me. They contain a minute quantity of opium, it is true, but only
sufficient to soothe the nerves. No, those cigarettes are not
responsible. That peculiarity which you have recently begun to notice is
due to quite another cause. Surely you must have always known that she
was different from other girls. Have you never thought her excitable,
even unaccountable in some of her actions? Has she never told you of
strange fancies, strange dreams? And her restlessness, her odd whims,
her insatiable craving for morbid horrors, have you never taken note of
these?"

He spoke with deliberate emphasis, narrowly watching the effect of his
words.

Olga's hands were gripped fast together; her wide eyes searched his
face.

"Oh, tell me what you mean!" she entreated, a piteous quiver in her
voice. "Tell me plainly what you mean!"

"I will," he said. "Violet Campion's mother was a homicidal maniac. She
killed her husband--this girl's father--in a fit of madness one night
three months after their marriage. It happened in India, and was put
down to native treachery in order to hush it up, but it was well known
that no native was responsible for it. During the six months that
followed, she was kept under restraint, hopelessly insane. It was in her
blood--the worst form of insanity known. At the birth of the child she
died. That will explain to you my exact meaning, and if you need
corroboration you can go to Max Wyndham for it. She has begun to develop
symptoms of her mother's complaint. All her peculiarities arise from
incipient madness!"