”IKNOWTHEMANYethemadenoefforttodetainMr。Slater，whenthatgentleman，underthisrenewedexcitement，hastilyleftus。Hewasnotthemantorushintoanythingimpulsively，andnoteventhepresenceofmurdercouldchangehisways。”Iwanttofeelsureofmyself，”heexplained。”Canyoubearthestrainofwaitingaroundalittlelonger，Laura?Imustn’tforgetthatyoufaintedjustnow。””Yes，Icanbearit；muchbetterthanIcouldbeargoingtoAdela’sinmypresentstateofmind。Don’tyouthinkthemanwesawhadsomethingtodowiththis?Don’tyoubelieve-””Hush！Letuslistenratherthantalk。Whataretheysayingoverthere?Canyouhear?””No。AndIcannotbeartolook。YetIdon’twanttogoaway。It’sallsodreadful。””It’sdevilish。Suchabeautifulgirl！Laura，Imustleaveyouforamoment。Doyoumind?””No，no；yet-”
Ididmind；buthewasgonebeforeIcouldtakebackmyword。Alone，Ifeltthetragedymuchmorethanwhenhewaswithme。Insteadofwatching，asIhadhithertodone，everymovementintheroomopposite，Idrewbackagainstthewallandhidmyeyes，waitingfeverishlyforGeorge’sreturn。
Hecame，whenhedidcome，insomehasteandwithcertainmarksofincreasedagitation。”Laura，”saidhe，”Slatersaysthatwemaypossiblybewantedandproposesthatwestayhereallnight。IhavetelephonedAdelaandhavemadeitallrightathome。Willyoucometoyourroom?Thisisnoplaceforyou。’’
Nothingcouldhavepleasedmebetter；tobenearandyetnotthedirectobserverofproceedingsinwhichwetooksosecretaninterest！IshowedmygratitudebyfollowingGeorgeimmediately。
ButIcouldnotgowithoutcastinganotherglanceatthetragicsceneIwasleaving。Astirwasperceptiblethere，andIwasjustintimetoseeitscause。Atall，angulargentlemanwasapproachingfromthedirectionofthemusicians’gallery，andfromthemannerofallpresent，aswellasfromthewhisperedcommentofmyhusband，Irecognisedinhimthespecialofficialforwhomallhadbeenwaiting。”Areyougoingtotellhim?”wasmyquestiontoGeorgeaswemadeourwaydowntothelobby。”Thatdepends。First，Iamgoingtoseeyousettledinaroomquiteremotefromthisbusiness。””Ishallnotlikethat。””Iknow，mydear，butitisbest。”