"Time's no use," she groaned. "It's all over now."
Neeld caught at the state of affairs by an intuition to which his previous knowledge helped him. Duplay had been baffled by Harry's diplomacy and expected no action from his side. To Neeld such a development seemed possible, and it was the only thing which to his mind could throw light on Mina's behavior.
"Won't you show us the letter?" he asked gently.
"Oh, yes. And I'll tell you anything you like now. It doesn't matter now." She looked at Neeld; she was loyal to the end. "I was the only person who knew it," she said to Iver.
That was too much. Timid he might be, even to the point of cowardice; but now, when the result of confession would be no harm to anybody but himself, Neeld felt he must speak if he were to have any chance of going on thinking himself a gentleman—and it is an unpleasant thing for a man to realize that he has none.
"I must correct Madame Zabriska," he said. "I knew it too."
"What?" cried Duplay. Iver turned quick scrutinizing eyes on his friend.
"You knew too? You knew what?" he demanded.
"The facts we have been endeavoring to obtain from Madame Zabriska."
"The facts about——"