And you of course took it to himCertainly, sir
And you of course took it to himCertainly, sir. Mrs. Bliss had already prepared it when she called me.And what about the doctor 's breakfast?would not have disturbed him myself unless he rang for le the studyMrs. Bliss suggested that i take his coffee and toast toAnd when was this suggestion made by Mrs. Bliss?Just before she and Mr Salveter left the breakfast-room.At about nine i think you said" Yes, sir--perhaps a few minutes beforeDid Mrs. Bliss and Mr. Salveter leave the breakfast-room together?I couldn't say, sir. The fact is, Mrs. Bliss called me in just as she hadfinished breakfast, and told me to take some coffee and toast to the doctor. When i returmed to the breakfast-room to get the coffee, she and mrSalveter had goneAnd had Mrs. Bliss prepared the coffee for the doctor?No, sir. i drew it myselfWhen?" The toast was not quite ready, sir; but I drew the coffeeminutes after Mrs. Bliss and Mr Salveter had gone up-stalts within fiveAnd during those five minutes you were, I presume, in the kitchen?" Yes, sir. That is to say, except when I was in the rear hall telephoning-the usual daily orders to the tradespeopleVance roused himself from his apparent lethargy and crushed out hisanetteThe breakfast-room, then, was empty for about five minutes betweenthe time when Mrs. Bliss and Mr. Salveter went up-stairs and the timewhen you went in to draw doctor bliss's coffeeJust about five minutes, sir.Now, focus your brain on those five minutes, Brush--Did you hearany sound in the breakfast-room during that time?The butler looked critically at varoncentrationI wasn't paying much attention, sir, he replied at length. And I wastelephoning most of the time. But I can't recall hearing any sound. As amatter of fact, no one could have been in the breakfast-room duringthose five minutes
Mrs. Bliss or Mr. Salveter might have returned for some reasonVance suggestedIt's possible, sir, Bursh admitted dubiously.Moreover, could not Hani have come down-stairs in the interim?But he was not well, sir. I took him his coffee-So you told us.. I say, Brush, was Hani in bed when you presentedhim with this abominable coffee?He was lying down-on the sofaDressed?He had on that striped robe he usually wears round the houseVance was silent for several moments. Presently he turned toMarkham. "It's not what one would call a crystalline situation he com-mented. "The samovar containing the coffee seems to have been in an almost indecent state of exposure this morning. Observe that Mrs. Blssand Salveter were alone with it during breakfast, and that elther one ofem might have lingered behind for a few moments at the conclusion ofthe meal, or perhaps returned. Also, Hand could have descended to thebreakfast-room as soon as Mrs. Bliss and Salveter came up-stairs. In fact,every one in the house had an opportunity to meddle with the coffee be-fore Brush took the doctors breakfast to himIt looks that way Markham considered the matter morosely forwhile. Then he addressed himself to the butler. " Did you notice anythingunusual about the coffee you drew for Doctor bliss?Why no, sir. " Brush sought unsuccessfully to hide his astonishment atthe question. It seemed perfectly all right, sirThe usual color and consistency?I didn't see anything wrong with it, sir. The mans apprehension wasgrowing, and again an unhealthy pallor overspread his sallow featuresIt might have been a little strong, he added nervously. But Doctor Blissprefers his coffee very strongVance got to his feet and yawnedI could bear to have a peep at this breakfast-room and its weird per-collator. A bit of observation might help us, don't y know.Markham readily acceded
We d better go through the doctor's study, " said Vance,so as not toouse the curiosity of the occupants of the drawing-roomBrush led the way silently. He looked ghastly, and as he ascended thespiral stairs ahead of us I noticed that he held tightly to the iron railingcould not figure him out. At times he appeared to be entirely dissociatedfrom the tragic events of the forenoon; but at other times i got the dis-tinct impression that some racking secret or suspicion was undermininghis poiseThe breakfast-room extended, except for a small hallway, across theentire front of the house; but it was no more than eight feet deep. Thefront windows, which gave on the areaway of the street, were panedwith opaque glass and heavily curtained. The room was fitted in exoticfashion and decorated with Egyptian designs. The breakfast-table was atleast twelve feet long and very narrow, inlaid and painted in thedecadent, rococo-esque style of the New Empire---not unlike the baroquefurniture found in the tomb of tut-ankh-AmanOn the end of the table stood the coffee samovar. It was of polishedcopper and about two feet high, elevated on three sprawling legsBeneath it was an alcohol lampVance, after one glance, paid scant attention to it, much to my perplexity. He seemed far more interested in the arrangement of the lowerrooms. He put his head in the butler's pantry between the breakfast-room and the kitchen and stood for several moments in the main doorway looking up and down the narrow hallway which led from the rearstairs to the front of the houseA simple matter for any one to come to the breakfast-room withoutbeing seen "he observed. "I note that the kitchen door is behind thestaircaseYes, sir-qulte so, sir. Brush's agreement was almost eagerVance appeared not to notice his manner.And you say you took the doctor's coffee to him about five minutesafter Mrs. Bliss and Mr Salveter had gone up-stairs.. What did you doafter that, Brush?I went to tidy up the drawing-room, sirh, yes-so you told us. Vance was running his finger over the in-aid work of one of the chairs. " And I believe you said Mrs. Bliss left thehouse shortly after nine. Did you see her go?
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