Leffler made a gesture of impatience. "It cost me many thousands of dollars," he cried.
"It is time for lunch, Professor," said Betty.
Marable bowed to Leffler and left the millionaire sputtering away, inspecting the various specimens he had contributed.
The one o'clock gong had struck, and all the workers and investigators were leaving in paleontological laboratories for a bite to eat.
Marable, with Betty, went out last. Leffler was over in one corner of the room, hidden from their sight by a corner of an amber block. They could hear Leffler still uttering complaints about the carelessness of the men in charge of that section of the museum, and Marable smiled at Betty sadly.
"Poor Rooney," he said. "Betty, I feel more or less responsible, in a way."
"No, no," cried the girl. "How could you have foreseen such a thing?"
Marable shook his head. "Those eyes, you know. I should have taken precautions. But I had no idea it could burst from its prison so."
For the first time Marable had definitely mentioned his idea of what had occurred. The girl had understood it all along, from their broken conversation and from the look in the young scientist's eyes.