CHAPTER XXIX.
DEADLY PERIL.
Ralph Ansell made a sudden dash at his wife, gripping her by the throat with his gloved hands.
She staggered to the table, and he bent her backwards across it. His evil face was distorted by a look of murderous hatred, his big eyes started from their sockets in his wild frenzy of anger.
“Where are those pearls?” he demanded. “Speak! Give them to me at once, or, by Heaven, I’ll strangle you!”
“I—I don’t know,” she managed to gasp. “They were in there. I—I—I thought they were there.”
“You liar! You got the letter and burned it, well knowing that the jewels were not in the box! Where are they?” he demanded, tightening his grip upon her throat and shaking her roughly. “Speak, woman—speak! Tell me where they are!”
Jean struggled frantically to free herself from his murderous grip. He was throttling her.