At the other end of the line Elliot Wray’s heart turned over. He took a moment, and said,

“What?”

“I’ll tell you when you get here.”

Another pause. Then Elliot, very controlled.

“Is anything wrong?”

In spite of the control there was something that made old James Paradine smile grimly as he said,

“Wrong enough. But it’s business-nothing personal. Come right along.”

“I’m dining with the Moffats, sir.”

“You’ll have to cut it out. I’ll ring them and say I’m keeping you.”

Elliot Wray stood frowning with the receiver at his ear. James Paradine was Robert Moffat’s partner, head of the Paradine-Moffat Works. He wouldn’t make him break a dinner engagement, and a New Year’s dinner at that, unless the matter was urgent. He said,

“All right, sir, I’ll come out.”

James Paradine said, “All right,” and hung up.

The River House was three miles out of Birleton- four miles from the hotel. Allowing for the blackout, it would take Elliot all of twenty minutes to get here.

He went over to the door and switched off the two brilliant ceiling lights, and then, crossing the dark room, passed between the heavy curtains. The curtains ran straight across in continuance of the wall, but behind them was a deep bay with windows to right and left and a glass door in the middle. Mr. Paradine turned a key, opened the door, and stood upon the threshold looking out. Two shallow steps gave upon a wide terrace. The parapeted edge showed dark against the moonlit scene beyond and far below. The house stood on a height above the river from which it took its name. James Paradine looked down upon a silvered landscape which passed from low wooded hills on the right, through the river valley, to the dark clustering mass of Birleton on the left. The moon lighted it, almost full in a cloudless sky. Wray would make better time than the twenty minutes he had allowed him with all this brightness abroad. The edge of the terrace stood out as clear as day below the window, and beyond it the deep, steep drop to the water’s edge.