And then Mary Otway suddenly ran over in secret
review her large circle of old friends and acquaintances,
and she realised, with a shock of pain and
astonishment, that there was not one of them to whom
she would wish to go for help in that kind of trouble.
Of her wide circle -- and like most people of her class
she had a very wide circle -- there was only one person,
and that was the man who was now sitting looking
at her with so much concern in his eyes, to whom
it would even have occurred to her to confess that
her income had failed through her foolish belief in the
stability, and the peaceful intentions, of Germany.

Far, far quicker than it would have taken for her
to utter her thoughts aloud, these painful thoughts
and realisations flashed through her brain. If she
had been content to put into this Hamburg Loan
only the amount of the legacy she had inherited three
years ago! But she had done more than that -- she
had sold out sound English railway stock after that
interview she had had with a pleasant-speaking German
business man in the big London Hamburg Loan
office. He had said to her, "Madam, this is the opportunity
of a lifetime!" And she had believed him.
The kind German friend who had written to her about
the matter had certainly acted in good faith. Of that
she could rest assured. But this was very small consolation
now.

"So you see, Mrs. Otway, that it's all settled -- been
settled over your head, as it were. And you'll oblige
me, you'll make me feel that you're really treating
me as a friend, if you say nothing more about it."

And then, as she still remained silent, and as Major
Guthrie could see by the expression of her face that

[[101]]

p100 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p101w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p102

v?