treacherous, how lazy and selfish. But, after a fashion, she loved
him; after a woman's fashion, she was madly jealous of him. Another
woman! And only the other night she had seen him giving
brandy-and-soda to one of the music-hall ballet-girls. Another woman!

"If you do, Joe," she said; "oh, if you do--I will kill her and you
too!"

He laughed.

"If I do, my dear, you don't think I shall be such a fool as to tell
you who she is. Do you suppose that no woman has ever fallen in love
with me before you? But then, my pretty, you see I don't talk about
them; and do you suppose--oh, Lotty, are you such a fool as to suppose
that you are the first girl I ever fell in love with?"

"What do you want me to do? Tell me again."

"I have told you already. I want you to become, for the time, the
daughter of the man who died in America; you will claim your
inheritance; I will provide you with all the papers; I will stand by
you; I will back you up with such a story as will disarm all
suspicion. That is all."

"Yes. I understand. Haven't people been sent to prison for less, Joe?"

"Foolish people have. Not people who are well advised and under good
management. Mind you, this business is under my direction. I am boss."

She made no reply, but took her candle and went off to bed.