Red In The Morning Read Online Free

shrugged his shoulders.
    “We shall know,” he said, “before the end of this week.”
    In fact we knew that morning – at about a quarter to twelve.
    The three of us were bathing as usual, for it was a lovely day. Whilst Bell remained in the house, Carson had brought us to the plage and was coming to fetch us again at a quarter to one. All Freilles was in the water or on the sand, that is to say, some hundred and fifty souls: but since there was room for five thousand, every party was very well able to keep to itself. In fact, our bathing tent was the last of the line and was pitched about thirty yards from the one on its right. We seldom entered the tent, for we drove from the villa in peignoirs , all ready to bathe; but we left our things before it, or sometimes inside. On this particular morning, Mansel had folded his gown and had laid it within the tent, for a pistol was in its pocket in case of accidents.
    We usually left the water about midday, to bask for forty-five minutes, before we left the plage ; upon this morning, however, Jenny came out before we did and made her way to the tent. Five minutes later, perhaps, I looked towards where she would be, to see her in conversation with a man who was actually seated inside our tent. At once I hailed Mansel, some twenty yards farther out, and when I saw that he heard me, I swam for the shore…
    I waded out of the water and hastened over the sand.
    As I reached Jenny’s side –
    “Pray be seated, Mr Chandos,” said the stranger. “Quite close to Mrs Chandos. And please don’t interfere with Captain Mansel’s approach. I’m not going to kill him – here.”
    The fellow was sitting cross-legged, as tailors do. His wrists were upon his thighs, and in either hand was a pistol, their muzzles drooping together into his lap. But his wrists looked very supple…
    All things considered, it seemed best to do as he said.
    “So provoking,” he continued, “so odious to embarrass Mrs Chandos like this. If there is one thing I hate doing, it is revealing to a lady my cloven hoof. Yes, this is Captain Mansel’s pistol. So very thoughtful of him to have left it here… Ah, here he is.” A flick of his wrists, and one pistol was covering Mansel and the other was covering me. “Charmed to meet you, Captain Mansel. I trust you will see the wisdom of sitting down. Force my hand if you must; but I’d rather not startle the plage .”
    Mansel regarded him straitly. Then he sat down by my side. Slowly the two muzzles turned, to droop into the stranger’s lap.
    He continued easily.
    “I was just telling Mr Chandos how deeply I regretted–”
    “No doubt,” said Mansel, shortly. “What do you want?”
    The other nodded.
    “I know just how you feel,” he said. “Never mind. You ask what I want. The answer is the great pleasure of ten minutes’ talk with you.”
    “Kindly allow Mrs Chandos to take her leave.”
    The stranger shook his head.
    “For reasons which you will appreciate, your request is refused.”
    “She will go to the edge of the water and stay within sight.”
    “No.”
    The fellow rapped out the word, as a sergeant upon the square.
    Mansel raised his eyebrows.
    “Come to the point,” he said.
    It was a most curious experience. But seventy paces away, men and women and children were frolicking in the surf. We could hear their laughter and we were full in their sight. Yet we could not move nor cry out – because there was death in the tent. Death wore the shape of a well-bred, clean-shaven man of, perhaps, forty-five, and as I presently learned that he was known as Brevet, from this time on I will venture to use his name. His features were good but his grey eyes were set too close. His voice was soft and cultured; his manner, nonchalant; and he wore a look of the most profound resignation from first to last.
    “So unfortunate,” drawled Brevet, “that you should have, er, intruded the other night. If there’s one thing more than another which my,