The Shrieking Pit

was barely five feet. His ponderous head, which was covered with short stiff black hair, like a brush, seemed to merge into his body without any neck, and two black eyes glittered like

painter in search of a subject might have been tempted to take

ng the waiter in a very loud voice. "Oh, I forgot," he added, to the in

ads your lips while you speak. It is not even necessary to rai

constable doubtfully. By way of helping the waiter to com

movements were quick, agile, and noiseless, but as he came forward it was

lidly, with his black twinkling eyes fixed on his face. His gaze, which was directed to the mouth and did not reach the eyes,

name

es Lyn

afflicted person; but the whisper, coming from such a mountain of flesh, conveyed the impression that the speaker's voice was half-strangled in layers of fat, and with difficulty gasped

g still spoke in such an unnecessarily loud voice that he grew red in the face with the exertion-"the ge

aited on the g

e between these gentlemen while you were in the room

e remarks of Mr. Glenthorpe's, because he told me to stand opposite him and watch his lips for orders, but I didn't get much of w

gather of the conversatio

ot be advisable to get from the waiter first something of what passed between him and Ronal

s, Charles, what passed when Ronald f

ly. The young gentleman said he was very tired, as he had walked a long distance and lost his way in the marshes, and would I show him into a private room and send h

ook ill-o

the landlord to him as soon as he came in. I left him sitting there, and when Mr. Benson returned I told him, and he went in t

ell us what h

When I took up the dinner the gentlemen sat down to it, and Mr. Glenthorpe rang for Mr. Benson, and told him to bring up some sherry. When the sherry came up Mr. Glenthorpe told the young gentleman that it was a special wine sent down by his London wine merchants, and he asked Mr. Ronald what he thought of it. Mr. R

discovery made in a field near what he called the hut circles. He said he had bought the field off the farmer for ￡300, and was going to commence his excavations immediately. As the farmer refused to take a cheque for the land he had been over to the bank at Heathfield for the money, and had brought it back with him

id Ronald s

stion covered a trap, the wa

brandy was the best in England, a relic of the old smuggling days, but far too good for scoundrels who had never paid the King's revenue one half-penny. Then when Mr. Benson had left the room he began to talk about the field again, and how anxious he was to start the excavations. That was about all I heard, sir, for shortly afterwards Mr.

evealed how intently the fat man's auditors had followed his whispered recital of the events before the murder. It w

ife, sir-not one of the dinner kn

e of the knives you too

put by the young gentleman's plate because it was a very good one. It and the carv

is knif

thin blade. I keep all my c

loway, in the blustering manner he had found very useful in browbeating rural witnesses in the police co

plained to the other gentleman that I heard very little the young gentleman said, because I wasn't watching his lips. It was principally Mr. Glenth

d Superintend

hen first he came to the inn. He said he didn't want to have to bellow out when he wanted anything. But when he found that I could understand lip language, and could follow what he was saying

ed man's guest during the dinner. The waiter replied that he had not noticed the young gentleman particularly. So far as his observati

tea. He was fully dressed, with his boots in his hand, and he said he wouldn't wait for any breakfast, though she had offered to cook him some fresh fish the master had caught the day before. He asked her to clean his boots, but as she was carrying them away he called her back and said he would wear them as they were. They were all covered with mud-a regular mask of mud. She wanted to rub the mud off, but he said that didn't matter: he was in a hurry to get away. While she had them in her hands she turned them up

elicited from her that during this colloquy at the bedroom door the young gentleman had put a pound note into her hand, and told

ry impatient-like, and then he had said, "Here's someth

the time you saw him?" asked the chief constable,

anybody might be excited at having to walk across them nasty marshes in the morning mist wi

hat she hadn't taken particular notice of the young gentleman, who was a kind, liberal-hearted gentleman

when she took up Mr. Glenthorpe's breakfast nearly an hour later, and made the discovery that the key of Mr. Glenthorpe's room was in the outside of the door, and his

had, she said. She heard the gentlemen leave the sitting-room upstairs and say good-night to each other as they went to their bedrooms, and she turned off th

h the answer, and allowed the servant to retire. But Colwyn, as he went out to the f

was turned on again during the night. Did Ann know this, and keep