et shown
me the great sight, the concentration camp? when Tony Dalziel came
hurrying up, to take me back to his mother and the motor. His arrival
seemed to bring relief from strain. It was like a brisk breeze blowing
away the brooding clouds that stifle the atmosphere before a
thunderstorm. I dreaded to go and leave those two men together; but when
Major Vandyke suggested walking with us to the car, and asking Mrs.
Dalziel about Milly, my heart felt lighter. We stopped only long enough
with Eagle to arrange a visit to the concentration camp for next
morning, if Milly were better, and then Vandyke, Tony, and I started
off.

For the first two or three minutes the major walked along in silence;
but when we were well out of sight of Eagle March's tent he interrupted
some sentence of Tony's ruthlessly. I don't think he was even aware that
the other was speaking.

"See here, Tony, old man, will you do me a favour?" he asked in his
nicest manner. "There's a book in my tent I promised to give Lady Peggy,
to read aloud to Miss Dalziel--a jolly good story! I forgot to bring it
out when I came, and I don't want to go back now if I can help it,
because a party of bores are being shown round in that direction, awful
people I've escaped from. You don't know them, so they can't hurt you.
Will you, like a dear chap, cut off and grab the book? It's on the
table; you can't miss it; purple cover."

Tony obligingly "cut," and I waited, breathless, for what was to come,
knowing now without being told that Sidney Vandyke had seen the
photograph. He had not promised me a book, nor mentioned one.

I had only a few seconds to wait. "Is it true that your sister gave
March the picture he has in his tent?" he demanded, rather than asked.

I gasped, doubtful whether it would be wise to bring things to a crisis,
or better to try and keep them simmering. But an instant's reflection
told me that to shilly-shally with the man in this mood would make what
was already bad far worse. "Yes, she gave it to him, of course," I
replied. "I think you must have overheard him say so."

I really didn't mean to put emphasis on the offending word, but Major
Vandyke suspected it. Perhaps the cap fitted!

"I wasn't eavesdropping," he said. "I happened to hear. That's a very
different thing from overhearing. And I have a right to ask you as
Diana's sister, Diana herself not being on the spot, to give me an
explanation, as I'm sure she would if she were here. Be