"Not yet! Don't leave me yet! Why did you say that you recognized
the hand--that it was the same hand you saw upon the window-sill
last night?"

"Because of the signet ring," Arnold answered promptly. "It was a
crude-looking affair, but the stone was bright scarlet. It was
impossible to mistake it."

"It was only the ring, then?"

"Only the ring, of course," he admitted. "I did not see the hand
close enough. It was foolish of me, perhaps, to say anything about
it, and yet--and yet the man last night--he was looking for Rosario.
Why should it not be the same?"

He heard the breath come through her teeth in a little sob.

"Don't say anything at present to any one else. Indeed, there are
others who might have worn such a ring."

Arnold hesitated, but only for a second. He chanced to look into her
face, and her whisper became his command.

"Very well," he promised.

A few moments later she sat up. She was evidently becoming stronger.

"Now go," she begged, "and see--how he is. Find out exactly what has
happened and come back. I shall wait for you here."