ely
"I don't know."

"You do know!" There was actual ferocity in the open contradiction.
Violet was directly facing her now. Her eyes shone so fiercely, so
unnaturally, bright that a queer little sensation of doubt pricked Olga
for the first time, setting every nerve and every muscle on the alert
for she knew not what. "You do know, Allegro! And so do I!" The full
voice took a deeper note, it throbbed the words. "Do you think I haven't
watched you, seen what was going on? Do you think it has all been
nothing to me--nothing to see you spoiling my chances day by
day--nothing to feel you drawing him away from me--nothing to know--to
know--" she suddenly flung her clenched hands wide open to the empty
moonlight--"to know that you have set your heart on the only man I ever
loved--you who wanted me to help you to get away from him--and have
shouldered me aside?"

Her voice broke. She turned to the girl in the bed with eyes grown
terrible in their wild anguish of pain. "Allegro!" she cried. "Allegro!
Give him up! Give him up--if not for my sake--for your own! You
couldn't--be happy--with him!"

With the words she seemed to crumple as though all power had suddenly
left her, and sank downwards upon the floor, huddling against the bed
with agonized sobbing, her black head bowed almost to the floor.

Olga was beside her in an instant, stooping over her, wrapping warm arms
about her. "My darling, don't, don't!" she pleaded. "You know I would
never do anything to hurt you. I never dreamed of this indeed--indeed!"

Violet made a passionate movement to thrust her away, but she would not
suffer it. She held her close.

"Violet dearest, don't cry like this! There is no need for it. Really,
you needn't be so distressed. There, darling, come into bed with me.
You'll be ill if you cry so. Violet! Violet!"

But Violet was utterly beyond control, and her paroxysm of weeping only
grew more and more violent, till after some minutes Olga became
seriously frightened. She stood up, and began to ask herself what she
must do.

It was then that to her intense relief the door slid open and Nick's
head was poked enquiringly in.

"Hullo!" he said softly. "Anything wrong?"

She motioned him to enter, being on the verge of tears herself.

"Nick, she's hysterical! What am I to do?"

"Better fetch Max," he said.

But the words were hardly out of his mouth before Max himself pushed the
door wide open and entered!

He bore a small lamp in