"My dear young lady," he said, "we are infinitely obliged to you, I am sure."
"Yes, indeed," said George. "Though I—er—"
He paused in some perplexity, staring at a young lady who was a total stranger to him. Loraine looked appealingly at Jimmy, who came to the rescue.
"Er—this is Miss Wade," said Jimmy. "Gerald Wade's sister."
"Indeed," said George, shaking her warmly by the hand. "My dear Miss Wade, I must express my deep gratitude to you for what you have done. I must confess that I do not quite see—"
He paused delicately and four of the persons present felt that explanations were going to be fraught with much difficulty. Superintendent Battle came to the rescue.
"Perhaps we'd better not go into that just now, sir," he suggested tactfully.
The efficient Mr. Bateman created a further diversion.
"Wouldn't it be wise for someone to see to O'Rourke? Don't you think, sir, that a doctor had better be sent for?"
"Of course," said George. "Of course. Most remiss of us not to have thought of it before." He looked towards Bill. "Get Dr. Cartwright on the telephone. Ask him to come. Just hint, if you can, that—er—discretion should be observed."