"Why, yes—Jack."
A shadow passed over her face.
"Do you know," she said, "I have a feeling that you care more for him than for me?"
"Nonsense," he said, "he is my friend, you, you—immeasurably more."
"Are you still as intimate with him as when I first met you?"
"Not quite; of late a troubling something, like a thin veil, seems to have passed between us. But he will come when I call him. He will not fail me in my hour of need."
"When can he be here?"
"In two or three days."
"Meanwhile be very careful. Above all, lock your door at night."
"I will not only lock, but barricade it. I shall try with all my power to elucidate this mystery without, however, exposing myself to needless risks."