The consequence is, of course, that I'm suspected of having had a hand in it myself." The Colonel's manner had for a moment imperceptibly changed.

Lines had come out in his face which were not usually visible, his upper lip had stiffened.

One could fancy that he might have led his men into battle looking something like this.
"What is it that you know ?" he asked.
"There was another person in the flats that night, who was interested in Morris Barnes, who visited his rooms, who was with me when I first saw him dead." The Colonel shaded his face with his hand.

The heat from the fire was intense.
"Why have you kept back this knowledge ?" he asked.
"Because--it was a woman, and I am a fool!" Wrayson answered.
There was a silence.

Then the Colonel pushed back his chair and dabbed his forehead with his handkerchief.