“Did you know him well?” said Antony quietly.  He meant, “Were you fond of him?”

“Hardly at all.  Mark is my cousin.  I mean, Mark is the brother I know best.”

“Your cousin?”

“Yes.”  He hesitated, and then said, “Is he dead?  I suppose he is.  Will you—­do you know anything about—­about that sort of thing?  Perhaps I’d better get some water.”

There was another door opposite to the locked one, which led, as Antony was to discover for himself directly, into a passage from which opened two more rooms.  Cayley stepped into the passage, and opened the door on the right.  The door from the office, through which he had gone, remained open.  The door, at the end of the short passage was shut.  Antony, kneeling by the body, followed Cayley with his eyes, and, after he had disappeared, kept his eyes on the blank wall of the passage, but he was not conscious of that at which he was looking, for his mind was with the other man, sympathizing with him.

“Not that water is any use to a dead body,” he said to himself, “but the feeling that you’re doing something, when there’s obviously nothing to be done, is a great comfort.”

Cayley came into the room again.  He had a sponge in one hand, a handkerchief in the other.  He looked at Antony.  Antony nodded.  Cayley murmured something, and knelt down to bathe the dead man’s face.  Then he placed the handkerchief over it.  A little sigh escaped Antony, a sigh of relief.

They stood up and looked at each other.

“If I can be of any help to you,” said Antony, “please let me.”

“That’s very kind of you.  There will be things to do.  Police, doctors—­I don’t know.  But you mustn’t let me trespass on your kindness.  Indeed, I should apologise for having trespassed so much already.”

“I came to see Beverley.  He is an old friend of mine.”

“He’s out playing golf.  He will be back directly.”  Then, as if he had only just realized it, “They will all be back directly.”

“I will stay if I can be of any help.”

“Please do.  You see, there are women.  It will be rather painful.  If you would—­” He hesitated, and gave Antony a timid little smile, pathetic in so big and self-reliant a man.  “Just your moral support, you know.  It would be something.”

“Of course.”  Antony smiled back at him, and said cheerfully, “Well, then, I’ll begin by suggesting that you should ring up the police.”

“The police?  Y-yes.”  He looked doubtfully at the other.  “I suppose—­”

Antony spoke frankly.

“Now, look here, Mr.—­er—­”

“Cayley.  I’m Mark Ablett’s cousin.  I live with him.”

“My name’s Gillingham.  I’m sorry, I ought to have told you before.  Well now, Mr. Cayley, we shan’t do any good by pretending.  Here’s a man been shot—­well, somebody shot him.”

“He might have shot himself,” mumbled Cayley.