He stood not far from the entrance, dominating the room. The gate had been closed by Belcovitch. Ember waited till his instructions had been carried out; then he came a little nearer to Lady Heritage and said: “Time presses, Raymond. I must go. I wish that there were more time, for indeed I would rather not have hurried you.” Jane, with the muzzle of Belcovitch’s revolver cold against her temple, found her attention caught by Ember’s words. Time ... yes, that’s what they wanted—time. Piggy had said that Anthony might arrive at any moment. When he did arrive and found that they were all mysteriously absent, surely his first thought would be to search the passages. She raised her voice and said insistently: “Mr. Ember.” Ember threw her a dangerous look. “Be quiet,” he said shortly. “There was something I wanted to tell you,” said Jane. “Out with it then, and be quick.” “You called me Miss Molloy just now....” “No, Jane, _no_!” said Henry violently. Mr. Ember echoed the remark made by Lady Heritage. “Why do you call her Jane?” he inquired. “That is what I was going to tell you,” said Jane. “You called me Miss Molloy, and I just thought I would like you to know that I’m not Renata Molloy. It would make an untidy sort of finish if you went away thinking that I was, and I hate things untidy.” “You’re a little devil,” said Ember ... “a little devil.” Jane stuck her chin in the air. “Well, I’m not Renata Molloy anyhow,” she said. “No one would ever have called her a devil. She was a white rabbit—a nice, quiet, tame white rabbit.” Jane’s voice failed suddenly on the last word. Yet Mr. Ember had not looked at her again. His eyes went past her to Belcovitch, and it was to Belcovitch that he spoke. “No, not yet,” he said, “but if she speaks again you can shoot.” A long, slow shudder swept Jane. She leaned against the wall and was silent, and she shut her eyes because she could not bear to see Henry’s face. Ember turned back to Raymond. “I’m sorry to hurry you.” His voice was low and confidential. “What I have to offer, you know. It is yours for the taking. Please don’t make any mistake. I have to change my base, it is true—I have even to change it with some haste—but neither that nor anything else can now affect my purpose and its achievement. What I offered is, without any shadow of uncertainty, mine to offer and yours to take, if you will ... if you will, Raymond?”