“Even that,” he said, “may be so.”
Maggie looked at it with a sudden curiosity, her bright eyes grave.
“Loaded?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I will not examine it. How curious! I wonder how near to the mark I may have been in other ways.”
“I wonder,” said Steinmetz, looking at Etta. “And now tell us something about the princess. What do you suspect her of?”
At this moment Paul came into the room, distinguished-looking and grave.
“Miss Delafield,” pursued Steinmetz, turning to the new-comer, “is telling us her suspicions about ourselves. I am already as good as condemned to Siberia. She is now about to sit in judgment on the princess.”
Maggie laughed.
“Herr Steinmetz has pleaded guilty to the worst accusation,” she said. “On the other counts I leave him to his own conscience.”