behave--'

The figure against the wall heaved a sigh--so truly from an overburdened
heart that Keith was conscious with a certain dismay of not having yet
fathomed the cause of this uncanny silence. He got up, and, back to the
fire, said with a brutality born of nerves rather than design:

"What is it, man? Have you committed a murder, that you stand there dumb
as a fish?"

For a second no answer at all, not even of breathing; then, just the
whisper:

"Yes."

The sense of unreality which so helps one at moments of disaster enabled
Keith to say vigorously:

"By Jove! You have been drinking!"

But it passed at once into deadly apprehension.

"What do you mean? Come here, where I can see you. What's the matter
with you, Larry?"

With a sudden lurch and dive, his brother left the shelter of the
shadow, and sank into a chair in the circle of light. And another long,
broken sigh escaped him.

"There's nothing the matter with me, Keith! It's true!"