“What shall I do?” she thought. “Oh, what must I do? Perhaps it’s time for the police. Perhaps, if I show this to Captain Grey, he’ll believe me. There must be some one, somewhere, who’ll believe me and help me!”
There was a knock at the door.
“Yes?” she said.
“Open the door!” ordered Dr. Quelton’s voice.
“No!” Lexy promptly replied.
She put the handkerchief inside her blouse and stood facing the closed door, with her hands clenched. Now he knew! She heard him laugh quietly.
“Perhaps you’re right,” he said. “It is better, perhaps, for us not to meet again. Even making every allowance for your hysterical, unbalanced mind, I find it difficult to excuse this latest manifestation which I have just this moment discovered. It was you, of course, who filled that bottle with water?”
She did not answer.
“Why you did it, I don’t know,” he went on, “and probably you don’t know yourself. It was the wanton mischief of an irresponsible child, but the consequences in this instance are serious—very serious. Mrs. Quelton will suffer for them. I doubt if she will recover. No, Miss Moran, you are too troublesome a guest. You had better go—at once!”
“All right!” said Lexy, in a defiant but trembling voice.