"I came here to make this act of reparation," she replied steadily.
"Not alone, eh? Surrounded entirely by police. Mr. Stafford King in the offing, waiting outside in a taxi, or probably waiting on the mat," said the colonel in the same tone. "Well, well, you're quite safe with us, Miss White."
He took up the package and tore off the wrapping, revealing two wads of banknotes, and ran his finger along the edges.
"And how are you going to live?" he asked.
"By working," said the girl; "that's a strange way of earning a living, don't you think, colonel?"
"You'll never work harder than I have worked," said Colonel Dan Boundary good-humouredly. And, looking down at the money: "So that's Solly White's share, is it? And I suppose it doesn't include the house he bought, or the car?"
"I've sold everything," said the girl quietly; "every piece of property he owned has been realised, and that is the proceeds."
With a little nod she was withdrawing, but Pinto barred her way.
"One moment, Miss White," he said, and there was a dangerous glint in his eye, "if you choose to come here alone in the middle of the night——"
The colonel stepped between them, and he swept the Portuguese backwards. Without a word he opened the door.