They were now in the hall, and Miss Forsyth, standing in the doorway of
the drawing-room, called out suddenly, "Oh, Mr. Hayley, you are hurting
her!"

"No, I'm not. Will you please lock the front door?"

Then he let go of Anna's arms. He came round and gazed for a moment into
her terrified face. There was a dreadful look of contempt and loathing
in his eyes. "You'd better say nothing," he muttered. "Anything you say
now may be used in evidence against you!"

He drew the other man aside and whispered something; then they came back
to where Anna stood, and she felt herself pushed--not exactly roughly,
but certainly very firmly--by the two gentlemen into the room where were
the remains of the good cold luncheon which she had set out there some
two hours before.

She heard the key turned on her, and then a quick colloquy outside. She
heard Mr. Hayley exclaim, "Now we'd better telephone to the police." And
then, a moment later: "But the telephone's gone! What an extraordinary
thing! This becomes, as in 'Alice in Wonderland,' curiouser and
curiouser----" There was a tone of rising excitement in his quiet,
rather mincing voice. Then came the words, "Look here! You'd better go
outside and see that no one comes near that motor-car, while I hurry
along to the place they call 'Robey's.' There's sure to be a telephone
there."

Anna felt her legs giving way, and a sensation of most horrible fear
came over her. She bitterly repented now that she had not told Mr.
Hayley the truth--that these parcels which she had now kept for three
years were only harmless chemicals, connected with an invention which
was going to make the fortune of a great many people, including her
nephew, Willi Warshauer, once this terrible war was over.

The police? Anna had a great fear of the police, and that though she
knew herself to be absolutely innocent of any wrong-doing. She felt sure
that the fact that she was German would cause suspicion. The worst would
be believed of her. She remembered with dismay the letter some wicked,
spiteful person had written to her mistress--and then, with infinite
comfort, she suddenly remembered that this same dear mistress was only
a little over two miles off. She, Anna, would not wish to disturb her on
her wedding day, but if very hard pressed she could always do so. And
Miss Rose--Miss Rose and Mr. Blake--they too were close by; they
certainly would take her part!

She sat down, still sadly frightened, but rea