"He was arrested as he went down the stoop."
"Umph! I am going to my mother. She is in her room?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"You may pack my clothing for a rather long absence, and tell Mathilde to do the same for my mother. We leave on Wednesday for Paris."
Her maid's exclamation of surprise was lost upon her. She was looking mechanically through the window.
"At least one fortunate thing has happened," she was musing. "But for the arrest of Meriaz we might have had difficulty in getting away. Now it will be quite easy. I shall require my mother's services, and so silence concerning the past is best, I suppose. I shall only tell her of the death of—of—this girl. If Dudley Maltby, my last hope, had not failed me, I need never have seen her again, but now—"
A shrug of the shoulders, intended to convince herself of her indifference, but failing signally, completed the sentence.