“Quick—quick!” she whispered. “It’s not safe for you here!” She clutched his arm and pointed to a door hung with portières of crimson silk. “Go through the hall, and out the rear entrance. No! Not that!” Her face lighted with sudden desperate purpose. “Step behind the portières there, and I will prove my innocence!”
“Prove? How?”
“I will show you the real spy! I will make him tell you all!”
He looked at her darkly. “Is this just a trick to escape, or—”
“S-s-sh! Not so loud!”
“Or is the real spy at the door?”
“The real spy is at the door.”
His face lit with a vengeful joy. “Then I stay here!”
The door-bell rang again.
“No, no, no!” she implored, frantically. “You do not understand your danger! It may be your death!”