I heard Coach Mears suck in a sharp breath. Tim Burke muttered something. Vollmer said:
“Harron’s back was to mine. I struck upward with the— hypodermic needle. I used my left hand, so that the injection would not be too perfect. I’m a doctor—”
His voice broke; he shook his head. Then he said dully, thickly:
“When he twisted around. I showed him the file. It had a sharp point. I said I was sorry— I hadn’t seen him in the gloom of the shower room. I was taking the file to the other side of the boathouse. It was just a prick. I kept the hypo needle concealed in my left hand. It’s small enough. We went out into the light and I looked at Harron’s shoulder. I told him I’d put iodine on it if he wanted, but it wasn’t anything much. He grinned and told me to forget it.”
Vollmer was silent aga
