Page:Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes - The Lodger.djvu/158

Rh kept her from going out—no, that it didn’t. She wasn’t a bit afraid. But—" he turned round and looked at his wife—"I am a bit surprised at Mr. Sleuth. I should have thought him a timid kind of gentleman"

He waited a moment, and she felt forced to answer him.

"I wouldn’t exactly call him timid," she said, in a low voice, "but he is very quiet, certainly. That’s why he dislikes going out when there are a lot of people bustling about the streets. I don’t suppose he’ll be out long."

She hoped with all her soul that Mr. Sleuth would be in very soon—that he would be daunted by the now increasing gloom.

Somehow she did not feel she could sit still for very long. She got up, and went over to the farthest window.

The fog had lifted, certainly. She could see the lamp-lights on the other side of the Marylebone Road, glimmering redly; and shadowy figures were hurrying past, mostly making their way towards the Edgware Road, to see the Christmas shops.

At last to his wife’s relief, Bunting got up too. He went over to the cupboard where he kept his little store of books, and took one out.

"I think I’ll read a bit," he said. "Seems a long time since I’ve looked at a book. The papers was so jolly interesting for a bit, but now there’s nothing in ’em."

His wife remained silent. She knew what he meant. A good many days had gone by since the last two Avenger murders, and the papers had very little to say about them that they hadn’t said in different language a dozen times before.