"Yes! but who is it in my rooms? That isn't Janion's voice, is it?"
Then Virginia knew that the person who spoke was Norris Vine himself,
and before every word she uttered she hesitated, thinking always of the
listener outside.
"No, it's not Janion," she answered. "What do you want?"
"I wanted to know whether my servant was there," the voice replied. "Who
are you, and what are you doing in my rooms?"
"Gone into the country?" Virginia said, speaking in a loud tone of
surprise. "You mean that he will not be here to-night, after all?"
The voice down the telephone came angry and perplexed.
"What the devil are you talking about?" it asked. "I am Norris Vine, and
I am speaking into my own rooms. I want to know who you are, and what
are you doing there."
"Then I think," Virginia continued, still speaking loudly, "that you
might be a little more careful before you send me on a fool's errand
like this. Here have I been waiting for half an hour for a man who you
declared was certain to come here before eleven o'clock. Now you tell me
that he is not returning to-night at all, gone into the country, or some
rubbish. Why can't you make sure of your facts? You seem to repeat any
stuff that's told you, and then think that it doesn't matter so long as
you say that you're sorry.
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