"No. He turned a dirty yellow, and nearly went on his knees. I told him that if he did not give me my way that he would get into trouble, and that I had brought the sign to show him. He yielded, and after our making terms he seemed glad to get rid of me." "But you know----" "I know nothing," she interrupted tartly, and returned to the tea-table, Haskins wondering if she was playing a part. Since she knew so much it seemed to him that she must know more. He tried the effect of a surprise. "Ah, the Jew was probably afraid of the Tána." This time Mrs. Crosbie dropped the teapot, which clattered on the tray with a great noise. "The Tána Society?" she stammered, very pale. "The Tána Society?" said a new and foreign-sounding voice at the same time, and Signor Venosta was shown into the room as the teapot fell. 'Mrs. Crosbie recovered herself with an effort. "Oh, signor, how are you to-day? Last time, Mr. Haskins--you know Mr. Haskins--found you with me, now you find him with me. How strange!" She was talking for the sake of talking, as Gerald noted, for her face was livid and her bosom rose and fell stormily. The burly Italian, who looked perfectly self-controlled and composed, eyed Haskins, who bore his gaze without flinching. Neither man took notice of Mrs. Crosbie's chatter, and she sank again into her seat before the tea-table. "Won't you sit down also, you two?" she tittered nervously. "You mentioned the Tána Society," said Venosta, turning on the little woman, "and to this young man." "Pardon me. I mentioned it first to Mrs. Crosbie," said Haskins coolly. "What do you know of the Tána Society?" "Very little beyond the fact that it consists of a body of men who emerge on occasions from the Den to dispense that justice which cannot be obtained by law. The headquarters of the society is in Naples, and the symbol is a coral hand grasping a dagger." Signor Venosta might have been hewn out of marble for all the surprise he showed at this speech. But he was staggered, since Gerald caught the expression of his eyes. "May I ask how you know all this, sir?" Gerald shrugged. "I see no reason to conceal the fact that by chance I carried away Mrs. Crosbie's cigarette-case during my last visit. The amulet fell out when I opened the case in my rooms for a cigarette." "Quite so,"' assented Venosta blandly, "but you thought, no doubt, that it was merely a trinket." "Yes; such as an old friend--you, for instance, Signor Venosta--might give to Mrs. Crosbie." "Ah!" the Italian turned swiftly on the widow, "you _have_ told him." "No, no!" she said vehemently, "only that you gave me the trinket, and that I made that Jew moneylender do what I wanted by showing it to him. I did not tell anything else, because I know nothing else, save that the coral hand has to do with some society called the Tána." "How do you know that much even?" "My mother told me. Mr. Haskins told her." "And how do you know?" demanded Venosta, turning toward Gerald.