'I'm glad,' said Alice solemnly.
'So am I.'
They sat silent for a few minutes. It was oddly companionable.
Then Alice said, 'Fred, couldn't you see in any windows? I mean, you were out at the car, just before the lamp fell. Was there a light in the rooms upstairs?'
'Sure. The whole house, I think. I did see somebody in the parlor.'
'Who? One of the girls?'
'I dunno. Her face was hidden.'
Alice sighed. 'Another funny thing,' Fred said, 'they were all gone somewhere just before that, remember? When they were talking about calling the doctor. Where were they?'
'I don't know. But outdoors.'
'You're sure?'
'Yes, I think so. Isabel was. She went down to get Mrs. Innes.' Alice bit her finger. 'Fred, why did she have to go to get her? Mrs. Iiines has a telephone. I know, because I called her myself.'
'Funny,' drawled Fred.
'And Gertrude had been outdoors. I could tell. And Maud came in with her cloak on.'
'Come into the garden, Maud,' Fred said. 'Now, where'd they all go to? Not down the road a piece to move that sawhorse, do you suppose?'
'But Fred, how could they plan such a thing? How could they know it would do us any harm?'
'Well, for one thing, I asked Mr. Johnson which route to take right in front of all three of them,' Fred said. 'And that pit road's not the main road. The main road out of Ogaunee is number ten, that goes by along the railroad tracks. Traffic light's over the pit. Also, probably everybody else around here knows the place where the pit road goes off better than I do. The sawhorse wasn't right across the right road, you know. A driver who was familiar with it would go by without thinking, if he were going from this end, keeping to the right. Only a guy like me, who isn't too sure of his way, especially at night . . . That pit sure yawned,' said Fred.
'You must have felt something wrong, or we'd have gone right over.'
'Maybe I did,' said Fred, without any false modesty. 'I can't tell now. But we sure weren't going very fast, or I couldn't have stopped her.'
Alice thought a moment. 'There's only one thing wrong with the idea that they aU knew which road we'd take.'
'What's that?'
'Maud's deaf.'
'By gosh, that's right. Could she read our lips?'
'I don't know. But look, Fred, another thing: If she were up here, waiting to push over the lamp, how did she know when to push? It must have been done by sound. And she couldn't have heard Innes come out of the bathroom under the stairs. Not if she's deaf.'
'And she couldn't have seen him. That's right,' Fred said. 'Say, there's more in this than you'd think. Listen, Gertrude's blind. Well, could she read a detour sign? Would she know what it was or what it means, even? How
did she know there was one there? She lost her sight years ago, before there were many cars on the roads around here. I bet she never heard of a detour sign. Or knows how traffic works or the rules of the road. All that is new since she last saw. How could she even guess you could be fooled in the dark? No, Gertrude couldn't have moved that sawhorse.'
'Could Isabel, with only one arm?'
''It was dragged,' said Fred. 'I'd say she could if she wanted to bad enough.''
'Then it was Isabel,' said Alice.
'Look'—Fred turned a wrinkled brow—'suppose old Maud thought it was the doctor coming out of the bathroom. Maybe she's got it in for the doctor.'
'How could she think that? She couldn't hear hhn any better than she could have heard Innes. She wouldn't know anyone was coming.'
'But Gertrude could have dumped the lamp.'
'Could have ain't did,' Alice said wryly. 'You know, we're making this up.'
'Well, it's been fun,' Fred said, grinning.
Alice looked down at his feet. 'Where did you play football, Fred?'
'University of Michigan.'
'What's your last name?'
'Bitoski.'
|'Oh,' said Alice, 'so that's who you are.'
'Football's a great game,' Fred said, stretching. 'Got me two gold teeth and a college education. Better get some sleep, eh?' He helped her up.
