"Yes," he said gravely, "I knew. I found it out in one or two odd ways. Septimus hasn't the faintest idea."
Zora picked up an illustrated weekly from the floor and used it as a screen, ostensibly from the fire, really from Sypher.
"Why did you refuse the Jebusa Jones offer this morning?"
"What would you have thought of me if I had accepted? But Septimus shouldn't have told you."
"He didn't. He told Emmy, who told me. You did it for my sake?"
"Everything I do is for your sake. You know that well enough."
"Why did you send for Septimus?"
"Why are you putting me through this interrogatory?" he laughed.
"You will learn soon," said Zora. "I want to get everything clear in my mind. I've had a great shock. I feel as if I had been beaten all over. For the first time I recognize the truth of the proverb about a woman, a dog, and a walnut tree. Why did you send for Septimus?"
Sypher leaned back in his chair, and as the illustrated paper prevented him from seeing Zora's face, he looked reflectively at the fire.