Now. She who could hear, but not see, would think the pills were on the mantel. And there was a white box of pills on the mantel up there, easUy found by questing fingers. She who could see, but not hear, would believe the pills were in a blue box. There was a blue box, a pillbox, conspicuous on the table beside Innes's bed. She who could both see and hear would look for a blue box on the mantel, and inside a blue china box, thereon, was a third pillbox. None of the pills in any of these boxes were dangerous. But they were different.
Very tricky, thought Alice. But perhaps it was too lat< for tricks. Her fork clattered on the dessert plate. She tool hold of her nerves and commanded her fingers to steadier.
When dinner came to an end at last, Mr. Duff excus( himselL He said he would go up to talk to Innes for a litdc while, and then he really must go home to bed. Alice sai< she would go upstairs, too.
So far, nothing. So far, so good.
Fred was lurkiag in the upper hall and followed them into Innes's room, where the defenders gathered around his bed, Innes, all smiles, happily imconscious of their new forebodings, was just saying an affectionate good night to his mother.
She went beaming away, and they let her go.
'Sit down. Sit down,' said Innes. 'You know, my mother has been scolding me. Really. She complains that Fm doing so much for the girls and nothirig at all for her. So Fve promised.' He smiled tenderly. 'Of course, it isn't that she needs it. Father left her very well off. It's just that she's jealous,' he said
Duffs eyes looked alive and a little sly with amusement. 'It's a very human failing,' he suggested.
'Of course it is,' said Innes, all wise and magnanimous. 'Only natural. Mother's getting old, you know. She needs me. Well ... how did it go at dinner? You set the trap did you?'
'Mr. Whitlock'—Duff disposed his long bones in a chair, sorrowfully—'we smell danger. I'm sorry to have to point out that, unintentionally, of course, you have put Alice in a doubtful position.'
As Duff talked, Innes began to disintegrate. His terror came back, all the worse for haviag been temporarily forgotten, and crept over him, drained his happy mood away, reduced him to a cowering, sweaty, pale, plump, middleaged man in fear of his life.
'Yes, I see. Yes, I see.' He touched his dry lips with his tongue. 'Alice, dear, you must get away. If you go and they can't get at you, then Fm safe.' Even in his state, he caught the ungallantry. 'We're both safe,' he amended. 'That's so, isn't it, Mr. Duff? Alice, dear, you will have to go.'
'And then what?' said Alice.
'What do you mean, dear? Then they won't . . . Mr. Duff, explain it to her.'
But Duff said, 'What were you going to say, Alice?''
171
'I only want to know what happens to our plans if I go away.'
'Our plans, such as they are, proceed,' said Duff. 'At least we can see who is interested in which pillbox. For she will have to unmurder Innes, surely, once youVe gone.'
'I don't think much of that,' said Alice.
'It's feeble,' Duff agreed quickly. 'But it may help.'
'Here we are,' she said, 'three of you able-bodied men, and Innes, who's perfectly well able to yell, at least, and me, who am able-bodied and young and more or less bright. Do you mean to say that all of us are so scared of one handicapped old woman that we have to scatter and run?'
'Listen, don't be dumb,' said Fred. 'You .. .'
'I'm not dumb,' said Alice hotly. 'But what on earth's the use of fooling around with halfway measures? If you really want to play safe, Innes, why don't you make a big fuss? You can a&ord it. Get people in here, rouse the town, get the police. Or hire an ambulance and go somewhere else. Or hire a special train, for heaven's sake, and let's all run away!'
'Yeah, but we don't want to do that,' said Fred. 'Then we'd never know.'
Alice ignored him. 'Why don't you do that, Innes?'
'I I '
'You don't want to, do you?' she purred sweetly. 'I know. Suppose we all run away and say we're safe, and she gets to thinking about murder . . . suppose she picksj out one of her sisters . . . suppose she kills your mother,! Innes ... or Josephine? Goodness knows, she must bej partly crazy. You can't just ignore this sort of thing and goj away and say, Tm safe so what's the difference?' You] couldn't do that, Innes, I know.'
'No,' he said, licking his lips nervously, 'no, I .. .'
'Well, then,' said Alice, 'if we want to stop it and set'] tie the whole thing . . .'
Killeen said, 'You're swell, Alice! You're perfecdy swell! But, don't you see, if it were anyone but you. . . . We can't let you be bait for this trap.'
'Why not? I make pretty good bait, don't I?'
'Nuts, Brennan,' said Fred sofdy.
'No . . . no . . .' said Innes. 'The risk, my dear. The risk for you!'
Alice felt a wave of shame. She said, with sudden honesty, 'I don't mean . . . Listen, I'm not so awful brave as all that. I only ... I don't want to run away.' Tears stung behind her lids.
Fred said, ''We got the idea. Now you can run along. You'd better.'
'Darling, it isn't safe . . .'
