"My, my! What a temper, sir! I wouldn't have thought it of you, and a nice lady in speaking distance!"
He disappeared.
The girl laid a hand on my arm.
"You have acted very sensibly, Mr. Comstalk. If you had not, it is quite certain he would have shot you."
"It would have been a good thing for me if he had. He has gone, and the jewels have gone with him. I hadn't the least chance; the wretch! He probably came disguised as a plumber, and nobody suspected him."
"But if he possessed the ten of hearts, why should he have left this way?"
"Possibly my idea was only an imitation of his. There must have been at least a dozen tens of hearts. My dear young lady, I would give a good deal if you were well out of this. I believed my plan was for the best, and instead I have simply blackened the case against us. I have been too adventurous. The situation looks very serious just now. Of course, in the long run, we shall clear ourselves; but it will take some fine arguing to do it, and possibly half a dozen lawyers."
"It is a terribly embarrassing predicament; but since we started out together, we'll hang together." She held out her hand to me. "It will be fun to extricate ourselves with full honors."
"You're a brick!" And I pressed her hand tightly.
"Now, I wonder why the burglar didn't try those cellar-doors?" she murmured.