"Thank you. You may not know what you are promising." There was a pathetic smile hovering over the trembling lips. "Let's stop where we are."
"No." Winston was standing beside her. "I know more than you think I do, Helen. Elijah Berl is a thief. You know it and I know it. He has involved you, in appearance at least. You are too honest, too loyal to leave him as he deserves to be left."
Helen rose to Elijah's defense.
"Not intentionally a thief, Ralph."
Winston's eyes flamed with indignation.
"He isn't an open, manly thief who steals and stands up to his act. He is a sneak who steals and unloads his punishment on others."
Winston's words smote hard. In no essential did they differ from those she had spoken to Elijah.
Winston waited for a moment, watching Helen's face.
"I know what you mean. He took the money from Mellin and appropriated it to his own use. He got you involved in the Pico deal. That isn't an open crime. It is a sneaking, cowardly crime, in that he is forcing you to bear a part of the odium."
Helen's voice faltered, but her eyes did not leave Winston's.