CHAPTER XVI
The twilight had deepened into darkness when Barrant reached Flint House.A faint ray of light flickered from the kitchen window on the giantcliffs, like a taper from a doll's house. He approached the window by aline of rocks which guarded it like sentinels, and looked in.
Within, Mrs. Thalassa sat alone by the table in a drooping attitude ofdejection or stupor. Her head was bent over her crossed hands, whichrested on the table, and her grey hair, escaping from the back comb whichfastened it, fell on both sides of her face. An oil lamp smoked on thetable beside her, sending forth a cloud of black vapour like an unbottledgenie, but she did not heed it. There was something uncanny in hercomplete detachment from the restless activity of life. The dead man lyingupstairs was not more still.
Had Barrant known her better he would have had matter for surprise andconjecture in the fact that her patience cards stood untouched in theirshabby leather case, but knowing nothing of that he fell to wondering whather husband had seen in such a queer little creature to marry her. Theconsideration of that question led him to the conclusion that perhapsThalassa had been impelled to his choice by the realization that she wasas good-looking a wife as he could afford. Barrant reflected that womenresembled horses in value. The mettlesome showy ones were bred to displaytheir paces for rich men only. Serviceable hacks, warranted to work alifetime, could not be expected to be ornamental as well as useful. Solong as they pulled their burdens without jibbing overmuch, one had to becontent.
He began to wonder where Thalassa was, and moved closer to the shadow ofone of the rocks in case he happened to be prowling around the house. Inthe silence of the night he listened for the sound of footsteps on therocks, but could hear nothing except the moan of the sea and the whimperof a rising wind. His eye, glancing upwards, fell upon a chink ofshuttered light in the back of the house which looked down on the sea. Thelight came from the dead man's study, and had not been there a few momentsbefore.
Barrant walked to the kitchen door and tapped lightly. There was noanswer, but somewhere within the house a dog howled dismally. The doorhandle yielded to his touch when he tried it, and he walked in.
The little old woman at the table made a sudden movement at hisappearance, but he gave her a reassuring smile and nod. She sat quitestill, with a look of fear in her eyes. Above his head he heard someonemoving in the study.
"Your husband is upstairs?" he asked in a voice which was little more thana whisper. "I want to see him--I am going up to him."
He did not wait for her to reply, and she watched him out of the room withstaring eyes. Stealthily he directed his steps to the staircase, and withinfinite precautions for silence commenced to ascend. But midway hestumbled in the dark, and the stair creaked loudly. Above his head a dooropened sharply, and when he reached the landing he saw the figure ofThalassa framed in the lighted doorway at the far end of the long passage,listening.
"Who's there?" he cried; then his eye fell on Barrant, advancing swiftlyfrom the darkness towards the light. "What do you want?" he said. "How didyou get in?"
Barrant looked past him into the room. There was a litter of papers on thetable and shelves, as he had last seen it, but it did not seem to him thatanything had been disturbed. The door of the death chamber opposite wasclosed.
"What are you doing up here?" he said sternly.
Thalassa did not deign to parley. "What do you want?" he repeated, lookingsteadily at the detective.
"Did you hear what I said to you?" angrily demanded Barrant. "Were you nottold not to interfere with these rooms in any way? You have no right uphere."
"More right than you have to come into a house like a thief," retortedThalassa coldly. "I have my work to do. The place must be looked after,whether I'm spied on or not."
"I advise you not to take that tone with me," replied the detective. "Asyou are here, you had better come into this room again, and shut the doorbehind you. I have some questions I want to put to you."
Thalassa followed Barrant into the room and stood by the table, the raysof the swinging-lamp throwing his brown face into sharp outline. "What doyou want to know?" he asked.
"I want you to tell me everything that happened in this house on the nightyour master was found dead."
"There's not much to tell," began Thalassa slowly. "When it happened I wasdown in the cellar, breaking some coal. I heered my wife call out to mefrom the kitchen. I went up from the cellar, and she was standing at thekitchen door, shaking like a leaf with fright. She said there'd been aterrible crash right over her head in Mr. Turold's study. I took a lampand went upstairs, and knocked at the door, but I got no reply. I knockedthree times as loud as I could, but there wasn't a sound. At that I getsafeered myself, so I put on my hat and coat to go across to the churchtownto fetch Dr. Ravenshaw. Then a knock come to the front door, and when Iopened the door there was the doctor and Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton."
"How long was that after the crash upstairs?"
"No longer than it took me to go upstairs, knock at the door, and gettingno answer, go downstairs to put on my coat and hat. I was just winding acomforter round my throat when I heered the knock."
"It did not occur to you to break in the door of your master's room whenyou got no answer and found it locked?"
"No it never, and you wouldn't have done it in my place."
"You heard no sound of a shot?"
"Not down in the cellar. I fancy I heered the sound of the clock falling.It came to me all muffled like, though it frightened her rarely." Hepointed downward to the kitchen. "And it frightened the dog, too, startedit barking."
"Is that the dog I heard whining downstairs?"
"Maybe it is. I've got it shut up in the cellar."
"Whose dog is it?"
"His." Thalassa's eyes travelled towards Robert Turold's bedroom.
"Is it howling through grief?"
"More like from fright. Dogs are like people, frightened of their ownshadows, sometimes. I shut it up because it kept trying to get upstairs tohis room. It's a queer surly sort of brute, but fond enough of him. Heused to take it out for long walks."
"What kind of dog is it?"
"A retriever."
"So that's all that happened that night, is it?" said Barrant, in ameditative voice. "You have told me all?"
Thalassa nodded. His brown face remained expressionless, but his littledark eyes glittered warily, like a snake's.
"Think again, Thalassa," urged Barrant, in a voice of the softestinsistence. "It may be that you have forgotten something--overlooked anincident which may be important."
"I've overlooked nothing," was the sullen response.
"There's just an odd chance that you have," said Barrant, searching theother's face from raised contemplative eyebrows. "The best of memoriesplays tricks at times. It's always better not to be too sure. Think again,Thalassa, if you haven't something more to tell me."
"I've told you everything," Thalassa commenced, then straightened his longbony frame in a sudden access of anger, and brought his hand sharply downon the table. "What are you trying to badger me for, like this? You'll getnothing more out of me if you question me till Doomsday."
"But why should you keep anything back?" asked Barrant softly.
Thalassa looked at him with a startled air, then recovered himselfquickly. "I'm not keeping anything back," he said. "Why should you saythat?"
"I did not say it. You said I'd get no more out of you."
"Because there is nothing more to be got. Is that plain enough?"
"Quite. Well then, let us go over the events of this night once more.Perhaps that will help you to recall something which you have forgotten."
"That's not likely."
"Nevertheless, we will try. You were busy in the coal cellar at the time,I think you said?"
"At what time?" said Thalassa with a quick glance.
"At the time the crash happened upstairs."
"Yes."
"What time was that?"
"How s
hould I know? Do you suppose there's a clock in the coal cellar? Itmust have been about half-past nine."
"According to the clock upstairs. Did you think I had overlooked that?Then you heard your wife call, and went to the kitchen. Next, you wentupstairs, tried your master's door, found it locked, and decided to go forassistance. But before you could do so Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton and Dr.Ravenshaw arrived. Have I got it right?"
"That be right."
"All except one thing, Thalassa."
Thalassa met Barrant's look steadily, with no sense of guilt in his face."Well?" he said.
"I see that you do not intend to be frank. Let me help your memory alittle. Did you have no other visitors--before Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton andDr. Ravenshaw arrived?"
"Visitors?" There was scorn now in his straight glance, but nothing more."Is this a place where there's likely to be visitors?"
"Not in the ordinary course of events"--Barrant was still smilinglyaffable--"but the night your master met his death was not an ordinarynight. Somebody may have come to the house."
He paused, again searching for some sign of guilty consciousness in theface revealed in such clear outline near him, but saw none. Again,Thalassa met him with answering look, but remained mute.
"Thalassa"--Barrant's voice remained persuasive, but to an ear attuned toshades, there was a note of menace underlying its softness--"you knowthere was somebody else here that night."
"Somebody? Who?"
"Your master's daughter--Miss Sisily Turold." Barrant brought it outsharply and angrily.
Thalassa turned a cold glance on him. "If you know that why do you askme?" he said.
"Because you let her in!"
Thalassa surveyed him with the shadow of a smile on his motionless face."Do you take me for a fool?" he said. "I let nobody in."
"Thalassa," said the detective earnestly, "let me advise you, for your ownsake, to tell the truth now. You may be keeping silence through somemistaken idea of loyalty to your master's daughter, but that will do herno good, nor you either. I know more than you think. If you persist inkeeping silent you will put yourself in an awkward position, and it may bethe worse for you. You were seen listening at the door of the roomdownstairs on the day of your master's death."
"So that's it, is it? You think you'll fit a rope round my neck? I'm tosay what you want to save it? To hell with you and your policeman'stricks! I don't care that for them." He snapped his long brown fingers inBarrant's face.
"You've a bold tongue, you scoundrel," said Barrant, flushing angrily."Take care where it leads you. Once more, will you tell me the truth?"
"I've told you all I know."
"Do you mean to tell me that you did not see your master's daughter, orlet her into the house?"
"I did not."
"Could anybody have got into the house without your knowledge?"
"Maybe."
"Did you hear anybody?"
"How could I hear anybody when I was down in the coal cellar?"
The open sneer on Thalassa's face suggested that he was not to be caughtby verbal traps. Barrant perceived, with a smouldering anger, that the manwas too clever to be tricked, and too stout of heart to be frightened. Byaccident or design he had a ready story which was difficult to demolishwithout further knowledge of the events of that night. Barrant decidedthat it would be useless, at that moment, to apply himself to the effortof worming anything out of Thalassa. He had shown his own hand too freely,and placed him on his guard. There was also the bare possibility that hehad told the truth, so far as he knew it. One last shot he essayed.
"You are acting very foolishly, but I shall not arrest you--yet," he saidimpressively. "I shall tell the local police to keep an eye on you."
"Is it the Cornish savage from the churchtown--him with the straw helmit?"said Thalassa, with a harsh laugh.
The last shot had missed fire badly. The lawless spirit of the man was notto be intimidated by a threat of arrest--a threat which the detective hadreason for not putting into effect just then. Barrant moved towards thedoor with the best dignity he could command.
"Light me downstairs to the kitchen," he said. "I want to see your wife."
Thalassa seemed about to say something at that, then thought the better ofit, and walked out of the room. Outside in the passage he picked up asmall lamp glimmering in a niche of the wall, and led the way downstairs.They reached the kitchen in silence, and went in.
The little grey woman at the table was seated in the same posture asBarrant had last seen her, her hands crossed in front of her, her headbent. She glanced up listlessly as they entered. Barrant crossed the room,and touched her arm. She shook in a pitiful little flurry of fear, thenbecame motionless again.
"Mrs. Thalassa, I want to speak to you," said Barrant, raising his voice,as though to a deaf person. "Is this where you were sitting the nightbefore last, when you heard the crash in your master's room upstairs?"
"Put the knave on the rubbish heap," she muttered without looking up.
"Listen to me, Mrs. Thalassa"--he spoke still louder. "Did you hear theshot before the crash?"
The loud tone seemed to reach the remote consciousness of her being, andshe started up in another flurry. ... "Coming, coming, sir. Jasper,where's the tray?..." she stood thus for a moment, then dropped back intoher chair, her eyes fixed on the opposite wall.
"What's the matter with her?" said Barrant, turning to her husband.
"She's been like it ever since it happened," said Thalassa, in a low tone."That's how I found her when I came from the cellar."
"Did she hear the shot--or see anything?"
"That's more than I can tell you. When I came from the cellar she seemedmazed with fright, and kept pointing to the ceiling. All I could make outfrom her was that there'd been a great crash upstairs. When I came downagain after trying the door she was lying on the floor in a faint, and Icarried her in to her bed. It's floored her wits."
"She's had a very bad shock," said Barrant gravely. He regarded herattentively, her vacant eyes, mouthing lips, trembling hands, her uncannyfixed glance which seemed to behold something unseen. Strange suspicionsflowed through his brain as he watched her. What terrible experience hadbefallen her? What did she know of the mysterious events that had happenedin that silent house? He endeavoured to follow the direction of her gaze,but it seemed to be fixed on the row of bells behind the kitchen door.Then, like a half-awakened sleeper released from the horror of anightmare, she sank back in her previous listless attitude, and fell tomuttering again.
As Barrant watched her, Thalassa watched them both with an anxiety whichwould have aroused Barrant's suspicions if he had seen it. But Thalassa'sface was again closely guarded when he did look up.
"You'll get neither rhyme nor reason out of her," said Thalassa, as theirglances met.
"I'll try once more," murmured Barrant, almost to himself. He turned toher again, but this time he did not lay his hand on her arm. "Mrs.Thalassa"--he spoke more gently--"will you try and understand me?"
"Red on black ... black on red." Her hands moved restlessly.
In a sudden recognition of the futility of trying to gather anything fromthat clouded brain, Barrant turned abruptly away without another word. Andthe black gaze of Thalassa followed him through the door and out into thedarkness of the night.