She returned to the hotel, changed her frock, and walked slowly to the Chien Noir.  It always exhilarated her to come back to Paris; and she looked with happy, affectionate eyes at the plane trees, the yellow trams that rumbled along incessantly, and the lounging people.  When she arrived, Dr Porhoet was waiting, and his delight at seeing her again was flattering and pleasant.  They talked of Arthur.  They wondered why he was late.

In a moment he came in.  They saw at once that something quite extraordinary had taken place.

‘Thank God, I’ve found you at last!’ he cried.

His face was moving strangely.  They had never seen him so discomposed.

’I’ve been round to your hotel, but I just missed you.  Oh, why did you insist on my going away?’

‘What on earth’s the matter?’ cried Susie.

‘Something awful has happened to Margaret.’

Susie started to her feet with a sudden cry of dismay.

‘How do you know?’ she asked quickly.

He looked at them for a moment and flushed.  He kept his eyes upon them, as though actually to force his listeners into believing what he was about to say.

‘I feel it,’ he answered hoarsely.

‘What do you mean?’

’It came upon me quite suddenly, I can’t explain why or how.  I only know that something has happened.’

He began again to walk up and down, prey to an agitation that was frightful to behold.  Susie and Dr Porhoet stared at him helplessly.  They tried to think of something to say that would calm him.

‘Surely if anything had occurred, we should have been informed.’

He turned to Susie angrily.

’How do you suppose we could know anything?  She was quite helpless.  She was imprisoned like a rat in a trap.’

‘But, my dear friend, you mustn’t give way in this fashion,’ said the doctor.  ’What would you say of a patient who came to you with such a story?’

Arthur answered the question with a shrug of the shoulders.

‘I should say he was absurdly hysterical.’

‘Well?’

’I can’t help it, the feeling’s there.  If you try all night you’ll never be able to argue me out of it.  I feel it in every bone of my body.  I couldn’t be more certain if I saw Margaret lying dead in front of me.’

Susie saw that it was indeed useless to reason with him.  The only course was to accept his conviction and make the best of it.

‘What do you want us to do?’ she asked.

’I want you both to come to England with me at once.  If we start now we can catch the evening train.’

Susie did not answer, but she got up.  She touched the doctor on the arm.

‘Please come,’ she whispered.

He nodded and untucked the napkin he had already arranged over his waistcoat.

‘I’ve got a cab at the door,’ said Arthur.

‘And what about clothes for Miss Susie?’ said the doctor.