Read Online The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Agatha Christie
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exactly?”
“Well, there were three girls - Nancy and Helen and Socks -”
“Socks Daventry? I know her.”
“May have been. Girl who was always saying things were subtle.”
“That's Socks all right. Subtle is one of her words.”
“And then there was Gerry Wade and me and Bill Eversleigh and Ronny. And, of course, Sir Oswald and Lady Coote. Oh! and Pongo.”
“Who's Pongo?”
“Chap called Bateman - secretary to old Coote. Solemn sort of cove but very conscientious. I was at school with him.”
“There doesn't seem anything very suspicious there,” remarked Loraine.
“No, there doesn't,” said Bundle. “As you say, we'll have to look amongst the servants. By the way, you don't suppose that clock being thrown out of the window had anything to do with it.”
“A clock thrown out of the window,” said Jimmy, staring. It was the first he had heard of it.
“I can't see how it can have anything to do with it,” said Bundle. “But it's odd somehow. There seems no sense in it.”
“I remember,” said Jimmy slowly. “I went in to - to see poor old Gerry, and there were the clocks ranged along the mantelpiece. I remember noticing there were only seven - not eight.”
He gave a sudden shiver and explained himself apologetically.
“Sorry. But somehow those clocks have always given me the shivers. I dream of them sometimes. I'd hate to go into that room in the dark and see them there in a row.”
“You wouldn't be able to see them if it was dark,” said Bundle practically. “Not unless they had luminous dials - Oh!” She gave a sudden gasp and the colour rushed into her cheeks. “Don't you see? Seven Dials!”
The others looked at her doubtfully, but she insisted with increasing vehemence.
“It must be. It can't be a coincidence.”
There was a pause.
“You may be right,” said Jimmy Thesiger at last. “It's - it's dashed odd.”
Bundle started questioning him eagerly.
“Who bought the clocks?”
“All of us.”
“Who thought of them?”
“All of us.”
“Nonsense, somebody must have thought of them first.”
“It didn't happen that way. We were discussing what we could do to get Gerry up, and Pongo said an alarm clock, and somebody said one would be no good, and somebody else - Bill Eversleigh, I think - said why not get a dozen. And we all said good egg and hoofed off to get them. We got one each and an extra one for Pongo and one for Lady Coote - just out of the generosity of our hearts. There was nothing premeditated about it - it just happened.”
Bundle was silenced, but not convinced. Jimmy proceeded to sum up methodically.
“I think we can say we're sure of certain facts. There's a secret society, with points of resemblance to the Mafia, in existence. Gerry Wade came to know about it. At first he treated it as rather a joke - as an absurdity, shall we say. He couldn't believe in its being really dangerous. But later something happened to convince him, and then he got the wind up in earnest. I rather fancy he must have said something to Ronny Devereux about it. Anyway, when he was put out of the way, Ronny suspected, and he must have known enough to get on the same track himself. The unfortunate thing is that we've got to start quite from the outer darkness. We haven't got the knowledge the other two had.”
“Perhaps that's an advantage,” said Loraine coolly. “They won't suspect us and therefore they won't be trying to put us out of the way.”
“I wish I felt sure about that,” said Jimmy in a worried voice. “You know, Loraine, old Gerry himself wanted you to keep out of it. Don't you think you could -?”
“No, I couldn't,” said Loraine. “Don't let's start discussing that again. It's only a waste of time.”
At the mention of the word time, Jimmy's eyes rose to the clock and he uttered an exclamation of astonishment. He rose and opened the door.
“Stevens.”
“Yes, sir?”
“What about a spot of lunch, Stevens? Could it be
“Well, there were three girls - Nancy and Helen and Socks -”
“Socks Daventry? I know her.”
“May have been. Girl who was always saying things were subtle.”
“That's Socks all right. Subtle is one of her words.”
“And then there was Gerry Wade and me and Bill Eversleigh and Ronny. And, of course, Sir Oswald and Lady Coote. Oh! and Pongo.”
“Who's Pongo?”
“Chap called Bateman - secretary to old Coote. Solemn sort of cove but very conscientious. I was at school with him.”
“There doesn't seem anything very suspicious there,” remarked Loraine.
“No, there doesn't,” said Bundle. “As you say, we'll have to look amongst the servants. By the way, you don't suppose that clock being thrown out of the window had anything to do with it.”
“A clock thrown out of the window,” said Jimmy, staring. It was the first he had heard of it.
“I can't see how it can have anything to do with it,” said Bundle. “But it's odd somehow. There seems no sense in it.”
“I remember,” said Jimmy slowly. “I went in to - to see poor old Gerry, and there were the clocks ranged along the mantelpiece. I remember noticing there were only seven - not eight.”
He gave a sudden shiver and explained himself apologetically.
“Sorry. But somehow those clocks have always given me the shivers. I dream of them sometimes. I'd hate to go into that room in the dark and see them there in a row.”
“You wouldn't be able to see them if it was dark,” said Bundle practically. “Not unless they had luminous dials - Oh!” She gave a sudden gasp and the colour rushed into her cheeks. “Don't you see? Seven Dials!”
The others looked at her doubtfully, but she insisted with increasing vehemence.
“It must be. It can't be a coincidence.”
There was a pause.
“You may be right,” said Jimmy Thesiger at last. “It's - it's dashed odd.”
Bundle started questioning him eagerly.
“Who bought the clocks?”
“All of us.”
“Who thought of them?”
“All of us.”
“Nonsense, somebody must have thought of them first.”
“It didn't happen that way. We were discussing what we could do to get Gerry up, and Pongo said an alarm clock, and somebody said one would be no good, and somebody else - Bill Eversleigh, I think - said why not get a dozen. And we all said good egg and hoofed off to get them. We got one each and an extra one for Pongo and one for Lady Coote - just out of the generosity of our hearts. There was nothing premeditated about it - it just happened.”
Bundle was silenced, but not convinced. Jimmy proceeded to sum up methodically.
“I think we can say we're sure of certain facts. There's a secret society, with points of resemblance to the Mafia, in existence. Gerry Wade came to know about it. At first he treated it as rather a joke - as an absurdity, shall we say. He couldn't believe in its being really dangerous. But later something happened to convince him, and then he got the wind up in earnest. I rather fancy he must have said something to Ronny Devereux about it. Anyway, when he was put out of the way, Ronny suspected, and he must have known enough to get on the same track himself. The unfortunate thing is that we've got to start quite from the outer darkness. We haven't got the knowledge the other two had.”
“Perhaps that's an advantage,” said Loraine coolly. “They won't suspect us and therefore they won't be trying to put us out of the way.”
“I wish I felt sure about that,” said Jimmy in a worried voice. “You know, Loraine, old Gerry himself wanted you to keep out of it. Don't you think you could -?”
“No, I couldn't,” said Loraine. “Don't let's start discussing that again. It's only a waste of time.”
At the mention of the word time, Jimmy's eyes rose to the clock and he uttered an exclamation of astonishment. He rose and opened the door.
“Stevens.”
“Yes, sir?”
“What about a spot of lunch, Stevens? Could it be
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