for several minutes he stared at his reflection in the oval mirror on the top of the chest . the toup&amp;eacute;e undoubtedly improved his appearance and made him look ten years younger . his skin was a healthier colour and he had put on half a stone in the last few months , filling out the hollows in his cheeks and giving him a more rounded appearance . but he was still no sort of match for a young and virile competitor and he knew it . he turned away and begun to undress , shivering with the cold . his eye automatically glanced towards the panel which concealed the hiding-place of his secret treasure . for an instant he stood transfixed to the floor , his eyes unwavering as they riveted themselves on the wall . was it his imagination or was the panel slightly lop-sided ? leaping forward with a choked sound he grasped the oblong panel and pulled it out . the black tin box was exactly as he had left it . with heavily beating heart he reached out and lifted the lid . everything was intact and he gasped with relief . he lifted out the heavy bundles of notes and knelt on the floor to count them . of course , he remembered being in a great hurry to get that fifty pounds for Kitty ! obviously he had been careless in replacing the panel , but the possibility of anyone having discovered his hiding-place gave him something of a shock . as he replaced the bundles of notes , he withdrew the tin box from its hiding-place and locked it inside the cupboard . it would be safer under lock and key for the time being than behind a piece of panelling which did not fit very securely . tomorrow he would buy a heavy padlock for the box and search for a new hiding-place . he lay in bed , cold and uneasy , unable to account for an instinctive sense of danger . when he closed his eyes it was Henry Mansell &apos;s face he saw , hovering above his head like a hideous caricature . the parrot nose and straight line of the mouth , the pitiless blue eyes that seemed to strip him right down to his abjectly quaking bones . the mouldering horror that had once been Henry Mansell taunted him now in the silent darkness . 2 . in a corner of the saloon bar of the six bells at Hawkeshurst that Friday night Hugh Mansell and Roddy Dowell drank their beer and waited . it &apos;s too damn busy in here . we can n&apos;t expect him to leave his customers , Hugh said morosely . give him a chance , old chap . he &apos;ll be over . Jim &apos;s a most reliable chap when it comes to picking up a small tip . O.K , Roddy , whatever you say . Hugh drained his glass and ordered two more beers . I &apos;m really beginning to feel it &apos;s all a bit of a waste of time , anyway . I &apos;ve been collecting scraps of evidence and piecing them together for four months now , and the whole lot still does n&apos;t amount to anything one could call concrete . Roddy puffed at his pipe , his eyes fixed on the white-coated barman . oh , I think it does , Hugh . that &apos;s why I want you to meet this bird . I think he fills in an important part of the background . furthermore , dear boy , it confirms what we already know of your father &apos;s intention to leave the country on the night of October 14th . Hugh nodded . his face wore the melancholy expression that was habitual to him but his eyes showed his inner excitement . I know , but from the moment he walked out of here we have n&apos;t a shred of evidence to prove what happened . obviously he met someone , either by chance or by arrangement . whichever way it was , that person had a gun and he managed to persuade Father to drive along that quiet stretch of road &amp;hellip; . miles off his proper route to Dover or the airport at Lydd , Roddy interposed quickly . and once there he was shot at close range and his money smartly filched . you know , whoever it was might have known of the existence of the suicide letter &amp;hellip; providing him with an almost unshakable alibi . Hugh was thinking of his uncle , but said nothing . after all , Julian had acted very strangely since the tragedy , always secretive , always reluctant to discuss his brother &apos;s death . it was impossible to associate him in one &apos;s mind with a cold-blooded murder but , in fact , Henry Mansell &apos;s death had saved the firm and Julian &apos;s future . moreover he might well have been aware of his brother &apos;s intention to skip out of the country and passed on the information . I &apos;m sure you &apos;re right , Hugh said thoughtfully . but whoever did it got clean away without being spotted . easy enough along that stretch of coast road in winter , believe me , Roddy affirmed solemnly . he probably caught the next boat across the channel and has been lying low with the money somewhere . Hugh nodded . I realized that after my talk with Mrs Lawford . there are a dozen countries where a man could easily hide up and change the money without danger . unless we can get a definite line on him it &apos;s hopeless &amp;hellip; . something will turn up one day , you &apos;ll see , Roddy said confidently . if we plug away at the leads we have &amp;hellip; . if only the police would do something &amp;hellip; Hugh cried out in exasperation . I &apos;ve put everything I know before them &amp;hellip; . no dice , Hugh . Roddy shook his sandy head . they &apos;re bound to want pretty solid new evidence before they &apos;ll agree to reopen the case . from their point of view the evidence for suicide is overwhelming . I spoke to a chap from the office of the Director of public prosecutions I know pretty well , and he agreed that the missing cash is a hell of a mystery . but as he quite reasonably pointed out the money could have been disposed of in London before your father left that evening . it would n&apos;t be unnatural for a man in his position to make provision for an unknown dependent or settle what he regarded as particular debts of honour before taking his own life . also , logically , there &apos;s nothing to show the money could n&apos;t have been pinched by someone passing the car after your father was dead . stealing from cars is about the commonest kind of crime in the book . there &apos;s nothing that absolutely ties the missing money to the circumstances of your father &apos;s death , that &apos;s the point . same with the passport . it &apos;s gone and that &apos;s that . it may turn up in a dustbin somewhere or at the back of a drawer . as far as the police are concerned there &apos;s nothing to go on . in our own minds we may be pretty sure what happened , but that &apos;s not good enough for them . that suicide letter did the trick - definite proof that your father took his life , backed by medical evidence and the fingerprint chaps . a little man with thin brown hair and a ruddy complexion came over and greeted them . he wore a short white coat . Hugh ordered drinks . I was sorry to read about your dad in the paper , the man said to Hugh in a thick voice which bore traces of a cockney accent . I was telling your friend how he come in here the very night he passed away . Hugh was n&apos;t impressed with this ingratiating barman whom Roddy had raked up . he was seedy and middle-aged with small black eyes set close together beneath heavily marked brows and a sly , crafty expression that failed to inspire confidence . he was hitting the bottle pretty hard , sir &amp;hellip; the man said in a loud whisper . meaning no offence , he added , looking at Hugh . 