"Won't you tell me what he said? I saw him last night—talked with him for an hour——"
"You—talked—with him!" she gasped in alarm. And then, haltingly, "What did he say to you? What did he do? Is he coming back?"
She was becoming more disturbed and nervous, so Peter brought a chair and made her sit in it.
"No. He's not coming back—not for a month or more," he replied reassuringly. "But if I'm to help you, I've got to know something more about him, and for Beth's sake you've got to help me." And then quietly, "Mrs. Bergen, was this man who came to the kitchen door, Ben Cameron, Beth's father?"
"My God!" said the housekeeper faintly, putting her face in her hands.
"Won't you tell me just what happened?" Peter asked.
"I—I'm scared, Mr. Nichols," she groaned. "The whole thing has been too much for me—knowin' how scared Mr. McGuire is too. I can't understand, I can't even—think—no more."
"Let me do your thinking for you. Tell me what happened the other night, Mrs. Bergen."
The woman raised a pallid face, her colorless eyes blinking up at him beseechingly.
"Tell me," he whispered. "It can do no possible harm."