A night of waiting will soften your dear
brother's heart, and he will probably listen to reason in the
morning."

Natalie shuddered and drew a little further away from Boris. "You
coward," she said, and looked at him with infinite contempt.

Again a dangerous light leapt into his eyes.

"Have a care," he cried, "what names you call me here. I do not wish
to be compelled to make you feel your position. But if necessary I
shall--"

Natalie did not take her scornful eyes from his face, and Boris at
last looked shiftily away.

As he apparently did not intend to speak again, she put to him another
question:

"Who is the woman," she asked, "you have here with you?"

"That is no business of yours," snarled Boris, "though you can, if you
wish to speak to or allude to her, call her Madame Estelle, as I
introduced her to you."

"I merely asked," said Natalie, "because I was curious to know how she
came to be associated with a rascal like you."

"Ah! my dear cousin, that is something you will understand better a
little later." He said this with an insinuating air which filled
Natalie with loathing.

"Boris," she said coldly, "I decline altogether to allow you to insult
me."

She turned her back on him, and Boris swore at her without disguise.
But she paid no heed.

Presently he walked round the room so that he could come face to face
with her.

"It is early," he said, "but early hours will do you good. If you will
be so kind as to accompany me I will show you to your room."

He led the way up three flights of stairs till they came to a small
landing. Out of this there opened only one door, and through this
Boris passed.

Natalie now found herself in a large, square room, simply and yet
fairly well furnished, partly as a bedroom and partly as a
sitting-room.

"It is here," said Boris, "that I am unfortunately compelled to ask
you to make your decision.

"You are at perfect liberty to scream to your heart's content. There
is no one here who will mind in the least. You are also at perfect
liberty to make what efforts at escape you choose. I fear that you
will only find them futile."

He went out quickly and closed the door after him. Natalie, listening
in the badly-lighted room, could hear a key grate in the lock and
bolts shot in both at the top and the bottom of the door.

Quickly and methodically she made an examination of her prison. She
looked into the cupboards and into the drawers and the massive bu