"Of that I know not," she answered vaguely. "Your silence is required to preserve the secret." "But tell me," I said quickly, "how many persons were there present in that house beside yourself?" "No, no!" she ejaculated in a tone of horror. "Make no further inquiry. Try and forget all--everything--as I shall try and forget. You cannot know--you will never know--therefore it is utterly useless to seek to learn the truth." "And may I not even know your identity?" I inquired, putting forth my hand until it rested upon her well-formed shoulder. "May I not touch your face, so as to give me an impression of your personal appearance?" She laughed at what, of course, must have seemed to her a rather amusing request. "Give me permission to do this," I urged. "If there is to be mutual trust between us it is only fair that I should know whether you are young or old." She hesitated. I felt her hand trembling. "Remember, I cannot see you," I went on. "By touch I can convey to my mind an impression of the contour of your features, and thus know with whom I am dealing." "Very well," she said at last. "You have my permission." Then eagerly, with both my hands, I touched her face, while she stood rigid and motionless as a statue. I could feel by the contraction of the muscles that this action of mine amused her, and that she was laughing. Her skin was soft as velvet, her lashes long, her features regular and finely cut like those of some old cameo. Her hair was dressed plainly, and she had about her shoulders a large cape of rich fur--sable I believed it to be. There was no doubt she was young, perhaps not more than twenty-one or so, and certainly she was very handsome of countenance, and dressed with an elegance quite unusual. Her mouth was small, her chin pointed, and her cheeks with a firm contour which spoke of health and happiness. As I carefully passed my hands backwards and forwards, obtaining a fresh mental impression with each movement, she laughed outright. Of a sudden, however, she sprang aside quickly, and left me grasping at air. "Ah!" she cried, wildly horrified at a sudden discovery. "There is blood upon your hands--_his blood_!" "I had forgotten," I apologised quickly. "Forgive me; I cannot see, and was not aware that my hands were unclean." "It's too terrible," she gasped hoarsely. "You have placed those stained hands upon my face, as though to taunt me." "With what?" I inquired, breathlessly interested. But she did not reply. She only held her breath, while her heart beat quickly, and by her silence I felt convinced that by her involuntary ejaculation she had nearly betrayed herself.