Mrs. Shiffney leaned desperately out over the side of her narrow berth.
"Claude Heath—or I'll make him."
"I never cared very much for the one Jacques is setting for the Metropolitan. But it was the best sent in. I chose it. I read nearly a hundred. It would be just like Gillier to write something really fine, and then not to let us see it. I always knew he was clever and might succeed some day."
"I'll get hold of it for you."
"What?"
"I'll get hold of it for you from Heath. When will Jacques be ready, do you think?"
"Oh, not for ages. He works slowly, and I never interfere with him. Nobody but a fool would interfere with the method of a man of genius."
"Do you think Charmian Heath is a fool?"
At this moment the train suddenly slackened, and Mrs. Shiffney and Madame Sennier, leaning down and up, exchanged sibilant and almost simultaneous hushes.
Max Elliot heard them quite distinctly. They were the only part of the conversation which reached him.