“She’s all right,” Guy murmured to Hilary. De Travest was one of those men who always know how to deal with any physical emergency. He knew tricks.... “Poor child, poor child!” sighed Sir Maurice. “She’s all right now,” said Hilary. He was very white and young-looking, Hilary. Oh, the hm’s that dropped from Hilary that night! It was Guy’s face that Venice saw when she opened her eyes. Suddenly, she was crimson. “Your first words should be,” Guy smiled, “‘Where am I?’ I may or may not tell you.” “Guy, where am I?” She was crimson, like a child found out. “With your friends, Venice, who love you. And Napier has gone. “But he hasn’t!” she screamed, and caught her scream to her mouth with the palm of her hand. We followed her terrified eyes to see Napier where we had first seen him that night. He stared at Venice. And just at that moment the silence was shattered by the roar of the Hispano. That shattering roar held us all still, bewildered. From beneath the trees of Sutton Marle it swept on us like the roar of a thousand rifles. “That car’s gone mad!” rose to my lips. I saw Venice bite the back of her hand, staring at Napier. The roar of the car had held him at the open window. As he came in Guy spoke savagely. “Napier, what the hell does this mean? Can’t you see what you’re doing to Venice?” Napier said wearily, and he tried to smile, his eyes on Venice: “All right, Guy. I thought Venice was my friend. I was wrong----” “Naps,” rapped out Sir Maurice, “what does this mean!” As Napier approached near to Venice she jumped up from her chair and started away from him. “Napier, I don’t understand!” she tried not to sob. “Why have you come back? Napier!” He said wearily: “Why didn’t you tell me, Venice? I can’t understand. God knows I’ve no opinion of myself left, but I’m not such a pitiful blackguard as----” “But what is it, Naps!” And she bit the back of her hand. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! Why are you looking at me like that?” “You told Iris, but not me, in case it might interfere with my happiness! My God, Venice, what do you think I am, not to have told me! Do you think I can leave you when you are with a child of mine! Iris said she had promised you not to tell me, but she broke down at the last moment----” “But it’s a lie!” Venice screamed. “It’s a bloody lie! I never told her anything! It’s not true! Oh, God, it’s not true!” What was said then, what was done, how they looked, I can’t remember. I remember only that as Venice sobbed the roar of the car seemed to lessen. The stork had passed from under the trees of Sutton Marle. I think Napier was holding Venice, she was sobbing as though with a breaking heart. “She’s sent you back,” she sobbed. “The beast, the beast! She’s sent you back to show she loved you more than I do....” Sir Maurice darted across at me, rapped me on the shoulder with the paper-knife. “Boy, what was that you said about that car going mad?”