THE MAID'S STORY
"I have really very little to tell you," said the actress after a long silence, in which she had been making strenuous efforts to recover self-possession. "I know very little. I have known, of course, for a long time that there was to be special interest attaching to the proceedings here to-night, and for Signor Praga's sake I had learned all that I could."
"I wish to know the particular facts in connection with your taking the place of the countess, that's all," for the time was slipping by and my anxiety on Minna's account was growing to fever heat.
"I was merely told that I had to play the part of another woman, and that I was to be paid for doing so. More than that, I was given to understand that in the event of the matter being carried through successfully I should gain the favor of some of those high in authority."
"Do you mean you were doing this for money only?"
"No, but because I believed there was some other great advantage to be gained."
"Did you tell Praga?"
"No. Why should I tell him everything? I did not know for certain until my return to-night what was really intended. I might have drawn back then if I could—if I had not also known that I should be dealing a blow at you and revenging myself."
"How did you get possession of the countess's domino, and when did you take her place by the side of the man guarding her?"
"I did not get her domino. The one I wore was ready for me when I arrived here to-night. Some one had described exactly the dress the Countess Minna was to wear, and everything was ready for me when I arrived."