What head do you think ?--That of Judas Iscariot." He laughed.
"Now, a man guilty of abominable treachery would not choose for an artistic subject the image of an arch-traitor." Mrs.Wade smiled strangely as she listened to his scornful demonstration.
"You have given me," she said, "a most important piece of evidence in support of Northway's story." Denzil was ill at ease.

He could not dismiss this lady with contempt.
Impossible that he should not have learnt by this time the meaning of her perpetual assiduity on his behalf; the old friendliness (never very warm) had changed to a compassion which troubled him.

Her image revived such painful memories that he would have welcomed any event which put her finally at a distance from him The Polterham scandal, though not yet dead, had never come to his ears; had he known it, he could scarcely have felt more constrained in her society.
"Will you oblige me," he said, with kindness, "by never speaking of this again ?" "If you will first grant me one test of my opinion.

Will you meet Northway in some public place where Mr.Glazzard can be easily seen, and ask the man to point out his informant--Mr.Marks ?" After much debate, and with great reluctance, he consented.

From his conversation of an hour ago he knew that Glazzard would be at the Academy on the morrow.