"All right, dear," he replied. "I can only leave it in your hands. I know that whatever you do will be for the best. I'll try to be as patient as I can. My only comfort is thinking of you, dear."
A heavy step resounded in the corridor. The keeper came up.
"Time's up, m'm," he said civilly.
Annie thrust her hand through the bars; Howard carried it reverently to his lips.
"Good-by, dear," she said. "Keep up your courage. You'll know that I am working for your release every moment. I won't leave a stone unturned."
"Good-by, darling," he murmured.
He looked at her longingly and there were tears in her eyes as she turned away.
"I'll be back very soon," she said.
A few minutes later they were in the elevator and she passed through the big steel gate once more into the sunlit street.