"Mr Roe and gentlemen,--The first question I answer with an emphatic
negative. The second question I do not answer at all."
A bombshell exploding in the hall could not have caused greater
consternation and astonishment than this avowal.
Grover, monsieur, and his other friends turned pale, and wondered if
they were dreaming; others frowned; Mr Bickers smiled.
"I knew it!" said he. "I knew it!"