e!" Then he turned to Grace. "Girl, are you
telling me the truth?"

She nodded, bowing her head upon her hands. She could not trust herself
to speak.

"Where? Where in that room could it be hidden? Tell me!" he shook her
angrily by the arm. "Haven't we wasted enough time over this thing?"

Still she made no reply. Now that she had told them, a sudden revulsion
swept over her. She hated herself for what she had done, hated Hartmann,
hated Monsieur Lefevre for placing her in this cruel situation.

Hartmann dragged her roughly to her feet. "If the box is in the room
below, come with me and find it."

He hurried her toward the staircase. "Come along, Mayer," he called over
his shoulder. "Bring that fellow with you. It won't be safe to leave
him." As she descended the steps, Grace heard the other two close behind
her. The Frenchman staggered along like a man in a daze, offering no
resistance.

When they burst into the room in which Duvall was confined, they found
the latter standing beneath the electric lamp, a look of determination
upon his face. He regarded them steadily, in spite of his reddened and
burning eyes.

Hartmann paid little attention to him. He was too greatly interested in
the movements of Grace. "Now," he said, "where is it? You say the snuff
box is here--in this room. Find it."

She hesitated, looking at her husband pitifully. What would he think of
her? Would he, too, regard her as a traitor, a weak and contemptible
creature, forever barred from love and respect, false to her duty, her
honor? His face told her nothing. He was regarding her impassively. She
remembered now that he had said that he would never see her again if she
disobeyed him. Then she turned away, her mind made up. She would save
him, come what might. He had told her that the box was hidden in an
opera hat, in one corner of the room. She glanced about quickly, trying
to discover its whereabouts in one of the dark corners.

Duvall saw her intention. He took a step forward, and addressed
Hartmann. "You have forced this girl, through her love for me, to betray
a great trust. I prefer that, if anyone here is to become a traitor, it
shall be myself." He thrust his hand into the pocket of his coat, and
extended a round white object toward the astonished doctor. "Here is the
snuff box."

Dufrenne, for the moment left unguarded by Mayer, sprang forward with a
fierce cry. "No--no--no!" he screamed. "You shall not--you shall not."

"Out