And I felt the prickling sensation of sweat against my clothes as I swung open the door.
The mounted policeman, Halloran, was looming in the doorway. He was clutching by the arm a hulking figure in a shabby top coat, a man, a man panting like a beast, who was shrinkingly, miserably averting his face from the light.
"I saw this man running away from your house just now," began Halloran briskly. "Mighty suspicious, he looked—running away this hour of the night. Picked him up—to see if they was anything wrong."
I peered at the indistinct features of the man.
It was the dissipated ashen-white, almost leprous face of Pendleton.
With an incredible swiftness I felt my mental machinery working. Something must be done. All hate of him and all fear of him vanished from my mind before a faint lucid beam of a sort of indolent humor.
"That you, Jim?" I queried, peering more closely. "Hello, Jim!" I greeted him in a jocund undertone, bringing my voice round, with a great effort, to a pitch of naturalness.
"No, officer," I went on glibly. "Nothing wrong. This man was here on a business matter. Left late. Running for a train, I suppose—weren’t you, Jim?"
"Yes," came hoarsely from Pendleton, and a quiver of triumph ran down my spine.
"There’ll be a train—let’s see—" I fumbled. The policeman glanced quizzically from one to the other of us, then shrewdly interposed:
"Train to N’York at three-seven. No use running," he grinned. My ear, hypersensitive at that moment, seemed still to catch a note of doubt in the zealous constable’s voice. And when I longed to fling out, in the words of the ballad—
He is either himsel’ a devil frae hell, Or else his mother a witch maun be,
I heard myself saying calmly, "Thank you, officer." Then to Pendleton:
"Don’t you want to come in and spend the night after all, Jim?"
"No, I better go," mumbled Pendleton, edging away.
"Sorry to have troubled you, gentlemen," apologized Halloran suavely. "But you know—so many robberies in the suburbs—orders is to look out extry sharp. Good night to ye, Mr. Byrd. Good night, sir," he nodded with ill-concealed contempt at Pendleton.
"Good night," muttered Pendleton and slouched off heavily down the gravel path.
"No harm done," grinned Halloran, looking queerly after his recent prisoner. "But I could have sworn—" I interrupted him with a boisterous laugh.