CHAPTER 4As the chill of evening made itself felt, a fire was lighted in one of the big chimneys, and the supper table pushed up in front of it. This table with its lighted candles, its white napkins and its appetising food was a grateful sight to two bachelors like Brinklow and McNab; nevertheless the meal that followed was an uncomfortable one for all at the table. The three members of the household were on the rack, and they could not quite hide it.
The strain showed itself in Sophie Tasker’s expressive eyes which looked when you were close to her as if they had not had their due of sleep lately; and in the way Ken Chambers’ sinewy brown hands trembled slightly when he passed a dish. Dufranne had himself under better control, and he bore the brunt of the conversation; but McNab, watchi
