Joicey

Joicey did not reply; he was looking away, and Coryndon followed his eyes.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie

"Good night," replied Joicey shortly, and closed the carriage-door behind him.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie

Pools of afternoon rain still lay here and there in the depressions, but Joicey took no heed of them, and splashed on, staining his white trousers with liquid mud.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie

Joicey did not set the glass back on to the table, he held it between him and the light, and eyed it, or, rather, it should be said that he watched his own hand, and when he saw that it was quite steady he set down the wine untasted.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie

He felt that Joicey was ill, and might even be beginning the horrible phase of "breaking up," which comes on with such fatal speed in a tropical climate.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie

Joicey wiped his face with his handkerchief and pulled open the door with a violent movement.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie

Joicey spoke in Yunnanese with the fluency of long habit, and even though he was angry he kept his voice low as though he feared to be overheard.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie

The man had been in a position of responsibility in the Mangadone Bank, and Joicey had given information against him the very day he absconded.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie

He watched Joicey stare at him with blind rage; he watched him stagger and reach out groping hands for a chair, and he saw the huge defiance evaporate, leaving Joicey a trembling mass of nerves.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie

There was no sermon and the service was short, and as he sat quietly in his place, Coryndon wondered what frenzied moment of fear or despair could have driven this man into the company of Joicey and Mrs. Draycott Wilder, unconscious perhaps of their connection with him, but linked nevertheless by an invisible thread that wound around them all.

The Pointing Man A Burmese Mystery Marjorie Douie