Page:Vance--The rass bowl.djvu/127

 "I—no! You misunderstand me. Believe me, I"

"Ah, don't protest. What does it make or mar, whether or not you trusted me? … You have," she added quietly, "the jewels safe enough, I suppose?"

He stopped short, aghast. "I! The jewels!"

"I slipped them in your coat pocket before"

Instantly her hand was free, Maitland ramming both his own into the side pockets of his top-coat. "They're safe!"

She smiled uncertainly.

"We have no time," said she. "Can you drive?"

They were standing by the side of her car, which had been cunningly hidden in the gloom beneath a spreading tree on the further side of the road. Maitland, crestfallen, offered his hand; the tips of her fingers touched his palm lightly as she jumped in. He hesitated at the step.

"You wish me to?"

She laughed lightly. "Most assuredly. You