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259 Peters. Gerda stood there, and her eyes sought Cissie's face with a look of stern questioning; but the girl wrenched her arm from Odell's grasp and with a sob rushed past the maid and up the stairs.

Odell closed the front door behind him and faced Gerda beneath the brilliant hall light. The woman raised her eyes steadily to meet his, but something she read there made her catch her breath sharply.

When he spoke it was with gentle gravity.

"I want a word with you, Mrs. Gael."