The instant they had disappeared Mr. Parker turned to the lawyer. In a whisper he said:
"There is terrible news! I don't know how to break it to the poor woman——"
Steell sprang forward. Anxiously he exclaimed:
"Terrible news? Surely not——"
The president nodded.
"Yes—all lost, and the diamonds, too. A dispatch just received in London says that, according to a wireless relayed from Cape Town, the Abyssinia caught fire twelve hours after sailing from that port and all on board perished. It is shocking, and the pecuniary loss to us disastrous. The stones were not insured. Hush! Here they come. Not a word!"
"My God!" muttered the lawyer, as he fell back and turned away, so they might not see the effect which the shocking news had made on him. With an effort he managed to control himself.
The two women entered the room joyfully.
"Here it is!" cried Helen exultantly, as she brandished the missing telegram. "You see, he's just sailed, and all's well."
The president said nothing, but, taking the dispatch from her hands, slowly read it. Nodding his head, he said slowly: