red-brown volume in his hand. âThey were quotations?â
âI should have thought the fact reasonably clear.â
âGood gracious. To tell you the truth, Gamadge, I barely glanced at the things. I fought shy of them. I hoped everything would simmer down and come to nothing. Hereâs Herbert.â
âLook up âA Paradox,â and then Poeâs âSilenceâA Fable.ââ
They both turned pages. â Here we are,â said Sylvanus at last. ââListen to me, said the Demon .â Well, Iâll be hanged.â
âAnd hereâs the other Ford, in that piece whose title we have no concern with.â
âNo concern with it?â
âOh, no; we never mention it. People canât make up their minds to produce it, because they canât imagine the title in front of a theatre in electric lights.â
Sylvanus joined him, peered, laughed, and then grew grave. âI didnât even know we had a Ford. Good heavensâyou think the party used our books!â
âWhat do you think?â
âGood heavens. Shall you examine them for fingerprints?â
âI wouldnât bother. Florence never wrote these quotations into her book, Syl; not even with the help of the spirits.â
âI suppose not. Sallyâs been filling her up with a lot of mischievous nonsense, though, and I was afraid it had been too much for her nerves. I was afraid she might be splitting off a personality or something.â
âNot Florence. Sally, perhaps, if sheâs the wreck you make out.â
âShe is. One doesnât like to scold her. One rather likes her to get what comfort she can.â
âWhere do they hold the seÌances?â
âIn the office there.â
âDoes Miss Wing sit in on them?â
âDonât think so; sheâs a sensible girl, not like that at all.â
âYou really like her, donât you?â
âI do, very much,â Sylvanus spoke sharply.
Gamadge piled the Poe and the Herbert on Ford and Marlowe. He said: âI had the pleasure of meeting your cousin Miss Hutter just now.â
âOh, is she here to-day?â Hutter laughed. âQuite a character, didnât you think?â
âQuite. She seems intelligent, too.â
âOh, very. Weâre quite fond of her, but you canât do much withâor forâthat type. Just like her father. She loves to tell people that she wonât be beholden to Florence and me.â
âShe told me so.â
âOf course she did. Old Joel made her promise, or something. Of course Florence and I will eventually set up an annuity for her, whether she likes it or not. She can give it to the Erasmus library if she doesnât want it. But by that time sheâll probably be delighted to have it; best room in the boarding-house, world cruisesâif there are world cruises then. Her airs annoy Florence, but I think she really has a stiff kind of affection for us both.â
âLetâs have a look at the office.â Gamadge picked up the books and followed Hutter into a narrow room with one window; it had a second door into the rear hall, and contained a large desk, a desk chair, filing cabinets, and a revolving bookcase. The space between the two doors was occupied by a bridge table and two small folding chairs; and on the bridge table stood a little heart-shaped object, mounted on two delicate wheels and an upright pencil.
âThis place is smaller than it used to be,â said Gamadge, looking around him.
âOh, yes.â Hutter raised the venetian blind as high as it would go, and pushed aside tan-coloured silk curtains. âWe cut a chunk off the west side of it to make room for a new coat closet and downstairs dressing-room. Weâre very comfortable up here now. Game room in the basement; even Florence plays ping pong.â
Gamadge laid the pile of books on the desk. He said: âCan we lock
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