immediately, which she did.
The doll was a peculiarly beautiful thing. It had been cut from wood, then covered with gesso. It was
curiously life-like. A baby doll, with an elfin little face. Its dress was exquisitely embroidered, a folk-dress
of some country I could not place. It was, I thought, almost a museum piece, and one whose price Nurse
Walters could hardly have afforded. It bore no mark by which either maker or seller could be identified.
After I had examined it minutely, I laid it away in a drawer. I waited impatiently to hear from Ricori.
At seven o'clock there was a sustained, peremptory ringing of the doorbell. Opening my study door, I
heard McCann's voice in the hall, and called to him to come up. At first glance I knew something was
very wrong. His tight-mouthed tanned face was a sallow yellow, his eyes held a dazed look. He spoke
from stiff lips: