I. A. R. Wylie

“ He felt that an eternity separated him from the time when he had tramped toward the little bungalow, his heart torn between fear and unquenchable human hope. Now the worst—the very worst his brain could conceive—had come to pass. The innocent woman he loved, and had loved faithfully half his life, was to be the victim of a long chain of circumstance, crime, and error. The fact that she was to be the all-atoning sacrifice for a time stunned him. ”

“ Stanhope did not answer. “And you kept silence all these years—” He stopped again. The light was dawning faster, and his hardened, calculating nature stood bewildered before the revelation of sacrifice.
Stanhope looked up, his features relaxing into a painful smile. “He was my friend,” he said, “and his wife—but I do not expect you to understand all that. The point is this—Mrs. Atherton must have the papers back. They can only be of value to one of us if the other consents to keep silence. These are my strong cards. First, you do not know the secret by heart. I do. ”

“ Meanwhile, Heinrich Meyer, gentleman at large and all-round amateur, had taken his seat by the open window. He was leaning a little forward, his square-tipped fingers pressed precisely one against the other, his florid, somewhat oriental, face expressive of nothing save placid content and pleasure.
“I had your message, dear Mrs. Atherton,” he said. “I cannot tell you how delighted I was to find that you had considered my proposal, after all. But you know—I thought you would. I am rarely mistaken.” ”

“ My husband was an honorable man.”
He made no answer. His face was turned away. She could see nothing save the broad shoulders and dark head.
“Colonel Stanhope, it's without mask now. A great crisis is on us. Won't you be honest? See, I will break my promise. I will believe you—only tell me the truth. Had my husband reason to fear you?” ”

“ The nation into whose hands they fall will become at one blow the domineering power, against whom the others, at any rate for a time, will be helpless. That discovery is by right England's. It is in your hands, in your keeping. You are responsible for it. Mrs. Atherton, I have come to warn you—”
He stopped, arrested by the expression on her face. She had grown as white as the dress she wore, and he saw her hand rise gropingly as though seeking support.
“Mrs. Atherton!” he cried out sharply, and then as a dawning fear crept over her features: "You have those papers—”
“No.” ”

“ He took a deep breath, and his shoulders squared themselves.
“You force my hand, Mrs. Atherton,” he said. “You force me to tell you that I know the truth. You cannot send little Erica because you have no money—and you will not beg.” ”

“ MRS. REED turned with an emphatic gesture to the man seated comfortably in the cane chair. Her round, kindly face was aglow with eagerness and genuine anxiety.
“Of course, colonel, I know it isn't of much use asking your opinion,” she said. “What in the world should you know about children? I dare say you would give the poor thing a dose of your everlasting quinin. But do, at any rate, prove your common sense by agreeing with me. Little Erica simply cannot stay in this heat. She must come up to the hills with me and my own babes. ”

“ He nodded, white to the lips. Thank you,” he said.
He picked up his helmet and went toward the door, groping like a man in overpowering darkness. At the door he turned an instant. “You are a brave woman,” he said. ”

“ Colonel Stanhope
refused the chair she offered him. He stood stiffly upright, his rugged face set and stern.
“I swore to myself I would never enter your house again,” he said. “I had no wish to force myself or my help upon you when both were distasteful. Fate has been stronger than my oath—Fate, and a great danger. The time is past when we might speak to each other from behind masks—it is face to face now. Mrs. Atherton, I know that you have in your possession papers of your husband which are of the utmost value—”
She interrupted him with the old haughty gesture of defiance. “You know! ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1959, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 64 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”