However, I
thanked him for the offer.
"Very good of you to come and put this right. As a matter of fact, I broke
it open looking for a gun. I wanted to shoot something, and I thought
there might be a gun in there."
I made no answer; it would have pleased me better if he had said nothing.
"So I thought I'd ask you before you started out to work," he said, to
finish off.
I put the lock right and set it in its place again, and began nailing up
the woodwork, which was shattered as before. While I was busy with this,
we heard Captain Falkenberg's voice; through the bushes we could see him
unharnessing the horses and leading them in.
The engineer gave a start; he fumbled for his watch, and got it out, but
his eyes had grown all big and empty--they could see nothing. Suddenly he
said:
"Oh, I forgot, I must . . ."
And he hurried off far down the garden.
"So he's going to sneak out of it, after all," I thought to myself.
A moment later the Captain himself came down. He was pale, and covered
with dust, and plainly had not slept, but perfectly sober.
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