"
"No."
"Sure?"
"Quite," answered Matheson. There was nothing to be gained at this stage
by cross-examining the secretary.
"That will do, Sylvester."
The secretary left the room.
Larssen leant forward across the desk once more and snarled: "There's
the facts of the case as they'll go before the divorce court."
"Do you know that Miss Verney is blind?" There was a hoarseness in
Matheson's voice; he cleared his throat to relieve it.
"That's no defence in a divorce court."
"Blind and undergoing an operation this very morning? Do you know that
it's doubtful if she will ever recover any of her sight?"
Larssen's mouth tightened a shade more. At last he found the heel of
Achilles. He could get at Matheson through Elaine. Ruthlessly he
answered: "That's no concern of mine. I'm stating facts to you. These
facts are not all in your wife's possession. Do you want me to put them
there?"
"Your facts are a chain of lies. There's one sound link: that I changed
my name. The rest are poisonous lies--provable lies."
"Whatever they may be, do you want them put before your wife?" He
reached for a swinging telephone by his desk and called to the house
operator: "Get me P. O. Richmond, 2822. Name, Mrs Matheson."
While he was waiting for the connection to be made, Sylvester entered
the room and silently showed a visiting-card to his chief. It was
Olive's card. Acting on a sudden impulse, she had motored to the office
to see this mysterious John Riviere before he should evade her.
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