"I will not change my mind."
"Well, of course, if that is the case, I can tell you. I——"
He hesitated as if embarrassed at his own question. Karl cried roughly:
"And did you succeed?"
"Well, I——"
"What of her husband?"
"Ah, Karl, he is deaf, dumb and blind," Millar cried gleefully.
Stifled with the pain at his heart, Karl turned away.
"This afternoon, at my house, you met her for the first time," he said.
"Ah, Karl, she is a clever woman; cleverer than I thought," Millar said, affecting tremendous enthusiasm. "She deceived me this afternoon about her true character; she has been deceiving all of you. I am sure of it. Oh, she is grand, fantastic, passionate, daring. Think of it, Karl," he went on, going close to the boy and leaning over him, bringing out his words so that every one seemed to penetrate his heart; "think of it, to-night a kiss behind a door in front of which her husband was standing. Danger fascinates her. And just now, a moment before you came, we agreed——"