"My God—my God! she will kill her—she will kill her! and all through my treachery."
He had fled from the house and was now speeding wildly westward. No cab was in sight and he could not wait to find one.
"She will kill her—she will kill her!" he groaned, over and over. "Oh, my God—my God!"
VIII.
At a quarter before six, a woman ascended the marble steps of the old mansion at No. 74 West L—— Street, east side. She wore a plain dress of silver-gray material, a rich Persian shawl, a neat walking hat, her face thickly veiled. Reaching the door, she laid her gloved hand on the knob, then hesitated, as if undecided whether to enter at once or ring.
The heavy clouds hung oppressively low, and it was already dusk. A few flakes of snow were falling, but it was not cold.
All at once the woman removed her hand from the door, slipped off her shawl and threw it across her arm. As she did so some thing glittered bright, which she hastily concealed beneath the shawl. As she stood now she was the exact counterpart of Eva Delorme. Then without further hesitation she laid hold of and turned the heavy knob of the massive black door. It yielded noiselessly, and she entered, closing it as noiselessly behind her.
Within all was dark. A faint ray of light crept in through the transom, penetrating a few feet into the blackness. She stood almost against the door, listening and hardly breathing. All was silent. She had expected the other to be there before her, waiting for his coming. She put out her hand and felt about her. She touched a chair at her left and softly laid her shawl upon it, keeping firm hold upon the keen weapon she had carried beneath it. She listened again; still no sound. She was growing impatient. She took a few steps forward, keeping one hand extended in front of her to avoid collision. Then she turned and retraced her steps.
She had been very cool, thus far, but she was losing control of herself. Why did she not come? She had said in her letter that she was ill—pshaw! it was but a trick to arouse his sympathy. She must come—she must come!