Page:Harold Macgrath--The girl in his house.djvu/143

 "In your debt!" went on Armitage, a bit wildly. "For if you hadn't rooked me, there would never have come into my life—love! A bit of thistledown with a soul—a fairy, turned into a human being, still retaining the fairy's mind!"

"The other the one who made you run away?" whispered Bordman.

"Lord! she doesn't exist! The more I think of it the more I'm certain that I'm in your debt. But for you I'd never have known her—the daughter of the man you sold the house to. Bordman, you saw that man. What's the matter with him that he doesn't appear on the scene? What's he done? If I had a daughter like that, no earthly treasures would or could keep me from her. Tombs! Oh, I say, Bordman!"

But Bordman continued to sag. His body slipped from the chair to the floor, and Armitage ran to his side. He put his arms under the fragile body and carried it over to the lounge. The poor, unhappy wretch! Armitage began to pace the room impatiently, every now and then peering down into the drab face. Ten minutes later there