"Remember, Allegro!" she said. "Not a word about Hunt-Goring—to anyone!
Not one single tiny suspicion of a hint!"
And Olga, looking into her eyes, read terror in her soul.
CHAPTER XVII
THE VERDICT
"It's a difficult position," said Nick.
"It's a damnable position," said Max. He stared across the white table-cloth with eyes that brooded under down-drawn brows. "I don't anticipate any sudden development if I can keep her off that cursed opium. But—I'd give fifty pounds to have her people within reach."
"Do you know where they are?" said Nick.
Max shrugged his shoulders. "They are cruising about the Atlantic to give Mrs. Bruce, who is neurotic, a rest-cure. Of course, when I undertook to keep an eye on the girl, I never anticipated this. Her brother was anxious about her, I thought somewhat unnecessarily. It was that blackguard Hunt-Goring who precipitated matters. I've given him a pretty straight warning, though Heaven alone knows what effect it will have."
"What did you say to him?" questioned Nick.
"I said that I had just discovered that he had been giving her cigarettes that contained opium. I warned him that it was criminally unsafe, that her brain was peculiarly susceptible to drugs, and that he would probably cause her death if he persisted; also, that if he did I would see that he was held responsible. What more could I say?"