CHAPTER TWELVESuddenly my telephone jangled, eerily in the silent house. One long ring, three short, sounding in every house in our end of the estate. I looked at Colonel Primrose. There was something definitely ominous about it—about going to the phone and finding no one there…no sound but a ticking clock.
He nodded to me. I got up slowly.
“You’ll listen for the clock, won’t you,” he said quietly.
Suddenly I wanted to scream, and say no, no, I wouldn’t, I couldn’t—but his eyes were fixed on me steadily, and there was something horribly like a command under the suave reminder. I went towards the door. The telephone jangled again. It’s strange, I thought, how an inanimate object can take on a sudden startling malevolence. My hands were icy cold as I took down the receiver and held it to
