Marian turned to accompany him when Maynard rose from his chair and detained her.
“Marian.” His always charming voice took its most tender tone. “All is not said between you and me. Did you mean your brief message on the back of the chess diagram? It went straight to my heart to have you say: ‘I need you.’ Do you need me, dear?”
“I—I—” Marian hesitated and her color rose—“I was greatly troubled; I lost my identification card admitting me to the State Department, and—and the missing blotter frightened me——”
“Do not fear.” Maynard smiled brightly down at her averted face. “Dr. Hayden was the thief probably; Siki showed me this morning skeleton keys of every apartment in the building. However, they were concealed in Palmer’s room, which led me to believe that Palmer was the traitor. Let us forget it all.” He caught her hand in his. “Dearest, when I asked you after your divorce to marry me——”
“Dan—Dan—” she cried, brokenly—“I couldn’t do it—then——”
“And you never answered my letters——”
“I didn’t dare; I was afraid I’d say too much.”
“Say it now,” he pleaded and his whisper, “Sweetheart,” found its echo on her lips.
THE END
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