Diary of a Drug Fiend

The Voice of Virtue 295 “ We're really very foolish children,” she said gaily, as she sipped her brandy, “ making all this fuss about nothing at all. There are a thousand and one reasons why she may have taken it into her head to go out. Why, of course—it’s awfully hot in here, she probably thought she’d take a turn in the fresh air. Anyhow, you don’t have to bother about me. You boys had better get down to the city and do your business. I'll wait here for her until she turns up, and spank her hard for frightening us all like this.” Platt and I put on our hats and coats. We were just shaking hands with Gretel, telling her to order herself a good lunch from downstairs, when we heard the latch-key put into the lock. “There she is,” cried Gretel gaily. ‘‘ What babies we have been!” The door opened; but it was not Lou who came in. It was Maisie Jacobs, and her face was stern and set. She gave two quick formal bows to the others, took my hand, and said in a deep, tense voice :-— “You must come with me at once, Sir Peter. Lady Pendragon needs you.” I went white. Once again I had been brought back from a complex chaos of conflicting emotions to the bed-rock truth which had been buried so elaborately and so often. The deepest thing in myself was my love for my wife. I resented the realisation, and yet I could not bring myself to admit it. I asked, stupidly enough : “Is anything wrong?” as if Maisie’s face, to say nothing of her appearance, were not sufficient guarantee of the seriousness of the situation. “Come with me,” she repeated. Gretel had been watching the dialogue like a cat. She flashed forked lightning at Platt, thinking that his fears might betray him into saying something irrevocably stupid. “‘ Of course, there’s only one thing to be done,” she said hurriedly, summing the psychology of the situation D.D.F. U