loved, and if he had appeared to act the part of a
traitor to his cause, it was only because she, by her weakness, her love
for him, had forced him to do so. At the last moment he had thought of
her--his one thought had been to save her from disgrace and dishonor. He
had assumed the blame, for he had given up the snuff box of his own free
will. Had he allowed her to do so, he could have preserved his own name,
his own honor, clear of all accusation or stain. It made her love him
doubly, that he had thus stepped into the breach at the last moment and
taken upon himself the guilt which she knew belonged in reality upon
her.

As she sat there, conscious only of the flying trees outside the car
windows, the clicking of the wheels upon the rails, and the low
breathing of her husband on the seat before her, her mind went forward
into the future, and the prospect made her shudder. In Paris she knew
what manner of welcome awaited them. Monsieur Lefevre would turn from
them both, as he would not turn from the vilest criminal.

Their names would be held up to scorn, in official circles at least. If
the public ever came to know of the affair, she knew they would have
reason to fear for their very safety.

As to the results of her act, as to what the secret of the lost snuff
box was, that made Hartmann declare its value to be priceless, she could
not even guess. That it must have some diplomatic, some international
significance, she fully believed, else why should Monsieur Lefevre have
declared that the honor of France was involved? And if so--if the
possession of the secret by Hartmann, and thus by the foreign country,
whichever one it might be, of which he was probably an agent, did result
in complications of a vast and terrible nature, involving possibly war,
or loss of national honor and prestige, how could either she or her
husband ever again hope to hold up their heads, to find any joy and
happiness in life?

Of course, there was America, and home, but even there the secret would
in time become known, and Richard would find that those who had been his
friends in high places would turn from him, trusting in his honor, his
integrity, no longer. Even, she realized, if the affair did not become
known, at home, it would stand forever between them, a black and
grinning shadow, destroying confidence, happiness, even love itself. She
had failed him--failed her husband--done what he had forbidden her to
do, and he had sworn to le