Page:The Viaduct Murder (1926).pdf/152

" Now then," said the policeman, falling back on a formula in face of an unexpected situation. "What's all this about?"

There can be no doubt that, on most occasions, the sense of humour is a handicap in life. It implies introspection, and he who introspects is commonly lost. But laughter is, in great part, the child of innocence, and it is doubtful if anything could have exculpated the two amateur detectives from the charge of being criminals so speedily as the complete breakdown of Gordon's gravity when the question was asked.

"What are you doing in these rooms?" asked the policeman, less suspicious but by no means more friendly.

"Well, you see," said Reeves, "they're my rooms."

"I ought to warn you," the policeman pointed out, "that this may involve you in a serious charge. We have reason to think that a murderer has been hiding in that passage there. Say nothing if you don't want it to be used as evidence." And he took out the inevitable notebook which is the policeman's substitute for a thunderbolt.