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Chapter 11, Martin

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Davies stoodstock still in the center

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of his tastefully appointed dining room

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and stayed straight ahead with eyes that

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burned with a strange fire and

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yet did not see it

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was late. And davies had sat up

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long after the servants had retired for the night.

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It

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was often his custom to do so and the servants

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understood that their master did not wish them

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to wait for him He was a wealthy

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young man and kept such hours as pleased himself,

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often preferring the quiet of the night.

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The servants would think little the sound of

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quiet footfalls upstairs, they

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would assume them to be those of their restless

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master. On

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any other night, that would have been true, but

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on this night, Martin Davies looked

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into the heart of the dying light within

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the fireplace, and his gaze

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never faltered, his feet,

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never wandered.

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Around him there fell a darkness that the

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glow of the embers could not dispel,

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darkness

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that was more than mere shadow, but

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true blackness, almost pulsing

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with a life of its own. The

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blackness wrapped the walls of Davey's

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growing hid the light of the fire from

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many eyes, but those of Martin Davies himself

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and reached like cold tendrils into

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the rich man's mind. Those

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icy fingers of dark thought

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carried the innermost workings of the millionaire's

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mind to another being one

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that lurked within that pulsing wall

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of shadows. Two

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eyes shone forth from the black with a

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light that almost unnatural to

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those few that had seen it and lived,

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the

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eyes of Ajei Shah.

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Those

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eyes now studied the face of Martin

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Davies. They

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had met before in the home of Wallace

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Blake over a very agreeable dinner

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Davies had been as charmed as any at that

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assembly by the utterly disarming mister

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Shaw and

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had invited the newcomer to the city to dine

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with him at his club Again,

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Shaw

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was introduced by his new host to many

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other prospects, many

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more insects for his great web.

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But there was something about Martin Davies,

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something

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that Shaw could not be sure of.

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It

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had been impossible to search the young

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man's mind fully with in the confines

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of the fashionable club, Macau, but

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Ajei Shaw, master of the

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mind, had reason enough to fear

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He drew closer to his victim,

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still there was resistance, still

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there lurked to secret within that mind,

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was

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it possible? The

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shadows that surrounded Shaw seemed to

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quell for an instant as he reached deeper

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into the mind of the frozen Martin

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Davies, forcing the barriers

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down through strength of will and

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drew forth every last scrap

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of truth. Shaw

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smiled. His fears forgotten

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as the last of resistance fell

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away before his mental night. It

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is not him. As

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said to himself with some satisfaction.

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What?

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Said a voice of the doorway quietly.

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Shah turned his head towards the door with half a

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hiss, quiet two lumbering fools.

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He snarled at his henchmen who would

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return to the drawing room for further instructions.

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But mister Shaw, the lead group protested,

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and I told you not to call me that

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he said arching an eyebrow. The

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darkness seemed to roll forward over

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his shoulders like a cloak

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drawn closer to its wearer.

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Effect on the assembly of underlings was immediate.

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Yes. Master, the

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first of them sputtered, the word falling

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awkward from his mouth, I just

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thought you were talking to us. Ajei

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Shah delivered a wax and smile to

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his men This crew

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that Joshua Kane had procured for him

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was capable to a point and

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would be easily disposed of when that

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point was passed, No

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need to crack the whip too hard.

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I understand he said,

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with as little minutes as he could manage,

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your error was natural pro.

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In

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fact, I spoke only to myself.

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I feared for an instant that our host

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mister Davies might be toying

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with me. The thug

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at the door gave a puzzled look to his

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two confederates.

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No. He's outright enough. I

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don't know how you do it. Indeed,

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Shah smiled in spite of himself,

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He looked once more at Davies. He

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was of the right age of the right

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class. His build was

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strong. His mental resistance had been

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more than might have been expected of the true

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weaklings of the social set? That's

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for the face.

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Well,

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Shah could not trust his memory

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on that subject. It

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might have been him. That

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could have proved

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awkward. He

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heard the men of the door shuffle uncomfortably. He

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turned back to them.

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You found the wall safe in the master

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bedroom, he snapped? Yes,

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master came the reply. It was all

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just like you said. We got the securities

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from the office, cleaned out all the cash in the place

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and found the jewels in storage. We got it all.

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Not all. Shaw smiled.

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There is a hidden chamber behind the bookcase

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again That wall,

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Sean gestured to his right as he circled

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the mobile Martin Davies. Inside,

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you will find a crate containing twenty

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thousand dollars in gold.

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It seems that young mister Davies' father

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never quite trusted the vagaries of

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high finance probably

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why the family fortune survived.

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Shaw smiled as his minions struggled

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to open a panel behind the bookcase and

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enjoyed their gas club astonishment as

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they learned that their new master

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was right yet again Shah

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dispel their questions with a dismissive

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wave of his hand. It

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is time we were on our way,

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Ajay Shah ordered quietly. But

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master one of his men protested, how are we

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gonna fence all this loot? I mean,

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once this bird wakes up and calls the cops,

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my dear fellow Shah, silenced

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his man with an icy smile.

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You worry entirely too much.

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He moved his hand racially

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before the unseen eyes of Martin

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Davies, and the young millionaire

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slowly followed like a fish on

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a line Shaw

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motion gently towards a chair before

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the fire and Davy sat obligingly.

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You see, the

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loss of these items will never be scovered,

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Shaw positioned a book open on Martin

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Davies' lap as though he had fallen

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asleep while reading by the fire.

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Suddenly, Ajei Shah whipped his head

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around toward the fireplace and the fire within

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blaze to life as though fuel had been thrown

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upon it. The log that had

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been smoldering burst forth with a

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great cracking sound, raining

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flaming shrapnel onto the floor before the

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fireplace, the carpet, and

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the chair where Martin Davies

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sat. For

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you see gentlemen, Shah said as

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he breathed silently passed his astonished

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henchmen, Mister

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Davies never will wake

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up. And with

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that, the master of the mind and his

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accomplices faded into the night,

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as the flames that would consume the mansion

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spread and

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all the while.

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Martin Davies sat silently

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staring into the fire with eyes

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that did not see