"Linda Blake!" he murmured. "Can it be possible?" His fingers tightened on her arm and a glad light leaped into his eyes. She pulled down her veil in confusion. "Don't look at me," she whispered. "I hope you didn't hear what I said to you." "I heard every word, love of my life. I--Listen! What's that?" He sat bolt upright. "Some one's coming!" she cried, springing to her feet and placing herself between him and the door. He saw a glistening revolver in her small, white hand. "It's Elinor Crouch," he whispered. "Heavens, how I have come to hate those footsteps of hers." Elinor Crouch, her face pale with anger and apprehension, dashed into the room an instant later. She was attired in a loose wrapper, secured at the waist by a handsome Oriental girdle. Her black hair hung in two long plaits down her back. It was apparent that she had made no effort to perfect a toilet before rushing up-stairs in response to the noise. Her dark eyes scarcely took in the slight figure of Linda Blake. They were for the man on the floor, and for him alone. "Thank Heaven, you are here!" she cried, in a voice thrilling with relief. "I was afraid you might have--" "Stand back, Miss Crouch," interrupted Linda firmly. "Don't you dare to touch him." "Who--who are you?" gasped Elinor, for the first time granting the girl a look of surprise, but not of fear. "Why, on my life, it's that Blake girl. Soho! This is your work, is it? May I inquire, Miss Blake, what you are doing in my house at this time of night?" "I am not here to parley with you, Miss Crouch. Stand aside, please. If you attempt to stop us, I shall shoot you like a dog." "Oh, you think you can take him away from me, do you? Well, we shall soon make short shrift of you, my excellent heroine. Brown! Quinlan! Here, at once!" She called angrily down the stairs. Linda smiled. "I think you'll find that my friends have taken care of Brown and Quinlan." As if to prove the declaration, a ringing voice came up the stairway from far below. "Are you all right, Linda?" It was a woman's voice and it was full of triumph. "We've fixed these two muckers down here. Shall we come up?" "Stay where you are, girls. I can manage nicely by myself, thank you," called Linda. Then she turned to the infuriated Elinor, who had shrunk back against the wall, panting with rage and disappointment. "You'd better come with us peaceably, my woman," she said coldly, still keeping the revolver levelled at the person of her rival. "Don't make any trouble for us. If you show fight we'll be obliged to--Here!" Elinor Crouch suddenly threw herself forward. The movement was so unexpected that she was upon Linda before the girl could fire. Twice the revolver was discharged in a vain attempt to end the struggle at its beginning, and both bullets came so near to hitting Reynolds that he hastily rolled under the bed, from which position he watched the contest in some security but with a great deal of interest.