“I am sorry to be so personal, Miss Burt,” he said firmly; “but I fear it is necessary for us to learn the purport of your talk with Mr. Carleton at that time.”

Dorothy Burt looked straight at Schuyler Carleton.

Neither gave what might be called a gesture, and yet a message and a response flashed between the two.

Rob Fessenden, watching intently, translated it to mean a simple negative on Schuyler’s part, but the question in the girl’s eyes he could not read.

Carleton’s “No,” however, was as plain as if spoken, and, apparently comprehending, Miss Burt went evenly on.