Then she said something about her having had hard work to keep her still till we got this far; but that she was sure she would find her way to the hotel, and that we mustn't bother ourselves about it for she wasn't going to; Anitra and she had run this road too many times when they were children.

That is all I have to tell of my intercourse with these ladies prior to our appearance at the hotel.

I think it right for me to clear the slate, Ransom.

Who knows what we may wish to write upon it next ?" A slight shiver on Ransom's part was the sole answer he gave to this innuendo; then both settled themselves to work, the eyes of either flashing hither and thither from one small object to another, in this seemingly deserted room.

In the momentary silence which followed, the even breathing of the woman in the adjoining room could be distinctly heard.