Page:Edgar Jepson--the four philanthropists.djvu/277

Rh slowly. "It isn't so much that Mr. Gutermann seems quite harmless and so I don't want to take any of the blame for kidnapping him; and I'm not a bit sorry for having—having encouraged Sir Reginald Blackthwaite, and been civil to that objectionable Driver man. But I won't do it again, not to any one. I don't like—I don't want to."

"So the Company loses its most valuable asset, its most effective weapon, Humanity its most useful helper," I said sadly. "And all because you have done your hair up."

"I don't care," she said stubbornly, flushing a little.

"To be quite frank, I don't care either. In fact I'm very glad you won't."

She gave me a grateful look with no little surprise in it.

"I didn't like it ever," I explained. "Though I must say it sometimes amused me to see you letting that awful terror Sir Reginald Blackthwaite exercise his fascination on you."

"Yes," she said with a delightful smile. "It did amuse me, too. But under the amusement I felt uncomfortable somehow."

"I understand."

"You always do, I believe," she said, half with a sigh. "Though sometimes you hide your understanding extremely well."

"You wrong me: concealment is foreign to my