He tore it open, however, without a word.

As he read, his long, upper teeth closed in upon his lip.

So he stood there until two little drops of blood appeared.
Then he turned to Mills.
"There is no answer," he said.
The man bowed and left the room.

He walked slowly and he looked back from the doorway.

It was scarcely possible for even so perfectly trained a servant to escape from the atmosphere of tragedy.
"Something tells me," Lessingham remarked coolly, as soon as the door was closed, "that that message concerns me." The Commandant made no immediate reply.