He had not been getting his own back for quite five minutes when
Hunter softly turned the handle of the lock. Philpot immediately put
out his pipe and descending from his perch opened the door. When
Hunter entered Philpot closed it again and, mounting the steps, went
on stripping the wall just above. Nimrod looked at him
suspiciously, wondering why the door had been closed. He looked all
round the room but could see nothing to complain of. He sniffed the
air to try if he could detect the odour of tobacco, and if he had not
been suffering a cold in the head there is no doubt that he would have
perceived it. However, as it was he could smell nothing but all the
same he was not quite satisfied, although he remembered that Crass
always gave Philpot a good character.

`I don't like to have men working on a job like this with the door
shut,' he said at length. `It always gives me the idear that the
man's 'avin a mike. You can do what you're doin' just as well with
the door open.'

Philpot, muttering something about it being all the same to him - shut
or open - got down from the steps and opened the door. Hunter went
out again without making any further remark and once more began
crawling over the house.

Owen was working by himself in a room on the same floor as Philpot.
He was at the window, burning off with a paraffin torch-lamp those
parts of the old paintwork that were blistered and cracked.

In this work the flame of the lamp is directed against the old paint,
which becomes soft and is removed with a chisel knife, or a scraper