"Not so preposterous as you imagine. You must make allowances for people's prejudices. If you wanted to stand clear you shouldn't have taken all that money from him." "All that money indeed! A loan, a mere temporary loan, for an investment he recommended." "Not only that loan, but--" Barbara produced the cheque books with their damning counterfoils. "Look here--twenty-five pounds on the thirty-first of January. And here--October last year, and July, and January before that--More than a hundred and fifty altogether. How are you going to account for that? "And who's going to believe that Mr. Waddington paid all that for nothing, if some particularly nasty person gets up and says he didn't? You see what a horrible position you'd be in, don't you?" Mrs. Levitt didn't answer. Her face thickened slightly with a dreadful flush. Her nerve was going. Barbara watched it go. She followed up her advantage. "And supposing I were to tell everybody--his friend, Major Markham, say--that you were pressing him for that five hundred, immediately _after_ the affair of Wednesday, on threats of exposure, wouldn't that look very like blackmail?" "Blackmail? _Really_, Miss Madden--" "I don't suppose you _mean_ it for blackmail; I'm only pointing out what it'll look like. It won't look _well_.... Much better face the facts. You _can't_ do Mr. Waddington any real harm, short of forcing his wife to get a separation." There was a black gleam in Mrs. Levitt's eyes. "Precisely. And supposing--since we _are_ supposing--I told Mrs. Waddington of his behaviour?" "Too late. Mr. Waddington has told her himself." "His own version." "Certainly, his own version." "And supposing I gave mine?" "Do. Whatever you say it'll be your word against ours and she won't believe you. If she did she'd think it was all your fault.... And remember, I have the evidence for your attempts at blackmail. "I don't think," said Barbara, going to the door and opening it, "there's anything more to be said." Mrs. Levitt walked out with her agitated waddle. Barbara followed her amicably to the front door. There Elise made her last stand. "_Good_ afternoon, Miss Madden. I congratulate Mr. Waddington--on the partnership." Barbara rushed to the relief of the besieged in his office redoubt. "It's all over!" she shouted at him joyously. Mr. Waddington did not answer all at once. He was still sitting in his uneasy Windsor chair, absorbed in meditation. He had brought out a little note from his inmost pocket and as he looked at it he smiled. It began thus, and its date was the Saturday following that dreadful Wednesday: "MY DEAR MR. WADDINGTON: "After the way you have stood by me and helped me in the past, I cannot believe that it is all over, and that I can come to you, my generous friend, and be repulsed--" He looked up. "How did she behave, Barbara?" "Oh--she wanted to bite--to bite badly; but I drew all her teeth, very gently, one by one." Teeth. Elise's teeth--drawn by Barbara.