"Meanwhile my mind had been rapidly canvassing all the pros and cons of action; and I had come to the conclusion that it would be better for her that I should interfere. Of my personal interest in the matter I believe I did not think; indeed, knowing that the diamonds would not be lost, there was no reason why I should. But it would not do to risk compromising Kate. It was dangerous enough that she should be here at all; but that she should carry away the diamonds with her was inadmissible. I rose from my bed and laid my hand gently on her wrist. "She was no spirit, but warm flesh and blood. For a few moments the restraint in which I held her seemed to baffle and distress her; I fancied I could feel her pulse beat under my fingers: a kind of spasm crossed her face, her eyelids quivered and the eyes moved in their sockets. Then her breathing became irregular, and caught in her throat in a kind of sob. The moment of her awakening was evidently at hand, and I dreaded its coming, lest she should scream out and rouse the house. But fortunately she uttered no sound. Slowly speculation grew within her eyes; she fixed them on me, first with an expression of strange pleasure, soon changing to bewilderment and fear. Then, with a cry that was none the less thrilling because it was a whisper, she drooped forwards into my arms. It was a delicious moment, for all its peril. "'You are perfectly safe,' I whispered in her ear; 'only make no noise.' "'Tom,' she said, suddenly freeing herself from my arms, and putting a hand on either shoulder, while her wild black eyes searched my face, 'you understand--you don't think----?' "'Of course I understand, my poor darling!' "'What shall I do--what shall I do? Let me kill myself!' "With a motion swift as the glide of a serpent, she reached towards the revolver, which I had left on the bed. I was barely in time to catch her arm. The look in the girl's face at that moment was terrible. "'Let me!--I will!' "'Hush, Kate! You never shall.' "'Oh, what shall I do!' she murmured again slipping down on her knees and running both hands through her thick black hair. 'Tom, if you loved me you would kill me!' "'Kate, everyone in the house is asleep. You can go back to your room, and no one know. Only be calm.' "'And no one know? You think that?' "'I am sure of it!' "'I know better! Someone knows it now: he made it happen!' "'Don't kneel there, dear. You're not yourself yet. You don't know what you're saying.' I said this reassuringly, but her words had inspired me with a vague alarm that I ventured not to define. I brought a chair and made her sit upon it, and sat down beside her. "'Not here!' she whispered, drawing back out of the moonlight into the shadow. 'Come here, Tom. He may be looking!' "'Why, Kate, who can see us here? The door is shut.' "'Oh--why was not the door bolted?' "'It was. I can't conceive how you opened it.' "'Oh the villain! how I hate him!'