Chapter 54

I ran to her and put my arms around her, though I was no better off than she. We trembled together. "I couldn't stave it off any longer," she said. "Now we must look for the worst." "Telephone for Crider, for Basil Thorne," I said. "You must have protection here." The urgency of my fears recalled her to herself. She laughed, albeit somewhat shakily. "Oh, Touchon won't do anything crude," she said. "He will always protect his own skin. The fact that he lost his head this morning will make him even more prudent…