"Yes," agreed Stewart; "that's clear enough."
"Well, I will escape alone. When the police come for us, they will find only you."
"And will probably back me against a wall and shoot me out of hand."
"Oh, no; they will be rough and angry, but they will not dare to harm you. They know that you are an American—they cannot possibly suspect you of being a spy. You can prove the truth of all your statements."
"Not quite all," Stewart corrected.
"Of your statements, at least, so far as they concern yourself."
"Yes—but I will have considerable difficulty explaining my connection with you."
"Oh, no," said the girl, in a low voice; "that can be easily explained."
"How?"
"You will say," she answered, her voice lower still, "that you met me at the Kölner Hof, that I made advances, that you found me attractive, and that I readily agreed to accompany you to Paris. You can say that it was I who suggested altering your passport—that you saw no harm in it—and that you knew absolutely nothing about me except that I was a—a loose woman."