cia laid down the receiver and looked at me. There was scarcely
any need for words. Her disappointment was written into her white
face.

"You are not to come!" I said.

"I am not--to come," she repeated. "After all, my holiday is not yet."

"Will you tell me," I asked, "where I can find your uncle?"

She shook her head.

"You must not ask me such a thing," she declared.

"Remember," I said, "that I have really called to make his
acquaintance as a matter of courtesy on behalf of my brother. What
excuse do you give me for his absence? Tell me what it is that you
are supposed to say in such a case?"

"Simply that he is away for a few days, engaged in the most important
business," she answered. "He will rejoin me here directly it is
settled."

"And in the meantime," I said thoughtfully, "you are left in a strange
hotel without friends, without a chaperon, absolutely unprotected, and
with only a head-waiter in your confidence. Felicia, there is
something very wrong here. I am not sure," I continued, "that it is
not my duty to run away with you."

She clasped her hands.

"Delightful!" she murmured. "But I mustn't think of it," she added,
with a sudden gravity, "nor must you talk to me like that. What my
uncle says is best to be done. He knows and understands. If he has had
to leave me here alone, it is because it is necessary."

"You have a great deal of faith in him," I remarked.

"He has always been kind to me," she answered, "and I know that the
business upon which he is engaged just now is hazardous and
difficult. There are men who do not wish it to go through, and they
watch for him. If they knew his whereabouts they would try to stop
him."

"Felicia, do you know what that business is?" I asked.

"I have some idea of it," she answered.

Her answer puzzled me. If Felicia really had any idea as to the nature
of it, and was content to play the part she was playing, it certainly
could not be anything of an illicit nature. Yet everything else which
had come under my notice pointed to Delora's being associated with a
criminal undertaking. I paced the room, deep in thought. Felicia all
the time was watching me anxiously.

"You are not going to leave me?" she asked very softly.

I came to a standstill before her.

"No, Felicia," I said, "I am not going to leave you! But I want to
tell you this. I am going to try and find out for myself the things
which you will not tell me. No, you must not try to stop me