صفحة 462 من 657

"'It is not worth your while to wait,' she went on. 'You can pass

through the door; no one hinders.' And then, seeing that I smiled

and shook my head, she suddenly threw aside her constraint and

made a step forward, with her hands wrung together. 'For the love

of Heaven!' she whispered, 'get away from here before it is too

late!'

"But I am somewhat headstrong by nature, and the more ready to

engage in an affair when there is some obstacle in the way. I

thought of my fifty-guinea fee, of my wearisome journey, and of

the unpleasant night which seemed to be before me. Was it all to

go for nothing? Why should I slink away without having carried

out my commission, and without the payment which was my due? This

woman might, for all I knew, be a monomaniac. With a stout

bearing, therefore, though her manner had shaken me more than I

cared to confess, I still shook my head and declared my intention

of remaining where I was. She was about to renew her entreaties

when a door slammed overhead, and the sound of several footsteps

was heard upon the stairs. She listened for an instant, threw up

her hands with a despairing gesture, and vanished as suddenly and

as noiselessly as she had come.