At last he said, speaking with visible effort, "I stayed in Memphis until five o'clock this morning." "Damn your early hours!" roared Murrell.

"What are you doing here?
I suppose you've been showing that dead face of yours about the neighborhood--why didn't you stay at Belle Plain since you couldn't keep away ?" "I haven't been near Belle Plain, I came here instead.

How am I going to meet people and answer questions ?" His teeth were chattering.

"Is it known she's missing ?" he added.
"Hicks raised the alarm the first thing this morning, according to the instructions I'd given him." "Yes ?" gasped Ware.

He was dripping from every pore and the sickly color came and went on his unshaven cheeks.