She made an effort to look at him, but there were tears in her eyes for the first time.

His hand was resting on the table, and she touched it gently with her fingers.
"We must find out." He spoke loudly, as if with the idea that a firm utterance lessened the tremendous difficulty of that performance.
"What can we do ?" Her tone was hopeless enough.
"Let me think." He fiddled with the planchette on the table as though he had some notion of invoking the shade of Robert Turold to answer the question.

"Had your father any enemy?
Did he fear anybody ?" She raised thoughtful eyes to his in reply.
"My father feared nobody," she said, "at least, I do not think so.

Nobody had any real influence over him except Thalassa." "What sort of an influence ?" "It is difficult to describe," she hesitatingly answered.

"Thalassa could take liberties which nobody else would have dared.