My companion flushed with pleasure.
"I always felt I should not count on you in vain," she said.
"No woman has ever done that, I trust," was my answer. "No woman ever could for whom I felt as I feel for you." And with that, and a little more to the same effect, I left her.
I went round to Olga's at once. It was a blessing that with her there need be no secret meanings and insinuations.
She received me, of course, with a smile.
"Is this a pretence to see me, or really something?" she asked with a laugh.
"I think it is really something or I should not have dared to be back so quickly. Even brothers may be bores."
Her answer was a pretty one, such as might be expected from a lover, but I need not repeat it.
"First, I will tell you the news," I said, after a pause; and I told her about the arrest of Devinsky.
"These people strike swiftly and secretly, Alexis," she said, thoughtfully. "They frighten me. Their power is almost limitless. How hard they will hit and how far the blow will reach, if they ever find we are fooling them!" She sighed.