s going to tell Margaret. It was to be enough to
ruin her happiness and trust in her lover, enough to rob Michael of the
woman who had robbed her of him; but not enough to let her know why
she, Millicent, had flown from the camp.

"Oh, we both loved it!" she said. "We had some unique and strange
experiences, things we shall never forget. But I had to come back, my
time was up. I am leaving for England on the twenty-eighth--I have so
much to pack and collect."

"It is getting very warm," Margaret said. "The tourists are all going
back."

"Oh, I never mind the heat--I like it--but unfortunately I have to go
home--money matters. I've been rather lucky, in a manner--a rich
relation in Australia died a few months ago and I have just heard that
he has left me a nice little bit."

Millicent's words instantly confirmed Margaret's suspicions. The
unscrupulous woman had secured at least a part of the buried gold.
Margaret wondered if it would be wise to attack her on the subject.
She refrained; instinct cautioned her. With Margaret it was always a
case of--When in doubt, hold your tongue.

"What a fortunate coincidence!" she said coldly. "How very odd!"

Millicent looked at her sharply. What did her words mean? What was
she driving at? Margaret never spoke unthinkingly.

"I don't understand what coincidence you refer to, but certainly I've
been lucky as regards legacies and money. I've always been fortunate
about money, but there is a saying that money goes where money is, and
that if you get one legacy you will get three. I really could have
done without the last windfall. I have enough of this world's goods
for a lone woman--if I had some babies it would be different."

There was a note of sadness in Millicent's words which would have
appealed to Margaret if she had not known what a perfect actress the
woman was. How was she to believe anything she said after what she had
done?

"You needn't let it be a burden to you." Margaret pretended to laugh.
"There are other people's babies who have none. There are plenty of
ways of disposing of super-wealth. Why not pay for the costs of some
of the Egyptian exploration work next autumn? It would interest you
and . . ." Margaret paused. ". . . it would be a suitable way of
spending the gold. It would repay Mr. Amory."

In saying these words, Margaret felt that she was going as near to the
point as she dared. As she said them, Millicent's eyes hardened.