Into this relaxed atmosphere came Rogers. And Rogers was upset. He said nervously and at random:
«Excuse me, sir, but does any one know what’s become of the bathroom curtain?»
Lombard’s head went up with a jerk.
«The bathroom curtain? What the devil do you mean, Rogers?»
«It’s gone, sir, clean vanished. I was going round drawing all the curtains and the one in the lav – bathroom wasn’t there any longer.»
Mr. Justice Wargrave asked: «Was it there this morning?»
«Oh, yes, sir.»
Blore said: «What kind of a curtain was it?»
«Scarlet oilsilk, sir. It went with the scarlet tiles.»
Lombard said: «And it’s gone?»
«Gone, sir.»
They stared at each other.
Blore said heavily: «Well – after all – what of it? It’s mad – but so’s everything else. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. You can’t kill anybody with an oilsilk curtain. Forget about it.»
Rogers said: «Yes, sir, thank you, sir.» He went out, shutting the door behind him.
Inside the room, the pall of fear had fallen anew. Again, surreptitiously, they watched each other.
VI
Dinner came, was eaten, and cleared away. A simple meal, mostly out of tins.
Afterwards, in the living-room, the strain was almost too great to be borne.
At nine o’clock, Emily Brent rose to her feet. She said:
«I’m going to bed.»
Vera said: «I’ll go to bed too.»
The two women went up the stairs and Lombard and Blore went with them. Standing at the top of the stairs, the two men watched the women go into their respective rooms and shut the doors. They heard the sound of two bolts being shot and the turning of two keys.
Blore said with a grin: «No need to tell ‘em to lock their doors!»
Lombard said: «Well, they’re all right for the night, at any rate!»
He went down again and the other followed him.
VII
The four men went to bed an hour later. They went up together. Rogers, from the dining-room where he was setting the table for breakfast, saw them go up. He heard them pause on the landing above.
Then the judge’s voice spoke:
«I need hardly advise you, gentlemen, to lock your doors.»
Blore said: «And, what’s more, put a chair under the handle. There are ways of turning locks from the outside.»
Lombard murmured: «My dear Blore, the trouble with you is you know too much!»
The judge said gravely: «Good-night, gentlemen. May we all meet safely in the morning!»
Rogers came out of the dining-room and slipped halfway up the stairs. He saw four figures pass through four doors and heard the turning of four locks and the shooting of four bolts.
He nodded his head. «That’s all right,» he muttered.
He went back into the dining-room. Yes, everything was ready for the morning. His eye lingered on the centre plaque of looking-glass and the seven little china figures.
A sudden grin transformed his face. He murmured:
«I’ll see no one plays tricks tonight, at any rate.»
Crossing the room he locked the door to the pantry. Then going through the other door to the hall he pulled the door to, locked it and slipped the key into his pocket. Then, extinguishing the lights, he hurried up the stairs and into his new bedroom.