She laughed outright, gleefully, mockingly, then, demurely:

"Pardon me! You see, it's absurd. The handkerchief the butler restored
to me at dinner, after I lost one in the señor's office, might have been
either of these, or one of ten other duplicates in my room, all given to
me by her Maj--I mean," she corrected quickly, "by a friend in Europe."
She was silent for a moment. "Is that all?"

"No," replied Mr. Grimm gravely, decisively. "I'm not satisfied. I shall
insist upon the return of the money, and if it is not forthcoming I dare
say Count di Rosini, the Italian ambassador, would be pleased to give
his personal check rather than have the matter become public." She
started to interrupt; he went on. "In any event you will be requested to
leave the country."

Then, and not until then, a decided change came over Miss Thorne's face.
A deeper color leaped to her cheeks, the smile faded from her lips, and
there was a flash of uneasiness in her eyes.

"But if I am innocent?" she protested.

"You must prove it," continued Mr. Grimm mercilessly. "Personally, I am
convinced, and Count di Rosini has practically assured me that--"

"It's unjust!" she interrupted passionately. "It's--it's--you have
proved nothing. It's unheard of! It's beyond--!"

Suddenly she became silent. A minute, two minutes, three minutes passed;
Mr. Grimm waited patiently.