"I'll accept the cheque," I said, "with all the pleasure in life."
"There's a condition," she stipulated. "You must never tell a living soul——"
I handed the cheque back to her.
"I won't take it on these terms."
"But you must!"
"I'm afraid no power on earth can compel me. I insist on complete liberty to tell the whole world, or keep it to myself—just as I think fit."
She looked at me for a moment, and her voice softened. "I think you might do this for me," she said.
I shook my head.
"Oh, all right!" She walked across the room and bent over the fire with the cheque in one hand and the poker in the other.
I raised myself on my elbow.