the door go. But he must have come in by the window.' The man reflected for a
moment, then added, 'As a general rule, Mr. Manderson would come in by the
front, hang up his hat and coat in the hall, and pass down the hall into the
study. It seems likely to me that he was in a great hurry to use the
telephone, and so went straight across the lawn to the window he was like
that, sir, when there was anything important to be done. He had his hat on,
now I remember, and had thrown his greatcoat over the end of the table. He
gave his order very sharp, too, as he always did when busy. A very precipitate
man indeed was Mr. Manderson; a hustler, as they say.'

'Ah! he appeared to be busy. But didn't you say just now that you noticed
nothing unusual about him?'

A melancholy smile flitted momentarily over Martin's face. 'That observation
shows that you did not know Mr. Manderson, sir, if you will pardon my saying
so. His being like that was nothing unusual; quite the contrary. It took me
long enough to get used to it. Either he would be sitting quite still and
smoking a cigar, thinking or reading, or else he would be writing, dictating,
and sending off wires all at the same time, till it almost made one dizzy to
see it, sometimes for an hour or more at a stretch. As for being in a hurry
over a telephone message, I may say it wasn't in him to be anything else.'

Trent turned to the inspector, who met his eye with a look of answering
intelligence. Not sorry to show his understanding of the line of inquiry
opened by Trent, Mr. Murch for the first time put a question.

'Then you left him telephoning by the open window, with the lights on, and the
drinks on the table; is that it?' 'That is so, Mr. Murch.' The delicacy of
the change in Martin's manner when called upon to answer the detective
momentarily distracted Trent's appreciative mind. But the big man's next