ing of low ebb about everything.
In addition to Sir Charles, who was steadily sinking, there was now
Roger to worry about. He had apparently allowed the doctor to examine
him, but continued to hold firm against the anti-toxin, out of sheer
obstinacy, it seemed. His aunt could not understand his stubbornness,
and began to be filled with anxiety, particularly as he had gone off to
bed with the headache unabated and a temperature still upon him.

"As if one didn't have enough to make one unhappy," the old lady sighed
to Esther. "Now if Roger is going to be ill, it will be too utterly
dreadful!"

Esther comforted her as well as she could, but she herself felt a load
of apprehension upon her. Of course Roger was a young, vigorous man,
there was no special reason to fear for him, and yet until two days ago
they had felt such confidence in Sir Charles's recovery. What if the
same sudden thing should happen again? It was perhaps stupid to
entertain such fancies, but she was shaken, unnerved.

Ten o'clock found her alone in the drawing-room, tired, but not ready
for bed, so restless she was unable to pin her attention to a book.
How could she occupy her mind for a little? She looked vaguely about,
and was about to pick up some cards for a game of patience when her eye
fell on a large portfolio of colour-prints, reproductions of the work
of modern Russian painters. The cover, reminiscent of the
Chauve-Souris, attracted her, she recalled having noticed it upstairs
in the boudoir several days ago. She had meant then to look at the
book, but it had disappeared and she had forgotten it till now. She
lifted it to her lap and opened it--or rather, to be exact, it fell
open, by reason of some obstruction wedged in the crutch. A pencil,
perhaps....

It was the hypodermic needle!

Dumbfounded, she stared at it. How on earth did it get there? Then
all at once the whole thing flashed on her. The book had lain open on
the table in the boudoir; she had put the needle down upon it when she
first began to minister to Roger. His aunt had cleared the table to
make room for the basin of water and bandages, closed the book hastily,
no doubt, and pushed it aside. Then at some time later one of the
servants had removed it, with others in the same pile, to this room.
She had not seen the book when she had searched for the needle, else
she would have recalled the whole thing, and this suggested that the
book had been taken away wi