Leslie nodded.
“It contains the secret of their present whereabouts, and bids you come to them?”
“Yes.”
“You will not go?”
“How can I, now?”—her voice almost a wail—“and yet—”
“You are safe to refuse, Mrs. Warburton. You need not comply with any instructions they may give you henceforth. Let me have that note.”
“But—”
“I must have it, in order to save you. I must know where to find these people.”
She looked at him inquiringly, and put the note into his hand.
“Thank you,” he said. “Has Van Vernet visited this house, to your knowledge?”