"You will have to speak more quietly," he cautioned her gently. "The officer is just outside the door. And please try to pull yourself together." She tried. He carried two chairs as far away as possible from Delaney's post. She sat down obediently and he took his seat opposite and very close to her. "We are in a fearful fix, Carmelita," he said. "We might as well face the facts at once. I had reason to believe you were in trouble after you left me last night. I followed you to Rao-Singh, arriving just as you came through the window and started torunhome. I went into the study through the same window and—well, Rao-Singh was shot. I was arrested, and I admitted I shot him."
He paused. He would give her the chance to deny entire responsibility in the matter even to him, even though she must know he was aware of the real assailant of Rao-Singh, if she wished to. She could accept his sacrifice entirely without telling him the truth.
Her tired eyes were wide as she looked into his, as if she were living over again the scenes of the night before. "I can't let you do that, Dudley," she cried softly, remembering his injunction about Delaney. "You must know—I shot him—myself." Her head sank forward a little. There was a full moment of silence.
