She yielded for an instant to his arm; for the fraction of an instant her head was upon his breast; then she drew herself away, and silenced him with a tap upon the lips.
“Not now!” she said, and her voice, too, was hoarse. “All we must think of now is to escape. Afterwards, perhaps——”
“I shall hold you to that!” said Stewart, and released her.
But again for an instant she bent close.
“You are a good man!” she whispered.
“Oh, no!” Stewart protested, though he was shaken by the words. “No better than the average!”
And then he suddenly found himself unable to go on, and there was a moment’s silence. When he spoke again, he had regained his self-control.
“Have you a plan?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, and drew a quick breath, as of one shaking away some weakness. “The first part is that you should sit quite still until I tell you to light the candle.”
“But what——”