Page:The Viaduct Murder (1926).pdf/144

This adjustment was agreed upon, and they found the billiard-room unoccupied. It seemed, however, to show signs of recent habitation, for the dust-cloth had been taken off the table, the balls were out, and a cue laid across one corner as if to indicate that they were not to be disturbed. But this was voted accidental: the red was on spot, and the plain ball spotted in balk; spot was in balk, obviously as the result of a deliberate miss. And a glance at the scoreboard showed that spot had not scored, while plain had scored one from spot's miss. In fact, it appeared that two people had started a game, and interrupted it after the first stroke, a miss in balk.

"Come on," said Gordon: "nobody can want to have those balls left undisturbed." And the two proceeded to play, with a good deal of noisy conversation, while Carmichael investigated the walls.

"You see," he said, "the same old pattern of cornice in the panelling. With any luck the spring will be the same." And, sure enough, before ten minutes were up he had identified the spring.

"That settles it," said Gordon. "We'll get Marryatt, and he and Carmichael can keep watch outside the billiard-room door. Reeves and I will go down the passage from upstairs, with an electric torch: my experience of fighting in the dark is that the man who has got the electric torch, so that he can see and can't be seen, has got the upper hand from the start."

Marryatt was found without difficulty, and consented to mount guard after a minimum of explana-