Page:Burton Stevenson--The marathon mystery.djvu/143

Rh York together, since the Tremaines had arrived at the Marathon fully three weeks before Thompson appeared there.

At least, I told myself, I could find out on which boat the Tremaines had come, since I knew the approximate date of their arrival. If Thompson proved to be a fellow-passenger of theirs we had taken an important step forward; if not, some other bit of evidence might possibly be stumbled upon. That should be my task for the luncheon-hour tomorrow; till then, I would permit myself to consider none of the other details of the mystery-I knew how easy it was to get inextricably tangled in a maze of conjecture—and with this resolve I went to bed.

But, as it happened, my noon hour was to be differently occupied. Scarcely was I out of bed next morning, when there came a light tap on my door and Godfrey slipped in the instant I opened it.

“I had a few properties to arrange,” he explained, smiling, “and so thought I’d best come early.”

He went on into the bedroom and opened the closet door. Then he took from his pocket a stout bolt, with screws and a screw-driver, and proceeded to affix it to the inside of the door.

“Now, my dear Lester,” he said, rising when the task was finished, “I’ll have to ask you to run up this noon and let me out.”

“Let you out of where?”

“Out of the closet. You see, unfortunately, this lock works only from the outside, so you’ll have to lock me in before you go. I’ve put on the bolt as an extra precaution.”