sley Whitton. Kersley was
engaged to marry her mother when he detected in her a tendency to
madness which he afterwards discovered to be an hereditary taint in her
family. It is a disease of the brain which is absolutely incurable. It
is in fact a peculiarly rapid decay caused by a kind of leprous growth
which nothing can arrest. In some cases it causes total paralysis of
every faculty almost at the outset, in others there may be years of
violent mania before the inevitable paralysis sets in. Either way it is
quite incurable, and if it takes the form of madness it is only
intermittent for the first few weeks. There are no lucid intervals after
that."

He paused. Olga was listening with white face upturned. She spoke no
word; only the agony in her eyes spoke for her.

He went on very quietly, with a gentleness to which she was wholly
unaccustomed. "It has been coming on for some little time now. I hoped
at first that it would be slow in developing, and so at first it
appeared to be. Sometimes, at the very beginning, it is not possible to
detect it with any certainty. It is only when the disease has begun to
manifest itself unmistakably that it moves so rapidly. It was because I
feared a sudden development that I asked Sir Kersley to come down. He
was of the opinion that that was not imminent, that three months or even
six might intervene. I feared he was mistaken, but I hoped for the best.
Of course a sudden shock was more than sufficient to precipitate
matters. But I knew that she was less likely to encounter any in your
society than anywhere else. Nick wanted me to warn you, but--rightly or
wrongly--I wouldn't! I thought you would know soon enough."

He paused again, as if to give her time to blame him; but still she
spoke no word, still she waited with face upturned.

He went on gravely and steadily. "I knew that opium was a very dangerous
drug for her to take in however minute a quantity, but I hoped I had put
a stop to that. I could not foresee to-day's events. Hunt-Goring is no
favourite of mine, but I never anticipated his taking such a step. I did
not so much as know that he was in a position to do so. He suppressed
that fact on the sole occasion on which Miss Campion's name was
mentioned between us."

Olga spoke for the first time, her stiff lips scarcely moving. "I think
he is a devil," she said slowly.

Max made a gesture expressive of indifference on that point. "People who
form the drug habit are seld