that I might tell him orally that he would pass over the scandal
as lightly as possible and spare the feelings of both as much as
he could. I was rather relieved when this mission was
accomplished, for I had expected Collins to demur violently.

Those who gathered that night, sitting expectantly in the little
armchairs which Kennedy's students used during his lectures,
included nearly every one who could cast any light on what had
happened at the Novella. Professor and Madame Millefleur were
brought up from the house of detention, to which both O'Connor and
Dr. Leslie had insisted that they be sent. Millefleur was still
bewailing the fate of the Novella, and Madame had begun to show
evidences of lack of the constant beautification which she was
always preaching as of the utmost importance to her patrons. Agnes
was so far recovered as to be able to be present, though I noticed
that she avoided the Millefleurs and sat as far from them as
possible.

Burke Collins and Mrs. Collins arrived together. I had expected
that there would be an icy coolness if not positive enmity between
them. They were not exactly cordial, though somehow I seemed to
feel that now that the cause of estrangement was removed a tactful
mutual friend might have brought about a reconciliation. Hugh
Dayton swaggered in, his nervousness gone or at least controlled.
I passed behind him once, and the odour that smote my olfactory
sense told me too plainly that he had fortified himself with a
stimulant on his way from the apartment to the laboratory. Of
course O'Connor and Dr. Leslie were there, though in the
background.