Page 195 (1/1)

"I say, better shut her up, sir, or Mrs Carstairs will hear!" Anstice glanced anxiously towards the door and Major Carstairs nodded

"Yes We don't want the whole house about our ears" He turned to the woh if looks could kill there would certainly have been a practice for sale in Littlefield on the morrow "Now see here, Tochatti, you've been fairly cornered--caught--and you will have to pay the penalty In the , and I warn you it is useless trying to escape"

A noise in the doorway cut hi hastily round Anstice beheld Chloe Carstairs standing there, the light of the candle she carried casting queer flickering shadows across her pale face, in which the blue eyes gleahtly than ever before

"Chloe!" In his surprise Major Carstairs released the wo out another wild flood of protestations, in which the words "il dottore" and "la baher rose her voice, s, and Anstice's professional instinct warned hih of the nature of that ending he had at the , however, that the wo herTochatti she was endangering her own health; but his word of caution was never uttered, for as he approached her she spun round with a last fierce torrent of words, and, stooping doith incredible swiftness plucked a sharp dagger froed at Anstice with all her ht

Luckily for him her excitement i him to the heart she merely inflicted a flesh wound on the upper part of the arm which he had raised to defend himself

The next th, had wrested the weapon frorasp; and then ensued a scene which even Anstice could hardly bear to look back upon in after days

Whether or no his theory of possession were justified, the woer in Chloe's hand she threw herself upon her ain her property, inflicting a series of cuts on her own hand before Chloe could get free to hurl the deadly thing into a corner of the room; and even when Anstice and Carstairs had overpowered her with their superior ht for freedoth could not continue Suddenly, as Anstice had foreseen, the inevitable collapse occurred Nature could stand no h the hands which held her, and uttering a sharp cry fell to the floor in a state of unconsciousness