He had frightened her--yes, he had frightened her--but he should see how little he had gained by that.

She took a taste of the liquid, then paused, again assailed by a curious hesitancy.

Had her father really meant her to take it all?
Nick had stopped short at her first movement, but as she began to lower the glass in response to that disquieting doubt, he swooped suddenly forward like a man possessed.
For a fleeting instant she thought he was going to wrest it from her, but in the next she understood--understood the man's deep treachery, and with what devilish ingenuity he had worked upon her.

Holding her with an arm that felt like iron, he forced the glass back between her teeth, and tilted the contents down her throat.

She strove to resist him, strove wildly, frantically, not to swallow the draught.