He caught her hand in his—that was all there was time for—while with his free hand Durkin thrust the packet down into his pocket.
"If it turns out wrong—I mean if anything should happen to me, go straight to the Embassy with them, in Rome. Good-bye!"
"Ah, then you do expect danger!" he retorted, already back at the window again.
"No—no!" she whispered, resolutely, barring his ingress. "Hurry! Good-bye!"
"Good-bye," he whispered, as he slipped down on his hands and knees and crawled along the balcony, like a cat, through the darkness.
Then the woman closed the window, and waited.
CHAPTER VIII
"FOREIGNERS ARE FOOLS"
Frances Durkin, as she turned back into the darkness of the room, desperately schooled herself to calmness. She warned herself that, above all, she must remain clear-headed and collected, and act coolly and decisively, when the moment for action arrived.