o servants about. That was
fortunate for me; and fortunate that Father and Kitty, and above all
Sidney, had gone on somewhere else from the Russian Embassy, for there
would have been very little chance for me if I had had to run the
gauntlet.

"You hate Sidney. I believe you hate me, too!" she went on when she had
got her breath. "I don't trust anything you say or do. You've some
horrid idea in your head. I read that in your face the instant I saw you
here. You mean mischief. What's in your mind I don't know, but I _shall_
know! You'd better tell me!"

"I've told you all I have to tell," I said. "If I'm a wild-cat, you're a
tigress. What will the servants think if they come and see you like
this?"

"I don't care what they think. And besides, they won't come. I've
changed my mind about giving you that coat. I must ask Sidney first if
he wants to keep it for any reason. I'll let you know to-morrow."

"To-morrow will be too late. I've to see my man to-night."

"Why are you taking him the coat, and not the rest of the suit?" she
persisted.

"It's only the coat that will be of use to him." I had the answer ready.

Without warning she made another dive at the coat to catch me unawares.
She failed and my hold tightened; but the sudden wrench twisted the
thing partly wrong side out, to show the lining. The cry Diana gave, the
horror that flashed in lightning from her eyes, told me what she had
seen, what she must have guessed.

"My God, Peggy!" she gasped. "You believe _that_ of him? You were
seeking for--but you found nothing. Of course--of course you found
nothing!"

"There's nothing there now," I said, trying not to let my voice tremble.

Diana's eyes searched mine. They were dilated. Her face, and even her
lips--always coral red--were sickly pale. "What do you mean?" she asked
in a low, choked voice. "Do you mean that you did find--oh! I see
now--the whole disgraceful thing! You were taking this coat to Eagle
March. You traitor! I thank God I came in time."

She seized me by both shoulders. Her white hands, with their rose-pink
nails and little round dimples at the finger roots, felt hard and
remorseless as steel claws. She looked suddenly capable of anything. The
thought struck on my heart like a hammer-stroke that she would stop at
nothing to save Sidney's reputation. For the first time, I was afraid
for myself. I was afraid she would be too strong for me. She would push
me along the corridor and through the