He shuddered.
"I could not bring myself to taste it," he said.
"Don't be sentimental," she answered. "Try it now. Believe me, it is first-rate."
She left him, prepared a cup of the mixture, and brought it to him.
"Shut your eyes," she said, "and drink it off."
He did as she told him, and the trembling which had tried him so inexplicably no longer thrilled through his frame.
"And now tell me what is up," she said.
He was silent for a minute; then he told her just what had occurred in the messroom that day. He started when he saw the expression on her face. It had grown white as death, and her eyes shone with a strange light.
"Do you know anything about this?" he asked, amazed at her look.
"I would rather not say," she replied. "But I have to ask you an urgent question. You know it is false; can you live it down?"