‘How dare you speak to me like that?’ stammered Mottisfont. ‘You know nothing about my relationship with Nat! Nothing! Because you knew no better than to quarrel with him, you think no one had more sense! Well, I was dealing with Nat when you were at a kindergarten! Puppy!’

‘Edgar! Stephen!’ implored Joseph, wringing his hands. ‘This isn’t worthy of either of you! What must the Inspector think?’

The futility of this agonised enquiry drew a sound like a snarl from Stephen, but only made Hemingway say cheerfully: ‘Oh, you don’t want to worry about me, sir! Perhaps, since Mr Stephen Herriard seems to know all about it, he’d like to tell me what this new deal was that his uncle didn’t hold with?’

‘Gun-running,’ said Stephen.

Mottisfont grasped the arms of the chair he was sitting in as though he were about to jump up, and then relaxed again. ‘It isn’t difficult to believe that you’d stab a man in the back!’ he said, in a trembling voice.

‘I’d already noticed that you found no difficulty in believing it!’ retorted Stephen.

‘Stephen, Stephen, don’t let your tongue betray you into saying what you can only regret! That was unpardonable of you, Edgar, unpardonable!’ Joseph said.

‘Oh yes, what I say is unpardonable, but what your precious nephew says is quite another matter, isn’t it?’ Mottisfont sneered.

‘Edgar, you know what Stephen is just as well as I do! I’m not excusing him. But as for letting him get a rise out of you with his absurd, nonsense about gun-running – ! For shame, Edgar! Of course, no one believes you were mixed up with anything of the sort! Why, it sounds like one of those lurid films which I, alas, am too much of an old stager to enjoy!’

‘Only it happens to be true,’ said Stephen.

‘Really, Stephen! I hope I’m as fond of a joke as anyone, but is this quite the time, my boy?’

The Inspector, who had been watching Mottisfont, said: ‘I don’t want to interrupt you gentlemen, but perhaps we’d all of us get along better if I made it plain that I’m not at the moment interested in gun-running, which is what I thought this “China business” of yours might be, Mr Mottisfont.’

Stephen found Mottisfont’s expression of mingled relief and uncertainty comic, and began to laugh. Joseph flung up a hand. ‘Stephen, please! Edgar, is this thing possible?’

‘Good heavens, Joseph, there’s nothing to be so tragic about!’ said Mottisfont. ‘A great many people consider that we are making a criminal mistake not to allow the shipment of arms to China!’

‘But it’s illegal!’ said Joseph, quite horrified. ‘You mean to say you wanted to engage in an illegal business?’

‘Was engaged in it. Is engaged in it,’ said Stephen. ‘Lucrative pursuit, gun-running.’

‘You seem to know a lot about it,’ said the Inspector.

‘Not me, no. Only what my uncle told me. You have Mr Mottisfont’s word for it that I have nothing to do with the management of the firm.’