"That fell through," he went on, "as I told you. It was betrayed. Stepan
Lanovitch was banished. He has escaped, however; Steinmetz has seen him.
He succeeded in destroying some of the papers before the place was
searched after the robbery--one paper in particular. If he had not
destroyed that, I should have been banished. I was one of the leaders of
the Charity League. Steinmetz and I got the thing up. It would have been
for the happiness of millions of peasants if it had not been betrayed.
In time--we shall find out who did it."
He paused. He did not say what he would do when he had found out.
Etta was staring into the fire. Her lips were dry. She hardly seemed to
be breathing.
"It is possible," he went on in his strong, quiet, inexorable voice,
"that Stepan Lanovitch knows now."
Etta did not move. She was staring into the fire--staring--staring.
Then she slowly fainted, rolling from the low chair to the fur
hearth-rug.
Paul picked her up like a child and carried her to the bedroom, where
the maids were waiting to dress her.
"Here," he said, "your mistress has fainted from the fatigue of the
journey."
And, with his practised medical knowledge, he himself tended her.
CHAPTER XXV
OSTERNO
"Always gay; always gay!" laughed Steinmetz, rubbing his broad hands
together and looking down into the face of Maggie, who was busy at the
breakfast-table.
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