"I will tell him," Sonya promised. Neither of them referred to the subject again. CHAPTER IX AN INVITATION That evening Laurie walked across the square to Doris's studio with a decision in his stride which definitely expressed his mental attitude. He had come to the conclusion that something must be done. What this something would be was still hazy in his mind, but the first step at least seemed clear. Doris must move. He was so convinced of the urgency of this step that he brought up the subject almost before the greetings of guest and hostess were over. Tossing his hat and coat on a convenient chair, he stood facing Doris, his hands in his pockets, his black eyes somber. "We've got to get you out of this, you know," he abruptly announced. Her eyes, which had brightened at his entrance, grew as somber as his own. Without replying, she turned, walked across the room to the window, and stood looking down into the street. "Is he there?" she asked at last, and without moving her head. "Shaw? Great Scott, no! At least I didn't see him. I suppose he takes a few hours off now and then, during the twenty-four; doesn't he?" "Oh, yes, he comes and goes, sometimes secretly, sometimes openly. I did not see him at all to-day until late this afternoon. Then he took up his post across the street just opposite this window, and stood there for almost an hour." Laurie ground his teeth. "What does he expect to gain by that performance?" "Several things, I suppose. For one, he wants to get on my nerves; and he does," she added somberly, and still without turning. Laurie made a vague tour around the room and brought up by her side. "You know," he confessed, "I haven't really taken this thing in yet. Even now, this minute, it doesn't seem possible to me that Shaw could do you any real harm." She nodded. "I know. Why should it? Even to me it is like a nightmare and I keep hoping to wake up. There are hours, even days, when I convince myself that it isn't real." She stopped. "It must be very hard for any one else to understand," she ended, when he did not speak. "Nevertheless," admitted Laurie, "I can't forget it. I can't think of anything else." She took this as naturally as she had taken his first remark. "It's going to be very hard for you. I was wrong to draw you into it. I am realizing that more and more, every minute." "You couldn't help yourself," he cheerfully reminded her. "Now that I am in it, as I've warned you before, I intend to run things. It seems to me that the obvious course for you is to move. After you're safely hidden somewhere, I think I can teach Herbert Ransome Shaw a lesson that won't react on you." She shook her head. "If I moved, how long do you think it would take him to find me?" "Weeks, perhaps months." Again she shook her head. "I moved here a few days ago. He appeared exactly forty-eight hours later. If I moved from here it would only mean going through the game of hare and hounds again."