"Oh, don't ask him to do that! Betray his own mother," she exclaimed. "It seems so--so--unnatural!" Tod laughed. Looking at the girl fondly, he said: "Paula, for your sake I'd--I'd commit every crime on the calendar! Anything short of murder goes with me. Desperate diseases require desperate remedies. My stepfather and Bascom Cooley are the most desperate diseases I've ever encountered." Looking out of the window, he continued, with pretended enthusiasm: "Gee! but this is a lovely spot! Look at that sunlight shimmering on the water! This air is like the cocktail that exuberates but does not intoxicate! I'll be writing poetry if I stay here long." The door leading to the wards suddenly opened and Mrs. Johnson appeared. Advancing toward Paula, she said: "Dr. Zacharie thinks it advisable for you to rest before the others see you. Come, Miss Marsh." She took her patient by the arm, but Paula, made bolder by the presence of friends, shook her off: "I don't wish to go," she avowed decisively. "Does Dr. Zacharie know we're here?" demanded Tod, turning to the lawyer. "Yes," rejoined the other. "You had better come, miss," said the attendant firmly. Paula looked at Mr. Ricaby and Tod helplessly. "You won't go away until--until---- Don't leave me here alone--will you?" "Leave you?" echoed Tod. "Certainly not. I'm going to get mother. Why, I'm a fixture here--hotel picked out--baggage unpacked--rooms taken for a month ahead." "A month? Why, you said two weeks!" cried the girl, delighted at the thought that she would have his company so long. "Did I?" he grinned. "Well, you see, the place grows on me." "Come, miss," said the attendant impatiently. "You are sure you won't go?" said Paula, addressing Tod. "I'm sure," he said. "If I go, you go with me." [Illustration: PAULA LEFT THE ASYLUM OFFICE ACCOMPANIED BY THE NURSE.] Paula gave him a long look of gratitude, and, with a sigh of resignation, left the office in company with the head attendant. As soon as the women had disappeared Tod's gaiety of manner underwent a sudden change. Gulping down a dry sob, he broke down completely, and, throwing himself on to a chair, covered his face with his two hands. "Oh, the damned scoundrels!" he cried, with a vehemence that astonished the lawyer, who had little suspected so much feeling in a youth apparently so flippant. "To think," went on the young man, "that they dare do such a cruel thing as this! How I wish I had them both in a twenty-four-foot ring--if I wouldn't give them what they deserved!" Mr. Ricaby was anxious to hear what his companion had to impart to him. "Now, tell me," he said impatiently, "what proofs have you got?" "I have no absolute proof," replied the other. "Only a very strong suspicion." "But I thought you said you had proofs?" cried the lawyer, disappointed.