"That will do, Sylvester."
The secretary left the room.
Larssen leant forward across the desk once more and snarled: "There's the facts of the case as they'll go before the divorce court."
"Do you know that Miss Verney is blind?" There was a hoarseness in Matheson's voice; he cleared his throat to relieve it.
"That's no defence in a divorce court."
"Blind and undergoing an operation this very morning? Do you know that it's doubtful if she will ever recover any of her sight?"
Larssen's mouth tightened a shade more. At last he found the heel of Achilles. He could get at Matheson through Elaine. Ruthlessly he answered: "That's no concern of mine. I'm stating facts to you. These facts are not all in your wife's possession. Do you want me to put them there?"
"Your facts are a chain of lies. There's one sound link: that I changed my name. The rest are poisonous lies—provable lies."
"Whatever they may be, do you want them put before your wife?" He reached for a swinging telephone by his desk and called to the house operator: "Get me P. O. Richmond, 2822. Name, Mrs Matheson."
While he was waiting for the connection to be made, Sylvester entered the room and silently showed a visiting-card to his chief. It was Olive's card. Acting on a sudden impulse, she had motored to the office to see this mysterious John Rivière before he should evade her. She knew that the interview was to be at eleven o'clock, and by thus calling in person, she would make certain of meeting him.