burst with a lack
of ceremony that convinced him she had already imbibed the qualities
that made John Dene the terror of his existence.

"I want to see Sir Lyster at once," she panted.

Mr. Blair looked up at her in surprise.

"He's engaged just now, Miss West," he said mildly. "Is there anything
I can do?"

"It doesn't matter whether he's engaged, you must go into him at once,
Mr. Blair, and tell him I must see him."

Mr. Blair still continued to gaze at her with bovine wonder.

"Oh, you stupid creature!" Dorothy stamped her foot in her impatience.
Then with a sudden movement she made for Sir Lyster's door, knocked and
entered, leaving Mr. Blair gazing before him, marvelling that so short
an association with John Dene should have produced such startling
results. However, it was for Sir Lyster to snub her now, and he
resumed his work.

Sir Lyster, Sir Bridgman North and Admiral Heyworth were bending over a
table on which a large plan lay spread out. Sir Lyster was the first
to look up; at the sight of the flushed and excited girl his gaze
became fixed. Sir Bridgman and Admiral Heyworth followed the direction
of his eyes to where Dorothy stood with heaving breast and fear in her
eyes.

"Mr. Dene has disappeared!" she gasped without any preliminary apology.

"The devil!" exclaimed Sir Bridgman.

Admiral Heyworth jumped to his feet. Sir Bridgman rose and placed a
chair for Dorothy into which she sank. Then she told her story,
concluding with "It's all my fault for not doing something about the
taxi." The three men listened without interruption. When she had
concluded they looked anxiously from one to the other. It was Sir
Bridgman who broke the silence.

"We had better get Walton here."

Sir Lyster nodded and going to the door requested Mr. Blair to ask
Colonel Walton to come round at once on a matter of importance. Then
it was that Sir Bridgman seemed to notice Dorothy's excited state.
With that courtesy that made him a great favourite with women, he
poured out a glass of water from a carafe on a side table and handed it
to her. With her eyes she thanked him. Sir Bridgman decided that she
was an extremely pretty girl. The water seemed to co-ordinate
Dorothy's ideas. For the first time she appreciated that she had
unceremoniously burst into the private room of the First Lord of the
Admiralty.

"I--I'm very sorry," she faltered, "but it seemed so important, and Mr.
Blair wouldn't let me com