initial commit of ebook 34934HEADmain

10 files changed, 27129 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/34934-8.txt b/34934-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10d7af0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/34934-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9049 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of '£ 19,000', by Burford Delannoy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: '£19,000'
+
+Author: Burford Delannoy
+
+Release Date: January 12, 2011 [EBook #34934]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK '£19,000' ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
+scanned images of public domain material from the Google
+Print archive.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+"£19,000"
+
+
+
+
+"£19,000"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By BURFORD DELANNOY
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Author of "The Garden Court Murder"
+"The Missing Cyclist" Etc. Etc._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+R. F. FENNO & COMPANY
+9 and 11 East Sixteenth Street, New York
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+WARD LOCK & COMPANY, LONDON
+
+
+
+
+Copyright, 1900, by
+R. F. FENNO & COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                           PAGE
+        I.  THE DENTIST'S IN FINSBURY SQUARE                           7
+       II.  WHAT WAS FOUND ON THE BODY                                16
+      III.  ON BOARD THE AMERICAN LINER                               23
+       IV.  THE CITY LAWYER AND THE CLIENT FROM THE WILD AND
+                WOOLY WEST                                            30
+        V.  BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND QUEENSTOWN                          38
+       VI.  MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS                                   45
+      VII.  THE NUMBERS OF THE MISSING NOTES                          52
+     VIII.  THE SEALED UP CABIN                                       61
+       IX.  A WAITING WIFE'S DISCOVERY                                68
+        X.  HOW THE DEVIL TEMPTED HIM                                 76
+       XI.  A LIFE FOR A LIFE                                         83
+      XII.  FATHER AND CHILD--THE OLD STORY                           91
+     XIII.  LOVERS--MORE OF THE OLD STORY                             98
+      XIV.  THE METHOD IN SUSAN TODD'S MADNESS                       105
+       XV.  BOUND TO THE WHEEL                                       113
+      XVI.  SUSAN TODD SEES A GHOST                                  120
+     XVII.  A SICK BED CONFESSION                                    126
+    XVIII.  A WIFE FOR REWARD                                        133
+      XIX.  GERALD PUTS HIS NOSE TO THE TRAIL                        140
+       XX.  INSIDE THE LAWYER'S OFFICE                               148
+      XXI.  THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S ART AND ARTFULNESS                    156
+     XXII.  THE HANDCUFFS PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART                     163
+    XXIII.  AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DENTIST                          171
+     XXIV.  AN AMATEUR CARPENTER                                     178
+      XXV.  A WOULD-BE SUICIDE                                       181
+     XXVI.  GERALD WALKS INTO THE TRAP                               195
+    XXVII.  PECULIAR MESSENGERS                                      203
+   XXVIII.  A PISTOL AND AN OPEN GRAVE                               211
+     XXIX.  THE NEXT MOVE IN THE GAME                                218
+      XXX.  AT THE DENTIST'S                                         226
+     XXXI.  MOON BLINDNESS                                           234
+    XXXII.  THE LOVERS MEET                                          241
+   XXXIII.  THIEF!                                                   249
+    XXXIV.  A THEATRICAL MAKE-UP                                     254
+     XXXV.  NOT A MAN TO STICK AT TRIFLES                            262
+    XXXVI.  ONCE MORE ON THE TRACK                                   270
+   XXXVII.  THE LAWYER LIFTED INTO ANOTHER SPHERE                    277
+  XXXVIII.  MRS. DEPEW HOLDS THE REINS                               284
+    XXXIX.  MRS. DEPEW HAS THINGS HER OWN WAY                        290
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE DENTIST'S IN FINSBURY SQUARE
+
+
+The gong fixed in the door frame sounded.
+
+A man entered as Sawyer hurriedly ceased a perusal of the pages of the
+_Boys of the World_, and stuffed that sample of the literature of young
+England up his page's jacket.
+
+"Is the boss in?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I want a tooth out."
+
+"Yes, sir. Will you take a seat a moment?"
+
+The boy handed the visitor a newspaper as he spoke, and then entered the
+inner room. To his employer he said:
+
+"Gent wants a tooth extracted, sir."
+
+He had attained the word "extracted" by diligent practice. It had been
+hard work, but he got home with it at last.
+
+There was a hope prevailing in the dentist's breast that in time the boy
+would be able to say "gentleman"; at present there were no indications
+of the realization of that hope beyond the word's first syllable.
+
+The dentist was wearily glancing out of the window. He looked very down
+in the mouth.
+
+That is said of him metaphorically, as, actually, it is part of the
+business of a dentist to do that sort of thing. That is patent.
+
+He had little to do but admire the scenery of Finsbury Circus. It is not
+an inspiring landscape--weariness naturally follows its frequent
+observation.
+
+His brother had rooms a few doors away, and was the proprietor of a
+brass plate which bore four letters after his name--Arthur Lennox,
+M.R.C.S.
+
+Sawyer was a divided possession. However impossible it may seem for a
+man to serve two masters, the boy did--it came cheaper that way.
+
+The surgeon and dentist were not having good times.
+
+Patience is necessary in waiting for patients, and the stock of it they
+had laid in when they started in their respective practices was nearly
+exhausted.
+
+Overdue rent and unpaid bills stared them in the face. In addition to
+their kinship they were brothers in misfortune.
+
+It was such a rare thing for a patient to call that, when the page
+announced one, the dentist quite started. Immediately he said:
+
+"Show him in."
+
+The boy did so, and retired. To his visitor, the dentist said:
+
+"Good-morning."
+
+"Good-morning. You are Mr. Charles Lennox?"
+
+There was just that twang about the speaker's voice which some persons
+find so "charming"--and others tip their noses at--American.
+
+"That is my name."
+
+"I saw it up on the wire blind with the word 'dentist' after it."
+
+"You need dental attention?"
+
+"I need a tooth out."
+
+"Will you sit down here?"
+
+"Say! Hold on a minute. There's another combination on your blind.
+'Painless Dentistry.'"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I want to sample that kind."
+
+"You mean--gas?"
+
+"I mean the kind where you yank the tooth out without the owner knowing
+it. I've heard that it's done that way."
+
+"Oh, yes, very frequently."
+
+"Then fire away, boss."
+
+"I shall have to ask you to wait a minute or two."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"I must send for a medical man to administer the gas."
+
+"Can't do it yourself?"
+
+"No, it is not usual."
+
+"Will it be long?"
+
+"No, my anæsthetist is but a few doors away."
+
+"All right, then."
+
+"It is proper that I should mention that for the administration of gas
+an extra fee is charged."
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"The charge is half a guinea extra."
+
+"Fifteen and six in all?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That's all right. If it really comes out without my knowing it, I
+shan't ask for my change out of a sovereign. Money's no object with me
+just now."
+
+The dentist looked his opinion of the speaker, and, opening the
+communication doors, called the boy.
+
+"Run in to Mr. Arthur, and ask him if he will come in--gas patient
+waiting."
+
+The boy ran in--and remained in Mr. Arthur Lennox' rooms, minding them
+while the surgeon went to help his brother.
+
+As he entered the dentist's sanctum, the man who had been sent for said:
+
+"Good-morning."
+
+"Good-morning; are you the pain killer?"
+
+"That is my present mission," replied the surgeon, with a smile, as he
+drew out the rubber gas bag, and prepared the apparatus.
+
+"What happens after I'm loaded? Sort of balloon business, this. How long
+do I stay gassed up?"
+
+"But a minute, and during that minute the tooth is extracted."
+
+"Sure it don't hurt?"
+
+"Not at all--take my word for it. You are conscious, perhaps, of what is
+being done, but you will experience no pain."
+
+"All right, then. It's warm in here; do you mind me taking off my coat,
+mister?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"I've been walking around pretty much all to-day winding things up."
+
+"Ah!"
+
+Politeness induced the surgeon to utter that exclamation; he was wholly
+uninterested. He wondered why patients should be so communicative.
+
+"Yes; I'm off back to the States to-morrow. I have been round to Eldon
+Street about my passage, and as I walked into Finsbury Circus, blest if
+this tooth didn't come on aching a treat. I didn't reckon on any
+dentist being aboard the boat, so, when I saw your sign, I popped right
+in."
+
+"And now, if you will sit here.... So. That's it."
+
+"Hullo! what's that?"
+
+"Don't be nervous--just the gas. Imagine you are going to sleep. That is
+it.... There you are; Charley, he's gone under."
+
+The surgeon walked aside, the dentist took his place, and, instrument in
+hand, quickly operated.
+
+As he put the forceps down, and picked up a glass of water, he suddenly
+cried:
+
+"Arthur! what's wrong? Arthur, quick!"
+
+The surgeon was at the window, drumming with his finger-tips on the
+panes. He turned round hurriedly when he was addressed and inquired:
+
+"What's the matter?"
+
+But he needed no verbal answer. A look at the patient's face told him
+much.
+
+He clawed up a towel, and putting it beneath the chin, snatched the
+glass of water the dentist was holding, and dashed it on the livid,
+colorless face.... It had no effect.
+
+He threw the glass and towel down, and felt the pulse, tore open the
+man's vest, and applied his stethoscope; seized the body, laid it on the
+floor, and on his knees was astride it.
+
+"Brandy," he said, as he started in his muscular endeavor to restore
+animation.
+
+His brother brought brandy, and poured some between the unconscious
+man's lips.
+
+"My case is in the bag, Charley," said the surgeon, as he continued his
+efforts to pump air into the man's lungs. "Fill the hypo-syringe with
+brandy."
+
+The dentist did so, and handed it to his brother.
+
+The injection had no effect. Once more the manual exercise was
+tried--tried for nearly half an hour.
+
+The dentist wore a very white face as he watched what was being
+done--the exercise kept the color in the surgeon's.
+
+But when presently the latter rose to his feet and wiped the
+perspiration from his brow with his handkerchief, the hue of his face
+was in close competition with his brother's.
+
+"Lock the outer door, Charley," he said, hoarsely.
+
+The dentist did so without a word, but with a shaking hand. When he
+returned, the surgeon was drinking neat brandy.
+
+And when he had finished drinking, he poured out more, and handed the
+glass to his brother.
+
+The dentist looked his inquiry. The surgeon answered it:
+
+"Yes. Dead. This happens about once in five thousand cases. Our luck, I
+suppose, our luck still helping us."
+
+He said this very bitterly, as they stood looking down at the body.
+
+Presently the dentist inquired:
+
+"What is to be done?"
+
+The other shook his head by way of reply.
+
+Again the dentist broke the silence.
+
+"Shall we send for the police?"
+
+"What good will that do?"
+
+"It is the usual thing, is it----"
+
+"Usual! The whole thing is unusual. The police spells for us ruin. A
+thing of this sort gets into the papers, and we might as well put up the
+shutters at once."
+
+"Can we avoid----?"
+
+"We must. Let me think--yes."
+
+"You have thought of something?"
+
+"Plain and ordinary enough. It did not want much thinking about."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Finsbury Circus is deserted at night?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Wait till then. Then throw the body over the rails into the Circus
+garden. Let the police find it there."
+
+"Horrible!"
+
+"Why? The man's dead. The police have to find the body. What can it
+matter whether it is found in these rooms or the open air? It can't hurt
+the dead man to be found there. It will certainly hurt us if he is found
+here."
+
+"That's so."
+
+There was no help for it. Their exchequer was low enough down as it
+was--they must prevent the happening of anything which would reduce it
+still lower.
+
+They had no belief in the proverb that when things were at their worst
+they would mend--because their condition was as bad as it very well
+could be, and there was an utter absence of any sign of a mend about
+it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+WHAT WAS FOUND ON THE BODY
+
+
+"Couldn't we put the body in a cab and send it home?"
+
+"Could--but it would probably mean putting ourselves in the bankruptcy,
+if not the police court. The thing would be traced home to us. True, the
+bankruptcy would come only a little before the appointed time, just
+hasten things along, as it were."
+
+"Could not we put----?"
+
+"Let's put the body in this cupboard. That's the wisest thing to do for
+the present.... That's it. Turn the key. Now I'll get round to my rooms
+and send Sawyer back. That little imp must have no inkling of what has
+happened."
+
+"He leaves at five o'clock."
+
+"And it is close on that hour. Let him come in, and suppose the place
+empty. Let him leave at the usual time, in the usual way, and then I
+will come back."
+
+Things happened that way, and soon after Sawyer had left for the day,
+the surgeon closed his offices and went into the dentist's.
+
+He locked the outer door, and walking into the inner chamber, said:
+
+"Charley, I have been thinking it over, and it does seem an awful thing
+to do that over the railings business. Mind you, I still believe it all
+sentiment, but, if possible, we will find out where the man lived, and
+devise a means of driving him home."
+
+"Won't it be dangerous?"
+
+"Yes. Still we will risk it. It seems a brutal thing to do as I
+suggested. We will put him on his own doorstep late to-night."
+
+"You think we can manage it without----"
+
+"Great point is, where he lived. If in a quiet suburb we can manage it
+all right. Get a cab here at my door, send the cabby round the corner
+for some cigars, we mind the horse, and, while he is away, slip the body
+in. When he comes back he will notice nothing in the darkness."
+
+"But the man said he was going to America to-morrow!"
+
+"Great Scott! So he did. I had forgotten that. Anyway, let us see if he
+has any address, pocketbook, letters--or anything on him to show where
+he would have slept if living to-night."
+
+The key was turned in the lock of the cupboard, the body brought out and
+searched.
+
+In the pockets were a passage ticket for America, letters addressed to
+"Mr. George Depew (of New York), Armfield's Hotel, Finsbury."
+
+It was evident from the wording of the letters, which the brothers read,
+that Mr. Depew had stayed at Armfield's since his arrival from America.
+
+The letters were from a city solicitor named Loide--Richard Loide, of
+Liverpool Street.
+
+A perusal of those letters showed the whole reason of Mr. Depew's being
+that side of the Atlantic.
+
+Loide had acted for Depew's aunt in the collection of the rents of
+certain properties. That aunt died, and Depew was sole legatee.
+
+When the lawyer's letter reached him to that effect, Depew cabled Loide
+to sell all the property immediately. Another cable, a few hours later,
+announced that Depew was aboard a liner, and on his way to England. He
+was coming to look after his own.
+
+The last letter from the solicitor was dated only one day before, and
+appointed two o'clock that very day--the day of the death--for Depew to
+attend at the lawyer's office, and receive nineteen thousand pounds, the
+amount the deceased woman's estate had realized.
+
+The brothers were silent for a few moments after the perusal of that
+last letter. The consideration of a sum like nineteen thousand pounds,
+by two poor men, needs a few moments' silence.
+
+Then they turned over again the contents of the dead man's pockets. The
+purse contained a few sovereigns and dollars, the steamer passage
+ticket, two Broad Street station cloak room tickets, and nothing more.
+
+"Nineteen thousand pounds!"
+
+It was the surgeon speaking. He looked at his brother; his brother
+looked at him. Each look was full of eloquence.
+
+Then they picked up the dead man's coat, felt every inch of the lining
+thereof, thinking to find a secret pocket, or notes sewn in it. Nothing.
+
+The two cloak room tickets for portmanteaus inspired the dentist to
+remark:
+
+"Must be in one of the portmanteaus."
+
+The surgeon shook his head.
+
+"No man," he said, "would be fool enough to intrust such a sum to a
+cloak room's tender mercies."
+
+"Then at the hotel?"
+
+The surgeon did not think so--said as much as he bent over the body and
+unbuttoned the waistcoat, to make a closer search.
+
+He felt something hard round the waist, investigated further, unbuckled
+what he found, and brought a money belt to the table and loosed the
+catch.
+
+Notes! He pulled them out, and, as he fingered them, the rustle was as
+sweet music.
+
+There were nineteen of them! Each for a thousand pounds.
+
+They might have dreamed of such things, but they had never expected to
+actually handle such a sum.
+
+For some while silence reigned. In incidents of this kind silence plays
+a big part.
+
+There was no need of conversation--the brothers seemed to read each
+other's thoughts.
+
+"It is a small fortune," presently whispered the dentist.
+
+"And must be ours."
+
+"Will the notes be traced?"
+
+"We must guard against that."
+
+"How?"
+
+"I have been thinking----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"This ticket--passage--has been booked in London; he will not be known
+on the ship."
+
+"No."
+
+"He intended going from Broad Street to Euston, thence to Liverpool, in
+time for the boat to-morrow."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"He will have to go."
+
+"What, in heaven's name, do you mean?"
+
+"Heaven," said the surgeon grimly, "I am afraid, has little to do with
+this job. But, see here, Charley, there's time yet. We can be poor and
+honest, and give up this fortune, or a few hours' nasty work, and
+wealth--nineteen thousand pounds."
+
+He picked up the notes again, and the rustle made both men's eyes
+sparkle.
+
+A piano organ in the distance was jigging out a "Belle of New York"
+tune, but no sound of it was heard by the brothers. Their ears were full
+of that crisp, crackling sound.
+
+"But how do you mean that he will have to go?"
+
+"One of us in his name, to America."
+
+"Surely there is no need for that."
+
+"Every need."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"For two reasons. He--this--has to be disposed of."
+
+He indicated the corpse at their feet, and went on:
+
+"Then, again, some one in his name must land in America, and disappear
+there, so that, when ultimately a hue and cry is raised, no suspicion
+may arise this side of the water."
+
+"I see."
+
+"While one of us is on the way to America, the other must gradually cash
+these notes at home. The numbers cannot be stopped for a week or two."
+
+"Yes. But--but the body?"
+
+"Must be taken aboard the boat."
+
+"Good God!"
+
+"No help for it, Charley. I had better be the passenger; you look after
+the money. I have more nerve for the work. I shall take the body in two
+portmanteaus, and manage to drop them overboard _en route_."
+
+"In two portmanteaus?"
+
+"Yes. My old days at the hospital operating table will come back to me.
+Yes. Don't look so scared; there's no help for it--just lock the door
+after me while I go in for my case of instruments."
+
+The dentist did so, and stood there waiting his brother's return. Waited
+with bulging eyes and open mouth.
+
+His training had not been that of the hospital. He had not the coolness
+in handling the limbs of his fellow-men which practice had given the
+surgeon.
+
+The piano organ had struck into a religious tune now, and was
+discharging "Abide With Me." The dentist heard that. Heard it and
+shivered. The eventide was falling fast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+ON BOARD THE AMERICAN LINER
+
+
+Arthur returned with his case of knives. He saw his brother would be
+worse than useless about him in the task he had in hand.
+
+Personally, he had no more compunction about dismembering his fellow-men
+than a butcher had in disjointing a calf--it was his business.
+
+"Drink this, Charley"--he had poured out some brandy and handed it to
+his brother. "And now put on your hat and go out; take a cab down to
+Goffs. Buy two large portmanteaus--second hand--not less than a yard
+long. Put them on a cab, and come back here with them. Rap three times
+on the door--don't forget, three times--then I shall know it is you.
+While you are away I will do what is necessary."
+
+He did. Before his brother returned, there were five small parcels and
+one larger one--the contents may be guessed--done up in newspaper.
+
+Not a trace of blood or otherwise of his handiwork was visible. He had
+been an attentive student, and profited by it now. In class he had been
+marked "clean."
+
+Three raps at the door. He opened it, and the dentist entered with the
+portmanteaus.
+
+"Put them down, laddie, and while I pack, you clear out. See here, those
+bags in the cloak room at the station had better be fetched away; there
+is no knowing what is in them. If they are not large, get a porter to
+bring them by hand; if too big, put them on a cab and bring them that
+way. Here are the cloak room tickets."
+
+And while his brother was away he packed the two portmanteaus with the
+American, and carefully locked and strapped them.
+
+The keys he tied together with a piece of twine, and put into his
+pocket. Not that they were of use--the locks were never to be turned
+again.
+
+He helped his brother in with the two bags from the cloak room. They
+carefully went through the contents, opening the locks with the keys
+they had found in the dead man's trousers pocket.
+
+The bags were full of clothing, hosiery, and general wearing apparel;
+not a scrap of paper or article of any other kind.
+
+"Charley," said the surgeon, "chirp up, old man. There is nothing to
+fear. Before I am far away on the trip to America you may be sure that
+every trace of a clue to the contents of those portmanteaus will be
+lying at the bottom of the sea. A dark night, an open port, and there
+will be an end of the matter. This passage ticket is, I see, for a two
+berthed cabin--that makes it easier."
+
+"I fear----"
+
+"I know you do, old man--early and provident fear is the mother of
+safety. But there is nothing to fear. Murder will out, that we see day
+by day. But it is not as if we had murdered the man. We have not that
+crime on our consciences. Keep cool, and all will be well.
+
+"I shall--must--land in America. I shall clear from the boat, one of the
+first. There I shall get another outfit, and come back in the next boat
+in another name. I shall go out, of course, as George Depew."
+
+"I cannot get rid of the fear----"
+
+"No, Charley, I know you cannot. But there is nothing to fear. Think
+what the money means to you, to us both. To you more than to me. You
+have a wife and little Edith to think of. Think what the money means,
+the happiness it will bring to mother and child--to them both."
+
+"I know--I know."
+
+"After all, I am doing whatever is being done, Charley. You
+conscientious old beggar you, just wipe the thing out of your mind. Let
+it be a leaf in the book of the past. Paste it down. Don't look at it,
+don't think of it. Only think of the future--the brightness of a future
+from which the clouds have rolled away, and which a few hours ago did
+not seem to have a piece of blue sky in it."
+
+"Yes--yes."
+
+"The boat starts from Liverpool, calls only at Queenstown, and then
+steams away across to the States. Why, given ordinary traveling--I shall
+not be away more than a fortnight, Charley, and when I come back I shall
+expect you to have cashed all those notes--and turned them into
+something less traceable."
+
+"How had I better do that? Go to the bank?"
+
+"M'no. I don't think I can trust you to do that, Charley. You would
+present those notes with such a white face and trembling hand that the
+most unsophisticated bank clerk breathing would think there was
+something fishy."
+
+"What shall I do, then?"
+
+"M'well.... I have it! There are two rooms empty above these?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Take them to-morrow. Take them in the name of Jones, Brown,
+Robinson--any name. Get a list of the brokers on the stock exchange, and
+buy from separate men nine hundred pounds' worth of stock. Good
+stock--no risk. Railway shares and that sort of thing. Pay each of the
+brokers with a thousand pound note; you will want the change out of it
+for working with. Worse come to the worst, if the shares have to be
+sold, there will only be the loss of a few pounds."
+
+"I will do that."
+
+"And now get along home, Charley, or you will have your little woman
+worrying about you. Don't, for heaven's sake, breathe a solitary
+syllable which will give the faintest clue to what has happened. Your
+wife is a smart little woman--don't give her too much money at first.
+Just a pound or two more for housekeeping expenses. Let her think your
+practice is gradually getting better day by day. And now shake hands.
+Good-bye."
+
+"But you----"
+
+"Oh! I stop here to-night."
+
+"With those----"
+
+"Yes. I don't let them leave my possession till I drop the contents in
+the sea. I take no unnecessary risks."
+
+"But--you--can--sleep----"
+
+"Certainly! soundly. Why not? There might be some reason to fear a live
+man, but a dead one--bah!"
+
+"I will come up early, and see you off."
+
+"You will do nothing of the sort. Don't do anything a wee bit out of the
+ordinary course of things. I shall go out for half an hour presently,
+taking the key of the door with me, get something to eat, buy some
+collars, shirts, and a few necessary things for the journey, and then
+sleep in your operating chair."
+
+"The chair he died in!"
+
+"Dear boy, what of that? There, get along. Good-bye."
+
+He literally pushed his brother from the rooms, and closed the door.
+Afterwards he did as he had said he would do.
+
+In early morning a cab took the four portmanteaus to Euston Station, and
+he caught the train for Liverpool.
+
+There he had two of the portmanteaus labeled "For Cabin Use!" the
+others, bags of clothing, were shot into the hold.
+
+He found that the occupant of the other berth, his cabin companion for
+the voyage, had already turned in--presumably to get as much sleep as
+possible before the voyage began--and was breathing heavily, the breath
+of sleep.
+
+A short time after he had got on board the vessel started. He determined
+not to leave the cabin, or sight of his portmanteaus, till he had
+thrown them or their contents into the deep waters.
+
+That he would do when they were fairly out to sea. Then he would pick
+safer--quite safe.
+
+The vessel steamed on for her one and only stopping--Queenstown, to pick
+up the mails.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE CITY LAWYER AND THE CLIENT FROM THE WILD AND WOOLLY WEST
+
+
+Aunt Depew had lived on the rentals of the property she had left to her
+nephew. Loide had been her solicitor for nearly twenty years.
+
+She had a blind confidence in him--that way fraud lies. Absolute trust
+in a man oft tempts him to break it.
+
+Regularly every quarter he had paid over to her the rentals of the
+properties; that was all she had cared for. She had never troubled
+about, or even visited, the places in which the buildings were situated.
+
+She had no idea that by reason of the building of a railway station, and
+other developing influences, the revenue of her property had gone up by
+leaps and bounds, and that ultimately, while she was receiving two
+hundred and fifty pounds a year from property which she thought worth
+about five thousand pounds, the lawyer was receiving four times that
+sum, and the real value was about twenty thousand pounds.
+
+Could any more sad blow have been aimed at the lawyer than the black
+edged intimation which reached him one morning--tidings of the death of
+his best client?
+
+The dead woman had had a companion living with her, and this companion
+had witnessed the will, and herself after the funeral handed it to
+Loide.
+
+Otherwise there is a question when the tidings would have reached the
+legatee in America--if they ever got so far.
+
+Yet that eternal hope we hear of in the human breast, sprang up in the
+lawyer's, when he reflected that America was a long way off, that he,
+Loide, was the executor, and would have the proving of the will.
+
+What would be easier than to show the legatee the income his aunt had
+been deriving, and effect a bogus sale of a part of the property for
+about five thousand pounds? That he could transmit to America, and end
+the matter.
+
+He wrote Depew, and when the cablegram came in reply, instructing him to
+sell the property at once, Loide rubbed his hands together and chuckled
+with glee. It was just what he had wanted.
+
+But the glee was short lived. Another cablegram came, saying that Depew
+was on his way to England, and would be there in a few days.
+
+Then all hope left Loide's heart. Black ruin stared him in the face.
+
+He had been drawing nearly a thousand pounds a year from the property
+which was to be at once sold. Few city lawyers could view the sudden
+cutting off of twenty pounds a week of their income with equanimity.
+
+Loide viewed it with clenched hands, curses on his lips, and fear in his
+heart.
+
+Then the fear gave place to another feeling--hatred. Hatred of this man
+who was crossing the water to rob him of what he had come to look on as
+his own.
+
+This cursed American would come over and sell, and disappear with the
+proceeds.
+
+But would he? Should he--Loide--allow him to do so?
+
+The lawyer sat and thought. Then he determined to wait till Depew came
+and see what he could make out of him, see what manner of man he was.
+
+It might be possible to handle him--profitably. The lawyer rarely
+handled mankind otherwise.
+
+But when the American came, the thermometer of the lawyer's hopes
+dropped down to zero again.
+
+Depew was a powerful, wiry, keen, shrewd, intelligent man of business.
+He picked the lawyer to pieces in five minutes, and so took greater
+precaution in seeing that he was fairly dealt with.
+
+The lawyer had quite an unpleasant time.
+
+"Say, lawyer, things appear to have been handled by my aunt with a light
+hand. Understand that I am driving now, will you, and the coach won't
+rock, perhaps."
+
+"How dare----"
+
+"Don't bluster, old son. I come from a land where we make holes in
+blusterers--round holes, with bullets at the bottom of 'em."
+
+"Do you dare threaten me?"
+
+"What, with a shooting iron? Nary a threat. Ain't even brought one along
+with me. Away back in the woods where I live I wouldn't open the door
+without one in reach of my hand. I was warned not to carry arms in this
+country--that the British didn't take kindly to 'em."
+
+"I don't know what you mean."
+
+"Don't you? What are you looking so skeered about, then? What's your
+face gone all the color of paste for?"
+
+"Let me tell you----"
+
+"No, don't, old son--you let me tell you. We'll get there all the
+quicker. I don't say you have robbed my aunt----"
+
+"Robbed!"
+
+"That's the creckt word. I don't say you robbed my aunt, but I'll take
+tarnation good care that you don't rob me. See? Now you just set about
+winding up this here estate quick as greased lightning, and mind that it
+realizes the best price. See?"
+
+The man's shrewd eyes were fixed on his listener all the while he was
+speaking. Loide felt that the man saw through him, and the lawyer's
+shoes held a shaking man.
+
+It was apparent that Depew was not an individual to be played
+with--successfully.
+
+Within a very short time the property was sold; and, after deduction of
+the expenses, there was a sum of nineteen thousand pounds to hand
+over--the handing over nearly broke what was left of the lawyer's heart.
+
+And it was a less fragile one than most men's, too.
+
+"Now, old man," said Depew, as he buckled the notes in a belt he wore,
+"we'll have lunch together, you and I. The matter's been settled
+promptly, and I owe you some thanks."
+
+They went into the Great Eastern Hotel, and had as elaborate a lunch as
+could be served.
+
+The champagne raised the spirits of both. The American's were light
+enough. Loide's needed raising.
+
+And while they sat there, a scheme shaped itself in Loide's brain--it
+was an active, busy, plotting brain--and it found good ground to mature
+on.
+
+He determined that the nineteen thousand pounds should be his at any
+cost. He said that again to himself--at any cost. His was a
+determination not easily shaken.
+
+"What are you thinking of, lawyer?"
+
+Loide started as he answered:
+
+"Really of nothing. I was enjoying my wine."
+
+"Where'll I book my passage--is there a bureau near here?"
+
+"Yes, in Eldon Street there is a passenger agent--close here. I'll walk
+with you."
+
+"Will you? I'll take it kindly. The streets are thicker here than in New
+York, and are a bit confusing to a stranger."
+
+Depew paid the bill, and, lighting cigars, the two men walked along
+Liverpool Street into Eldon Street.
+
+"You are still staying at Armfield's?"
+
+"All the time--it's a good show. I sleep there to-night, and to-morrow
+on the Atlantic."
+
+They entered the passenger agent's office, and that worthy had a
+two-berthed cabin vacant.
+
+Depew booked one berth. The agent confirmed it on the telephone at the
+shipping office, the passage money was paid, and the men left.
+
+"Well," said the lawyer, "I must get back; which way are you going?"
+
+"Through the Circus here. First I'm going to have an aching tooth out,
+and then on to the hotel. I've sent my luggage on, but I've got a small
+bag there still."
+
+"Then you go that way?... Good-bye, good-bye, and a pleasant voyage
+home."
+
+They shook hands heartily, and separated, going in opposite directions.
+
+The moment Depew was out of sight, the lawyer returned to the passenger
+agent's office.
+
+"My friend has altered his mind," he said. "He will book the other
+berth, and so have the whole cabin to himself."
+
+"Right you are, sir."
+
+The same process was gone through as before, and presently the lawyer
+left the office, with a ticket for the other berth in the cabin Depew
+was to journey in.
+
+Did he intend to travel to America? Not quite as far.
+
+The only place the boat stopped at after leaving Liverpool, so the
+passenger agent told them, was Queenstown. Stopped two or three hours
+there, sometimes, waiting for the tender to bring off the mails.
+
+The lawyer determined to leave the ship at Queenstown, and he hoped to
+bring off his coup there--to bring off the steamer those nineteen crisp
+Bank of England notes which helped to girdle Mr. Depew's waist.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND QUEENSTOWN
+
+
+Mr. Richard Loide was getting into the sere, the yellow leaf. A certain
+amount of baldness on his head he covered with a wig. His age and the
+wig prompted him to two courses of action.
+
+He knew that he would be at a disadvantage in any personal struggle
+which might result from the steps he proposed taking. He discreetly
+determined to avoid one.
+
+Firearms, in dealing with the man with the money round his waist, were
+out of the question. The noise would frustrate the very object he had in
+view--would attract the attention of others in the ship.
+
+He did not desire an audience for the performance he had in mind.
+
+So he bethought him of a long, stiletto shaped, yet fine pointed,
+two-edged knife he had seen for sale in a shop window.
+
+He went to that shop, and acquired the weapon, tested its razor-like
+edge on a hair, then on a piece of paper, and was satisfied with the
+result.
+
+He hoped that Mr. Depew would, soon after leaving Liverpool, lie down in
+his bunk. He was anxious for that position, because it, apart from the
+knife, would give him an advantage.
+
+In plain words, he proposed cutting the throat of Mr. Depew. It struck
+Loide as being an effective way of silencing, in a double sense, his
+man.
+
+He did not suppose that a cry, if the man were able to raise one, would
+attract much attention, or be heard above the noise of the ship; but he
+did not want to take any unnecessary risk.
+
+So he figured in his own mind that method of dealing with the
+American--killing two birds with one stone.
+
+If, on the other hand, Depew did not lie down, then he would have to use
+his weapon stiletto fashion. A spring from his bunk on to his victim
+standing with his back towards him, and a powerful downward sweep and
+plunge, would be half way successful.
+
+He imagined that most men threw up their arms and staggered back on the
+happening of such a thing--gathered the idea from witnessing the dramas
+of the Adelphi--that would enable him to turn and plunge the weapon into
+the man's heart.
+
+All that would be necessary, then, was to put him in his bunk before the
+blood began to make a mess, take from his body the notes which
+engirdled it, and be ready to leave on the tender for Queenstown the
+moment that vessel came alongside the liner.
+
+He knew that two-edged weapons were proverbially dangerous, but he was
+comforted by the recollection of another proverb about cutting both
+ways.
+
+As to its wig, he determined to change its color. It would be as well.
+
+Not that he feared detection much; still the prudent man always took
+precautions, and Mr. Loide rated prudence very high.
+
+He knew that when the boat left Queenstown it did not stop again till it
+got to the other side. That he counted on.
+
+It would enable him to reach London, cash the notes, and be prepared for
+anything which might happen. He felt that with the money in his
+possession he would be prepared for anything.
+
+He knew that when the purser went his rounds, or the steward, or whoever
+it might be, and discovered the dead body, all would be confusion.
+
+The doctor and captain would be sent for, and an examination entered
+upon--but all the time the vessel would be leaving Queenstown further
+and further behind.
+
+He knew the coursing of these ocean greyhounds well enough to know that
+the ship would not put back. That hundreds of passengers would not be
+inconvenienced, simply because one was dead, that the ship would go
+plowing her way right on.
+
+He turned up in the post-office directory the name of a wig maker the
+other side of London, and took a cab there.
+
+He told some wholly unnecessary lies about the need of a colored wig,
+but might have saved himself the trouble, because the sale of a wig or
+wigs was an every-day occurrence with the keeper of the shop.
+
+When Loide saw his reflection in the peruquier's mirror he was astounded
+at the change in his appearance.
+
+The shopman, thinking he was dealing with an amateur actor, very kindly
+drew attention to his bushy black eyebrows.
+
+"Want toning down," he said, "to match the wig."
+
+"How do you--how do it?"
+
+The shopman produced a little stick of what looked to the lawyer like
+cosmetic, and handed it to the customer.
+
+The look of ignorance concerning its use made the man smile.
+
+"Sit down," he said; "it's evident you are a new hand at making up. Let
+me show you."
+
+He did. Daubed the grease paint on the hair, on the brows, and then
+combed them out.
+
+When Loide looked in the glass again he started in astonishment.... He
+paid the man, thanked him, and withdrew.
+
+The shop of a ready made clothier's caught his attention. He went in and
+bought a light colored cutaway coat and vest and soft cap--he had worn
+black clothing and the regulation chimney pot hat for the last thirty
+years of his life.
+
+At a hosier's he purchased a colored shirt with a turn down collar, and
+a colored bow.
+
+His immaculate white shirt, stiff upstanding collar and stock, should be
+discarded for the time being.
+
+Later on, when he had donned this attire, he marveled at the change in
+himself. He was confident that no living soul would be able to recognize
+him.
+
+And curiously enough, nature assisted him.
+
+As he sat in the train to Liverpool, the loss of his upstanding collar
+and stock made his open neck an easy prey to the draft. When he set foot
+on the deck of the steamer he had a sore throat and a cold, which made
+his voice so raucous that no soul would have recognized in it the clear,
+distinct utterance of Mr. Loide, the lawyer.
+
+His portmanteau on board, after satisfying the officer in charge of his
+right to a berth, he at once took possession.
+
+He was lying in his berth--apparently asleep--when the occupant of the
+other half of the cabin entered.
+
+He was lying with his face to the wall, and only his red hair was
+visible. That and the smart colored cutaway suit, he felt, made him as
+much unlike the city lawyer as well could be. He did not fear Depew's
+recognition.
+
+Soon after the second man entered the cabin, the vessel started. Loide
+knew at what hour she was expected to arrive off her one and only
+stopping place.
+
+During the night, it was fair to assume that no officer of the ship
+would come to the cabin, and during the night he would kill and rob the
+other man. In the early morning he would leave on the Queenstown tender.
+That was his scheme.
+
+He kept in his bunk. By the electric light in the cabin his companion
+read for some time.
+
+He could hear the rustling of the newspaper; he dared not look round.
+About midnight the paper was thrown down, and the listener heard the
+sounds of a man making ready for his berth.
+
+And presently the electric button was turned, and the cabin was in
+darkness.
+
+The lawyer's heart beat the faster then. So far all was going as well as
+he could wish.
+
+Darkness, and his victim recumbent, perhaps asleep. What could he wish
+for more? Fortune was favoring him.
+
+There were three hours now to wait before the reaching of Queenstown,
+and during those three hours the other man went to sleep.
+
+Loide knew it, because he heard the sleeper's deep, heavy breathing,
+which bordered closely on snoring.
+
+He handled his weapon, and dropped noiselessly to his stockinged feet.
+Paused--the same still, regular breathing.
+
+He went to the door and noiselessly shot home the bolt. Paused--the same
+still, regular breathing.
+
+Then he prepared to stop that breathing forever.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS
+
+
+Before his companion had entered the cabin, Loide had located everything
+in it.
+
+Although in the dark, he knew the exact position of all things. So he
+reached the sleeper's side without a stumble or noise.
+
+He knew where to place his hand on a towel, and he placed it. Folded it
+into a sort of pad, and gripped the middle in his left hand.
+
+He bent over the sleeper, heard his breathing, and located his mouth by
+the feel of the warm breath. He paused to notice that the sleeper was
+lying on his back, then he gripped his knife--saw fashion.
+
+In another moment he had clapped the towel over his victim's mouth, and
+drawn down the knife with a sawing, cutting movement.
+
+There was just a faint, gurgling sound for a moment, a convulsive quiver
+of the whole of the sleeper's body, then stillness. The towel had
+stifled any possible cry--the knife had done the rest.
+
+Loide stood there for a moment to recover his breath. He could almost
+hear his own heart beating.
+
+He tried to still it by thinking that there was not a scrap of risk,
+that it was all over now, that, presently, he would possess nineteen
+thousand pounds.
+
+That last thought was not without its comfort. It is a fashion to speak
+of money as if it were dross, but as a salve to the conscience, pounds,
+shillings, and pence are unsurpassed.
+
+The towel he was holding, he opened and threw it over the dead man's
+head and shoulders. He was not hyper-sensitive, but he wanted to avoid
+seeing what the towel would hide.
+
+Then he turned the button of the electric light.
+
+He looked round--not a sign of a struggle, not a drop of blood. Yet
+stay--his right hand! He must wash it.
+
+Quickly he had water in the basin and was cleaning that hateful red
+stain away. While he wiped his hands, he reflected that he had but to
+pull the head curtains, and the body would appear to be that of an
+ordinary sleeping man.
+
+That way the ship might get a dozen hours away from Queenstown before
+discovery. He shook hands with himself over the happiness of the idea he
+had--so far--carried out so cleverly.
+
+Then he turned up the blankets and sheeting of the bunk. For obvious
+reasons he preferred turning them up from the feet to turning them down
+from the head.
+
+Depew had, with an oath, told him that, sleeping or waking, the belt
+would never leave him. He thought grimly that now the man was dead the
+oath would be broken.
+
+He started in surprise; the man was not wearing a belt! He stood still,
+holding the bedclothes in sheer amazement.
+
+He had expected the thing to be so easy of accomplishment--and the
+object of his search was not there at all!
+
+He stepped back, and fell rather than sat on his own berth. He was more
+than surprised.
+
+Then it occurred to him that perhaps, after all, the man had locked the
+money in one of his portmanteaus. Loide was thankful that he had time
+before him, in which to make search. He had been wise not to leave
+things till the last moment.
+
+He felt in the dead man's coat, vest, and ultimately in a trousers
+pocket found two keys, tied together with a piece of twine. These he
+presently found fitted the portmanteaus.
+
+He inserted a key in one, turned the lock, and unbuckled the straps. The
+bag contained but one thing--a huge parcel wrapped in newspapers.
+
+He would try the other bag--did so. Found it contained five smaller
+parcels, four long shaped and one something like a large football.
+
+He picked up one of the long parcels and felt it. It had a curious half
+hard feeling.
+
+He sat on his berth again and opened it on his knees. There was no
+string round the parcel.
+
+As he held the end of the paper it unwound itself, and the contents
+dropped on to the floor--a human arm and hand!
+
+He clapped his own hand to his mouth and so stifled a scream.
+
+It is all very well to be cool over your own murderous work, but when
+you come across another man's, it is apt to startle you. Loide was the
+most startled individual on the Atlantic at that particular moment.
+
+He sat there in stony amazement and horror. He feared to open the other
+parcels. Still he had to.
+
+Qualms had to be kept down. The possession of nineteen thousand pounds
+depended on his search.
+
+He imagined that Depew had murdered some one in England, and was taking
+the body out, perhaps to hide traces of his crime in the sea.
+
+So curiously fashioned was the lawyer's intellect that he was rather
+glad that he had killed Depew--looked upon himself as a kind of weapon
+in the hand of justice.
+
+There is no accounting for the kinks into which a man's intellect will
+twist.
+
+The avenger idea gave him the necessary courage to go on examining the
+rest of the parcels. Not a solitary thing save of the awful kind the
+first was.
+
+The big parcel in the other portmanteau made him shudder in horror. He
+was glad when he was able to shut the bags and get rid of the sight of
+those horrible bundles.
+
+Then another bag--a little hand bag--caught his attention. He felt mad
+with himself that he had not examined that first.
+
+It needed no key. A pressure of the lock opened it, and he turned the
+contents on the floor; collars, handkerchiefs, shirts, and
+socks--nothing else.
+
+Once more he sat on his bunk--sat there with his chin in the palms of
+his hands, thinking.
+
+How long he sat there he never knew. He was awakened by the steamer's
+gongs; the engine room was being signaled.
+
+He clambered to the port-hole, and in the gray of the early morning he
+could see they were off Queenstown, and the tender was nearly alongside.
+
+He had no time to lose. What should he do?
+
+Then it occurred to him that, as a measure of precaution, the man had
+given his belt to the captain, to be locked up in the ship's
+strong-room. That was the solution of the mystery, then.
+
+He cursed his luck, himself, and the dead man. For absolutely nothing he
+had run all this risk, and killed a man, and had yet to escape.
+
+It was--from his point of view--perfectly monstrous. If the dead man
+could have wanted revenge, surely he was having it then.
+
+There was a screech from the tender's siren; she was coming alongside.
+
+He put on his boots, and as he did so there was a sound of rapping at
+the door. He hurriedly pulled the head curtains of his victim's berth,
+and, shooting back the bolt, opened the door.
+
+"Any letters or telegrams for shore, sir?"
+
+"Is there time to go ashore?"
+
+"Can if you like, sir; the tender will bring you back. You will get
+about an hour ashore."
+
+"Very well, I will go, then."
+
+"At once, sir. The tender will leave in less than five minutes."
+
+And the officer went on his round collecting letters and telegrams.
+
+Loide put on his hat, flung the blood stained knife out of the
+port-hole, turned the button of the electric light, and stepped outside,
+closing the door after him.
+
+Then he suddenly remembered that the most likely place of all he had
+overlooked. A sleeping man would place valuables beneath his pillow.
+
+He entered the cabin again, turned the electric light button, and slid
+his hand under the dead man's pillow--nothing.
+
+To make assurance doubly sure--much as he dreaded looking on the face of
+the man he had murdered--he pulled aside the towel.
+
+Then for a second time he was paralyzed with astonishment and horror,
+and thrust his fingers in his mouth to prevent the escape of a cry. He
+had never before seen the face of his victim. It was not his client
+Depew.
+
+He had killed the wrong man!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE NUMBERS OF THE MISSING NOTES
+
+
+Loide got off the boat safely. On the wharf at Queenstown he secured a
+position where, concealed himself, he could watch the liner.
+
+Hours seemed to drag by which were in reality minutes. At last the
+tender put off with the mails and reached the steamer's side.
+
+With his glasses he could see everything that was going on. There was no
+excitement.
+
+The bags were handed on board, and presently he made out a wake of foam
+from the blades of the steamer's screw. The tender had turned and was
+coming back; the steamer was going on.
+
+Loide breathed a deep sigh of relief. So far nothing had been
+discovered.
+
+Ultimately he reached London, and let himself into his office after
+dark--as he had left it.
+
+He made shirt, clothing, and wig, and all the coal he had in his office
+scuttle into a parcel, and a short while after that parcel was making a
+hole for itself in the soft mud under London Bridge.
+
+The disguise was disposed of--and Richard was himself again.
+
+An aggravated, very much upset Richard. He had committed actual murder,
+and was not a penny the richer for it.
+
+The heinousness of the crime did not present itself to him; he rather
+looked at it from the standpoint of its barren financial result.
+
+He had so counted on a large profit in connection with his quick return.
+
+He had food for thought, sufficient to last an ordinary man many meals.
+
+But Mr. Richard Loide was not an ordinary man. He no longer imagined
+those crisp Bank of England notes to be in the steamer's strong-room.
+
+He did not believe they were even on the ship. That towel removed and a
+tragic story stared him in the face.
+
+What did it mean?
+
+That he could not fathom. One solid fact was existent--there had been
+foul play.
+
+Some one had the notes. The man in whose possession they were had a hand
+in the murder. And that is where Mr. Loide hoped to step in and take a
+part in the drama.
+
+The hand of death had lowered the curtain on the first act, and the
+lawyer just hankered after getting behind the scenes.
+
+He formed an idea of his own that, for some reason, Depew was lurking in
+England; had bargained with the man Loide had killed to personate him on
+the boat, and so destroy a clue to his existence in London.
+
+What then did the other, the cut up body mean? Who could that have been?
+
+He regretted now that his horror had prevented his looking at the head.
+
+That was another puzzle, and he could not in any way solve it.
+
+But he was bent on one thing--the finding of Mr. Depew, and the bleeding
+of him for all he was worth.
+
+Being a city lawyer, and moving in city financial circles, blackmailing
+had not for him the horrid appearance it presented to most people.
+
+One gets used to the atmosphere one breathes daily, and the atmosphere
+of London city reeks of blackmail.
+
+Suddenly a thought came to him which sent all the blood to his heart,
+and caused him to start to his feet in alarm.
+
+Suppose he had been deceived? Suppose he had not handed the money over
+to the real George Depew?
+
+He broke into a cold sweat at the mere idea!
+
+He remembered how exceedingly lax he had been because Depew had
+frightened him.
+
+The American had seen through the frauds on his aunt, and practically
+taxed the lawyer with them. Had he chosen, he could have made him
+disgorge all those gains of years.
+
+Why had he not? If the real, genuine nephew, cute and sharp as he had
+been in getting the full value of the estate from the sale, why had he
+not, with his suspicions aroused, insisted on an inspection of the back
+accounts?
+
+Why had he not? And once more the sweat of fear beaded on Loide's brow.
+
+He was poor enough as it was. What if a real George Depew appeared on
+the scene and demanded that which was his?
+
+The perspiration beads grew in size.
+
+The lawyer called to mind how meagre had been the identification. He
+remembered that, frightened as he had been he had accepted a certificate
+of birth, and some envelopes directed to Depew in America, as
+confirmation that he was the real man.
+
+For that the lawyer would never forgive himself. In ordinary
+circumstances he would have probed much more deeply.
+
+That fright--that was what did it--unmanned him, and made him behave
+like a perfect ass. He could have kicked himself for an hour and
+rejoiced in the resultant pain.
+
+He told himself that he needed punishment--badly.
+
+He thought of his own disguise; how he had so changed his own appearance
+that he had not known himself in the mirror.
+
+Why should not Mr. Depew have done a similar thing?
+
+Then another thought. Did disguise account for the different appearance
+of the man who was now crossing the Atlantic with a gaping wound in his
+throat?
+
+No; he felt that was not so. Depew was a head shorter than the man he
+had killed.
+
+He was glad he remembered that, because it removed the slightest doubt.
+It convinced him that Depew was in London, and it must be
+his--Loide's--business to find him.
+
+Find him, and put pertinent questions to him; make him do a sum in
+arithmetic--two into nineteen--and hand over the quotient.
+
+He did not fear an interview. The unexpected always happens, and the
+unexpectant one is generally at a disadvantage.
+
+Loide felt that. Felt that, in the language of Depew's country, he
+would be "upper dog" in the interview.
+
+And then he set his wits to work--how to discover George Depew's
+whereabouts.
+
+And meanwhile, in the same compass, within the radius of the city of
+London, another man was thinking--thinking with the same strained look
+on his face, too.
+
+He was standing looking out of the window of a room in Finsbury Circus,
+standing there gnawing what was left of the nails of his hand, and
+watching but for one man's advent--the postman.
+
+He was not looking for the telegraph boy--he knew it was too late for
+that--but a letter from his brother.
+
+It had been arranged between them that the moment Arthur reached
+Queenstown in safety he should despatch a wire with the two words "All
+serene" if things were so.
+
+And in case he should be asleep when the boat was off Queenstown, he had
+asked the purser to give him a call.
+
+No such wire reached the dentist, hence his own disturbed serenity.
+
+He waited and waited for it till he worked himself into such a state of
+nervousness--he had not his brother's iron will--that he shook from head
+to foot.
+
+That no one in need of dental attention visited him that day was
+fortunate for the man with the aching tooth.
+
+A trembling hand is not the best kind with which to grip forceps.
+
+As the day passed by and nothing came, the dentist became positively
+ill. He drank all that was left of the bottle of brandy, and for the
+first time in his life went home the worse for it.
+
+His wife was surprised, amazed, shocked. That was, perhaps, as well.
+
+In her offended dignity she stood aloof from him. It was better so.
+
+Long before breakfast in the morning he had left the house. He wanted to
+be in Finsbury Circus before the postman, and he was.
+
+The first delivery--no letter. He staggered back, fell into a chair, and
+buried his face in his hands. What could it mean?
+
+It did not occur to him that a letter from Queenstown could not reach so
+quickly.
+
+His brain was pregnant with but two ideas. His brother had promised to
+telegraph--he had not. His brother had promised to write--he had not.
+
+And he seemed to see that one question standing out in fiery letters on
+the wall: "What did it mean?"
+
+He had the notes. He had instructions what to do with them, but he dared
+not carry out those instructions.
+
+Suppose his brother had been arrested--arrested with the terrible
+contents of those two portmanteaus in his possession!
+
+As each edition of the evening papers came out, he sent Sawyer for
+copies, but he gleaned nothing from them, no arrest was reported,
+nothing in any way bearing on the matter.
+
+The purchase of the papers did no good--save sending him up in the
+estimation of his satellite.
+
+Sawyer imagined that "the guv'nor had been putting a bit on the four
+legged 'uns," and was anxious to peruse the column captioned "All the
+Winners."
+
+His own sporting instincts made him look up to his employer for the
+first time.
+
+And the lawyer?
+
+Made up his mind. It was risky what he proposed doing, because, as a man
+innocent of any knowledge of what had occurred, he was clearly, legally
+wrong in doing it.
+
+Still he had to find Mr. Depew, and there was only one way to do it.
+
+Fraught with risk--but he risked it. Desperate diseases need desperate
+remedies.
+
+He sat down and pulled a sheet of his headed office paper towards him.
+Then--as a lawyer--he wrote a letter.
+
+It was to the Bank of England stopping the numbers of the nineteen notes
+he had obtained from that institution, and paid over to Mr. Depew.
+
+Bold, daring, but must necessarily be successful.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE SEALED UP CABIN
+
+
+"Man overboard!"
+
+The cry rang through the ship--as cries of that sort do--first uttered
+by the man who witnessed the happening, and then passed from mouth to
+mouth.
+
+As a matter of fact it was a girl--a child--who had fallen overboard,
+and the nurse was standing with blanched face and clasped hands,
+watching what looked like a bundle of clothing on the surface of the
+ocean, which bundle the vessel was now rapidly leaving astern.
+
+Then another cry rang out. It was literally as well as vocally a man
+overboard this time--a real man.
+
+For such a title is surely due to one who plunges from a liner's deck
+into the sea to save another's life.
+
+The gongs were ringing in the engine-room before the man touched the
+water, but a liner traveling at the rate of twenty knots an hour has a
+way on her.
+
+"Full speed astern" showed on the indicator, and then careful handling
+of the vessel became necessary. Almost directly she stopped.
+
+As she stopped, the boat which had been hanging from the outspread
+davits with a crew in her was rapidly lowered, and once in the water,
+vigorously rowed in the direction pointed out by the standing coxswain.
+
+Rescuer and rescued were promptly hauled into the boat, and carried to
+the waiting ship, neither of them much the worse for their ducking.
+
+The girl was seized by her mother and nurse, and speedily carried off to
+their own private cabin.
+
+The rescuer--Gerald Danvers, a second-class passenger--at his own
+request went down the stoke hole.
+
+Brave enough to dive into the sea, he yet had a dreadful fear of
+rheumatism, to which he was subject; hence his desire for the warmth of
+the stoke hole.
+
+A drink of brandy and willing hands to rub him down and the warmth of
+the stoke hole soon made him himself.
+
+He had at hand only the clothes he stood upright in; the rest of his
+wardrobe, packed in a portmanteau, was in the hold.
+
+The usual custom was departed from, and a man despatched to try to find
+his portmanteau--a brown one with his initials "G. D." on it.
+
+"Don't bring it down here, old chap," said Danvers to the man who had
+volunteered to fetch it. "Here are my keys. There are only clothes in
+it. Just bring me underflannels and shirt, that's all. I can wait while
+these trousers dry."
+
+He had thrown off coat and vest and boots before he had dived.
+
+The things were brought him, and he sat talking to the men while his
+trousers dried, as they very quickly did in such an atmosphere, and
+before long he was on deck again.
+
+He would probably have been made to pose as a hero--for a shipload of
+passengers needs something to occupy its attention--but another more
+startling sensation came about.
+
+The mere saving of a life sank into insignificance before the loss of
+one.
+
+The sea was not rough, and very few passengers were in their berths.
+Nearly all of them sat down to the meals prepared for them.
+
+Before dinner, the steward went over his list, and found that the
+occupants of one of the two berthed cabins had not figured at breakfast
+or luncheon.
+
+He went to the door of the cabin, and rapped with his
+knuckles--twice--thrice. Getting no answer, he turned the handle and
+pushed open the door.
+
+One berth was empty; in the other the occupant was apparently asleep.
+
+"Don't you feel well, sir?"
+
+No answer. Question repeated. Same result.
+
+Then the steward drew aside the curtains, and was transformed into the
+whitest faced being aboard that ship. For what he saw was a man lying
+there with his throat cut.
+
+To bound out of that cabin and fetch the doctor and captain was the work
+of a few moments.
+
+"Suicide."
+
+One word the steward had let drop, and it spread all over the ship like
+wildfire.
+
+But the doctor shook his head at the suggestion the moment he saw the
+body.
+
+"What is it?" inquired the captain; "don't you think it suicide?"
+
+"No," answered the doctor laconically; "murder."
+
+"Murder!"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Who occupied the other berth? Where is he? Find him. What? went ashore
+at Queenstown--don't know whether he came back on tender? Who received
+the mails? Tell him to come here."
+
+The officer sent for came.
+
+It was in his watch that the tender departed and returned. Had noticed a
+red-haired man who had come aboard at Liverpool.
+
+"Passenger of this berth was red-haired," interjected the steward.
+
+"Go on," said the captain; "did you see the man come back on the tender?
+Is he aboard?"
+
+The officer scratched his head and replied:
+
+"Come to think of it, sir, I don't remember that he did come back."
+
+"Are you sure?"
+
+"Well, yes, I am, sir. It was very early morning when we touched, and I
+noted that only one passenger went on the tender."
+
+"Sure it was the occupant of this berth?"
+
+"Must have been, sir," interrupted the steward, "because when I rapped
+for letters and telegrams the red-haired man asked whether he could go
+ashore, and how long he could stop."
+
+"And you----?"
+
+"Told him, sir. I didn't actually see him go, but he was already
+dressed."
+
+The captain turned to the officer who had received the mails.
+
+"Are you sure the man did not come back on the tender?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Certain, now I come to remember."
+
+"He has escaped, then," said the captain. Then, looking at his watch, he
+continued: "We are nearly twelve hours out from Queenstown. I shall not
+put back."
+
+"Gives the murderer a good opportunity of escape, doesn't it?" queried
+the doctor.
+
+"Yes, yes; I know. But we should be more than a dozen hours getting back
+with this wind, and the ship would be detained. No, I'll go on. Let the
+American police investigate it."
+
+"Information ought to be furnished as promptly as possible," said the
+doctor dubiously.
+
+"That's all very well for you, doctor; but what would they say to me as
+captain of the ship? We will draw up a full report. Just write down as
+detailed a description of the escaped man as you can, steward. Bryer,
+run up to the bridge, and tell the mate to steer for any vessel coming
+in, and fly a flag that we want to communicate. We'll send the
+description back. That's the best way out of the difficulty, doctor."
+
+It was not the doctor's duty to dispute the captain's authority.
+
+He may have had his own opinion as to what should be done, but he
+forbore from expressing it. He had his thoughts, and he had his living
+to get.
+
+The latter fact often prevents a man's thoughts finding their way to his
+lips. This is an age of discretion--it often pays better than mere
+valor.
+
+"Been dead over a dozen hours," he said, after examining the body.
+
+"That seems to confirm the idea of murder and escape at Queenstown."
+
+"Better leave all things as they are for the police to examine, eh?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Disinfectants were put in the cabin, and the door locked.
+
+At the suggestion of the doctor, the captain affixed seals to a piece of
+tape fastened to the door and its lintel. The ship steamed on.
+
+Ocean bore a secret on her billowy bosom--it was but one added to the
+myriads buried in her fathomless depths.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A WAITING WIFE'S DISCOVERY
+
+
+In the sight of the harbor of New York the ship slowed down, and the
+tender came alongside.
+
+The customs officers and port sanitary authority came aboard.
+
+Soon after the liner was moored at her pier, and in compliance with the
+signal she had hoisted, the police came on board.
+
+Not a passenger was allowed to land until the officers had thoroughly
+gone into their characters, and investigated the details which the
+captain had thoughtfully put on paper.
+
+Every passenger, his address, description, and destination had been
+listed; the evidence of the second mate, doctor, steward, and purser had
+been committed to paper and signed.
+
+The two berthed cabin spoke for itself--eloquently.
+
+The passengers were allowed to land at last. There was no reasonable
+excuse for their further detention.
+
+The crowds waiting on shore had wondered at the delay, but the first
+man off told the news, and it spread.
+
+The extra editions of the newspapers sold well that evening. It is an
+ill wind which fails to inflate the circulation of the newspapers.
+
+The people assembled at the pier gradually dispersed, moving away with
+the friends they had come to meet, until at last only the working staff
+of boat and shore hands were around.
+
+The public had gone home--all save one member of it, a tall, bony,
+dressed in country style woman.
+
+She had started from home with whole white cotton gloves on.
+
+As she stood watching the boat now, there was not a whole finger left in
+one of the gloves--she had nibbled them off in her anxiety.
+
+She attracted the attention of the hands discharging the cargo, and was
+the object, among themselves, of many humorous remarks.
+
+"Waitin' for some one, missus?" at last one of the men inquired of her.
+
+She was glad. She had been afraid to come forward and make inquiries.
+Now the spell was broken, she said:
+
+"Yes. Have all the passengers landed?"
+
+"There's one--or two--still aboard," the man answered, grimly.
+
+But the grimness was lost on the woman. She gave a sigh of relief. She
+had yet to learn that the passengers spoken of by the man had crossed
+the Stygian Ferry as well as the Atlantic.
+
+"Mebbe one of 'em's the one I've come to meet."
+
+"I hope not."
+
+"Why?"
+
+The man disregarded the question. Something had occurred to him. He
+inquired:
+
+"What might be the name of the person you've come to meet?"
+
+The woman hesitated a moment, and then answered:
+
+"Depew."
+
+The man suppressed a whistle of astonishment, and repeated the name:
+
+"Depew!"
+
+"Yes; George Depew. Was he aboard, do you know?"
+
+"Wait here a moment, missus--don't go away. I'll go and inquire for
+you."
+
+He disappeared in the ship. He went to the captain's cabin, and knocked
+at the door.
+
+The police officers and witnesses were there discussing the murder.
+
+"Come in."
+
+And he went. Touched his cap, then took it off, and spoke:
+
+"Woman outside, sir--been waitin' long time."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I spoke to her--asked who she was waitin' for."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Said for Depew--George Depew."
+
+The plain clothes officer was on his feet in a moment inquiring:
+
+"Where is she?"
+
+"On the pier."
+
+"I'll go and see her; come, point her out to me."
+
+They left the cabin. The tall, gaunt woman was standing where the sailor
+had left her. Thanking the man, the officer went towards her.
+
+"They tell me," he said pleasantly, "that you are waiting for a
+passenger."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Perhaps you did not see him land."
+
+"I never took my eyes off the gangway."
+
+"Then you think he is aboard."
+
+"I understood the man to say there were one or two passengers there
+still."
+
+The detective suppressed a smile at the grim humor of the sailor's
+remark. They were there still--very still.
+
+"What is the name of the person you were expecting to meet?"
+
+Again there was a slight hesitation before the woman spoke. Then she
+said:
+
+"Depew."
+
+"George?"
+
+"Yes. Then he is aboard?"
+
+"Well--you--see----"
+
+Then something dawned on, some fear seized the woman. It was in a
+trembling voice that she inquired:
+
+"You, you are not wearing the ship's uniform. You--you are a policeman?"
+
+"That's so."
+
+"My God! I see. I see why he has not landed. It's all found out--he's in
+custody."
+
+The detective twiddled the ends of a moustache he had under cultivation.
+
+The case had looked complicated--and he liked complications--indeed, got
+a living out of them. But this latest phase of the business looked like
+the envelopment of the puzzle in another one.
+
+"Tell me," she said, "is he aboard?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Let me see him."
+
+"Come this way."
+
+She came.
+
+As they went below, the detective paused a minute. He inquired:
+
+"Are you any relation of his?"
+
+"His wife."
+
+The detective whistled. Then he said:
+
+"Come in here."
+
+"He is not here?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Take me to him."
+
+"Don't be in a hurry. See here, you'd best prepare yourself for a
+shock."
+
+"Shock!"
+
+"Your husband came aboard this boat at Liverpool."
+
+"I know that; is he here now?"
+
+"His--his remains are."
+
+"His--his----"
+
+"Now brace up. Take the blow like a--like a real woman."
+
+"G-go on."
+
+"He's lying aboard the ship now."
+
+"Lying!"
+
+"Dead."
+
+"D-dead."
+
+"Here, hold up. There, there, pull yourself together, missus----. Here,
+drink that----. That's better----. We all have to die, you know, sooner
+or later----. That's it. Sit there a minute or two. Now, you are going
+along all right, aren't you?"
+
+"Yes--yes."
+
+"Drop more water? That's it. Now, how do you feel? Well enough to see
+the body? You'd like to? That's all right, then. Must be identified, you
+know. Just sit here a minute, and I'll arrange things for you."
+
+He went out, leaving the woman staring stonily at the roof of the
+saloon. To a subordinate on duty he said:
+
+"Open that cabin, Mace. Tuck a towel round the neck so the wound don't
+show. Woman's his wife. I haven't told her yet he's been murdered. Time
+for that after she identifies him. Stand by."
+
+He returned to the saloon in which he had left the woman.
+
+"Now, Mrs. Depew."
+
+The woman started.
+
+"Just lean on my arm, ma'am, and brace yourself up. This way. Mind the
+step. That's it. In here. There you are, ma'am. There's the body."
+
+The woman moaned, braced herself up as she had been told to, and went
+forward.
+
+The moment her eyes rested on the dead body she screamed:
+
+"That!"
+
+She flung up her arms, and burst into hysterical laughter, which ended
+in a wail as she sank, a nerveless heap, in the officer's arms.
+
+"Too much for her, Mace. Here, give me a hand out with her. That's it.
+Take her on deck, the air will bring her to. That's it. Fetch a pillow
+for her head. Heart's beating, and she's breathing all right--it's only
+a faint. The shock was too great for her."
+
+It was. She had expected to see in the dead man her husband.
+
+It was an expectation she had not realized.
+
+The face of the dead man was utterly unknown to her.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+HOW THE DEVIL TEMPTED HIM
+
+
+"There, there," said the doctor; "you will be all right in a few
+minutes."
+
+The woman closed her eyes again.
+
+"It was the shock of seeing her dead husband."
+
+The doctor spoke this in a whisper, but the woman heard. She opened her
+eyes. She spoke:
+
+"Let me lie like this for half an hour. I shall be all right then. I--I
+am subject to fainting fits."
+
+"Certainly. We shall be in that cabin there--there, away where you see
+the light. You see it? That's all right. We will leave you now, and when
+you feel well enough, come in, and you shall hear all the particulars."
+
+She moved her head. They walked away.
+
+She shifted on her back, and the eyes in the head resting on the pillow
+were fixed on the stars. She lay quiet--thinking.
+
+Thinking what to do; or what had happened; how to escape; of the mistake
+she had made, and whether it would bear bad fruit.
+
+For the dead man lying in the ship's cabin was not named Depew, nor was
+the living woman lying on the ship's deck named that way.
+
+It was a case of lying right through, and she thought to herself that
+she had in a measure given the show away.
+
+So she lay thinking. The mantle of night fell gradually and cloaked
+things.
+
+Shadows were deep. She might steal off the ship in them unseen.
+
+A boat's lantern hung at each end of the gangway, but there appeared to
+be no one watching her.
+
+There was not. It was not supposed that there was the slightest chance
+of her running away.
+
+A woman overcome by emotion as she had been does not run away from the
+recently discovered body of her dead husband.
+
+So the police argued--argued in the dark--in ignorance of the facts, and
+left her in the dark in fancied possession of them.
+
+Should she go to that cabin with the light, brave it out there, and
+carry the lie on further?
+
+Or should she steal off in the gradually growing darker night, and
+escape home?
+
+Home! Her home more than fifty miles away in the village of Oakville.
+
+She determined to do that. Many reasons prompted her to the act.
+
+Her husband had not been on the boat. Another man bearing his name
+filled his berth.
+
+There was trickery somewhere--but that was no novelty where her husband
+was concerned. She was unprepared for it, and had made a mistake. Best
+rectify it by escape.
+
+She did. Cleared the ship without a soul noticing it.
+
+Reached the railway station, and hid herself in a corner of the ladies'
+waiting room till the Oakville train started. In that train she was
+carried home.
+
+Her real name? Todd--Susan Todd. Her husband? Josh Todd.
+
+All that was left of the husband was in the cabin of the ship she had
+left. It had traveled in two portmanteaus.
+
+His had been a checkered career, but at last he had handed in his
+checks.
+
+How did it happen that he masqueraded before Lawyer Loide as George
+Depew?
+
+Because he was the right hand of the somewhat illiterate western farmer
+who bore that name, or as he would himself have described it, his head
+cook and bottle washer.
+
+George Depew could write his name, and his caligraphic talents ended
+right there. So he took for assistant Josh Todd.
+
+Josh saw to all the correspondence, opened the letters, read and
+answered them. His wife, Susan, was the house help.
+
+Between them, they were paid well, and could have put away for the rainy
+day. But providence was a thing unknown to Josh.
+
+He put nothing away, except an excessive quantity of old Rye. On
+Saturday nights he went into Oakville, and in the saloon there sat at
+the table presided over by Mr. Jack Hamblin.
+
+Jack Hamblin was generally the richer by Josh's visits.
+
+Frequent handling of the cards had made him expert in the dealing
+thereof. He usually dealt.
+
+So Josh--as he figuratively put it--had not a feather to fly with. And
+he did not like it.
+
+There was farmer George Depew--provident man--putting by a little each
+year. Not much, but sufficient for his wife and daughter, Tessie, if he
+should suddenly be beckoned into the next world.
+
+Then one day there came a letter from a London lawyer named Loide, to
+George Depew.
+
+As usual Josh opened it. He cursed the luck of Depew freely, and then
+paused--paused to wonder whether he could not make that luck his own.
+
+Susan had been with the Depews when they paid a visit to England many
+years before. So Josh took counsel with the wife of his bosom, and
+learned all there was to know about George.
+
+It was a certain thing that on the other side of that wide water--which
+the rapidity of our ocean grayhounds has made us come to think so
+narrow--not a living soul could remember George Depew.
+
+That determined Josh. And when he had determined he always went on.
+
+His scheme was simplicity itself. But for lawyer Loide's fears he
+probably would not have succeeded so well.
+
+Josh told the real George Depew that he had had a little money left him
+in Europe, and that his attendance the other side was necessary.
+
+Good-hearted, honest old George congratulated him, and willingly acceded
+to the request for a month's holiday.
+
+He went into New York, bought two portmanteaus, had the initials "G. D."
+painted on them, and to them transferred the contents of the bags with
+which he had left the farm.
+
+A certificate of his employer's birth, a bundle of letters directed to
+him, two cables to the lawyer, a passage on the next outgoing steamer,
+and he had all the voyage to think of what he could do next.
+
+A shrewd, keen man, he at once saw through the cheating of lawyer
+Loide--and handled that limb of the law accordingly.
+
+Fear of detection blinded the lawyer; he failed to make the usual
+precautionary inquiries. Conscience doth make cowards of us all.
+
+Susan saw her husband off from New York, and she never saw him again.
+
+She had a cable from him saying which boat he was returning by, and that
+he had sent a letter to her to be called for at the New York
+post-office.
+
+She went to New York on the day the home coming steamer was to arrive,
+and called for the letter sent by the preceding mail. It read:
+
+     DEAR OLD GIRL:
+
+     All's gone right, and I am as happy as a clam at high water.
+     There's been two hands at the grab game I've been playing,
+     but I've raked in the pool. Nineteen thousand English
+     pounds, old girl. Think of it. Reckon it up, and see what it
+     comes to in almighty dollars.
+
+     The property is all sold, and the proceeds will be mine in a
+     day or two. The lawyer here is a cute thief, but he found me
+     cuter. I gave him some chin music he'd never listened to
+     before in his natural. No bunco steerer can come it over
+     Josh, and don't you forget it.
+
+     I'll be back by the boat arriving on Wednesday the 13th.
+     I'll cable you certain, so you can come out to meet me.
+
+     No more work, old girl. Enjoyment for the future. There's
+     no chance of anything being found out, but all the same
+     we'll skip from the farm. I'm just as full of joy as I was
+     of Old Rye the day you saw me off.
+
+     Only one thing troubling me: that blamed old tooth of mine
+     at the back, that you put the cotton in, is aching like mad.
+     I'll just get a dentist to yank it out if I can find one to
+     do it without pain.--So long, old girl, your loving husband,
+
+  JOSH.
+
+     P.S.--Burn this when you've read it.
+
+Susan did not comply with the request contained in the postscript. She
+had read it when she left the post-office, and thrust it into her pocket
+as she hurried to the pier.
+
+There, the shock of the discovery that her husband was dead, and the
+double shock of relief and joy to find that the dead man was not her
+husband, upset her so, that she lost consciousness, and for a time the
+subsequent proceedings interested her no more.
+
+She came to herself on deck with the letter still in her pocket.
+
+If she stayed in New York there was going to be trouble. She saw that
+plainly. She must go home and wait for another cable from Josh.
+
+So she went home. And the letter was still in her pocket.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A LIFE FOR A LIFE
+
+
+Danvers--the man who had dived from the ship and saved the child--was
+the bearer of a letter of introduction to George Depew, and the next day
+he presented himself with it at the farmhouse.
+
+Susan admitted him. Neither had, of course, ever seen the other.
+
+Danvers was a rolling stone--had been a colossal failure as a moss
+gatherer in the mother country.
+
+He was keen and intelligent, and busy with other people's affairs, but
+sleepy, indolent, and lazy with his own.
+
+Every one liked him, yet every one shook his or her head when his name
+was mentioned. It was felt that he would never be a success.
+
+At last it was determined to ship him to a country where he would have
+to work, from the fact that there there would be no friends to help him.
+
+If he wanted to eat, he must earn his food by his labor. It was felt
+that it was best for Danvers--and best for the friends he had been
+living on so long.
+
+The friends felt that strongly.
+
+The exile jumped at the idea. He had long wanted to see America.
+
+One of his friends had done business with Depew over certain
+consignments, and to Depew he wrote a letter introducing Danvers, and
+asking him to do what he could for the bearer.
+
+Others of his friends purchased for him clothing and outfit generally,
+and saw him off--with their pockets lighter perhaps, but a strong
+feeling of relief.
+
+Depew welcomed Danvers heartily.
+
+Strangers were rarely seen in Oakville. Come from the mother country, he
+was doubly welcome.
+
+Danvers felt that he had dropped on both feet.
+
+Straightway, too, he fell in love with the farmer's daughter, and it
+must be admitted that his city ways found favor in the eyes of Tessie.
+
+The farmer promised to find him work, and meanwhile put him into the
+position the supposed to be holiday making Josh had filled.
+
+This was a thing which disturbed Susan.
+
+Days went by and she was still without news from her husband, and here
+was a stranger--she knew now that he came over in the boat she had been
+on--filling the post her husband had so long occupied.
+
+She feared, too, lest any of Josh's petty delinquencies should come to
+light. She knew that his books must bristle with evidence of them.
+
+So things went on for two or three weeks, Susan working herself up to
+such a state of excitement that at times the blood rushed so to her head
+that her eyes were blinded to the work she was engaged in.
+
+The acuteness of her agony nearly drove her mad; it arose from the
+silence which was imposed on her; she dared not make any inquiries.
+
+And then one day she received such a shock that she became mad in real
+earnest. For she felt convinced that her husband had been murdered, and
+that Danvers was his murderer.
+
+Did she not at that very moment hold in her hands unquestionable proof
+of his guilt?
+
+She was standing at the wash-tub when she discovered it. It had been
+through her hands once before at the weekly wash.
+
+It was simply a flannel undervest, given out with the rest of his
+washing by George Danvers.
+
+But it bore her private mark, which she had with her own fingers put on
+to the vest of her missing husband weeks before. It had belonged to and
+been worn by Josh Todd!
+
+There was no real mystery about it, and if she had opened her mouth the
+matter would have been made plain to Susan. But her lips were sealed to
+silence.
+
+She remained with the firm conviction that her husband was dead, and
+that his murderer was sleeping beneath the same roof as herself.
+
+She became filled with a fiendish desire for revenge. It was impossible
+for her to give any information which would convince the police and
+bring about the murderer's punishment, but she was none the less
+convinced herself.
+
+She could not insure his sitting in the electrocution chair, but that
+was no reason why he should go unpunished.
+
+But one desire filled her--she hankered for vengeance.
+
+She sought for means of compassing it. She never closed her eyes at
+night for thinking about it--thinking how to get level with Danvers.
+
+She wanted a life for a life.
+
+The solution of the mystery? Simple enough. Gerald Danvers' things had
+been got together by his friends. He had only handled them in packing
+his portmanteau--a portmanteau which bore his initials.
+
+When in the stoke hole on that day of the child's rescue, he had asked
+one of the sailors to get his portmanteau and handed the keys from his
+wet trousers. The man had singled out in the hold a portmanteau bearing
+the initials "G. D." and the key fitting it--it was the ordinary key,
+one of which will fit hundreds of the cheaper kind of lock--he had taken
+out an undervest and shirt.
+
+That they were not an accurate fit in no way disturbed Danvers; he had
+not bought them himself, and he imagined that his friends had jumped at
+his size.
+
+As a matter of fact, the sailor had opened one of Josh Todd's
+portmanteaus, which, of course, bore the initials "G. D."
+
+It was all capable of simple explanation, but Susan Todd was not in need
+of simple explanation. She had a large sized thirst for revenge on just
+then--a thirst she determined should be quenched.
+
+The woman was mad--absolutely mad; filled with all the cunning which
+madness proverbially entails.
+
+Mere death would not satisfy her. She must make this murderer suffer.
+That was why she worried.
+
+She had opportunities for killing him fifty times in a day, for she was
+strong, and bony, and powerful; and an axe or a chopper would have
+bought about all she wanted.
+
+But the act itself would give her no pleasure. Her mind was full of the
+leading up to it.
+
+She wanted the man who had killed her husband to die a slow death by
+torture, and she was puzzled how to devise this.
+
+She anticipated a pleasure from watching him counting the moments to his
+death. Three parts of the pleasure of life lies in its anticipation.
+
+Then there came to her an idea. There must surely have been a strain of
+the old Indian blood in her, for it savored so of those times when the
+brave was honored who invented the most devilish kind of torture.
+
+The material for her scheme was close at hand, not a mile from the
+farmhouse--an old, disused water mill.
+
+Disused for want of motor power.
+
+It stood on the banks of what had been a swift, flowing river, but
+diversion of its course nearer its rise had turned the river into a
+little stream which could be crossed in almost all parts without water
+coming over shoe tops. Only in wet weather was it ever deep enough to
+rise to one's knees.
+
+When it rained above, and the waters gathered, it would come down in a
+little rush.
+
+Shortly prior to its final abandonment, a new wheel had been put to the
+mill. That accounted for the wheel being its soundest part--all else was
+ruin.
+
+It had been disconnected, and the machinery of the mill removed years
+ago; but still the big paddle wheel rested on its axle, and every time
+it rained sufficiently to swell the stream above and make the water flow
+stronger, so assuredly, the wheel would revolve--revolve till the strong
+flow ceased, and the water trickled again as it was wont to do in dry
+weather.
+
+How the scheme came into Susan Todd's head it is impossible to say, but
+it came--came to stop.
+
+She would lure her husband's murderer to the old mill. She had no fear
+of an inability to do that. There she would overpower him by a blow from
+behind, which would stun him.
+
+His unconscious form she would drag outside the little window, and tie
+it with a clothes-line to one of the blades or paddles of the wheel.
+
+The accomplishment of the task the muscles of her brawny arms told her
+would be simple, and she gloated over the enjoyment she would experience
+in coming to the mill as often as possible to talk to the gagged and
+bound man.
+
+She would discuss the weather for his benefit, and let him know whether
+the glass was high or low--whether rain might be expected.
+
+And then, when the rain came, assuredly she must be there, even if it
+came in the dead of the night.
+
+She must be there to watch the agony on the upturned face of a starving,
+thirsty man, an agony bred of a knowledge of what would happen when the
+water was strong enough to turn the mill wheel.
+
+She wanted to see the mill wheel start; she had watched it before and
+knew how it acted, and she knew it would act just the same with its
+human burden.
+
+The water moved it just a little at first, then further, then further,
+and all the while the bound wretch would be going slowly but surely to
+that pool of water through which the lower paddles of the wheel always
+passed.
+
+Half drowned in that, he would be dragged up into air again for the same
+ghastly performance to commence again.
+
+Oh! it would be beautiful--she hugged herself in the joy of the
+anticipation.
+
+And when the wheel had ceased whirling, and the waters had gone down,
+what easier than to cut the bonds, and let the body drop into the pool
+beneath, buried from human sight forever!
+
+What easier!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+FATHER AND CHILD--THE OLD STORY
+
+
+"Come here, Tessie."
+
+"Yes, dad."
+
+"Sit down, girlie."
+
+"Let me kneel, here. There, like that, then you can't be very cross, I
+know. Let me put my arms around your neck, and I know your lecture won't
+be very serious."
+
+"Kiss me."
+
+"There."
+
+"And now I want to talk to you, seriously, Tessie."
+
+"I knew you did, dad; you had such a long face. What have I done?"
+
+"Nothing yet, girlie. It's to prevent your doing something that I fear
+you will be sorry for all your life that I am talking to you now."
+
+"Yes, dad."
+
+"Gerald Danvers has been here nearly a month. He's in love with
+you--that's plain to be seen. There's no blame to himself for that. You
+are a very pretty girl."
+
+"Dad!"
+
+"That's so. That don't matter much; and if you are only flirting that
+wouldn't matter much, either. But the point is--are you? Do you feel
+that you love him, Tessie?"
+
+She was playing with the seal at the end of his watch-chain, and her
+eyes were cast down as she answered:
+
+"He's the nicest man round these parts, dad."
+
+"To look at, Tessie--yes. I admit that. He's got the city polish on him.
+It's a question if that's good though. The bit of veneer on an article
+of furniture doesn't make the wood beneath any better quality."
+
+"No, but the farm hands, dad! And then at Oakville who is there to talk
+to?"
+
+"Maybe not polished people, Tessie."
+
+"No, dad, and that's it. Don't think I'm blaming you, dear old daddie,
+but you see the years you sent me away to boarding-school made a change
+in me. The girls--I met people of a different class. One must talk, you
+know, dad, and there isn't a soul for miles round that has an idea
+beyond the crops."
+
+"I see--I see."
+
+"Don't think I'm finding fault, daddie--not for a moment. I am as happy
+as possible at the dear old farm. I was born here, and I should like to
+die here. But one likes to exchange ideas, dad. You might, for instance,
+circle ten miles round the farm and you would not meet one soul who
+could tell you what poetry meant."
+
+"And this man, Danvers, he talks well?"
+
+"He is a gentleman, dad."
+
+"Without a dollar to call his own."
+
+"Dad! is he any the less a gentleman for that?"
+
+"The world thinks so, Tessie."
+
+"Let it, dad, I don't; and I know you don't. A man's a man for all
+that."
+
+"But a poor man, Tessie--in a double sense. I am really sorry to hear
+you say this."
+
+"What have I said, dad?"
+
+"Nothing, girlie, nothing. But I can read you. You like Danvers?"
+
+She was playing with the charm on the chain again as she answered:
+
+"I don't dislike him, dad."
+
+The old man sighed.
+
+"I have heard you yourself say, dad, that you liked him."
+
+"Ah! but there's a difference in my and your liking. When a woman begins
+by liking a man, she generally ends up by loving him."
+
+No answer.
+
+"Danvers was sent out to me, Tessie, with a letter of introduction. You
+read it. By the next mail another letter came. I opened it myself, as I
+have done all letters since Josh went away. It was from the writer of
+the letter of introduction."
+
+"Another, dad?"
+
+"No. He repeated that he would be glad if I would do all I could for
+Danvers, but, above all, I was to make him work, and work hard. That his
+life up, he had never done a stroke of work, that he had always lived on
+his friends, that his friends had provided him with an outfit and paid
+his passage money, and hoped that in a new country, where he had not a
+single friend, he would be forced to work--work for his living."
+
+"Poor fellow!"
+
+"Tessie!"
+
+"Well, dad, isn't he a poor fellow? Fancy, thousands of miles from a
+friend, and, as you say, without a dollar of his own. Am I wrong, dad,
+to sympathize with, and say of him 'poor fellow'?"
+
+The old man stifled a groan.
+
+He was acting badly. He felt that. He was trying to paint this man in
+repulsive colors, and was but exciting a tender feeling! He was putting
+his foot into it deeper every step he took.
+
+It is curious how persistently parents force their children into the
+marriages they are so anxious not to bring about.
+
+Bespatter her lover to a girl, and straightway the girl loves him the
+more. Call him everything black you can lay your tongue to, and the girl
+will be framing pretty speeches for future use--to make up to him for
+it.
+
+"Tessie, think, my girl, you are happy now because you have everything
+you can reasonably want. Just picture to yourself what your life would
+be married to a centless man."
+
+"But, dad, why should you think he will always be poor?"
+
+"All his life, Tessie, he has been living on other people."
+
+"But he may reform, dad. You said he was doing the work better than Josh
+had done it."
+
+"New brooms sweep clean."
+
+"And in a new country, dad, perhaps he has turned over a new leaf."
+
+"Supposing he has, Tessie, what is his future? If he left here, he might
+get a job as a store clerk; what can he expect to be better? A store
+clerk with perhaps a dozen dollars a week."
+
+"You are hard on him, dad."
+
+"Come, Tessie, have I been? But for the fact that Josh is away on a
+holiday, what could I have done with him? There is not an ounce of farm
+work in him. They send such men out from the mother country--God knows
+what for--when we want only muscle, strength, and grit."
+
+"He has been useful, dad."
+
+"Useful! And when Josh comes back, what then? I have told him it is only
+a temporary job, and perhaps that is the reason."
+
+"For what, dad?"
+
+"His making love to you."
+
+"Dad!"
+
+"Oh, I know the world, Tessie, better than you do. He thinks you are a
+pretty girl, and that if he can make you love him, he is in for a soft
+thing."
+
+"Oh, dad, you are unjust."
+
+"I would to God he had never come here."
+
+"Dad!"
+
+"It is true. Marry? Of course you'll marry. It's a woman's mission in
+life. I can't say I have seen the man yet that I think worthy of you,
+but that is neither here nor there. But I did think you would fall into
+the hands of a man who had a bit of land of his own to walk on, and a
+roof of his own to cover him----"
+
+"You are bitter, dad."
+
+"I feel so, girlie. You are so bound up heart and soul in my heart and
+soul that what affects you affects me. I want to see you happy."
+
+"I know that, dad."
+
+"Tell me, he has not spoken to you of love yet?"
+
+"Not--with his lips, dad--yet."
+
+Then the old man groaned aloud. He knew it was hopeless to talk.
+
+He prayed for the return of Josh that he might have a reasonable excuse
+for packing off Danvers.
+
+And Josh--all that was left of him--after the inquest had been buried in
+the city cemetery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+LOVERS--MORE OF THE OLD STORY
+
+
+"Tessie, why are you angry with me?"
+
+"Angry?"
+
+His question answered by another, answered to the accompaniment of
+elevated eyebrows and a pretty little expression of surprise--after the
+manner of her sex.
+
+"Well--yes. You are--aren't you?"
+
+"Was never better tempered in my life."
+
+"I rather wish that you would get ill tempered."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because--because then you are nicer. Nicer to me.
+
+"Nicer, Mr. Danvers?"
+
+"Mr. Danvers!"
+
+"Well, that is your name, is it not?"
+
+"Oh, certainly, Miss Depew."
+
+The girl laughed nervously.
+
+They were walking across the fields from the milking shed, the girl
+carrying the cream for supper.
+
+"You are laughing now," he said.
+
+"You said once you liked to hear me laugh."
+
+"Oh, I mean you are laughing at me. Don't feel sufficient interest in
+me, I suppose? Please don't say it; I will take it you mean that."
+
+"I think you are very horrid this afternoon."
+
+"I feel so. My feelings are oozing up to the surface, I suppose. And I
+meant to----"
+
+"To what?"
+
+"Oh, it--it does not matter."
+
+"You talk in--well, I can't understand you."
+
+"Like a man awakening from a sleep. Wits have been wool gathering. I
+have been dreaming. Accept my apologies, Miss Depew."
+
+"Miss Depew! How dreadfully formal you have grown."
+
+"Blizzard came along, and froze me all up."
+
+"Poor fellow!"
+
+"I am glad you have some sort of feeling for me--if it is only pity."
+
+"Oh, I always sympathize with--with people who are all frozen up."
+
+"I suppose it is no use asking you for a plain answer to a plain
+question?"
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Well--you are a woman."
+
+"Is that a compliment for my sex, or is it marked 'personal'?"
+
+"Tessie----"
+
+"That's better; you are thawing."
+
+"Tessie!"
+
+"You have called me twice, and I am listening all the time."
+
+"I don't know how to say what I want to say."
+
+"How curious! You are usually so--well, never at a loss for words."
+
+"You chill me."
+
+"Poor fellow! Going into the Arctic regions again?"
+
+"I am going away from the farm--to the Arctic regions, or to the devil,
+I don't much care where."
+
+She started when he said he was going away, and caught her underlip
+between her teeth, and held it there.
+
+It prevented its trembling. Presently she said:
+
+"I thought you were going to stay--quite a while."
+
+"So did I."
+
+"Why are you going, then?"
+
+"Driven away."
+
+"Really."
+
+She was herself again by now. A conscious smile played round her lips as
+she inquired:
+
+"Who's the driver?"
+
+"Tessie Depew."
+
+It did not surprise her a bit; she had guessed what was coming. But she
+simply said again:
+
+"Really!"
+
+And he found it most aggravating. She had said "really" in that
+surprised tone so often that he began to hate the word.
+
+He swished the heads of the tall grass with the stick he was
+carrying--the beheading operation was a relief to his feelings.
+
+She watched him from beneath her long lashes, and there was a curve
+round her lips all the time--she couldn't help a smile.
+
+"I thought at one time, Tessie----"
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"Thought you--well, I was a fool for thinking so, wasn't I?"
+
+"Really can't tell what you did think," she answered demurely. "I am
+sure I should be a conspicuous failure as a thought reader."
+
+"Last night I went to bed the happiest man in America."
+
+"So?"
+
+"Yes. I am a poor devil of a wandering sort of sheep, and a woman's kind
+words have come on my ears so seldom----"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That they influence me when they come."
+
+"Women," she spoke with assumed carelessness, "have been kind to you,
+then?"
+
+"You were kind to me last night, Tessie."
+
+"Really! What did I say?"
+
+"Not so much what you said, but the way you said it. Tessie, don't drive
+me mad. You know--you do--now, don't you--that I love you?"
+
+Of course she knew it, but she was not going to admit it. She looked
+quite surprised, as if such an idea had never occurred to her.
+
+She was a true woman--an actress to the tips of her fingers, when the
+subject of the play was love. He went on:
+
+"I led an idle sort of life, Tessie, in the old country, and I came out
+here to turn over a new leaf. I have turned it over, and fastened down
+the old one.
+
+"I am not worth a red cent--whatever that is--now, but I have faith in
+myself, and I believe that presently, if hard work and persistence raise
+a man on the ladder, I'll be able to climb up. I never expected for a
+moment that you would climb with me; I would not be such a selfish brute
+as to ask you to. But there was something I had intended to ask
+you--only--only----"
+
+"What was it?"
+
+"Your kindness made me think of it. I told you that I went to bed last
+night the happiest man in all America. But I didn't tell you I slept.
+
+"I did not. I lay thinking--thinking all the time of you. I thought I
+would begin that climb with such a heart, with such an eagerness, with
+such a will, because I would have you for an incentive."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I thought that last night, because you behaved to me like a--like an
+angel. And I determined to ask you to-day to--to--that's why I came out
+to the sheds to meet you."
+
+"What were you--what were you going to ask me?"
+
+"To wait for me, Tessie. To wait a year or two till I was up the tree a
+bit with a nest I could invite you to share with me. I love you, Tessie,
+love you with all my heart and soul.
+
+"I suppose I ought to have told you all this differently; then you would
+have liked me all the better for it. But I am not experienced in love
+affairs, Tessie. You are the first woman I have ever really loved--the
+first I have ever told so."
+
+She did not, somehow, seem dissatisfied with his manner of telling it,
+and the concluding sentence was as wise a one as he could have framed.
+
+They were walking very slowly now, and if the girl did not say much, she
+thought the more. Nice, pleasant, happy thoughts, and they made her
+sweet to the man who had inspired them.
+
+"The plain question I wanted a plain answer to, Tessie, was: Was I a
+fool last night? Was I ass enough to misunderstand you? Did my vanity
+make me think you cared for me? Tessie, Tessie, do you love me?"
+
+"You said a plain question, Gerald."
+
+She had her eyes fixed on the ground as she spoke. "But I have counted
+four questions all in that one breath."
+
+"Tessie, darling, answer me."
+
+"What, all four?"
+
+She had raised her mischievous eyes to his, and fixed them on him in
+such a way that his heart leaped.
+
+"Tessie!"
+
+"Supposing I answer one?"
+
+"Tessie?"
+
+"The--last--one."
+
+"Yes, yes, yes."
+
+"That is my answer."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+He caught her in his arms then, and--well, Blossom standing in the
+middle of the meadow chewing her cud paused in that operation in sheer
+astonishment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE METHOD IN SUSAN TODD'S MADNESS
+
+
+The next day the farmer's daughter went into Oakville shopping. She had
+arranged to have tea with a friend and be back before dusk.
+
+Danvers had been sent in another direction in the early morning, and
+knew nothing of this. He was back early in the afternoon, and wondered
+at seeing nothing of the girl of his heart.
+
+Susan spoke to him presently. She beckoned him as he passed the back of
+the house.
+
+"I've a message for you, Mr. Danvers."
+
+"Oh! What is it, Susan?"
+
+"Not so loud! From Miss Tessie."
+
+"Ah!"
+
+"She's gone for a ride. Will you meet her in the old water mill at four
+o'clock?"
+
+"The old--why on earth all that distance away? What is she doing there?"
+
+"That she did not tell me," the woman answered shortly; "don't go if you
+don't want to. I've given you the message."
+
+"That's all right, Susan; don't lose your temper. I'll go fast enough."
+
+"She told me to say, too, that you were not to tell any one."
+
+"Trust me, I won't. What's the time by your kitchen clock? Just three.
+There's an hour to wait. All right."
+
+He went away about his business. Susan watched him out of sight.
+
+Presently she went away about her business--in the direction of the old
+water mill. She took with her some old pieces of rope which had been
+used for binding butter kegs, and which she knew would never be missed.
+They had been thrown aside as useless, because they were so soaked in
+fat.
+
+She had half an hour to wait before the hands of the kitchen clock would
+point to four, but she waited patiently.
+
+Her revenge was coming within her grasp, the revenge she had been
+praying and hoping for--a life for a life.
+
+The roof of the old mill and the rafters and part of the loft flooring
+were fairly sound.
+
+She tied a heavy stone to her rope, and, after climbing to the loft,
+pulled up the stone after her. There she waited. The old mill was a
+baited trap.
+
+She passed the time in coiling the rope, and handling and weighing the
+stone. She intended to drop the stone on her victim's head.
+
+She knew it would stun him. She had seen a man fall senseless--and
+remain senseless for an hour--on the occasion of a far less heavy weight
+falling on his head.
+
+Ten minutes would suffice for her task, if he remained senseless as
+long.
+
+She mapped out what she would do if the stone failed. She would drop
+from above, spring on him from behind, and half choke the life out of
+him with her strong, long, bony fingers.
+
+Then she would bring him to again, when she had fastened him up. She did
+not want him to die--yet.
+
+Before four o'clock, Gerald Danvers entered the mill.
+
+Before four o'clock he was lying senseless on the floor, a great ugly
+gash in the back of his head, and a woman feeling at his heart to know
+if it was beating, and laughing a maniacal laugh of triumph when she
+found it was, and that her scheme was successful--so far.
+
+Then she tied him up. Tightly round the ankles and knees, and his wrists
+close round his waist.
+
+His arms she kept open--open for the binding cords to be looped
+through.
+
+The wheel she kept in a fixed position by means of a wooden pin thrust
+in its side from the interior of the mill. That fixed, it was easy to
+walk out of the door window on the floor's level, straight to the paddle
+nearest it.
+
+Susan dragged Gerald's unconscious body along the floor, out of the
+window, on to the paddle, and then she began to bind him to the blade.
+
+She had come with plenty of pieces of rope, and, slinging one round the
+paddle, she caught the end of it the other side.
+
+By that means she fastened the feet. Another piece, thrown in a similar
+way, she drew through the arms, and her prisoner was securely bound
+then, unable to move, literally, hand or foot.
+
+Then she drew the man's handkerchief from his pocket, and forcing his
+mouth open, used it as a gag, knotting it behind his head.
+
+She got off the paddle, back into the mill, and gazed on her handiwork.
+
+The figure did not stir. The eyes were closed, and although the blood
+had ceased flowing, the body seemed lifeless.
+
+This did not suit Susan. She wanted the man to awake, to suffer torture.
+
+She wondered how she could get water to pour over him. She had come
+without dipper or basin of any kind.
+
+Could she move the wheel, she wondered. She knew she was strong. If she
+could gradually turn this, blade by blade, it would go faster and
+faster, and as the bottom three blades, she could see, were in the pool,
+it followed that, for a few moments, the man would be--from head to
+foot--in the cold water. That could not fail to revive him.
+
+She would try. She did.
+
+She withdrew the pin, and pulled and pushed with all the strength that
+in her lay.
+
+It seemed a hopeless task, but presently she felt the paddle she was
+pushing move just half an inch, then an inch, then more and more, and at
+last the second paddle was where the first had been.
+
+The wheel was moving. The man was on his road to the water at the
+bottom.
+
+The wheel went round faster because the weight of the man told.
+
+The body passed through the water and came up. And then real hard work
+for Susan commenced.
+
+She had not thought of the additional weight on the upward journey.
+
+But she was bound to bring the body up to a level position, if she broke
+every sinew in her wiry frame.
+
+After infinite labor she succeeded, and with a sigh of relief thrust the
+pin into its place again--the pin which held the wheel firm.
+
+Not that there was any need for that. Lying in a level position, the
+balance was true.
+
+The wheel would have stayed so without the pin.
+
+Then she looked at the prisoner--he was looking at her! The water had
+nearly choked him, but it had at the same time brought him back to life,
+if not to understanding of the situation. The woman spoke to him:
+
+"You are back to your senses. You can understand what I am saying?"
+
+The look in his eyes answered her. She went on:
+
+"You are going to die, Gerald Danvers. Die slowly. I am killing you
+because you killed my husband. It's a life for a life. Your life for
+that of the man you killed on the ship.
+
+"You will live there, just as you are, without bite or sup, till the
+rain comes. You will be able to see the clouds as you lie there, the
+stars at night and the sun by day. When the rain comes the waters gather
+above, and where you see that trickling which just escapes your head, a
+waterfall appears and turns the wheel you are on."
+
+The man had his eyes fixed on her all the time.
+
+He understood clearly all she was saying now--but he could not fathom
+what was the reason for it all--what he had done to merit such a
+revenge.
+
+He did not understand how--as Byron says--sweet is revenge, especially
+to women.
+
+But for the handkerchief in his mouth, he might have been able to
+explain; as it was, he could not make a sound. She continued:
+
+"If you want to live, pray that the rain may not come; if you want to
+die, pray that it may. When you feel that waterfall reaching you, then
+you may know that presently there will be force enough to turn the
+wheel, and that you will go round and round, faster and faster, now in
+the air, now in the water, now in the air, now in the water!"
+
+She was waving her arms round and round to illustrate her meaning--she
+was so fearful that he should lose any of the horror of his position.
+
+She need not have been. He lost none.
+
+Every word she uttered went home. He realized it the more because he saw
+the woman was mad. Her eyes alone spoke the fact eloquently.
+
+"If you pray for life, remember it will be a famishing, thirsty, hungry
+life. If we have no rain for a dozen days, not a taste of food, not a
+drop of water do you get. You can hear the water always trickling by
+you, and in a day or two as you get hungry I will bring my dinner here,
+and you shall see me eat it, you murdering brute, you!"
+
+He realized, without the maniacal laughter, how mad she was.
+
+His heart almost ceased beating. He was not a coward, but he felt that
+at this woman's mercy his death was certain. Not a speedy death, but a
+lingering, torturing one.
+
+Rescue was out of the question. Not a soul came near the old mill,
+except at haymaking time to cut the grass. That was weeks ahead.
+
+Still the woman talked.
+
+"Till the rain comes, you know what to expect. Till the rain comes.
+And when it is all over I shall cut your cords and let you
+drop--splash--into the pool you have just been through.
+
+"You killed my husband, you murderer, you! His blood calls out for
+vengeance. I am going to take--a terrible vengeance. But it is justice,
+the justice the parson tells us of--a life for a life--a tooth for a
+tooth. You took my husband's life--I am going to take yours. You
+murdering brute!"
+
+It was her farewell speech. She slammed to the door, and he was left
+alone!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+BOUND TO THE WHEEL
+
+
+Gerald Danvers was never able to realize how long he lay there.
+
+Blissful moments of unconsciousness came with awful awakenings to the
+reality of that painful binding. Every time he moved the cords seemed to
+attain the heat of redness, and to burn into his flesh.
+
+Thirst--that was the most awful feeling. He had not been there an hour
+before he was assailed with it.
+
+The handkerchief made his mouth water, and the linen seemed to act like
+blotting paper, absorbing and drawing up every drop of moisture in his
+body.
+
+He could turn his head, and there, not a yard away, sparkling in the
+sun, was water trickling down; the waterfall which was to swell in body
+and force and whirl him to his death.
+
+It was not long before he was praying for death--life seemed so full of
+pain.
+
+The acute agony of that immovable position, with the cords seeming to
+cut into his flesh every time he attempted to move, became unendurable.
+
+He could keep no count of the hours, but when at last the setting sun
+turned things red, he felt that he had been there days and days.
+
+Not that he noticed the color of the sun; the blood which had rushed to
+his head made things all black one moment, all red the next.
+
+Night fell; all was darkness--so black a darkness that in the shadow in
+which he lay he could not see the faintest outline of the mill.
+
+Presently a little speck of light appeared above him. Water was in his
+eyes, tears forced there by the pain, blurring his sight.
+
+The little light looked like a flashing diamond. He could not wipe the
+water from his eyes, but when presently it fell away, and his vision was
+clearer, he saw that what had appeared as a speck of light was a star in
+the sky above him.
+
+Then he realized that it was night. He gathered some idea of the time,
+too.
+
+He knew that the moon did not rise till nine o'clock, and it had not
+risen yet. It was clear and cloudless, the canopy above him, and he knew
+that ere long the moon would rise and lighten up his surroundings.
+
+Then he lapsed into unconsciousness again.
+
+From that state he was aroused by a noise--aroused to find that the moon
+was up, and flooding half the mill wheel with light, and throwing the
+other half in deep shadow.
+
+His head and chest were in the former, and the rest of him in darkness.
+
+The noise was slight, but his tense nerves caught it; it was on the
+wheel, and presently he was conscious that some one was feeling his
+legs, and then higher up his body, round his waist.
+
+He guessed it was the mad woman come back, and he was not sorry. He
+still heard the slight noise, and imagined it to be the woman creeping
+along the paddle.
+
+He closed his eyes.
+
+Not that he feared death. In his conscious moments, for hours past, he
+had been praying for release from his torturing position--praying for
+death.
+
+And he felt that it was coming at last. He closed his eyes because he
+did not want to see in what shape it had arrived.
+
+He guessed that it would be a noiseless weapon, perhaps a knife, and a
+feeling of wonder stole over him, wonder of how it would feel as the
+knife sheathed itself in his heart.
+
+No feeling of fear, not a scrap; he would welcome it. It would end the
+pain. And then he prayed.
+
+He felt the movements about his legs, but his limbs were so numbed that
+he could not very well tell what was being done.
+
+And then he felt a weight on his chest, a moving weight. He thought that
+his last moments had arrived--that his murderer was getting closer and
+closer. Still he prayed.
+
+His had not been a very religious upbringing. Indeed, there had been
+times when he had scoffed at godly people, and the idea of entering a
+church had never occurred to him since his childhood.
+
+There had been nothing particularly vicious in his life, but the idea of
+prayer had never entered his mind. He had, he had thought, too much to
+do in thinking of this world to trouble himself about the next one. Time
+enough for that when he was dying.
+
+Quite a number of persons think that way. The heavenly bookkeepers are
+troubled only with entries on the debit side during most men's healthy
+times.
+
+No grateful acknowledgment rises for that same health; it is only when
+illness reaches the man on earth that he thinks of heaven.
+
+The recording angel can usually gauge a man's health by a reference to
+the credit side of his ledger account. The entries tell.
+
+Now, with closed eyes, Gerald Danvers prayed. He thanked God for
+bringing his torture to an end, and asked forgiveness for his previous
+forgetfulness. He was earnest in his prayer, and he prayed on. And all
+the time he felt the movement on his chest; but his life was spared.
+
+Then he wondered why. He knew that his chest was in the moonlight, and
+that if he opened his eyes he could see his murderer there.
+
+And the suspense was as bad to bear as the previous torture. He would
+open his eyes.
+
+Danvers opened his eyes. Could he have given vent to a scream it would
+have been one of mortal fear and agony.
+
+His cry to God was not one of thankfulness now, but of fear, horror, and
+fear of being eaten alive!
+
+For on his chest, his legs, his whole body, there seemed to be swarming
+hundreds and hundreds of huge rats!
+
+Perhaps his prayer was answered, for once more he became oblivious of
+his surroundings. And he remained unconscious for many hours, so much so
+that, when next he opened his eyes, the sun was rising, and the whole
+place was bright with the light of daybreak.
+
+He cast his eyes to his chest, to his feet; thank God! not a sign of a
+rat. Moreover, the feeling of numbness and pain had left him.
+
+He began to wonder whether it had all been a fearful dream.
+
+And then something happened which startled him. A fly alighted on his
+face.
+
+Involuntarily he started to brush it away with his hand. And the hand
+brushed it away!
+
+It was not till he had so used his hand that he realized that that
+member was free. Then he could not understand.
+
+He lay there quite still with the hand poised in the air--his own hand
+free. He looked at his wrist, and there were the red marks where the
+rope had been. He could not understand it.
+
+Gently he tried to move his left hand--and succeeded. Lifted it till it
+grasped the blade of the wheel to his left.
+
+Still he lay quiet, unable to realize that his hands were free--and what
+that meant.
+
+But it did not take long for the full meaning to burst on him, and when
+it did, he lost no time.
+
+A moment after he was in a sitting position, and had wrenched the
+handkerchief from his aching, parched mouth.
+
+The sitting position pained him intensely for a few moments, after his
+long recumbent attitude, and he rested for the pain to go off.
+
+He heard a noise, and, looking down over the wheel, saw cattle on the
+brink of the rivulet--cattle endeavoring to bury their noses in the cool
+water.
+
+The sight gave him fresh life; he must reach that water and drink, and
+drink, and drink.
+
+He essayed to move his legs--he could. He was quite free. Just cramped,
+that was all.
+
+What could it mean? How had his liberation been effected?
+
+He looked around, and there was not a trace of the ropes which had bound
+him.
+
+Yet stay, what was that upon which he was sitting? He put his hands
+beneath him, and withdrew a piece of rope--a piece of greasy rope.
+
+He examined it carefully. It was a piece that had been entirely covered
+by his body. He examined the ends, and the marks thereon told him all.
+
+The rats which had caused him such horror had been his salvation.
+Attracted by the fat sodden rope, they had gnawed it and gnawed it all
+the while he was lying unconscious.
+
+And now--thank God--he was free at last.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+SUSAN TODD SEES A GHOST
+
+
+That water--that delicious water! Would he ever forget that drink?
+
+It was some little while before he was able to climb off the mill wheel,
+and he staggered, too, when he reached the ground.
+
+Prone on his chest, he buried his mouth and nose in the little stream,
+and sucked up the water. Never had he tasted sweeter.
+
+He looked across the fields. Away in the distance he could see in the
+clearness of the early morning the windows of the farmhouse with the
+blinds drawn.
+
+Half way between himself and the house were the milking sheds.
+
+He walked towards them. He could see the cows beginning to gather there,
+ready for the relief of the early milking.
+
+He stood sorely in need of food--a draft of milk would be as good as a
+meal.
+
+At first walking was hard work. His late cramped position told.
+
+But each step he took, the pain seemed to wear away more and more. He
+reached the sheds, had no difficulty in finding a pail, and was
+presently gratefully drinking the warm milk. It made a man of him.
+
+It was still early. Susan, he knew, was the first to be up in the
+household.
+
+If he went to the farm now he would come face to face with the woman who
+had tried to murder him.
+
+That he determined to do. He was consumed with a feverish anxiety to
+know why he had been sentenced to death.
+
+At the same time, strong as he felt now, and prepared for assault, he
+would take precautions.
+
+He looked around for something wherewith to arm himself. An ax hung by a
+cord from the wall of the shed. He took it and walked towards the farm.
+
+He knew that Susan would come down and make straight for her kitchen;
+that the first thing she would do would be to open wide the door leading
+to the garden.
+
+In that garden he would stand. He was curious to see how she would view
+him. He would stand there and wait--with the ax behind him in case of
+accidents.
+
+He did so. Waited a long while. Then he heard the sounds of her
+footsteps clattering over the hard kitchen floor; the shooting of the
+top bolt, then the bottom one, the rattle of fingers on the catch, and
+then the door opened.
+
+He saw the woman--she saw him. The color left her face, she went livid,
+she threw up her arms, screamed and fell senseless to the floor,
+muttering:
+
+"A ghost! A ghost!"
+
+Gerald entered the kitchen. The scream had alarmed the people in the
+house; he could hear them hurriedly moving about up-stairs.
+
+He bent over the unconscious woman. She had struck her head in falling,
+and it was bleeding slightly.
+
+It would be untrue to record any feeling of pity on Gerald's part. He
+rather grimly recognized a coincidence.
+
+They both had head wounds. She had let something fall on his, now she
+had fallen on her own.
+
+"What's this? What--you Gerald! Where have you been? What does this
+mean?"
+
+It was farmer Depew talking.
+
+"This woman's mad."
+
+"Mad! What on earth do you mean?"
+
+"You will scarcely believe me when I tell you. But the woman is in a
+faint now. Let us----"
+
+"You leave her to Harper there. Harper, throw some cold water over her.
+And now you, Mr. Danvers, just throw some light on these fixings, will
+you? Where have you passed the night?"
+
+"Bound hand and foot to the old mill wheel!"
+
+"See here--you said she was mad, I shall begin to think----"
+
+"Hear me out--you won't then. I have been nearer death's door than I
+shall ever be again without entering. Death must keep his hinges well
+oiled," he added grimly, "or I should have heard them creaking."
+
+"What--how did it happen?"
+
+"I went into the mill yesterday afternoon, just before four o'clock.
+This young lady"--he indicated Susan with his foot--"was there before
+me. She had climbed aloft with something heavy. What it was she dropped
+on my head I don't know, but I know it struck me at the time as being
+heavy."
+
+"Curious thing to joke about!"
+
+"If you felt as light-hearted as I do, farmer, you would want to skip
+and dance. It was no joking matter at the time, I can tell you."
+
+"Go on."
+
+"The blow rendered me insensible. When I came to myself I found that my
+lady here had dragged me on to the wheel, and tied me to it, bound hand
+and foot, and gagged."
+
+"Good God!"
+
+"Fact. Look at my wrists. There are the marks, you see, yet. She had
+evidently thrown pails of water over me, I suppose to bring me to, for I
+was drenched from head to foot."
+
+"Go on."
+
+"It evidently did bring me to, for I found myself looking her in the
+face. She spoke. Told me what she intended to do with me."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Leave me there without food or drink till the rain came and made the
+stream powerful enough to revolve the wheel, and let me be whirled to
+glory."
+
+"Is--it possible?"
+
+"I don't know. I didn't wait to see."
+
+"Well, you certainly take it light-heartedly----"
+
+"I didn't at the time. I was the most heavy-hearted man in this country.
+But it is over, and the reaction is immense."
+
+"Did she not give her reason for this behavior?"
+
+"Well--she seemed to think that I had killed her husband, and that it
+was her duty to lay me out in consequence."
+
+"Killed her husband?"
+
+"That's what she said--killed him on a boat."
+
+"On a boat? What does she mean? Has she been thinking about the murder
+on the liner you came over by? She may have heard you talking about it."
+
+"I never thought of that! She said, 'Your life for that of the man you
+killed on the ship.' Had that man anything to do with her husband?"
+
+"Don't know. Wait till she comes round, we will see. She's moving a bit
+now."
+
+The woman did move. Opened her eyes, and then seemed to remember how she
+came on the floor.
+
+She started into a sitting position, and her eyes fell on Gerald. Once
+more she screamed out:
+
+"A ghost! A ghost! A ghost!"
+
+Then she fell back in a burst of frenzied hysterical laughter, and
+despite the fact that two men held her down, the tattoo made by the
+tapping of her feet could be heard all over the building.
+
+Ultimately, she was carried up to her room, quieted, and with the
+assistance of the farmer's wife and daughter undressed and put to bed.
+
+Danvers was rather struck by the change in positions. He had been afraid
+for his life of her, now she was afraid of him.
+
+It caused him to hang up the ax. He felt he would be able to get along
+without it now.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+A SICK BED CONFESSION
+
+
+One of the men built the fire, and assistance with the crockery by
+others meant breakfast being served ultimately.
+
+Gerald had an appetite which some of the farm hands paused to view with
+a kind of envy. In the rare intervals of the meal, when his mouth was
+not too full, he told the farmer the rest of the story.
+
+Susan came out of her fit, but it left her lying there as weak as a rat.
+
+It was explained to her that Gerald was really alive, and then she
+relapsed into sullen silence--she guessed that the sheriff or his men
+would be the next to interview her.
+
+Later in the day the farmer and Gerald went up to her room.
+
+Danvers was so buoyant over his release, so assured that the woman had a
+grievance, and above all so curious to get to the bottom of the affair,
+that he greeted her with a smile on his lips, and no visible anger.
+
+She answered him never a word.
+
+He sat on the bedside, and addressed her at some length, while the
+farmer seated himself near the head of the bed.
+
+"Susan, those born to be hanged can't be drowned, you know; so I am
+here. There's no need to bother you by telling you how I escaped--I'm
+here. That's good enough. Now, what I want to know is what the dickens
+made you put me on the wheel."
+
+Sullen silence.
+
+"Don't think I feel more than necessarily angry over it, because I
+don't. I know perfectly well that you, in your own mind, thought you had
+a good reason, or you would not have done it. What was it?"
+
+Sullen silence.
+
+"You said I had murdered your husband. I have never seen him, never even
+heard his name, and never hurt, killed, or wounded any man, woman, or
+child in the whole course of my life."
+
+She turned her head and looked at him.
+
+"Yes," he said smilingly, "I can look you straight in the face, Susan.
+And I should be scarcely likely to do that, should I, if I had killed
+your husband?"
+
+Still she looked at him.
+
+"On the steamer in which I crossed the Atlantic there certainly was a
+man found dead. But whether murdered or suicide, or what his name was, I
+don't know. Was that your husband, or was the other man?--who, no doubt
+had been murdered, judging by the way his body was found."
+
+That made her open her lips. She was startled into a speech. She said:
+
+"Other man?"
+
+"Yes; there were two bodies found in the one cabin."
+
+"I only saw one."
+
+That brought the farmer to his feet. He said:
+
+"You saw? How on earth could you see?"
+
+But the woman, annoyed at having been betrayed into speech, was silent.
+
+Gerald spoke again.
+
+"Susan, don't be a fool. If your husband is dead, I did not kill him.
+Your common sense ought to tell you that. But if he is dead, you ought
+to know how, and by what means.
+
+"I never saw either of the passengers who were found dead, and do not
+know their names--if I ever heard them. But it is surely a duty for you
+to find out the true story. Dead men tell no tales, but live ones do.
+
+"Find out the truth. Come, let me help you. I bear you no malice--not a
+scrap. Tell me all about it--tell me."
+
+She spoke at last.
+
+"I don't trust you."
+
+"I see that, Susan," he answered cheerfully; "and it is that distrust I
+want to wipe away. Why, do you know, over in England, I was in the
+office of a private detective agency, and there is no knowing how I
+might be able to help you."
+
+Again she said:
+
+"I don't trust you."
+
+"I know. But why? You have got in your mind some reason for this
+distrust. It's a wrong reason, absolutely wrong, Susan. Anyway, tell me
+what causes you to suspect me, and see if it cannot be explained away."
+
+"You are wearing my dear husband's clothes."
+
+"What!"
+
+He sprang to his feet in such genuine amazement, that even Susan's
+belief in his guilt was shaken.
+
+"Your husband's clothes!" he blurted out; "why, I bought this suit the
+very week I left England at Samuels', on Ludgate Hill."
+
+"I meant your underclothes," she said shortly.
+
+"Underclothes!" he answered. "Those I certainly did not buy. Friends got
+the outfit for me. It came on board in my portmanteau, save those
+things I wore on board. How on earth you can suppose that I am wearing
+another man's clothes, I can't think."
+
+"All the same, you have been wearing my husband's shirt."
+
+"Your husband who was on the boat? Stay, though. A light breaks in on
+me. I changed on board. I got wet through in jumping overboard after a
+child. I sent one of the men to the hold for my portmanteau. What is
+your husband's name?"
+
+The woman did not answer--the farmer did:
+
+"Josh Todd."
+
+"That's not it, then," said Danvers. "That is not the explanation. No
+sailor would be such an ass as to make a mistake like that. I told him
+to go to a long, brown portmanteau with the initials 'G. D.' on."
+
+"My initials," said the farmer.
+
+"So they are," said Danvers. "I did not notice it. But that does not
+affect the matter. No sailor would be fool enough when I told him to go
+to a bag labeled 'G. D.' to go to one bearing the initials 'J. T.' That
+throws no light on the thing."
+
+The woman turned uneasily on her bed. Danvers spoke again, earnestly
+now.
+
+"Susan, tell us everything. You have some knowledge. You know
+something. I can see you do. What is it? Lying here you will never find
+the man who murdered your husband, and you seem sure that he is dead."
+
+"Or he would have written me; I know it, I know it, I know it."
+
+"Yes, yes, I understand. You think he was on the steamer?"
+
+"I did. Then I didn't. I do now."
+
+"Why now?"
+
+"Because when I was there I heard nothing of two bodies."
+
+"Why were you there?"
+
+"I went to meet my husband."
+
+"He was on the boat, then?"
+
+"He cabled me from England that he was coming by it."
+
+"England?"
+
+"Yes; he has been over there."
+
+"You say you saw one body on the boat?"
+
+"Yes; the boat people showed it me, then I fainted from relief that it
+was not my husband."
+
+"Did they not tell you of the other?"
+
+"No, I did not wait. I came away, back home here as quickly as
+possible."
+
+"And," interposed the farmer, "that is all she would know. We are right
+off the map here. There is no one to carry the news. Some weeks we get
+a N'York paper, other weeks we don't, and I question if Susan ever
+picked one up."
+
+"Tell me," she said, "the description of the other dead man."
+
+"I can't, Susan, for I don't know it. I certainly, as a matter of
+curiosity, read it, but I don't remember."
+
+His humanity made him abstain from telling her how the second body was
+found. He said:
+
+"We can find all that out for you, Susan. Just trust us fully. It is
+right you should know, and you shall. Do you believe you can trust me?"
+
+"Now--yes, I do."
+
+"Why the change?"
+
+"Because I can understand your wearing my husband's shirt now."
+
+"You can?"
+
+"Yes, in the change on the boat."
+
+"No; I told you that my bag was marked 'G. D.'--your husband's was not."
+
+"Yes--it was!"
+
+"What!"
+
+"I had better make a full confession, and tell you everything. It is the
+better way."
+
+She was going to do so. It was no longer a case of rebellious Susan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+A WIFE FOR REWARD
+
+
+"That time you asked for a day's holiday," said the farmer, "was when
+you went to meet the boat, I suppose?"
+
+"Yes. It is a hard thing to say of your husband, farmer, but there is no
+help for it now, if I am to tell all. My husband robbed you."
+
+"Robbed me!"
+
+"Yes. Of nineteen thousand pounds."
+
+The farmer did not speak. He simply looked at the woman.
+
+The story of the tying to the mill wheel had roused his suspicions as to
+her sanity--this last speech convinced him.
+
+Nineteen thousand pounds! He had never in his life possessed such a sum
+or anything like it.
+
+The little nest egg he added to year by year for those he might leave
+behind him did not count a nineteenth part of that sum.
+
+Nineteen thousand pounds! He smiled.
+
+"You think I am mad?" queried the woman, reading it in his face. "I am
+not. You had an aunt named Depew living in England?"
+
+The farmer started. The smile left his face. He said:
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"Through Josh. She is dead. She died worth a lot of property--nineteen
+thousand pounds."
+
+The farmer looked in amazement; he was too astonished to speak.
+
+The woman continued:
+
+"Josh used to open all your letters. One day one came from an English
+lawyer to say your aunt was dead, and had left you all her money."
+
+The farmer gasped. The woman continued:
+
+"The idea occurred to Josh to take your place."
+
+"Take my place!"
+
+"Yes. He did. He went over to England in your name. Said he was you.
+Took documents to prove it. He got the money and cabled me that he was
+coming back on the boat you came by."
+
+She looked at Danvers as she finished speaking, and he said suddenly:
+
+"Now, I see. On his portmanteau there would be the initials 'G. D.' for
+George Depew."
+
+"Yes. They were painted on before he left New York. He thought of
+that."
+
+"Well," said Gerald thoughtfully, "it is the most extraordinary
+coincidence----"
+
+"Coincidence be damned," interposed the farmer; "where's my nineteen
+thousand pounds?"
+
+He had got rid of the theory of insanity now. Had almost lost sight of
+the idea of Josh's supposed murder.
+
+His own loss was predominant.
+
+"My man has been robbed of it, I expect," said the woman; "that would be
+why he was murdered. Some one must have known he had the money, and
+killed him for it."
+
+"Have you the cable your husband sent you?" inquired Gerald.
+
+"Yes, and a letter, too. Open that top drawer and you'll see them
+between the leaves of the Bible under my handkerchiefs."
+
+Gerald opened the drawer and found the documents. He read them both.
+
+The letter commencing "Dear old Girl," and ending "Your loving husband,
+Josh," told the story.
+
+Gerald was by no means a fool, and he read between the lines of that
+letter--read the character of the writer; the rejoicing in the success
+of his villainy; the rogue meets rogue clause; the aching tooth and the
+fear of pain at the dentist's.
+
+Indeed, it did not require a very shrewd brain to read between the
+lines of that letter, and understand the nature of the man who penned
+it.
+
+"Your knowledge ends there, Susan?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"May I take these letters? They may prove a clue."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Will you accept my assurance that I will do all possible to have this
+matter out, and clear it up satisfactorily?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Very well, then; for the present, good-bye. Next time I see you I may
+have something to report."
+
+The two men left the room. Gerald seemed a changed man.
+
+His ability to look after other people's affairs in better fashion than
+his own has been mentioned. He proposed looking after the present
+business.
+
+"Farmer," he said, "you believe all you have just heard?"
+
+"Of course, and a damned nice----"
+
+"Let me take this matter in hand for you."
+
+"For me?"
+
+"Yes. There's nineteen thousand pounds hanging to it."
+
+"Stolen, if Susan's story is right."
+
+"Let me trace the money."
+
+"You?"
+
+"Yes. I was in a private detective's agency once, and I know how to set
+about an affair of this sort."
+
+"What would you do?"
+
+"Get to New York, ascertain all about the man who figured in your name.
+Get identification. See if the man who was 'packed' was Josh Todd."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then ascertain how he shipped. Go across the Atlantic, and find out who
+paid him the money, and how."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"It is not likely that any man would take nineteen thousand pounds in
+gold--it would be too weighty."
+
+"No."
+
+"If he took notes, the numbers are traceable."
+
+"True."
+
+"It is worth inquiring into. Being a murder case, the police will give
+every assistance. What do you say?"
+
+"I don't believe in throwing good money after bad. I fancy that money,
+if it has been stolen, will never be seen again."
+
+"And I think you are wrong. Fifty pounds wouldn't affect you. Spend
+that. Let me have it for passage over, and necessary expenses. It is not
+a great sum even if it is lost. It's a small stake to try to get
+nineteen thousand pounds with."
+
+"M' yes."
+
+"It shall not cost you more. There's much in that letter Todd wrote to
+Susan. It bristles with clues if they can only be followed. I believe I
+can follow them."
+
+"You seem confident."
+
+"Because I know what I am talking about. What do you say?"
+
+"I'll go to the fifty pounds--but, mind, not a cent more. I am not a
+wealthy man, and fifty pounds is fifty pounds to me."
+
+"I know that. By the same rule, nineteen thousand pounds would be
+acceptable."
+
+"Acceptable! When I think of that villain Josh, I----"
+
+"Don't get excited. Does no good. Just tell me all about your aunt who
+left you this money."
+
+"I have not seen her for years. I was with her when a little boy. I
+think I am the only relation she had."
+
+"Well, I can soon trace out the property, the name of her lawyers, and
+what her property was."
+
+"You can?"
+
+"Certainly. The will's been proved. I go to Somerset House and pay a
+search fee; reading the will over does the rest."
+
+"I see."
+
+"Now, give me a check on the Oakville branch of the New York Central
+Bank, and let me get to work at once."
+
+"How about your own payment?"
+
+"I don't ask for any now. Wait till I find the money. Payment shall be
+based on result."
+
+"What is the payment to be?"
+
+"Not money."
+
+"Not money!"
+
+"No. If I am successful--the hand of your daughter, Tessie."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+GERALD PUTS HIS NOSE TO THE TRAIL
+
+
+The intelligence of Gerald Danvers has been remarked on.
+
+He had a long interview with Tessie, and told her that her father had
+engaged him to do certain work, in which, if successful, his reward was
+her engagement to himself. Which was true.
+
+What the work was he did not say. The farmer, after giving his promise,
+was rather ashamed of having done so, and bound Danvers down to secrecy
+on the subject of his mission.
+
+He did not want his wife to laugh at him for throwing fifty pounds away.
+A wife's mirth under such circumstances is irritating. It is not a thing
+easy to get away from.
+
+Gerald cashed his fifty pound check, and, arrived in New York, sat down
+and thought.
+
+It was clear to him that Josh Todd--if he were one of the murdered
+men--could not have had about him any writing to lead to identification
+with the man whose name he had assumed; because no shadow of an inquiry
+had been made at the farm.
+
+The latter was some way from Oakville, and Oakville was a long way from
+New York. So although the papers after the time that the news reached
+them were full of the name of Depew, taken from the passenger list, not
+a copy of any journal had found its way to the farm.
+
+That made Gerald ponder.
+
+Was it wise in going to the New York police at all? He knew that a
+murderer had escaped at Queenstown--it had been common talk on the
+ship--and that the murder was done in English waters.
+
+Why then wake up the American police by giving them identification clues
+to Josh, and so possibly foul a trail in England?
+
+It was just possible that the murderer was lulled to an idea of security
+by the absence of discovery. That would make his own work easier.
+
+The news in the American papers would be copied by the English press,
+and Gerald's first work was to secure copies of the _New York Herald_
+and _World_ daily editions dating from the day of the arrival of the
+ship.
+
+He perused these papers with all their sensational hydra headed columns,
+from first to last.
+
+Nothing had been discovered more than he knew. Not the faintest trace of
+the identity of the man in the portmanteau could be found.
+
+It was known that two berths had been booked in the name of Depew, but
+who Depew was or where he had lived was still unascertained.
+
+The man who had been found lying dead in his berth had been
+photographed, and the picture was sent to England for the inspection of
+the passenger agent where the berth had been booked.
+
+He in no way recognized it--had never seen the face! That had deepened
+the mystery.
+
+It was plain that the New York police knew nothing.
+
+Gerald felt that no good purpose would be served by enlightening them,
+and that the sooner he got to England, the sooner he would be getting at
+the root of the matter.
+
+The newspapers gave portraits reproduced by the half tone process from
+the photograph taken, and Gerald cut one of these out and pasted it on a
+card.
+
+It went with him to England. He went there himself by the next outgoing
+steamer.
+
+A photograph of only one of the dead men had been taken--for reasons
+which will be readily understood. That photograph in no way resembled
+Josh Todd.
+
+Gerald knew that, because he had brought away from the farm a
+daguerreotype of the missing man. Comparison showed its unlikeness to
+the picture of the man with the cut throat.
+
+By personating a man with a missing friend--thereby receiving
+information and giving none--he obtained from the police a description
+of the head of the man found in the portmanteau.
+
+He told the police that it in no way resembled the person for whom he
+was looking. All the same he was convinced it was Josh.
+
+Josh packed dead in England and despatched to America, meant that the
+packers were in Europe with the nineteen thousand pounds.
+
+Danvers was keen on getting that money. The steamer on which the murder
+had been committed bore him in the direction of it.
+
+He was keen on it, because it meant the possession of Tessie. He wanted
+her badly.
+
+On board the boat he learned everything there was to be learned.
+
+He checked the evidence of the boat people as it had appeared in the
+papers by what they said now.
+
+From Liverpool to London. There he rented a cheap room.
+
+He did not communicate with his own friends in any way, but put his nose
+to the trail.
+
+His first visit was to Somerset House. He paid a fee, and read the will
+of Aunt Depew.
+
+From it he learned that the farmer was the sole legatee, and that Lawyer
+Loide was sole executor. The property left was described--certain east
+end houses.
+
+Should he go straight to the lawyer? No, he would go down and see the
+houses first.
+
+He did. Knocked at the doors and asked who, before the sale of the
+property, had managed it.
+
+"Lawyer Loide," was the answer.
+
+Managed the property, and was sole executor.
+
+Danvers chewed that over. The end was juicy.
+
+He wanted to see Loide--before Loide saw him. He believed in surprises,
+and he liked to be the surprise party.
+
+He went to Liverpool Street where the lawyer's offices were.
+Interviewed, and subsequently had a drink with the janitor there. From
+him obtained a description of Loide.
+
+Loide was no believer in Christmas boxes or tips of any description--how
+great events from little causes spring!
+
+The janitor did not reverence the lawyer for this want of belief. He was
+willing to say anything against him he could.
+
+Told Danvers--over the third glass--that he had never been in arrears
+with his rent before, that he had discharged his two clerks, and had
+only a junior working for him now, and that even he was under notice to
+leave.
+
+They parted. Danvers went home and wrote a letter to Loide. It ran:
+
+     DEAR SIR:
+
+     I happened to hear that your clerk is leaving you. At the
+     end of the year I am going to Germany to join (as junior
+     partner) a commercial house, where a knowledge of the
+     rudiments of English commercial law may be of much use to
+     me. May I offer my services as your clerk?
+
+     You can see I write well, and am quick at figures, and
+     willing to make myself useful. Of course I shall not expect
+     any salary.
+
+  Yours truly,
+  G. DANVERS.
+
+"If he is hard up," muttered the writer, "that last line may appeal to
+him. It may come off: it may not. If it does, a week will enable me to
+turn the place inside out for any clue there may be. Was the nineteen
+thousand pounds ever handed Josh Todd?"
+
+Therein lay the reason for the course Danvers was taking. It seemed to
+him a reasonable solution of the matter.
+
+Instead of handing Todd the money, the lawyer had killed him, bribed
+another man to help him, and to divert suspicion, had sent that man
+with Todd's body on the ship for America, telling him to return and
+share the spoil.
+
+But before the ship left English waters, Loide had managed to kill his
+accomplice, and so, as he thought, destroy all trace of his crime.
+
+But, thought the pursuer, he has Gerald Danvers to deal with!
+
+Gerald said this to himself, with a note of exclamation at the end of
+it. Most of us have a trace of melodrama in our natures. Gerald was not
+without it.
+
+He had a description of the perky, red haired, rough voiced, flashily
+dressed man who had left the boat at Queenstown, and he quite reckoned
+that when he saw Lawyer Loide he would--mentally--exclaim, "Thou art the
+man!"
+
+With that melodramatic trait aforesaid, he no doubt would.
+
+If he found it so, he would not betray the faintest sign of his
+knowledge. He must work quietly, and give his man no pretext for flight.
+
+He must find where that nineteen thousand pounds was deposited, and draw
+the meshes of his net so closely around that the bird could not
+escape--anyway, with the money.
+
+As a matter of fact, Gerald was more concerned about the money than the
+murder. Because it concerned Tessie more closely.
+
+Moreover, it was but human to expect that a nineteen thousand pound
+father-in-law would be generous in the way of wedding presents.
+
+He guessed that the housekeeper's story of Loide's poverty was a piece
+of acting on Loide's part to divert suspicion.
+
+Perhaps the discharge of the clerks meant only the gradual winding up of
+his business, and that presently he would sail away to another land.
+Danvers felt cold at the fear of this. If it were true, there was not
+the faintest chance of a reply to his application for a situation. His
+letter could only appeal to a poor man.
+
+And while he was thinking this again the next morning, an answer came.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+INSIDE THE LAWYER'S OFFICE
+
+
+Gerald opened the letter. The flap of the envelope bore the embossed
+name and address of the lawyer. The contents read:
+
+     I shall be pleased to see you if you will give me a call
+     to-morrow between ten and eleven o'clock, with reference to
+     your letter of yesterday's date.
+
+Gerald was pleased too. He just chuckled with glee. He did not fear
+obtaining the situation. And then the smile left his face.
+
+His theory that the lawyer had the nineteen thousand pounds had received
+rather a rude shock. A man with that money would not trouble about the
+mere saving of a clerk's salary.
+
+Anyway, he thought he would be in touch with the man who last dealt with
+Josh Todd.
+
+In Todd's letter to his wife, he had spoken of Loide as a "cute thief."
+Was there anything in that?
+
+There would be the letter books and office papers open to him. If he was
+unable to get an answer to that question, surely it would be his own
+fault.
+
+He was in Liverpool Street between ten and eleven o'clock next morning.
+Saw the lawyer and settled with him.
+
+He was to begin his duties on Monday--three days after. The lawyer was
+satisfied with his appearance, and did not ask for references.
+
+He could not very well do so, as the man was giving him his services.
+Moreover, things were fitting so tightly with Mr. Loide that anything a
+clerk could filch would not be worth looking at.
+
+When a man's income is suddenly reduced it hurts. Hurts badly.
+
+Loide was experiencing that. At present his little luxuries were knocked
+off, and in the future he foresaw a difficulty in the procuration of
+even necessaries.
+
+He had been wont to take home from the city fish shop a middle cut of
+salmon. Now he took the--perhaps as toothsome but certainly
+cheaper--fresh herring.
+
+As with the fish, so with all things. His economy was of the studied
+kind. It had to be.
+
+The cutting off of the twenty pounds a week did not unfortunately mean
+that sum only. Money breeds money, and Mr. Loide was an excellent
+breeder--sixty pet cent. breed.
+
+He liked to lend a man a five or ten pound note for a week, and charge
+him one or two guineas for the loan. If you work that out you will find
+it quite a big percentage.
+
+Mr. Loide did not need to do so. He knew. He had done it so often. It
+was a big source of revenue to him.
+
+Indeed money lending was the profitable part of his business. He had
+found it so much so, that he had neglected the more legitimate but less
+profitable legal work.
+
+The result was that that had slowly filtered away. It had not mattered a
+bit so long as the thousand pounds a year was coming in. In the course
+of the year his interest enabled him to double it.
+
+So it will be seen that honesty--strictly speaking--if the best was
+certainly not the most profitable policy with Mr. Loide.
+
+Wipe that nearly forty pounds a week away from his income, and--well,
+wipe the naught off the forty, and you get at about what his legal work
+brought him in now.
+
+Four pounds a week is not colossal wealth. It comes very, very hard on a
+man to have to live on it who has been living on ten times as much.
+
+Loide found it so. Cold, flinty, bed rock bottom hardness.
+
+On Monday morning Gerald took his first step on the trail, and his seat
+in Loide's office.
+
+There was not much work to do. Gerald saw that at a glance.
+
+There was no acting about the matter. His employer was poor. What did it
+mean?
+
+Round the walls of the outer office were black tin boxes, with--real and
+imaginary--names of clients printed on the flap doors thereof in white
+letters.
+
+You turned the key and the flap fell down, enabling you to get at the
+contents. One in particular had a great charm for the new clerk. He
+fixed his eyes on it with an eager I-wonder-what's-inside-you sort of
+glance.
+
+It bore the name of Depew.
+
+The locks were poor things. Evidenced by the fact that one key on the
+bunch seemed to open them all.
+
+Loide kept the bunch in his trousers pocket. If he wanted a paper from a
+particular box, he would ring his bell, give the keys and ask for the
+paper to be brought to him.
+
+That seemed to take the pebbles out of Gerald's part--smoothed his
+course a trifle.
+
+Why? Because he knew it would enable him to examine the Depew papers.
+
+The next time he was asked to get a paper, he first opened the Depew
+flap, and closed it again without turning the key.
+
+He kept the flap in position by a small wedge of paper. It was handy
+that way.
+
+Mr. Loide would go to lunch at one o'clock, and Gerald proposed devoting
+that hour to an examination of the Depew papers.
+
+He was not the kind of young man to let the grass grow to any extreme
+length under his feet.
+
+"If you are learning, you should commence at the beginning. Mount the
+ladder from the lowest rung, and you will know then what the work is
+like."
+
+So spake the lawyer to Gerald. It was in connection with the letter
+book.
+
+The indexing of it was in arrear, and Gerald's business was to bring
+that index up to date.
+
+The lawyer showed him how. He had a system of his own, had Loide. In
+addition to the name of the sender of the letter, the letter itself was
+indexed under the name of the action or matter.
+
+It was a good way, because when Loide made out his bills of costs, he
+did not miss a single letter he could charge for.
+
+There was perhaps no man in the City of London who could make out a
+better bill of costs than Loide.
+
+There were rivals in his profession who said that if you blew your nose
+in his office, he clapped down six and eightpence, while if you wiped
+your feet on his door-mat, it meant three and six.
+
+But then rivals will say anything, won't they? And again, if there is
+any reputation for truthfulness in the legal profession, it is not a
+world-wide one.
+
+Its patron saint is the father of lies.
+
+So it was that, with the letter book in his hand, at his own desk,
+Gerald turned up in the index "Depew."
+
+There were two entries; one he found applied to a letter sent to Depew
+in America, which had brought him over, and the other to a series of
+letters connected with the winding up of the affair.
+
+The letter to Depew he read, and was not a whit the wiser. Then he took
+on a perusal of the others.
+
+He started at the last, and proposed to work his way back.
+
+He was surprised to find the last letter of so recent a date. And when
+he saw it was to the governor of the Bank of England, and read in it
+that Loide was stopping the numbers of the notes for nineteen thousand
+pounds, he stopped himself.
+
+Stopped right there and did nothing but look out of the window
+blankly--he was so unutterably amazed.
+
+That he had struck a tangled web he knew quite well. That when he was in
+the lawyer's office he was in the meshes of that web, he guessed.
+
+But he had not expected the spider to give him such a facer as this. He
+knew--knew most certainly now that Loide did not possess the missing
+money.
+
+He was depressed, his heart sank a bit, he had been so sure--so sure.
+Chicken counting before hatchment is a poor game anyway. Gerald indorsed
+that.
+
+When lunch time came, he did not even open the tin box with "Depew" on
+it. It had ceased to interest him.
+
+He knew it would not help him along a bit. He sat there all the time
+thinking.
+
+His theory of Todd's disappearance shaped differently now.
+
+He somehow felt convinced that the lawyer had had a hand in the man's
+murder, and he tried to piece things together so that he could account
+for the notes being missing.
+
+His short acquaintance with the lawyer did not favor the idea that he
+was a man to lose things.
+
+Then ideas came to him. He thought he had struck the solution.
+
+There had been a quarrel about the division of the spoil--the nineteen
+thousand pounds--between Loide and the man who was lying with his
+throat cut on the boat. Or Loide had perhaps murdered him for possession
+of the whole sum.
+
+He had been disappointed to find that his victim had not the notes in
+his possession, had probably given them to a friend in London to mind
+till his return from America.
+
+The moment Loide got back to London he would stop the notes.
+
+He tallied the date of the murder and the date of the letter to the
+bank. They fitted his idea.
+
+Gerald was aware that where there had been a mere hill, there was a
+mountain for him to climb now; but he was not dismayed. There was Tessie
+for certain, and a possible _dot_ on the top of that mountain. Its
+summit was worth reaching.
+
+He meant getting there--he was full up to the brim with excelsior.
+
+He was debating now whether he should keep up the farce of clerkship any
+longer, or blossom forth--for surprise purposes--as a New York
+detective, and see what he could frighten out of Loide.
+
+Then he determined to wait a little longer, till he had seen the
+passenger agent at Eldon Street.
+
+That individual had been away ill, and would be at the office, it was
+thought, to-morrow or the day after. Gerald decided to wait till then.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S ART AND ARTFULNESS
+
+
+When the lawyer came back from lunch, the new clerk went out to his.
+
+His meal consisted--apart from a sandwich and glass of beer--of the
+absorption of the contents of a catalogue of photographic materials.
+
+He spent the greater part of his dinner hour on the second floor at
+Benetfink's in Cheapside. That firm's photographic department is there.
+
+He was purchasing a small snapshot hand camera, and the difficulty he
+had was in getting one which went off at short range.
+
+He wanted to photograph a picture at about two yards' distance. He
+succeeded finally in procuring what he wanted.
+
+Gerald knew nothing of photography, and the assistant very kindly
+"loaded" his camera for him.
+
+There is a dark room on the premises kept for the convenience of
+customers, and a few moments later, Gerald emerged--armed with the
+loaded camera.
+
+When he returned to the office, Mr. Loide went out to keep an
+appointment at the West End of London. That left the floor free for
+Gerald.
+
+He went into his employer's room, and stood opposite the fireplace. With
+the "view finder" on his camera, he brought the mantel within focus.
+
+He did that because hanging above the mantel was an oil painting of the
+lawyer.
+
+There was a little tablet let into the frame of the painting inscribed,
+"From a grateful client."
+
+Gerald rather wondered whether the artist--the client filled with
+gratitude--could have been quite sane; but his business just then was
+with the painting--not the painter.
+
+He had described the room to Benetfink's assistant, the light it faced,
+and so on; and had been told to pull down the lever, count seventy-five
+seconds by his watch, and then let go.
+
+These instructions he carried out.
+
+First he measured off two yards, and piling up tin boxes till he got the
+level he required, he snapped his first photograph for seventy-five
+seconds' exposure.
+
+He used all six plates, varying the distance of his tin boxes support an
+inch each time, to insure focus.
+
+Then he packed up his camera, replaced the tin boxes, and waited till
+closing time.
+
+He left the office at half-past five, mounted a tram-car in the City
+Road, and with his camera in a hand bag made for the regions of the
+Euston Road.
+
+For some reason the Euston Road is famous for the number of its
+photographers--the lower class of that art.
+
+The double description is used as it is a calling full of artfulness and
+craft. The this-style-in-a-frame-for-a-shilling sort seem to look on it
+as a happy hunting ground.
+
+The tout outside produces samples of the photographic art--created
+perhaps a dozen miles away--and lies with the freedom of a cyclometer.
+
+Night makes but little difference to these artists. They have an
+arrangement of what the outside man calls "magnesia," which he will
+assure you "results in as good a picter as if tiken in the brord
+dielight."
+
+Gerald entered one of these art studios. He found the man inside quite
+as full of art as the outside one.
+
+When Gerald stated his business and needs, the man shook his head, and
+spoke of terms which made Gerald put the camera back in his bag.
+
+The art of the photographer fell before that act, and his artfulness
+came into play--it looked like money walking away.
+
+When Gerald spoke of trying another photographer, the studio man thought
+he could manage it--became sure of it, and a bargain was struck.
+
+Benetfink's man had told Gerald something. Told him that after
+development, the negative could have a bath of spirits of wine, and be
+dry enough to print from in ten minutes.
+
+He had also sold Gerald a packet of special printing paper, which could
+easily be printed on by the light from an ordinary gas jet.
+
+Ultimately--things were a trifle tight in the neighborhood of Euston
+Road; to servant girls and their military admirers photography seemed to
+have lost its charm--the photographer agreed to develop the six plates,
+and print one copy of each for six and sixpence.
+
+Four of the plates turned out failures in the developing dish; the other
+two were all right. When, later on, the printing paper came out of the
+little printing frames, Gerald was quite satisfied.
+
+He cheerfully paid the six and sixpence, and walked away with two
+unmistakable pictures of Loide, the lawyer, in an envelope in his
+pocket.
+
+The next morning he went to Eldon Street before going to his office, and
+was cheered to hear that the steamboat agent was much better, and was
+coming to business that morning.
+
+Gerald asked if he would be in between two and three o'clock, and was
+answered affirmatively.
+
+So it came about that in his dinner hour he walked round to the agent's.
+The agent was in.
+
+"I have come to see you about the Europia murder case."
+
+"Have you?" replied the agent, somewhat wearily; "and what particular
+line is yours--newspaper? If so, I haven't a scrap of fresh news for
+you."
+
+"No," said Gerald, with a smile; "there's nothing journalistic about
+me."
+
+"Not the police then again, surely! I understood from Inspector Welch
+that they had dropped the matter."
+
+"Maybe the English police have," answered Gerald quietly; "but the
+American force hasn't. I'm from the other side--come over in the Europia
+last week."
+
+"Oh! Is that so? Anything fresh? I suppose so, by your coming across the
+pond."
+
+"Well, I think we are striking a trail. I want you to help me a little.
+I see by one of the newspaper interviews that you stated to a reporter
+that you would know the two men who booked the particular berth in which
+the murder took place."
+
+"That's so. One thing, my memory's keen on, is faces. If I see a man
+once, I know him again. I could locate him in a crowd."
+
+"That will perhaps help us."
+
+"I don't think so. They photographed one of the bodies found on the
+boat, and it was sent across here for identification. Inspector Welch
+brought it here, but bless your soul, it wasn't a tiny scrap like either
+of the men."
+
+"So I understand."
+
+"Inspector Welch didn't quite believe me. Thought I placed too much
+reliance on my memory. Almost said so. But I know right enough where my
+strong point lies. I didn't recognize that photograph simply because it
+wasn't the picture of either of the men. But the moment I get a
+photograph of either of the real men before me, you'll see I'll pick it
+out from fifty others."
+
+"You are sure you would know it?"
+
+"Know it! I'm dead certain--cock-sure."
+
+"Well," said Gerald, as he quietly drew the daguerreotype of Josh Todd
+from his pocket and put it on the agent's desk, "is that like either of
+them?"
+
+"That's one!--that one!" cried the agent excitedly, as he banged his
+fist on the desk. "I'd know him from a thousand. That's the man that
+spoke with a Yankee accent and came in first."
+
+"So," said Gerald quietly, although in his excitement his blood was
+racing through his veins, "and possibly this may be the portrait of the
+other one?"
+
+He placed the picture he had brought away from the Euston Road studio
+before the agent.
+
+"By God, sir, you're right! That's 'em--that's 'em both. You've got the
+right men, sir--you've got 'em. I always said if the American detectives
+took the case up over here, they'd strike the trail. No English 'tec can
+touch 'em for cuteness. If you know where to put your hands on these two
+men, you're able to solve the Europia mystery."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE HANDCUFFS PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART
+
+
+That was just what Gerald was unable to do.
+
+He knew Todd was dead. His suspicions about Loide were in a measure
+confirmed.
+
+He was convinced now that the lawyer was involved in this crime--but how
+far? To know that was what troubled him.
+
+The red haired man was the mystery--a mystery which looked clueless.
+
+Loide had booked a passage after Todd had done so. Todd was found in a
+parcel, and the other man in the berth with his throat cut, and yet the
+lawyer was alive!
+
+It was a problem which needed a deal of thought.
+
+Gerald gave it that. He thought all the time.
+
+So far, he still filled the rôle of clerk, but he got no nearer a
+solution. He waded through the evidence again and again in the hope of
+spotting a hole which the lawyer would fit.
+
+To run through the disguise shops of London in the hope of tracing a man
+who had bought a red wig, he knew would be as sensible a task as
+endeavoring to find the needle in the proverbial stack of hay.
+
+He read again and again the description of the spruce, smartly dressed,
+jaunty looking, raucous voiced, red haired missing man, and for the life
+of him, he could not make it fit in with the present appearance of the
+lawyer.
+
+He started rehearsing his bogus detective from New York idea. Thought
+how best he could so surprise the lawyer as to force the truth from him.
+
+He knew him to be a cute old fox, and that if he gleaned anything it
+would be at a time when the lawyer's shrewdness was overclouded by fear.
+
+His business was to bring on that cloud--to inspire that fear.
+
+It took him a long while to formulate his scheme. He knew that a false
+move in it would upset everything--that the lawyer would snap it up in a
+moment, and save himself.
+
+When he had got his idea as near perfection as he thought he could get,
+he walked into Loide's private room, ostentatiously turned the key in
+the door, and seated himself opposite the astonished lawyer.
+
+"What the devil does this mean, sir?"
+
+"It means, Mr. Loide, that the game is up."
+
+As he spoke, he drew from his pocket a pair of handcuffs he had hired
+for a shilling at a theatrical costumer's in the neighboring
+Houndsditch.
+
+Even yet, so surprised was he, the lawyer did not understand the
+situation. He spluttered out:
+
+"What does this play acting business mean in office hours?"
+
+"I'm afraid your office hours, Mr. Loide, are all over. I throw off the
+disguise of clerk, and appear as Detective Crayle of the New York
+police."
+
+"Detective!"
+
+"There is a warrant out for your arrest in connection with the murder on
+the Europia."
+
+The livid face of the lawyer told Gerald all he wanted to know--he had
+hit the right nail on the head, despite the red hair.
+
+He continued:
+
+"There's been a little trouble in trailing this scent, Mr. Loide, but
+we've got it all mapped out from the moment of your entrance of the
+Eldon Street agent's office, and your subsequent purchase of the other
+half of the berth, down to the present moment. You have been watched
+right through, Mr. Loide."
+
+The lawyer groaned.
+
+"The American system of police work is different from the English. Every
+man to his department. Now, mine is not to arrest you. There's a man on
+the Atlantic now, in response to my cable, on his way here to do
+that--no, don't look at the door; don't play at silly fools--you know I
+could put you in the custody of the first policeman we met."
+
+"If not to arrest me, what is your business, then?"
+
+The hoarse voice of the lawyer showed how deeply he was affected.
+
+"Well, I've been deputed to hunt up that missing nineteen thousand
+pounds."
+
+The lawyer looked up. Gerald continued:
+
+"Oh, I know you don't know where it is, but if I heard the whole story
+from your lips, I might be able to find a clue. Now, bargain for
+bargain--I've told you my business isn't to arrest you.
+
+"I don't personally care whether you go to eternity viâ our recently
+invented electrocution chair, or whether you scoot. See? Just tell me
+the whole story from beginning to end without missing a single
+detail--and remember, I know the facts, so if you lie or attempt to
+deceive me, I shall consider the bargain off--do this, and you'll get
+three days start. I'll leave you to do what you like--go where you
+like."
+
+"I can believe--rely--on that?"
+
+"I'm no liar in straight business, Mr. Loide. Follow my example, tell me
+the truth, and we'll say good-bye. If we meet again, it will be your
+own fault."
+
+"Very well, I will tell you, then."
+
+"Good. I've my note-book here containing an account of every movement of
+yours since----"
+
+"Oh, I'll tell the truth. On the day of the settlement with Depew, I
+handed him nineteen thousand pounds in notes. The numbers----"
+
+"I know them," interposed Gerald--he had got them from the lawyer's
+letter book--"get on with the story."
+
+"After that we went to the Great Eastern Hotel opposite and had lunch.
+He did not know where the passenger agent's was, so I showed him. It was
+the agent saying he had the other half berth which confirmed me in my
+idea of robbing him, which, as you know, I did not do."
+
+"I know all about it," said Gerald, "but all the same, you tell me the
+whole thing complete."
+
+"Well, after Depew had bought his ticket, we came outside, shook hands,
+and parted, and I never saw him again until I saw his cut up
+remains"--the lawyer shuddered at the recollection--"in the Europia's
+cabin."
+
+"After you parted, you went back to the agent's, and got the other
+berth. Where did Depew go; do you know that?"
+
+"No. I fancy to his hotel. He was staying during his visit to England at
+Armfield's."
+
+"Did he go in that direction?"
+
+"No. Now I come to think of it, I remember he spoke of an aching tooth,
+and said he was going to a dentist's in Finsbury Circus to have one--as
+he called it--'yanked out.'"
+
+The lawyer faithfully detailed every other incident which had occurred,
+and with which the reader who has followed this narrative will be
+acquainted.
+
+When he had finished, Gerald said:
+
+"Just write me a letter to the Bank of England, withdrawing that stop on
+the notes, will you?"
+
+"What?" inquired the lawyer eagerly. "Have you found the missing notes,
+then?"
+
+"I came over to Europe for that purpose," answered Gerald shortly. "Give
+me that letter. That'll do, and now good-bye. You deserve a shove into
+Kingdom Come, but it's not my business to push you."
+
+He put the handcuffs into his pockets and opened the door.
+
+"Now put your hat on and mizzle. I'll take charge of this office. Don't
+set foot near it again, or you'll have yourself to blame for the
+consequences."
+
+The lawyer gathered up a few letters, and cramming them into his
+pocket, walked to the hat rail.
+
+"This isn't a trap," he inquired; "they are not waiting for me at the
+bottom of the stairs?"
+
+"I've told you I'm not a liar. You can walk straight away and no soul
+will attempt to stop you."
+
+"Good-bye."
+
+"Good-bye."
+
+Left to himself, Gerald locked the outer door, and sat down to think.
+
+So far, he had arrived at very little. He knew now that Todd had stopped
+at Armfield's, that when he left the lawyer he had gone into a dentist's
+in Finsbury Circus, that when next seen he was unrolled from a newspaper
+parcel on the boat.
+
+He took down the post-office directory from the shelf and turned up
+Finsbury Circus.
+
+Surgeons and doctors abounded. That set Gerald thinking.
+
+At the inquest, medical evidence had been given that only a medical
+expert could have dismembered the body so neatly. He went down the names
+in the directory carefully.
+
+One thing struck him. There was a Mr. Charles Lennox, a dentist, and a
+door or two off a Mr. Arthur Lennox, surgeon. There might be nothing in
+it, but it was worth looking into. The combination was suggestive.
+
+Gerald made up his mind to have his teeth seen to at one place, and to
+attend at the other with some imaginary complaint.
+
+He then took the whole of the Depew papers from the tin box, and made
+them into a compact parcel. They might be useful to the farmer.
+
+Then he put on his hat, and with the parcel under his arm left the
+building.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DENTIST
+
+
+At Armfield's Gerald learned but little more.
+
+Nothing had been seen of Depew there after eleven o'clock on the morning
+of his leaving. His bags he had taken away to the station, paid his
+bill, and had said he was not sure whether he would sleep there or at
+Liverpool that night.
+
+There was a small hand bag still at the hotel, containing a shirt,
+collars, and handkerchiefs--nothing more.
+
+That left Finsbury Circus for Gerald to investigate.
+
+He remembered the names of Lennox, and looked at his short cuff whereon
+he had penciled the numbers of the houses from the directory.
+
+He saw the letters on the wire blind which had attracted Todd, "Painless
+Dentistry"; and he remembered what Todd had said in the letter to his
+wife about the extraction of his tooth.
+
+He went further and saw a brass plate--"Arthur Lennox, M.R.C.S." This
+determined him.
+
+He believed in his power of reading faces, and he was eager to try his
+hand at the doctor's.
+
+He entered the house, and went to the surgeon's door. Knocked and
+knocked again; and again.
+
+Then he pulled the housekeeper's bell.
+
+In reply to his inquiries he learned that Mr. Arthur Lennox was away
+abroad; had gone--he tallied the date--the day the Europia sailed with
+Todd's body aboard.
+
+Further information, the housekeeper told him, could be obtained of the
+surgeon's brother--a dentist, a few doors off.
+
+Gerald felt that at last he was nearing his goal.
+
+"Ah! I don't want to see the dentist," he said. "I don't know him. I was
+very friendly with the doctor, and I promised to see him when I came to
+England. I wasn't quite sure, though, that I had the address
+correct--indeed, I am not now sure that this Dr. Lennox is the one I
+want. What sort of a man is he?"
+
+The housekeeper described him. And at each detail of the description
+Gerald's hopes rose higher and higher.
+
+For she was describing the man who had been found with his throat cut,
+the man whose newspaper picture Gerald had then in his coat pocket.
+
+He withdrew that from his pocketbook, and handing it to the housekeeper,
+said:
+
+"Is that anything like him?"
+
+"Oh, yes," answered the housekeeper in a moment; "there is no mistaking
+it. That's he right enough."
+
+"Then I haven't made any mistake after all. Thank you for----"
+
+"There goes his brother if you want to see him," interposed the
+housekeeper hurriedly. "He goes home about this time--they used both to
+leave at five o'clock."
+
+"No, thank you," answered Gerald; "I am obliged to you. Good-day;" and
+he went down the steps.
+
+"The dentist has gone," he muttered. "I'll just look at his show now,
+and interview him to-morrow. A night's thought on this won't do any
+harm. There's such a thing as being in too great a hurry. More haste,
+less speed."
+
+He entered the house in which the dentist had rooms.
+
+As he stood looking at the door, it opened, and a boy started to come
+out.
+
+"Good-afternoon," said Gerald cheerfully, and walking in. "Is it too
+late to have a tooth seen to?"
+
+"Just too late, sir," replied the boy Sawyer; "Guv'nor's just gone.
+He'll be here at ten o'clock in the morning--if he's well enough."
+
+"I'm sorry. Do you mind my sitting down and resting for just a minute or
+two? I hurried here so fast for fear of missing him, that it set my
+heart beating dangerously fast."
+
+"Not at all, sir."
+
+"I was recommended here by an American gentleman, a friend of mine."
+
+"Oh, sir."
+
+"Yes. Some while ago he came here--one afternoon--and had a tooth out,
+and spoke so well of the job that I determined to come here myself."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"He had a tooth extracted painlessly."
+
+"Yes, sir, lots of people has 'em out that way."
+
+"How is it done--chloroform?"
+
+"Bless you, no sir! With the gas."
+
+"Is it dangerous at all?"
+
+"Lor no, sir. 'Sides, there's always a doctor present to help."
+
+"Really?"
+
+"Yes. The guv'nor used to have his brother in to do it before he went
+abroad."
+
+"Has rooms some doors off, hasn't he?"
+
+"Yes, that's him, sir."
+
+"Has he been abroad long?"
+
+"Been away just--well, that's curious, sir, as you mentioned an American
+gent. I haven't seen the doctor since the day the last American gent
+came here."
+
+"That is very funny. Very likely, too, it happened to be my friend. Do
+you remember him?"
+
+"Rather, sir. We don't have too many patients here"--with a grin--"as I
+can't remember em."
+
+"You would know him again if you saw him?"
+
+"Rather."
+
+"Is that like him?"
+
+Gerald handed the boy the daguerreotype of Todd as he spoke.
+
+"Like him!" said the boy; "it is him."
+
+"That certainly is a curious thing. My American friend was a bit of a
+coward, you know. I guess he made a big fuss about having his tooth
+pulled. Did he call out in any pain?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"I thought you said----"
+
+"You see I minded both places. When your American friend came in and
+said he wanted the gas, I was sent in for the doctor, and minded his
+place for him when he came in here."
+
+"I see."
+
+"When I came back, of course your friend had gone."
+
+"Hadn't, I suppose, fallen asleep on the couch or in the operating
+chair, had he?"
+
+"No. I said had gone."
+
+"So you did--I thought perhaps you might have overlooked him."
+
+"Not much. I have to put away the things tidily, and I shouldn't
+overlook much."
+
+"My American friend described to me the chair he sat in--operating
+chair, don't they call it?"
+
+"Yes, that's it."
+
+"As being a very curious one--is it?"
+
+"Nothing out of the common. This is it."
+
+He opened the inner door as he spoke, and Gerald entered.
+
+"You were right about not overlooking him. If he had been here you must
+have seen him."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"This cupboard would have held him, though."
+
+"Yes," replied the boy, with a grin. "It is big enough; but we don't
+stick patients into cupboards, you know."
+
+Gerald laughed heartily at the joke.
+
+"Well," he said, "my heart's quiet enough, now, thanks. I am much
+obliged to you for letting me rest. I'll come in and see the dentist
+to-morrow."
+
+"If he's well enough to come to business, he'll be pleased to see you."
+
+"Ill, is he?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Has been for some weeks, ever since his brother went away."
+
+"That's curious."
+
+"Yes, sir. Shall I make an appointment for you to-morrow, sir?"
+
+"Yes; you can say I'll be here at eleven o'clock sharp."
+
+"Right you are, sir; he'll keep the appointment right enough if he can.
+He won't fail."
+
+"Nor shall I."
+
+"Good-evening, sir."
+
+"Good-evening."
+
+Down the steps went Gerald, down into the Circus.
+
+He felt more pleased with himself than he had felt for a long while. He
+was on the right scent now, he was sure.
+
+To-morrow at eleven he must assume once more the guise of the New York
+detective. The appointment was eleven o'clock. Gerald would not fail to
+keep it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+AN AMATEUR CARPENTER
+
+
+Loide left Liverpool Street with trembling limbs, and a heart full of
+bitterness.
+
+That nineteen thousand pounds he had so counted on getting at least a
+part of, was safe in the possession of the New York detective, who had
+been one too many for him--that was his dominant, irritating thought.
+
+It worried him.
+
+Gerald had played a bluff game, and with success. Loide quite believed
+all he had said about his three days' freedom from arrest.
+
+Either Gerald was an artistic liar, or the lawyer's impressions of the
+ways and doings of the American police were quaintly original.
+
+He had made up his mind to flee within three days, but the details of
+his flight were not worrying him just then; he was more easily engaged
+in taking a tight hold of the fact that he was a ruined man--practically
+a penniless fugitive from justice--unless----
+
+That "unless."
+
+He had killed one man with the idea of possessing that nineteen thousand
+pounds, and although the murder did not lie heavily on his conscience,
+the ill success attending his effort did--very heavily.
+
+As he walked through his office to the Mansion House station of the
+electric railway, he was debating in his mind whether he should have
+another shot for the nineteen thousand pounds the New York detective had
+in his possession.
+
+En route to Waterloo he made up his mind that he would. His mind did not
+need much making up--the fancied rustle of those crisp Bank of England
+notes helped a deal.
+
+He lived at a place called The Elms, on the outskirts of Wimbledon. His
+house stood in its own grounds, some distance away from the road, and
+from other houses.
+
+It was a property he had acquired by foreclosing a mortgage. It would be
+a quiet spot in which to carry out the scheme he was mentally sitting
+on.
+
+He hoped to hatch out a nineteen thousand pound egg.
+
+His big difficulty would lie in luring the detective to Wimbledon. And
+again, as an old man, he would be at a disadvantage in any struggle.
+
+To kill the officer would be an easy task, but that was not his
+intention. Not that he hesitated at the mere taking of a life--that was
+a detail--but he wanted to profit by his work.
+
+He was tired of profitless murder. One incident of that sort he felt was
+sufficient to last a long time.
+
+He guessed that the officer would not walk about all day with nineteen
+thousand pounds in his possession, that he had stored the notes away
+safely.
+
+That he had them he was convinced, and his conviction was confirmed by
+the request for the letter to the Bank of England withdrawing the
+stoppage.
+
+That letter had helped to form Loide's idea.
+
+He would imprison the detective, keep him without food or drink till he
+wrote a note to the custodian of the notes requesting the handing over
+of them to the bearer of the letter. Loide anticipated playing the part
+of the bearer.
+
+He reached Wimbledon station, alighted, and walked along the road.
+
+As he did so, he reflected that within three days he would have shaken
+the dust of that suburb from his feet for good and all.
+
+At a furniture dealer's he paused. Entering the shop, he said:
+
+"You know me?"
+
+"Yes, sir; Mr. Loide, the lawyer."
+
+"That's right. I am leaving the neighborhood--giving up possession of my
+house."
+
+"Sorry to hear that, sir."
+
+"I am going to live at Brighton. I have hesitated about the expense of
+moving my furniture, and now I am confirmed in my belief that it would
+be best to sell it. It is getting old, and would not fit my new
+house--larger rooms, you know."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I want you to come along with me now, and make me a cash offer for the
+houseful of furniture, just as it stands. If your offer is good enough I
+shall accept it, on condition that you clear the whole lot out before
+to-night."
+
+"To-night!"
+
+"Yes, to-night. There are only nine rooms--a couple of vans would move
+it all easily. However, if you don't think you can manage it, I'll try
+somewhere----"
+
+"Not at all, sir," said the man, taking off his apron, and rolling down
+his shirt-sleeves; "I'll be ready in two seconds."
+
+He scented a profitable job. Hasty matters of this kind often come in
+the way of furniture dealers and brokers--generally with much profit to
+the buyer.
+
+The buyers are wont to sing gladsomely of such transactions.
+Surrounding creditors usually sang in another key.
+
+The shopman put on his coat and hat, and went with Loide to The Elms.
+
+Loide let himself in with his key. His servants had been dismissed long
+since. His meals he had obtained in the city, visiting his home purely
+for sleeping purposes.
+
+A bargain was struck. The dealer guaranteed that before six o'clock the
+house should be absolutely clear of furniture--that within an hour the
+two vans should drive up and clear out all.
+
+They did. The furniture dealer was as good as his word.
+
+Everything was cleared save three feather beds which Loide kept back.
+
+The furniture dealer marveled at this, but he had done well over the
+deal, and said nothing.
+
+Loide placed those feather beds to his own credit--as an act of mercy.
+They were to save the detective pain.
+
+The furniture removers had completed their task and driven away. At
+their heels trod Loide--in the direction of the post-office.
+
+From there he sent a telegram to his late clerk's address. He thanked
+his memory that he had remembered the address in the letter applying
+for the situation.
+
+The telegram ran:
+
+     Leaving England to-night, strange and most important
+     information to give you in exchange for your kindness
+     to-day. Come at once, trains every few minutes from
+     Waterloo.
+
+  LOIDE, _The Elms, Maypole Road, Wimbledon_.
+
+He paid the one and eightpence cost of the telegram, and then sought in
+the high road an ironmonger's.
+
+There he bought two saws, a hammer, chisel, some nails, and some yards
+of webbing.
+
+At a lamp shop he purchased a pound of candles, a ready trimmed bicycle
+lamp, and then hurried home with his purchases to The Elms.
+
+Entering, he threw off his coat, and tucked up his shirt-sleeves.
+
+Manual labor was not in his way, but he guessed from having seen workmen
+prepare for their tasks in that way that it was the correct thing to
+work coatless--he had some hard work ahead of him.
+
+His bicycle lamp lighted, he set to work, drove four of his long French
+nails through the floor of the passage.
+
+The four nails formed a square--a square yard.
+
+With his bicycle lamp in hand, he went downstairs to the wine cellar. A
+stout old door yielded to the key.
+
+Loide in his palmy days had been a lover of wine, and the cellar had
+been built to his order. It was the most lofty apartment in the house.
+
+Air and light came to it through strong iron bars, which were on a level
+with the ground above. The roof was at least fourteen feet from the
+floor.
+
+On to that roof, formed--apart from the cobwebs--of the rafters
+supporting the floor boards above, Loide threw the rays of his lantern.
+
+Four bright, sharp points were sticking through the wood, dust, and
+cobwebs. He grunted with satisfaction as he noted the situation of the
+points of his nails.
+
+He hurried out of the cellar, up the steps to where the heads of the
+nails were, and there his real hard work began.
+
+He bored a hole with the aid of the chisel and hammer, then inserting
+the fret saw, worked through the width of one of the boards, working
+against the passage wall.
+
+This operation he repeated the other side, and in a few minutes had a
+length of floor board up--a yard long.
+
+With the larger saw he had bought, he was soon sawing through five other
+boards and their supports, and there presently gaped an opening more
+than a yard square.
+
+He hurriedly put the boards together again as he had taken them up.
+
+Going into a back room, he ripped some laths from the Venetian blinds.
+These he nailed to the floor boards, fastening them together as a lid
+for the hole he had made.
+
+He tried it--it fitted well. But for his holding it, the lid would have
+fallen through the hole.
+
+He cut the parcel of webbing open, and, leaning over the hole, nailed
+pieces along one side of the square beneath the floor boards.
+
+When he had nailed the other ends of these pieces to his lid, he had a
+crude but perfectly hinged flap.
+
+Rushing up-stairs, he dragged down two of the feather beds, one after
+the other, and dropped them through the hole.
+
+That was what he counted as his mercy. He did not want to break any of
+the detective's limbs.
+
+He just wanted information about the nineteen thousand pounds.
+
+Two pieces of lath slightly tacked under the opposite side of the hole
+to prevent the lid falling through till trodden on, and he lowered the
+flap on its hinges.
+
+Apart from the sawdust around, it looked a perfect floor. He swished
+away the dust, and stood up with a smile of satisfaction on his face.
+
+He was dog tired with the work, but he had done all he needed to do. The
+snare was set--the trap was waiting.
+
+Would the bird come to his call?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+A WOULD BE SUICIDE
+
+
+At Finsbury Circus next morning dentist Lennox was in attendance.
+
+He had been growing very ill lately, mentally and physically, and this
+morning he had turned over in his bed with the intention of remaining in
+it for the day.
+
+Dental patients were so few and far between that he did not fear losing
+much by his absence.
+
+But when his wife--as was her custom--brought up his cup of tea, and
+morning letters, there was a post-card from Sawyer--his boy. It was to
+tell him that a patient would call about his teeth at eleven o'clock.
+
+Despite his really ill condition, he bathed and dressed, and got to the
+city somehow.
+
+He was in time for his appointment, and waited long for the coming
+patient. But eleven o'clock struck and he came not.
+
+Calling Sawyer in, he questioned him minutely as to the person making
+the appointment, and the likelihood of his turning up later.
+
+"Oh, he meant coming right enough, sir. Had been recommended here by a
+friend who had been."
+
+"Oh, who was that?"
+
+"Dunno his name, sir. That American agent, sir, what came the day Mr.
+Arthur went away."
+
+The dentist controlled his emotion, checked an exhibition of it by
+gripping the arms of his chair, and inquired:
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"Said the American gent had spoken very 'ighly of the painless manner in
+which you treated him when he called here."
+
+The dead man, the cut up man, had spoken highly of his treatment!
+
+The dentist's lip was kept from trembling by the grip of his teeth on
+it. He wiped away the beads of perspiration from his brow, and inquired:
+
+"This gentleman who called was a friend of his?"
+
+"Yus, sir; was most interested about him. Arst a lot of questions, sir,
+and showed me his picture which he had in his pocket."
+
+Not a word from the dentist; he seemed frozen to his chair.
+
+His head was turned from the boy. Could Sawyer have seen it, he would
+have wondered at the stony look of fright in his master's face.
+
+For the dentist feared the worst. He guessed that the man coming was a
+detective. Conscience doth make cowards of us all.
+
+He sat there, waiting--a prey to indescribable fear. Useless, he knew,
+to attempt to escape--perhaps even now the place was being watched.
+
+Well! let them arrest him; it would be the end of all--of all the worry
+and trouble which he felt was hastening him to the grave.
+
+And then he thought of his wife, of his girl child, and groaned aloud.
+
+Was his widow to be shamed by his death; was he to cast a cloud over his
+child's life, to give people a chance of saying of her: "Her father was
+hanged for murder."
+
+He groaned again in his mental agony.
+
+Suicide! Ah! why had he not thought of that?
+
+It would save all--the exposure, the torture of the trial, the
+disgraceful death at the hangman's hand. What a fool that the idea had
+not occurred to him before!
+
+His brother died with his throat cut, why should he not do the same?
+Life with its overhanging fears and terrors was not worth the living to
+him. He would shuffle off this mortal coil.
+
+He walked quietly to the door, and gently turned the key in the lock.
+Then he unlocked a small safe in the corner of the room, and from the
+drawer thereof he took out the nineteen Bank of England notes he had
+always been afraid to attempt to cash.
+
+He looked at them and shuddered--blood money! Their rustle gave him no
+pleasure now.
+
+To his desk--then inserting the notes in an envelope, he directed it on
+the outside, "To the Police, Scotland Yard."
+
+His hand trembled so he could not write more. He had intended giving an
+explanation of the whole thing, but as he asked himself--who would
+believe so wildly improbable--so incredible--a story?
+
+He sat, pen in his trembling fingers, intending to write to his wife,
+and then it occurred to him that to do so would mean ruin to her--that
+were his death ascribed to suicide, the moneys payable under his
+insurance policies would be forfeited.
+
+The thought made him pause.
+
+No, he must run no risk. Those scraped together premiums on the policies
+must not be lost.
+
+He reflected that it was better to die. That then there would be an end
+to that grinding, scraping, pinching poverty at home--that looking at
+every sixpence before it was spent.
+
+He was insured for fifteen hundred pounds--a policy issued for the
+benefit of his wife, so that she would get the whole sum without his
+creditors being able to touch a penny of it, or any deduction for death
+dues.
+
+He thought how it would lighten the burden of the woman to whom he had
+been bound till death should them part.
+
+Death! He feared it--feared it horribly. He loathed himself for his
+cowardice all the while he feared. It was his duty to destroy himself.
+
+His daughter Edith, too--his little Edie--how different her future would
+be! She would be sent to a first-class school, where they turned out
+women, and not mechanical scholars, the result of the cramming process
+of the brass plated Seminary for Young Ladies.
+
+He thought of all this as he considered how he should compass the death
+which was to bring about these things.
+
+He must do it in such a way that no suspicion should arise; there must
+be no doubt about the death--it must be ascribed to an accident.
+
+He looked around. His eyes rested on his dead brother's case of surgical
+instruments.
+
+The case had remained in his rooms since--he shuddered at the
+recollection of their use. He walked to the side table and opened the
+box.
+
+The cold glitter of the polished steel made him shudder again, and from
+his lips came the whispered prayer:
+
+"Oh, God, give me courage to do this thing."
+
+How should he make assurance doubly sure? By Sawyer's aid.
+
+It was certain there would be an inquest, the boy's evidence would be
+essential--the last human being to see him alive. He must supply that
+witness with material.
+
+He took one of the knives in his hand, gently turned the key in the
+lock, and walked into the outer room.
+
+Sawyer hurriedly concealed the pages of "The Brass Bound Pirate of the
+Pacific, or the One Eyed Man in the Crimson Mask."
+
+It was the sort of mental food his taste ran to. Exciting and
+cheap--dirt cheap.
+
+"Do you know that fancy shop--bazar--just opposite the entrance to
+Liverpool Street Station, Sawyer?"
+
+"Two or three doors from the corner? Yussir."
+
+"They have some hones in the window."
+
+"Some which, sir?"
+
+"Sharpening stones. You will see them in the window at a shilling each."
+
+"Yussir."
+
+"Get me one. Here's a shilling. I want to sharpen this knife."
+
+"Yussir."
+
+"You understand what I want it for. To sharpen this knife."
+
+"Yussir."
+
+Sawyer went out, procured the required article, and returned with it to
+his employer.
+
+"You will be going to dinner in half an hour, Sawyer?"
+
+"Yussir."
+
+"When you do so, go into the post-office and register this letter--it is
+already stamped."
+
+"Yussir."
+
+"Now, I'll sharpen my knife."
+
+The dentist went into his room. His fingers rested on the key in the
+lock for a moment.
+
+"No," he muttered; "a locked door would create suspicion. Besides, there
+is no need."
+
+He unfastened his sleeve link, and rolled back the cuff of his shirt.
+
+He was surgeon enough to know which opened vein would drain his body the
+quickest, for he intended to bleed to death.
+
+It was an almost painless way--the drawback to it, its slowness.
+
+Thrice he poised the knife, thrice the hand holding it dropped to his
+side, thrice he groaned in his despair--at his own cowardice.
+
+"Oh, God," he prayed--and if ever heartfelt prayer ascended to the
+heavenly throne, one went up then--"give me strength and courage to do
+this thing. My life has been a useless one. Give me courage, God, to end
+it for my wife and child's sake."
+
+A loud rapping at the door broke in on his prayer.
+
+He had disregarded--had not heard the previous tapping. Relieved at the
+interruption, he opened the door.
+
+He started when he did so. Was he too late?
+
+For behind Sawyer, who had been knocking, there stood two men in the
+uniform of the police.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+GERALD WALKS INTO THE TRAP
+
+
+Gerald was enveloped in an atmosphere of tobacco smoke which nearly
+choked his landlady when she entered the room.
+
+A telegram had come for him, and it being, as she explained, "that
+dratted gal's night out," she had ascended the stairs with the message
+herself.
+
+Gerald was thick in smoke, because he had an idea that his brain liked
+it; he thought better with a pipe in his mouth.
+
+And he was as full of thought just then as a pomegranate is of pips.
+
+He took the telegram, opened it, and raised his eyebrows at the
+contents.
+
+"What's the meaning of it?" he muttered. "What can have happened since
+the morning? What more can he know?"
+
+He was in no way suspicious that it was part of a trap.
+
+He did not credit Loide with any revengeful feeling, because he had been
+dealt with leniently--let fly when his wings should have been clipped.
+
+Was it possible that there was such a thing as gratitude in that tough
+old legal breast? He half smiled as he wholly doubted it.
+
+And yet--well, he would go down and see what it was. Wimbledon was not
+far--he could soon get there and back.
+
+He turned down his lamp, and, putting on his coat and hat, went out,
+took train to, and reached Wimbledon.
+
+He had some difficulty in finding his way through the ill-lit streets,
+but at last he reached The Elms.
+
+Through the slats of the Venetian blinds he saw the house well lighted.
+There was nothing dark or mysterious about it.
+
+A faint suspicion which had been born en route subsided.
+
+Clever Loide had foreseen and disarmed such suspicion by means of his
+pound of candles, lighted and distributed on the floors of the front
+rooms.
+
+Gerald opened the gate and walked up the steps to the door. He knocked.
+
+Presently he heard footsteps, and then a voice--a voice he recognized as
+the lawyer's--saying:
+
+"That is all right, Mary; don't bother to open the door. I will. I know
+who it is--a gentleman I am expecting. Just put some coals on the
+dining-room fire, will you?"
+
+Then there was a rattling of the lock, and the hall door swung open. The
+lawyer stood there.
+
+"Come in," he said. "Excuse the condition of the hall; the white washers
+are at work."
+
+Gerald entered, and the lawyer closed the door behind him.
+
+"Straight on," he said. "My room is at the end of the passage, the door
+facing you."
+
+Gerald walked on. Then suddenly the floor gave way beneath him.
+
+With a cry he stretched out his hands, and gripped the edge of what he
+perceived to be a trap, saving himself from falling thereby. The lawyer
+saw this, and endeavored with his foot on Gerald's shoulder to thrust
+him down.
+
+In turn Gerald released one hand, and made a grab at the lawyer's leg.
+Just in time Loide withdrew his limb, and Gerald replaced his hand on
+the edge of the opening, striving to draw himself up.
+
+There was only one thing to be done, and the lawyer did it. He
+deliberately placed his feet, one on the fingers of each of the hands
+gripping the wood.
+
+With a cry of pain Gerald released his hold, and fell to the feather bed
+below.
+
+The lawyer knelt on the edge of the hole, and, throwing the rays of his
+lantern down, inquired:
+
+"All right? You aren't hurt, are you?"
+
+"What's the meaning of this devil's trick? Is this the gratitude you
+spoke of?"
+
+"A little bit of it--just a little bit of it. I'm sorry; really, truly
+sorry to put you in such a position, but business, you know, business
+must be attended to."
+
+"I've walked into your trap."
+
+"Just nicely and comfortably."
+
+"Like a fool."
+
+"No, no, don't say that," said the lawyer soothingly. "You couldn't
+possibly foresee."
+
+"What does it mean? What's your object? How long do you propose to keep
+me here?"
+
+"Depends entirely on yourself."
+
+"How?"
+
+"Let me handle those nineteen thousand pound notes, and you shall have
+your liberty within twenty four hours."
+
+"And if I don't do that?"
+
+The grim smile on the lawyer's face seemed to answer him.
+
+"Supposing I cannot?"
+
+Once more the lawyer smiled. He stroked his chin and said quietly:
+
+"You are not a fool. I don't think I am. Let's play this game, then,
+like men. You are here in my power. You've got to stop here till I
+handle those notes. I can't afford to let that time be a long one, so I
+must hurry things on a bit."
+
+"You mean to torture me?"
+
+"That's as you may choose to put it. You must remember that the torture
+will cease the moment you care to let it. You've got the check string in
+your hand."
+
+"What do you intend doing?"
+
+"Nothing, I hope, because I think you will see the game is mine, and
+hand over the pool."
+
+"You think I have the notes on me?"
+
+"No, I don't, or I should have adopted other means--rendered you
+unconscious while I despoiled you of them, and then perhaps popped you
+where you are for some hours while I cashed the notes and cleared out."
+
+"What is it you want me to do, then?"
+
+"Well, you made me sit down and write a note once, didn't you? I have a
+stylographic pen here, paper, and an envelope."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I want you to write a letter, authorizing the giving up to the bearer
+of it the packet containing the notes."
+
+"A letter--to whom?"
+
+The lawyer laughed as he answered:
+
+"To the custodian of them, of course."
+
+"And if I can't--if I don't do that?"
+
+"Then, my friend, you'll gain knowledge. You will know what it is to be
+hungry and thirsty. I don't know that the information will be of much
+service to you in the police force, but for all it's worth, it will be
+yours."
+
+"You will starve me!"
+
+"I shall keep you without bite or sup till you give me what I want, if
+it's for a day or a week, or--or as long as you can live. If you are
+obstinate enough, if ultimately your skeleton is found here--for I may
+tell you that rats abound in the cellar, and they are reputed to be
+excellent bone pickers--the fault will be yours, wholly yours, not
+mine."
+
+There was silence for a few moments.
+
+Gerald was in a cold sweat of fear and horror. He knew the lawyer well
+enough to know that an appeal to his mercy would be wasted.
+
+If he told the truth--that he did not know where the notes were--he
+would not be believed. If he did convince the lawyer, then what might
+happen?
+
+At the fellow's mercy he might be killed, just as the man on the boat
+had been. Human life, he knew, was no sacred thing to the man who held
+him prisoner.
+
+To lie or to tell the truth--which should he do?
+
+"How do you shape?" presently inquired the lawyer. "Will you make
+yourself as comfortable on those beds as you can for the night without
+bedclothes, and with rodent company, or will you give me the letter I
+ask for now?"
+
+"I can't give it."
+
+"Very well," said the lawyer, pretending to smile genially, although he
+was sick at heart at the answer. "Perhaps a night's reflection will make
+you change your mind;" he drew up the flap as he spoke.
+
+"Good-night."
+
+"God! Are you going to leave me here in the dark?"
+
+"I am afraid so. I am sleeping in the house, and if the loneliness--but
+you will have plenty of company--if you should change your mind in the
+night, call out. I shall hear you, and bring a light."
+
+"If I scream for help the neighbors----"
+
+"Will not hear you. Grip that fact, and it will be a breath saver. This
+house stands off the road in its own grounds. There is not a living
+being within earshot."
+
+"Leave me a light, man--it's inhuman."
+
+"I am sorry you think that. However, it's your own fault, you know. Give
+me the letter I want, and I'll lower this lamp to you, and before this
+time to-morrow night you shall be as free as air."
+
+He waited a minute, holding the flap in his hand. No answer.
+
+"I am sorry you don't see your way to it. You don't mind my shutting
+this flap, do you? You'll get plenty of ventilation from the barred
+window. By the by, don't waste strength trying the bars. I tried them
+before you dropped down, and you can take my word that they are firm
+enough; while as to the door, it's as solid a piece of oak as was ever
+carpentered. Accept my assurance that you are as secure as it is
+possible to make you, will you? Good-night."
+
+He put one of the pieces of lath across a corner of the opening as he
+spoke, and rested the flap on that.
+
+The square border of light, which those eager eyes in the cellar looked
+up to, the light of the lamp through the cracks, gradually grew fainter
+and fainter--the lantern had been lifted.
+
+The light faded, then all was darkness. The prisoner was alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+PECULIAR MESSENGERS
+
+
+Gerald was alone for some time; he remained in the same position.
+
+He was partly stunned by what had happened. It had all taken place so
+rapidly, and so unexpectedly, and he feared--greatly--the danger ahead.
+
+Man to man, he would have feared nothing. He was not a coward.
+
+But, as it was, he had a murderer to deal with, and his opponent had the
+keys.
+
+He considered Loide's character, and he calculated that his own life was
+a small thing in the lawyers estimation. It was an unwholesome thought.
+
+He turned his head slowly, and then very quickly, for he saw a glimmer
+of light. It was from the barred window.
+
+The moon was shining, and would soon o'ertop the trees he could see
+silhouetted on what was his horizon.
+
+He thought of escape--naturally. But it was a poor thought; he
+anticipated no success.
+
+A point in his favor was his early athletic training. With finger or
+foothold he would have been a factor to reckon with in an attempt to get
+out.
+
+Running the whole length of what was his roof were the supporting beams
+of the floor boards above. They afforded no grip if he got there--and he
+had to reach them.
+
+He looked at the window. If he ran and sprang high enough, he would be
+able to grip the bars.
+
+He essayed it--failed at first, but was clinging successfully the second
+time.
+
+The width between the bars was not great enough for him to put his head
+through, but he threw up his left leg and hooked the toe of his boot so
+that he could rest there, and look round without the heavy strain on his
+arms.
+
+In the semi-darkness he looked out on what appeared to be a long garden
+with high trees at the bottom.
+
+Behind those trees he knew the moon was coming up, and that presently
+that awful darkness would be ended.
+
+The rafters above him--they were his only hope of escape.
+
+By means of the window he could reach those beams, and possibly the
+trap-door, but he feared--horribly feared--that his fingers would slip
+from the pieces of square wood, which it seemed impossible to grip.
+
+He tried it, however. He got both legs up and through the rails till the
+thickness of his thighs prevented further protrusion.
+
+He sat there with his calves out of window, resting a moment, and
+getting ready for his test of strength.
+
+Then, his hands at the top of the bars, and his feet resting at their
+base, he stretched up first one hand and then the other.
+
+He gripped easily the long timbers--gripped them easily while his weight
+was supported by his feet, but the moment he hung--well, that same
+moment he dropped to the ground.
+
+In his fall he did not hurt himself at all--he was prepared for it.
+
+He had known, even while testing it, that the task was a hopeless one;
+there was nothing to grip in the strict sense of the word; all he could
+do was to pinch the wood with his fingers, and the difficulty of that
+operation with one hundred and forty pounds depending is apparent.
+
+He felt his way over to the beds, and lay down; his exertions had
+fatigued him a bit.
+
+He lay very quietly, thinking--thinking of the possibility of escape,
+and realizing more and more how hopeless the idea was, how secure was
+the trap he was in.
+
+He heard a sound and started up--the sound ceased. He called out:
+
+"Who's there?"
+
+And there was a scampering, scraping, scratching noise. What it was
+burst on him at once. He muttered:
+
+"Rats!"
+
+He was not afraid of them. His limbs were free.
+
+He had read accounts of those rodents attacking living men, but he had
+looked upon them as mere fiction. He was content to think that he could
+beat them off if his voice failed to frighten them.
+
+The moon o'ertopped the trees, and he was thankful. The light was a
+great comfort.
+
+It shone into the cellar, and he lay there on the beds as in a patch of
+lime-light, the shadow of the bars running as great dark lines across
+the floor.
+
+He put his hands under his head, and lay quite still, looking up at the
+moon. Presently a shadow was cast--there was something at the window!
+
+He did not move, and then he saw what it was--a cat--a common or garden
+cat!
+
+A well cared for, plump, collared member of the feline race--he could
+see the silver part of the leather collar in the moon's beams.
+
+The cat looked in between the bars and listened. Then she stealthily ran
+or dropped, after the manner of her kind, down the wall on to the floor.
+
+It was evident from her manner that this was not her first visit. The
+squeaking and scuttling of the rats had ceased as by magic.
+
+The fear they had not felt for the man, they instinctively felt for the
+cat--their natural enemy.
+
+Quite idly, without moving, Gerald said:
+
+"Puss, puss; poor pussie."
+
+The cat paused in her stealthy walk across the cellar floor. Gerald
+spoke again.
+
+Perhaps she was reassured by his voice, for she did not run away when he
+stretched out his hand and scratched her neck and head; indeed, she came
+closer. Evidently Gerald had found her soft spot.
+
+Another shadow! Another cat! Then another!
+
+They followed the example of the first and dropped down--it was
+evidently a happy hunting ground for the neighboring cats.
+
+Gerald was rather pleased than otherwise--they acted as a kind of
+police, so far as the rats were concerned.
+
+The moon, as it climbed its way along the heavens, lighted up different
+parts of the cellar, and presently in looking round a ray of hope
+entered Gerald's heart--for there, on a nail in the wall, was a coil of
+wire!
+
+There were possibilities in it.
+
+He walked to the coil and took it down, and his heart sank again.
+
+It was the thread-like wire used in bottling, and absolutely useless as
+a means of escape.
+
+Then suddenly a thought occurred to him, which sent the blood rushing to
+his head, and set his pulse and heart beating faster.
+
+"My God!" he said, "there's a chance yet."
+
+From his breast pocket he drew his note-book and tore three leaves out.
+In the light of the moon with a pencil he wrote:
+
+     "For God's sake, whoever finds this, take it to the nearest
+     police station. I am imprisoned without food or drink in the
+     back cellar of The Elms, Maypole Road, Wimbledon, by a man
+     who threatens to murder me. This is life or death. For God's
+     sake, help."
+
+"That ought to be strong enough," he muttered, as he reread it. "I don't
+know that I can add to it in any way."
+
+Then he made two copies of the document, and folded all three into flat,
+long-shaped tapers.
+
+He then broke off a couple of yards of the wire, and called a cat to
+him.
+
+Scratching the cat, and fastening the note to the collar with the wire,
+was not altogether an easy task, but he accomplished it. Then he
+effected the same thing round the necks of the other two.
+
+One had no collar at all, and Gerald had to make one with the wire. He
+succeeded, and then one by one he pitched the cats up to the window.
+
+They looked round with ruffled fur at this indignity after such soothing
+treatment as they had been experiencing, and probably in their hearts
+thought that Gerald was no gentleman.
+
+They evidenced this thought of him by walking away and leaving him.
+
+He climbed up to the window bars, and watched them as well as he could.
+
+They lingered, probably with a view to the formation of a choir; but
+Gerald said "Shoo!" and they fled. As they did so, he heard a clock
+striking.
+
+Counting the strokes, he found it was ten o'clock. He had been in the
+cellar an hour only, and it seemed days.
+
+He remembered the period of his residence in suburban lodgings. He
+remembered the care of the proprietors of cats then, how before going to
+bed they would patiently call "puss, puss, puss" at their back doors, in
+order to prevent their pets spending a night out.
+
+He prayed earnestly that the owners of the feline trinity he had just
+let loose were affectionately disposed towards their cats. He hoped
+great things from those messages.
+
+If not to-night, surely in the morning one of the three must bear fruit.
+He prayed so with all his heart and soul.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+A PISTOL AND AN OPEN GRAVE
+
+
+Eleven o'clock struck. In that upper room at The Elms, where he had left
+a feather bed, Loide lay smoking and thinking.
+
+He was disappointed at the ill success of his scheme.
+
+His talk of starving out the detective had been all bluff--starvation
+was a process which would fill too much time.
+
+It would be three days before the man with the warrant touched English
+shores. Before that time expired, Loide must be away.
+
+But he wanted to flit with the money--the nineteen thousand pounds.
+
+A hundred and one ideas floated through his mind.
+
+Would it be any use trying to bribe the man in the cellar? His life
+threatened, he would be justified in giving information as to the
+hiding-place of the notes.
+
+What if he promised to give him a share of the spoil in untraceable
+gold? But he had not much faith in that idea.
+
+He knocked the ashes from his pipe, and replaced the latter in its
+pistol-shaped case--and that very act gave him an idea.
+
+He had not been firm enough. He had not frightened the detective--that
+was evident from the man's silence.
+
+Despite the rats and the darkness, he was holding on. Loide felt that he
+should have played his cards with a firmer hand.
+
+He handled the pipe case--in the dimly lit room it looked remarkably
+like a pistol. He would play it for that.
+
+Another detail entered his brain, and the humor of it rather appealed to
+him.
+
+It was grim humor. It pertained to the digging of a grave in front of
+the barred window.
+
+With the smile on his lips, pipe in his pocket, and lantern in hand, he
+descended the stairs. He walked slowly along the passage, and stepped
+across the trap.
+
+Not a sound from the man below. The lawyer bit his lips in vexation.
+
+He turned back and lifted the trap. The light from his lantern showed
+Gerald lying on the beds.
+
+"Sleeping pretty comfortably?" queried the lawyer genially.
+
+"Sleep! What do you think I'm made of?"
+
+"Flesh and blood just at present. So you can't sleep, eh? We will alter
+that. You shall sleep soundly enough within the next hour, I promise
+you."
+
+He let the flap fall as he spoke, and walked away in the direction of
+the back door.
+
+Gerald heard the unfastening of the bolts, the descent of the stone
+steps into the garden, and presently a glimmer of light from the lantern
+showed through the window on to the cellar wall.
+
+Springing to his feet, he jumped up to the bars and clung to them.
+
+He could see Loide walking down the garden path, and saw him enter a
+sort of shed. Soon he came out, carrying a spade.
+
+With this he walked in the direction of the window, and then, putting
+down the lantern on the ground, with the edge of the spade marked out a
+space on the earth, about six feet long and two feet wide.
+
+The lawyer then started digging. He never turned his head to note if
+there was a face at the window, but from the corner of his eye he saw it
+and chuckled.
+
+Could he have seen Gerald's appearance, he would have been still better
+pleased, for the eyes in the face at the window were protruding, and
+the hair on the head was almost on end. The shape of that hole the
+lawyer was digging caused the fright--it was the shape of a grave.
+
+Steadily the lawyer went on with his task. He was really digging in the
+middle of a flower-bed, so that his work was not very difficult.
+
+The hole got deeper and deeper, the digger standing in it and shoveling
+out the earth, and all the while the white face remained glued to the
+bars of the window.
+
+As midnight struck, the task was finished. The lawyer stuck the spade
+into the earth, wiped his brow, put on his coat, and picked up his
+lantern.
+
+As he mounted the steps leading into the house, Gerald dropped to the
+floor of the cellar, and waited, dreading--he knew not what.
+
+The flap was flung up, and the lawyer bent over. In one hand Gerald
+could see a pistol!
+
+This was laid down beside the lantern, and coolly squatting on the floor
+with folded arms, the lawyer addressed his prisoner.
+
+"You have been down there some little time, policeman, and I dare say
+you have been thinking of the best way to get out--I guess that's what
+you would think."
+
+"Yes, I have thought a little of it."
+
+"Has anything struck you? I am asking you for information. I mean, how
+it would be possible for me to get you out through this hole."
+
+"If you mean to let me out"--his heart gave a great leap as he
+spoke--"surely it would be better to open the door."
+
+"No," said the lawyer, shaking his head. "I am not so young as I was.
+Age robs one of one's strength. Besides, you are a big, heavy fellow--by
+reason of that I have allowed a good two feet wide--I should never be
+able to drag you up the cellar stairs--I could drag you down all right."
+
+"I could walk," said Gerald hoarsely, full of horrible thoughts
+engendered of the lawyer's last speech; "you wouldn't need to assist
+me."
+
+Again the lawyer shook his head.
+
+"I am afraid you don't quite understand the position," he said. "You
+wouldn't be able to help me. When you leave this cellar you will be
+beyond help."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+It was a startled, hoarse voice which came up from the cellar.
+
+The lawyer picked up the pipe case, and then put it down again. It was
+an effective bit of byplay.
+
+"You see, my dear fellow, I'm as sorry as sorry can be--but necessity
+knows no law. I tried to arrange things comfortably. You'll admit I was
+thoughtful; I did not even want to hurt a limb. I even took the trouble
+to break your fall with feather beds."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But you didn't respond. I wanted those notes--now I have given up any
+idea of your telling me where they are. I thought I should cash them,
+and plant a couple of thousand pounds in gold where you would be able to
+find them later on. Your imprisonment here would have given you all the
+excuse you would have needed. But you did not clinch on to the idea."
+
+"It was--it is--impossible."
+
+"Just so, just so," replied the lawyer soothingly. "I admire that trait
+in any man's character; and seeing you're in the position you are,
+facing your own grave, why, damme, it positively borders on heroism."
+
+"Heroism?"
+
+"That's it, that's the word. I'm full of unqualified praise. But, as I
+said, necessity knows no law. As I said to myself when I loaded this
+pistol"--byplay again--"'it's a hundred pities to make holes in the
+man's head, and then plant him in the back garden,' but what would you
+do? There's no help for it."
+
+"No--help--for--it?"
+
+"Ah, it strikes you so, does it? You see you could have earned your
+freedom and a couple of thousand pounds, and you prefer going over to
+the great majority."
+
+"You don't mean to tell me that you are going to murder me in cold
+blood?"
+
+"Afraid so, dear boy, afraid so. What's troubling me is, how the devil I
+am to get you out into the garden. Frankly, I don't want to leave you
+here to be nibbled by the rats--skeletons are such horrible things, and
+I'm a sensitive sort of beast when you come to know me. I have dug a
+nice comfortable little grave outside, and you'll be as snug as can be
+in it."
+
+"You--murderer!"
+
+"Just so, just so. I confessed as much to you once when you had me in
+your power, didn't I? The positions are reversed now you are in my
+power, but you don't make any confession of the whereabouts of these
+notes."
+
+"I cannot."
+
+"Just so, just so. As I have said before, it's heroism--beautiful
+heroism. I'll have to take my chance of dragging you up the cellar
+stairs, I suppose. There's no last sort of wish or request you have to
+make, have you"--byplay again--"before I put a bullet in your brain?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+THE NEXT MOVE IN THE GAME
+
+
+Before Gerald could answer the very unpleasant question, there came a
+sound which caused both men's hearts to cease beating for a moment, the
+one with hope, the other with fear.
+
+For it was a loud hammering on the front door, and an authoritative
+voice crying:
+
+"Open instantly, or we break in."
+
+Looking at the door, the lawyer saw through the ground glass a round
+disk of light, such as a bull's-eye lantern throws, and then silhouetted
+a helmet--a policeman's helmet.
+
+Loide stood in the passageway with a blanched face--irresolute--for a
+moment. There was not time to be so longer.
+
+Then he rushed to the back door, and disappeared down the steps into the
+darkness.
+
+His movements were quickened by the sound of breaking glass. A truncheon
+had shattered one of the panels in the door, and a coat sleeve, with a
+striped band round it, was thrust through the hole in the glass.
+
+There was a hand in the sleeve, a hand feeling around for the catch, a
+policeman's hand.
+
+The hand caught the catch, and presently the door opened.
+
+Three men in uniform stood on the steps, a sergeant and two constables.
+They paused a moment listening, and then entered.
+
+"Be careful," said the sergeant. "Throw your light ahead of you. Hullo!
+What's this?"
+
+He was referring to the open trap which yawned at his feet.
+
+He cast the light of his lantern down the hole, and a voice came up,
+saying:
+
+"The police! Thank God!"
+
+"Wasn't a hoax then, after all," said the sergeant grimly. "Are you all
+right?"
+
+"Yes," came the voice; "all right now you have arrived. Had you been
+five minutes later you would have had a dead man to carry out."
+
+"Who's the would-be murderer?"
+
+"Escaped the back way as you entered the front. I heard him run down the
+steps."
+
+"Jim, Jack, quick; scour the back, and see what you can find."
+
+The men found nothing. They returned.
+
+"He knew the lay of the land better than we did," said the sergeant;
+and then stooping over the opening in the floor, he continued, "How are
+we going to get you out of this?"
+
+"That's the question which was put to me five minutes ago, only it was
+proposed to bring me out dead, not alive."
+
+"Shall I try and borrow a ladder, sergeant?" inquired one of the men.
+"Or a pair of steps would do."
+
+"Where the devil are you going to borrow such a thing at midnight? Slip
+off your belts. Here's mine; buckle them together. That's it."
+
+He leaned over the hole, and lowered the length of leather.
+
+"Just wrap the end round one wrist," he called out to the man below,
+"and hold on with the other hand. Got it? Now, Jim, Jack, grip this.
+Stand on the corner there and pull all together."
+
+The long, strong pull of the three men brought Gerald's head above the
+hole.
+
+"Catch hold of the side with your free hand," called out the sergeant;
+"that will relieve the weight. That's it. Stoop down, Jack, and catch
+his arms. There."
+
+In another moment Gerald formed one of the four panting men in the
+passage.
+
+"And now," inquired the sergeant, "what's the meaning of this little
+game? How did you come to get down there?"
+
+"First tell me," inquired Gerald, "how you came to arrive in the very
+nick of time?"
+
+"Well, your note--ingenious idea that--round the cat's neck, was noticed
+by the cat's owner. At first she thought it was a hoax, but ultimately
+she put on a bonnet and shawl, and came with it to the police station."
+
+"Good woman!"
+
+"It seemed a funny sort of story to find tied to a cat, and at first we
+shared in the belief that it was a hoax. We probably should have treated
+it so--for you don't find this kind of thing happening except in books,
+you know--but one of our men who was standing in the office had reported
+that two vans had cleared the furniture away from The Elms during the
+evening.
+
+"I think that decided us. If it had not been for the fact that it was an
+empty house--empty houses form the backgrounds of a lot of crimes, you
+know--I don't think we should have taken notice of it."
+
+"That would have been pleasant."
+
+"You can't conceive how the police are hoaxed, or you wouldn't wonder.
+We seem to be fair game for the practical joker. But now, tell us, how
+did you get down that hole?"
+
+"It's a long story," said Gerald, who for obvious reasons could not tell
+the true one. "I was lured here presumably by a madman, walked into that
+trap, and when you were knocking at the door, the fellow was standing
+over me with a pistol. He had dug a grave in the back garden--you can
+see it for yourself--and was intending to bury me in it."
+
+"Who was it?"
+
+"The man who lived here--Mr. Loide, the lawyer. I was his clerk. He sent
+for me to come here to-night, and I came down by train. When I got
+here--well, the man was mad; there can be no doubt of it."
+
+"Just give me his description," said the sergeant; "we don't want madmen
+rambling about a quiet little place like Wimbledon. The sooner we spot
+the old gentleman the better. He seems to be shaping himself for a
+strait jacket."
+
+"A quiet five minutes with him," replied Gerald viciously, as he
+clenched his fist, "would, I think, result in his being one of the
+sanest men in the country. I shouldn't forget in the interview that he
+tried to murder me."
+
+"You don't want to take the law into your own hands. That's what we are
+around for. Now, give me his description."
+
+Gerald gave it. Then the sergeant said:
+
+"Your own name and address."
+
+Gerald gave them.
+
+While the sergeant had been eliciting these particulars, and writing an
+account of the affair, his men had searched the house from top to
+bottom, and reported absolute emptiness.
+
+"Now I think we have done here. Better let us take the key," said the
+sergeant; "we'll go over the place again to-morrow. If he's as mad as
+you say he is, he's likely to come back. We may be able to clap hands on
+him if we keep watch."
+
+The street door was locked, and the four men made their way to the high
+road.
+
+"I would give something for a drink of brandy," said Gerald.
+
+"I fear you are not in such dire distress as to warrant my knocking up a
+licensed victualer," replied the sergeant. "How would a cup of hot cocoa
+fit you? There's a stall at the corner."
+
+Gerald sampled it, and found it grateful and comforting.
+
+"Now, about sleeping. Will you come on to the station? We can give you a
+pitch there on a rug till the morning."
+
+Gerald thanked them and walked to the police station. The next morning
+he was up betimes, and caught an early train back to London.
+
+His astonished landlady let him in, and opined with a shaking head that
+there was only one end for young men who stopped out all night.
+
+Gerald did not want to hear what the termination was, but made his way
+up-stairs.
+
+In his own room he lay on his bed and slept. He had not found the bench
+at the police station of a soporific kind.
+
+After the excitement of the preceding evening, he needed sleep, and he
+took his fill of it.
+
+He did not awake till eleven o'clock; then he had breakfast, and mapped
+out his plans for the day.
+
+He rehearsed his coming interview with the dentist--he did not suppose
+it would matter being an hour or so late--what he should say, what he
+should do, and then went out.
+
+His landlady sarcastically inquired as he passed whether he thought he
+should sleep at home that night, and he answered by banging the door.
+
+He made his way to Finsbury Circus, and entered the building in which
+the dentist had rooms. Sawyer opened the door.
+
+"Is Mr. Lennox in?"
+
+"Yessir; will you come inside? What name shall I say, sir?"
+
+"Brown--John Brown."
+
+Then Gerald sat down and waited while the boy took his name in to his
+employer.
+
+"Am I going to draw a prize or a blank," he muttered. "Am I coming out
+of this interview with the notes in sight, or failure?"
+
+His interview with the dentist told him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+AT THE DENTIST'S
+
+
+The dentist himself was left--the last time he was referred to in this
+chronicle--facing Sawyer and two policemen.
+
+The sight of the policemen caused him to clutch at the door frame for
+support. He thought the moment of his arrest had come, and his knees
+seemed to take on a desire to figure as castanets.
+
+The two men touched their caps and did not attempt to enter.
+
+That surprised the dentist. It dawned on him that a salute was not the
+usual preliminary to an arrest.
+
+One of the men had a note-book in his hand. He spoke:
+
+"Sorry to intrude, sir, but there's a fête on at the Crystal Palace for
+the police orphanage. Your name's down on the books as subscribing
+something last year, and we thought we'd just ask if you'd be so kind as
+to remember the poor orphans again."
+
+What a feeling, what an intense feeling of relief came over him!
+
+Relief! He almost laughed, the tension for a minute had been so great.
+
+"What did I give last year?" he inquired, in as natural a voice as he
+could assume.
+
+"Five shillings, sir."
+
+"Then here's the same again. That's all right."
+
+The men thanked him and withdrew. The dentist closed the door and almost
+sobbed.
+
+Then he changed his mind about the registered letter. Opening the door,
+he entered the outer room, and took it from Sawyer.
+
+"I'll see to this," he said.
+
+That police visit seemed to have roused some courage in him--it was an
+element in his nature that needed a lot of rousing.
+
+Why should he be afraid of every shadow? Where was the need for it?
+
+Unless he betrayed himself--and then he remembered the visit of the man
+yesterday, the man who had made an appointment for eleven o'clock that
+day.
+
+What could that mean? His inquiries, his reference to the American, all
+this seemed suspicious.
+
+He would wait another half hour and see. Perhaps after all there was no
+need for fright.
+
+During that half hour Sawyer tapped at and opened the door.
+
+"The gent that came yesterday, sir."
+
+"His name?"
+
+"Mr. Brown, sir."
+
+"Show him in."
+
+The dentist braced himself for the interview. He put the envelope
+containing the notes in his table drawer, and looked up as his visitor
+entered.
+
+"Mr. Brown?"
+
+"That's it."
+
+"You were recommended here, I think, by some one whose teeth I attended
+to."
+
+"Well, I don't think you attended to his teeth only."
+
+"No."
+
+"He was rather cut up by your treatment."
+
+Gerald had his eyes fixed on the dentist, and when he had uttered that
+double meaning remark, he saw the man's face grow pale as death.
+
+He knew then that his bolt had gone home; knew that he was on the right
+track at last.
+
+He adopted bold measures. The dentist's appearance warranted them.
+
+"Sit down, Mr. Lennox. You don't mind my turning the key in the door, so
+we shan't be disturbed, do you? That's it."
+
+He seated himself opposite the dentist, and pulled out his
+hired-for-a-shilling handcuffs.
+
+The effect of their production was electric. He was more than ever
+convinced that he was right.
+
+"Of course," he said quietly, "you guess the game's up. That little game
+you and your brother played with Mr. George Depew when he came to have a
+tooth out?"
+
+The dentist was incapable of an answer. He sat there as if turned to
+stone.
+
+Gerald went on:
+
+"I'm of the American detective force--you have perhaps heard of me,
+Detective Grabbem. I gave the name of Brown to your boy because I didn't
+want to give the show away."
+
+Still no answer. Then Gerald said suddenly:
+
+"Where are the nineteen thousand pound notes?"
+
+For answer the tongue-tied dentist with trembling hand opened his
+drawer, and handed Gerald the envelope he had recently given to and
+taken from Sawyer.
+
+"You intended them for the London police? I'm from New York."
+
+Gerald opened the envelope and his eyes sparkled as he handled the
+notes.
+
+As a measure of precaution he collated the numbers with the entries in
+his pocketbook--all were correct.
+
+"I'll take charge of these," he said, as he put the notes in his pocket.
+"Thanks for saving me trouble."
+
+Then Gerald's anxiety was to get away. He said:
+
+"Out of gratitude for saving me bother, is there anything you would like
+me to do for you? Want to write to your friends or anything?"
+
+He had got all he wanted, and he decided to leave with it as promptly as
+possible. The dentist found his tongue, and said:
+
+"I would be grateful for half an hour for--for the purpose of writing to
+my friends."
+
+"It's yours. There is no back way out of this house, I see. I'll just
+smoke a pipe outside. No tricks, mind. I'll be back in half an hour."
+
+Gerald went out slowly, lighted a pipe within sight of the dentist's
+window, sauntered with his hands behind him, after the manner of one
+waiting, and then when he reached the corner, turned it, and bolted in
+the direction of Moorgate Street.
+
+There he hailed a hansom and was rapidly driven to his lodgings. He was
+one of the happiest fares in a London cab that day.
+
+And the dentist? He completed the unfinished work of the morning.
+
+No need now for the subtleties of the sharpening stone--all was known.
+He might as well use the knife in the quickest possible way, and end it
+all speedily.
+
+His old cowardice came over him. He loathed himself for it, stamped his
+foot and strove to attain the courage needed to draw that sharp
+surgeon's knife under his chin.
+
+He knew its edge was razor-like, that one strong, firm draw and all
+would be over. But he lacked the nerve.
+
+He almost laughed when he remembered that he had heard it said that a
+suicide is a coward--he imagined that it required more courage to take
+one's own life than another's.
+
+He looked at the clock; he had fooled away five minutes. That braced him
+up--he must avoid the hangman's attention at any cost.
+
+It was not the loss of his life which had deterred him so much as the
+method of losing it.
+
+Then an idea occurred to him. He had the gas apparatus, why not--no
+sooner thought than he started to put the idea into execution.
+
+He had a little bench whereat he worked in and about the repairing and
+making of false teeth.
+
+At each end were small vises. He fastened the surgeon's long knife into
+it after the manner of a man who would sharpen a saw.
+
+It was firm and rigid.
+
+The gas apparatus he put on the bench itself, and leaned over to it, his
+neck almost touching the knife.
+
+As he lost consciousness and the power of standing, he knew what would
+happen; the weight of his whole body would drag his neck on to the keen
+edge. Long before he could recover consciousness, all would be over.
+
+Then he expelled a deep breath and inhaled the gas.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When Gerald's copy of the _Star_ was brought up to him, a triple
+head-lined column caught his eye. It was captioned:
+
+STRANGE DEATH
+
+OF A WELL KNOWN
+
+CITY DENTIST
+
+and it went on to describe the ghastly details of the find in the
+dentist's room.
+
+It was put down as a pure accident. The boy's evidence about the
+sharpening of the knives, the extraordinary position in which the body
+was found, were chronicled; there was not the breath of a suspicion of
+suicide.
+
+Perhaps that soul which had taken its flight to another world knew
+naught of the happenings in this--would never know that the insurance
+office paid over the policy moneys, and that the wife and child the dead
+man had thought so much of benefited by the application of a golden
+salve in their time of grief.
+
+And yet--who knows?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+MOON BLINDNESS
+
+
+"No need to shave this off now."
+
+Gerald was standing next morning in front of his dressing-glass, and
+referred to his pointed beard.
+
+He had intended shaving as a disguise in case of any bother with the now
+dead dentist. He had not seen what could arise--what the dentist would
+dare to do--but the detective's failure to go back for his prisoner
+would naturally excite suspicion in the dentist's breast.
+
+Now--well, that breast was cold.
+
+"There is no doubt," thought Gerald, "the doctor and the dentist between
+them did for Josh Todd. Both are now done for. So far as Josh Todd's
+murder is concerned, that is avenged. A restoration of the money"--he
+had the bank notes in front of him as he spoke--"to its rightful owner
+will end the whole thing.
+
+"And," he thought, with a smile of pleasure playing round his mouth, "it
+will end up like a story too, with a marriage with Tessie--and, please
+God, a live happy ever after."
+
+He inserted the notes in an envelope. Then in another, and another, and
+ultimately in a piece of brown paper, which he tied round with twine.
+
+He went to the head of the stairs, and called out to the landlady, would
+she lend him a needle and cotton?
+
+The maid of all work came up with it, and Gerald set about using the
+same.
+
+He took off his coat and waistcoat, and ripped the lining of the latter
+from the cloth; pushing the envelope of money up, he sewed the lining
+down again.
+
+"That's on my left side," said Gerald, "over the heart. I put that
+waistcoat on now"--he did so--"and it shall never leave me till I hand
+the money over to old Depew. I'll sleep in that waistcoat, and never,
+night or day, shall it be out of my touch."
+
+He looked up the trains and boat sailings, booked his passage, and
+arranged to step on board a liner the next day on his way to America--on
+his way to the girl he loved.
+
+The next day he settled with his landlady. Then he took an omnibus to
+Euston, sitting on the top of it with his bag on his knees, for his
+exchequer was running low, and it did not admit of cab hire. By tram he
+went to the dock, and stepped aboard the vessel which was to bear him to
+the land of the free.
+
+He had gone to the expense in town of booking both berths in his second
+class cabin. It left him almost without a pound in his pocket, but he
+had too much in value about him to run any risk.
+
+He had provided against any tampering with the bolts or locks of his
+cabin door by purchasing one of the bell door alarms which fix into the
+floor, and at the slightest pressure of the door rings a loud alarm.
+
+He did not fear for a moment that any attempt to rob him would be made;
+he simply took no risks.
+
+Traveling second class, no one would suppose him in possession of
+nineteen thousand pounds, and as he had made up his mind that the
+package should never leave his breast, he felt quite safe.
+
+On board the boat, after she sailed, he kept very much to his cabin. He
+did not make many acquaintances. He occasionally chatted and smoked with
+a poor looking, club-footed old man, who was a fellow-passenger.
+
+He was moved to this by the extreme sensitiveness of the man; indeed, a
+veiled pity prompted him to take notice of the only creature on the ship
+who seemed to be without an acquaintance.
+
+He was surprised when he found from conversation what a mine of
+information he had struck; that his companion was a well-informed,
+educated, and apparently wealthy man.
+
+"Yes," the other said, "I suppose you are surprised to find me traveling
+second class. I am extremely sensitive. I know with this hideous
+deformity, a hump back and a club foot, that people talk of me in
+pitying tones behind my back.
+
+"I don't want their pity," he continued fiercely; "I only want to be let
+alone, unnoticed. With you, it is different. You are the only man on
+this ship who looks at me without conveying an impression that you would
+like to pat me on the back and say, 'Poor old fellow.' Damn their pity!"
+
+Gerald laughed heartily. The man was speaking the truth, he knew.
+
+His almost toothless gums caused chin and nose to come together in a
+manner strikingly suggestive of Punch, and he spoke with a squeak.
+
+His nose even was deformed, and a swelling on one side of it below the
+bridge added to the curious appearance of the face. A bald head, with a
+fringe round it of snow white hair, completed the grotesqueness.
+
+In the more crowded second class cabin, the man escaped notice better
+than he would have done in the saloon.
+
+So it came about that during the voyage Gerald and the club-footed
+hunchback passed many hours together.
+
+Gerald learned much, for there was scarcely a subject on which his
+companion was not well posted.
+
+The nights were particularly pleasant, for the moon was at the full,
+and, well wrapped up, they usually spent the after dinner time on deck,
+while the majority of the passengers were more sociably engaged in the
+way of games or music.
+
+At one meal the subject of moon blindness had cropped up, and many
+curious anecdotes were told anent it--anecdotes more or less truthful,
+after the manner of shipboard stories.
+
+Afterwards, on deck, Gerald's companion continued the conversation. At
+table he rarely spoke. He said:
+
+"It is quite true. Moon blindness is a terrible thing. The great relief
+about it is the knowledge that the sight comes back.
+
+"I remember, many years ago, abroad, being foolish enough to insist on
+sleeping on an open deck. It was, of course, terribly hot weather, or
+even I--young as I was then--should never have been so foolish. I lay on
+my back on the deck--on the back is the only comfortable way in which to
+lie on a hard couch, by the by--and when I woke I could not see my hand
+before me.
+
+"Fright! God bless me! I believe I went mad."
+
+"Enough to make you."
+
+"The captain reassured me by laughing at me. It seemed a cruel thing to
+do, but I have since thought it saved me from going mad. I have always
+feared blindness so--I have always had weak eyes."
+
+"I notice that you are never without colored glasses."
+
+"That is so. I cannot see a yard away without them.
+
+"Well, on this occasion of which I am speaking, there was no ship's
+doctor aboard. The captain gave me an ointment to use which he told me
+would restore my sight in five or six days."
+
+"Did it?"
+
+"In that time my sight became as good as ever it was. As to the
+ointment--well, the captain afterwards told me that was a mere trick.
+That nothing but time cured moon blindness, and that he had given me the
+fat as an ointment merely to keep me busy."
+
+"Smart."
+
+"Yes. There was another effect it had on a fellow-passenger--who slept
+as I had slept. He got up from the deck, felt his way to his berth, and
+lay there unconscious for nearly a day and a half.
+
+"When he recovered, he had not the faintest recollection of even lying
+down on the deck, and was amazed to find himself in his clothes in his
+bunk."
+
+"Curious."
+
+"So I thought. Don't light your pipe--try one of these cigars. They are
+from a box I have just opened. I want your opinion of them."
+
+"Thanks--want the light?"
+
+"No, I won't smoke any more to-night. I think"--a yawn--"I'll be getting
+to bed. Good-night."
+
+"Good-night. I shan't turn in just yet; as I've lighted this cigar, I'll
+smoke it out."
+
+"Give me your opinion of it in the morning. Good-night."
+
+"Good-night."
+
+Gerald sat on in the moonlight smoking, and when in the morning he found
+himself in his berth with his clothes on, he thought of the story of the
+moon struck man, thought he had been affected in the same way, and was
+thankful that he had awakened at his regular hour with nothing worse
+than a headache.
+
+He determined never to go to sleep on deck again while the moon was
+shining.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+THE LOVERS MEET
+
+
+New York. Gerald bade farewell to his companion, who pressed him, if
+ever he returned to England again, to pay him a visit, and they parted.
+
+Gerald's first act, after fixing on a train at the railway station, was
+to send a wire to Depew.
+
+     Have succeeded in every way. Coming by train, arriving
+     Oakville at six. Let Tessie meet me with trap.
+
+  GERALD DANVERS.
+
+And Tessie was there to meet him--Tessie, bright, bonnie, and expectant.
+
+Their eyes spoke, but they just shook hands quietly and then drove away.
+
+When they reached the country road, away from people, Gerald took hold
+of the reins, and pulled the horses up.
+
+"What's that for?"
+
+"Comfort, Tessie. You have just got to give me the biggest kisses you're
+capable of giving, and I don't like them in a jolting cart."
+
+"Gerald!"
+
+"That's it. Now another. I can do with another. Greedy, eh? Why, I
+haven't had a kiss all the time I have been away."
+
+"I should hope not!"
+
+"Little woman, I've come back so full of joy--and I may say of
+money--that I wonder my feelings aren't too much for me. I wonder I
+don't burst."
+
+"Is it true, Gerald--all of it? Dad told us when he got your wire."
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"Well, when he opened it and read it, he said, 'Hallelujah!'"
+
+"That's the old man right enough."
+
+"Then he told us that you had been over for nineteen thousand pounds,
+and that you said you were bringing them with you."
+
+"That was so."
+
+"And is it true, Gerald? True that you have nineteen thousand pounds
+about you now?"
+
+"Feel right here, lassie."
+
+"Your heart?"
+
+"No, you can't feel that--you've had it for weeks past."
+
+"Don't be foolish, Gerald."
+
+"Feel there--my vest."
+
+"Paper."
+
+"That's it--wrapped up in more paper--there's nineteen of them, each for
+a thousand pounds."
+
+"My!"
+
+"Wants some swallowing, doesn't it? That's what I went across the pond
+for, to get that money for your dad."
+
+"So he said."
+
+"And before I went I bargained how I was to be paid for my work. I made
+him promise to give me--you."
+
+"So he said."
+
+"'Pears to me he has told you 'most all there is to tell."
+
+"He had never said a word to mother or to me till your wire came. But he
+was full enough of talk then."
+
+"Trust the old man for that. When he pops the cork out you can hear
+him."
+
+"He says that if it had not been for you, he never would have seen a
+dollar of the money."
+
+"That's so. Sounds egotistical, but I don't sorter reckon he would."
+
+"He's mapped out what he's going to do with part of it."
+
+"Hasn't lost any time!"
+
+"He's not going to give you any of it."
+
+"Don't want it. I've got his word that he'll give you to me, and that's
+enough for me to handle. I am counting on finding you a handful."
+
+"I'm sure!"
+
+"Old man's a man of his word; he won't go away from it. Our two beating
+hearts are going to be made one, Tessie, just as soon as a parson can
+tie us up."
+
+"I don't see any reason for hurry!"
+
+"Your sight's bad! We'll have to see to it."
+
+"But you haven't asked what he's doing with the part of the money I
+referred to."
+
+"Don't want to know. Don't care a mosquito's wing what he does with it.
+I plank those notes into his hand, and I say, 'Farmer, there's your part
+of the bargain,' then I step across to you and I say, 'and I think this
+is mine?' Farmer he agrees, and you and I----"
+
+"But Gerald, darling----"
+
+"That's right; you keep on calling me 'darling.' It sounds real
+sweet--just like molasses--coming from your lips."
+
+"I wish you would be sensible for a minute."
+
+"Couldn't, Tessie, if I tried. I've earned you, my girl, and you're
+mine, mine, mine!"
+
+"Gerald, don't scream out like that!"
+
+"Don't care. There's only the dicky birds to hear, and it won't frighten
+them. Catch up the reins, lassie, steer for the farm, let me unload my
+cargo, and have the right to claim you for first mate on our voyage
+through life."
+
+"Gerald! I never saw you so silly."
+
+"Ain't I? I own up. I'm just oozing stupidity at every pore. Gimme a
+kiss, or I'll stop the horse again."
+
+"How rough you are, Gerald!"
+
+"Ain't I? Gimme another. And another. Hallo! What's the mare stopped
+for? Gee up! Don't you know you've got a bride and bridegroom behind
+you? Don't you know the wedding march? Gee up, anyway."
+
+"Gerald! Do be quiet. I want to tell you something."
+
+"Fire away."
+
+"About that money."
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"Dad's going to give me some."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"How much do you think?"
+
+"Dunno--don't care."
+
+"Nine thousand pounds."
+
+"Get away! What are you giving us?"
+
+"Fact. He's not going to give you a cent. He says he promised to give me
+to you, and he'll settle on me as a wedding portion the odd half."
+
+"He's a thorough, regular, kiln dried brick!"
+
+"Nine thousand pounds, Gerald!"
+
+"Don't seem as if there could be so much money in the world, Tessie,
+does it? There's a capital for us to start a life partnership on!"
+
+"As the capitalist partner, I shall keep you in order, my boy."
+
+"You will--you will--I feel it looming."
+
+"You may not be in such a hurry about our marriage after that threat."
+
+"Oh, yes. I am in a greater hurry. I want to get over it."
+
+"You wretch!"
+
+"Ain't I? Biggest wretch on the American continent at this moment.
+Hullo, Tessie! I didn't see the crape round your sleeve. Who's dead?"
+
+"Poor old Susan."
+
+"No!"
+
+"Yes; she died the second week you were away."
+
+"Poor old soul! She nearly sent me to glory, but I bear her no grudge."
+
+"Did you find out, Gerald, whether her husband was really murdered after
+all?"
+
+"Not only that, Tessie, but I found who were his two murderers."
+
+"Are they arrested?"
+
+"They were arrested by the hand of death. No earthly judge and jury will
+try them. They have to toe the mark before the Judge of All."
+
+"Dead?"
+
+"Yes, and that is all we will say about it. We don't want to talk of
+death now, Tessie, but of life, the life which is before us, the life
+which you and I are going to travel in double harness. The life----"
+
+"Take your arm away, Gerald. There's the farm, and mother and father are
+standing at the door."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Hip, hip, hooray, farmer!"
+
+"Come right in, lad, come right in. You, Jim, look after the mare."
+
+"Mother-in-law, give me a kiss."
+
+"I'm sure----"
+
+"It's right, farmer, isn't it? She can kiss her future son-in-law in
+safety, can't she? I bring you home nineteen thousand pounds, and Tessie
+and I enter into partnership till death doth us part. Isn't that the
+bond?"
+
+"Every word of it, sonny, every word. But that money, where is it?"
+
+"Here, right here, farmer; on my beating, palpitating, manly bosom.
+Mother-in-law that is to be, give me your scissors. No, take 'em
+yourself. Undo the stitches. There. That's it. 'Open sesame' and out she
+rolls.
+
+"Brown paper parcel tied with twine. Don't look worth nineteen thousand
+pounds, does it, farmer? Open the packet, and you will see a sight for
+sore eyes. Nineteen crisp, crackling, rustling Bank of England notes for
+a thousand pounds each!"
+
+The trembling fingers of the farmer gripped the scissors, and he cut the
+twine. Then he tore off the brown paper and revealed--a piece of folded
+newspaper!
+
+For a moment there was a silence, but in that moment a great change came
+over those present.
+
+All the hilarity left Gerald. He stood looking at the packet with surely
+the whitest face that ever living man bore. The farmer's clouded to the
+pitch of blackness, and, bringing his hand down on the table with a
+force which made the crockery on the dresser ring again, he blurted out:
+
+"What damned fool's game is this, anyhow?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+THIEF!
+
+
+Gerald never moved, never took his eyes off that packet, never answered.
+
+Then he walked closer to it, picked it up, dropped it, and sank into a
+chair, still a white faced, speechless man.
+
+The farmer watched him for a whole minute. Then he sneeringly remarked:
+
+"Been robbed of the money, eh?"
+
+Gerald had to moisten his lips before he could ejaculate the word:
+
+"Yes."
+
+Then the farmer laughed, but it was not a pleasant laugh.
+
+He rose to his feet and pointed to the door. He uttered but one word:
+
+"Go!"
+
+"Father!"
+
+"Silence, girl! and stand aside from that lying cheat."
+
+"Cheat!"
+
+Gerald spoke the last word. There was an air of unnatural calm about the
+farmer, as he answered:
+
+"Cheat! Fraud! Liar! Bunco-steerer; we're a long way from the sheriff,
+or, by the God that's in the heaven above, I'd lodge you in jail
+to-night."
+
+"Lodge--me--in--jail!"
+
+"For robbing me of fifty pounds."
+
+"Robbing!"
+
+"Do you think I don't see through your trickery? Do you take me for a
+hayseed because I'm a farmer? Do you think I believe a word of what you
+say?
+
+"Tell me--tell me again that you had nineteen thousand pounds in that
+vest of yours, and that you've been robbed of it."
+
+"I sewed--it--in--myself."
+
+Again the farmer laughed--that unpleasant laugh of his.
+
+Then he walked to the wall and took down a whip--a stock whip with a
+long thong. He drew the lash through his fingers and said:
+
+"This farmhouse has sheltered a thief long enough. I look on that fifty
+pounds as lost. I give you two minutes to get the other side of that
+door. If you're not gone then, I'll write a receipt on your back with
+this lash. So help me, God!"
+
+"Father!"
+
+"Stand back, girl!--this is no place for you."
+
+"Father----"
+
+"Stand back, I say. You're my flesh and blood--the flesh and blood of
+honest people; you want no truck with carrion like this."
+
+"Farmer, you think I have robbed you----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+"You think that I----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+"I, who wanted to----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+Gerald walked to the door. Tessie sprang to it, too, and said:
+
+"Gerald!"
+
+"Tessie, I--answer me, lassie; it looks black enough, God knows. Answer
+me! Do you think I lied when I told you----"
+
+"No, Gerald; I believe in you now as I did then."
+
+"Thank God!"
+
+"My own flesh and blood turnin' agin' me!"
+
+"Farmer, I----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+"Listen to----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+"Father!"
+
+"Stand aside, child, and let that thief go out--out before I lash him
+like the dog he is."
+
+"No, father, you wrong him, you wrong me. He is my promised husband. If
+he is turned out, I go with him."
+
+And once more the farmer muttered:
+
+"My own flesh and blood turnin' agin' me!"
+
+"Tessie, my little girl."
+
+Gerald had his arms round her waist, and drew her to him as he spoke.
+
+"God bless you for those words. They put heart, life, and courage into
+me. But this is your home. Stay here, girlie, till I fetch you from
+it--till I have found the money of which I have been robbed."
+
+"Gerald!"
+
+"My girlie," there was a little tremble in his voice, "the sky looked so
+clear and bright as we came to the farm, and it looks all drear and
+black now I am leaving it. But the blackest cloud has a silver lining,
+and I know that money is in America.
+
+"I've got to find it, Tessie, and I'm going right away now to do it.
+Right away into New York, and you won't see me back here again until I
+come with the money; until I come to make your father apologize for
+calling an honest man a thief, and admit that it doesn't always do to
+judge by appearances."
+
+"Gerald!"
+
+"Oh, I don't blame him, lass; things look black, cruelly black; and if
+he knew all, he'd be more full of wonder than unjust rage. I sewed those
+notes into this vest myself, Tessie, and sleeping or waking, girlie, it
+has never left my body."
+
+"Where--where, Gerald, can the notes be?"
+
+"That, lass, I am going to New York to find out. A kiss, girlie; just
+one. You'll see me back; trust me."
+
+"I do, Gerald--trust you with all my heart and soul."
+
+"Mrs. Depew, you don't feel so strong about this matter as the farmer;
+you don't know quite so much. If he's inclined to be rough on this girl
+here, remember that I tell you that when she defends me, she defends an
+honest man.
+
+"You told me once that you knew by my eyes I could never tell a woman a
+lie. I'm looking you straight in the face now, Mrs. Depew, and I tell
+you that I sewed that money in my vest myself."
+
+"Why," blurted out the farmer, "why didn't----"
+
+"Hold on, there, farmer--you've said enough. I've taken such words from
+you to-night as no living man can say he has ever uttered to me before.
+I don't want to hear you talk now. Later on, I'll listen--listen when
+you beg my pardon for your injustice; as you shall, by God! Good-night."
+
+And he passed through the doorway, out on to the road, his face towards
+the capital.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+A THEATRICAL MAKE-UP
+
+
+We leave America for England, and turn back in our history a week or
+so--to Wimbledon and The Elms on the night of Gerald's adventure there.
+
+The police and Gerald are in the passage by the front door, and a
+haggard faced man is crouched below the steps listening.
+
+He hears all that Gerald says, and his fury rises to white heat as he
+realizes by his late clerk's reticence that he is not a detective at
+all!
+
+No policeman would speak as he speaks--concealing the facts from other
+officers.
+
+The police and Gerald go away. Indelibly printed on the lawyer's memory
+is his late clerk's address.
+
+Loide breaks into his own house, and sleeps that night on the bed he had
+left up-stairs.
+
+Early as Gerald leaves Wimbledon next morning, Loide has left it before
+him.
+
+The lawyer has profited in his former lesson in make up.
+
+He remembers that in the Waterloo Road there are two or three theatrical
+shops. He waits about till they are open, and then enters one.
+
+"You will be surprised at what I want," he says to the man in the shop,
+"and perhaps you will not be able to give it to me."
+
+"What is it, sir?"
+
+"I want such a complete disguise that my own son will not know me."
+
+"Your son!"
+
+"Yes. It's a ghastly thing for a father to have to confess, but I
+suspect my son of having robbed me. I want to find out if it is so. If
+so, I shall ship him abroad.
+
+"I dare not place the matter in the hands of the police, because, if my
+suspicions are confirmed, I should have to prosecute--that I cannot do,
+for his mother's sake alone."
+
+"But how will you manage to----"
+
+"I have thought it all out. We have just discharged our old caretaker at
+the warehouse. I have given out that I am going abroad, and I propose to
+be the new caretaker for a week or so."
+
+"For a week! You can't expect make up to last a week."
+
+"You think the disguise is impossible?"
+
+"Well, no----"
+
+"See here, I have false teeth. Now they are out you see what a
+difference it makes."
+
+"Yes, you're right; pinches in your cheeks, and brings your nose and
+chin nearer. A good wig----"
+
+"I wear one now. I propose not to wear one at all. I am quite bald at
+top. Can you color the fringe of hair round?"
+
+"Color wouldn't stand for a week; besides, in daylight it would be
+seen."
+
+"There is no way, then?"
+
+"Yes; if you don't mind it."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Bleach it--won't take five minutes--bleach what you have, and your
+bushy eyebrows whitened and trimmed will make all the difference in the
+world."
+
+"Good."
+
+"But, mind, you will have to dye it black again when you want to return
+to your own color."
+
+"That's all right. Can you suggest anything else?"
+
+"Yes. Your skin is white--'London tint' we call it--that can be stained
+a darker color--'country tint' our name for it. Complexion is a big
+factor in a make up."
+
+"I understand."
+
+"If you don't mind a little pain, we can alter your nose. This little
+thing put up the nostril distends one side, and contracts the other."
+
+"Good."
+
+"Bodily--you don't mind walking lame?"
+
+"Don't mind anything so long as the disguise is effective."
+
+"Elevators in your boots raise you three inches in height, and a club
+boot will cause you to walk altogether differently."
+
+"I see."
+
+"A hump on your back, and a pair of tinted glasses will complete the
+thing. It would need a very close observer to detect you."
+
+"The voice is the only thing----"
+
+"Need not trouble you. This little thing fixes like the plate of false
+teeth in the roof of the mouth. Stage dudes wear them. Speak slowly, and
+you'll find yourself--unconsciously--lisping and stammering. The nose
+distender adds a little twangy, nasal sound, and it's your own fault if
+your voice gives you away."
+
+"All sounds good. Can you take me in hand now?"
+
+"Walk in."
+
+Terms were discussed and settled, and for an hour Loide was under the
+shopkeeper's hands.
+
+At the expiration of that time he looked in the glass. He started back
+in amazement.
+
+Truly had he had a son, that son would scarcely have recognized him. He
+would have been a wise child to know his own father in that disguise.
+
+"The advantage of this, you see," said the make up man, "is that it is
+what we call a 'daylight get up.' You needn't be afraid of it rubbing
+off. It'll last. You'll look the same this day week as you look now. It
+will be more than a week before that stain begins to wear off. Now, try
+the coat."
+
+Several coats were tried before a fit to suit the shopman was arrived
+at, and then he gave it out to one of his men with directions.
+
+Meanwhile boots were tried on.
+
+"You will find the height and the club boot strange at first."
+
+"If I look as I feel with these elevators on, I must appear to be a
+giant."
+
+The shopman laughed.
+
+"It makes a big change. Walk round the shop for five minutes so as to
+get used to them. Coat ready? Now try this on. That will do, I think.
+Put on these tinted specs, and you're complete."
+
+Once more Loide looked in the mirror. His bent appearance altered his
+shape as much as the shopman's art had altered his face--he felt
+absolutely satisfied.
+
+Having paid the bill, he left the shop, and started walking towards the
+bridge; but he did not walk far--he would have been lame in reality--he
+hailed a hansom.
+
+The direction he gave the driver was the main road, in a street off
+which Gerald was lodging.
+
+Reaching the end of it he alighted, paid his fare, and boldly walked to
+No. 9--the number Gerald had given to the police.
+
+It was an ordinary lodging house, and the lawyer was pleased to see a
+bill in the window, bearing the legend, "Bed for Single Gentleman."
+
+He knocked at the door. He was after that bed.
+
+Yes, the landlady was in, said the girl; would he step inside and wait a
+minute?
+
+He stepped. The landlady came; she quoted her terms for a bedroom for a
+week.
+
+Would the gentleman like to see it? The gentleman would--and did.
+
+The second floor was devoted to bedrooms. Loide approved of the one
+shown him.
+
+He commented on the fact that the tenant of the next room slept late, as
+his boots were still outside his door; and with a darkened brow the
+landlady replied to the effect that those who stopped out all night
+usually slept late the next day.
+
+Loide's heart beat quicker--he guessed the boots were Gerald's.
+
+He was sleeping in the next room, sleeping there with nineteen thousand
+pounds in his possession.
+
+In the next room--there were possibilities. Loide smiled pleasantly, and
+his heart felt lightened.
+
+He paid a deposit, and said that if the landlady would get him a chop
+that would be all he would require till supper.
+
+He was left alone.
+
+Turning the key in the lock he carefully felt the walls separating him
+from the adjoining room--as he suspected, lath and plaster! Presently he
+heard some one moving in there, heard distinctly through the thin wall.
+Then the door was opened, and the boots taken in. Gerald was going out.
+
+He went. Ear to crack in the door, the lawyer heard the man he was so
+anxious about speak to the landlady on the next floor, saying he would
+return in about two hours' time, and would she get him a steak and
+potatoes for then.
+
+Two hours! There would be time.
+
+The lawyer stood on his bed and took down from its nail a framed and
+highly colored statement to the effect that The Way of the Transgressor
+is Hard.
+
+On that part of the wall the frame had covered he operated with his
+pocket-knife.
+
+Stripping the paper, he cut away plaster and laths till he could see the
+back of the paper of the adjoining chamber.
+
+He sighed with satisfaction. His task was over.
+
+He did not care how soon Gerald came back. He would have his eye on
+him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+NOT A MAN TO STICK AT TRIFLES
+
+
+The lawyer then rolled up a sheet of stiff note paper from his bag into
+funnel shape, pinned it so, and made a tiny hole in the wall paper of
+the other room.
+
+Fitting the small end of his funnel to the hole, he commanded a perfect
+view of the next room.
+
+He was surprised, too, to find how it improved the sight looking through
+the tube--it was like a telescope, it seemed to bring things so near.
+
+With the framed text hanging on its hook again, there was not the
+slightest suspicious thing about the room, and when his chop came up,
+everything was finished.
+
+Soon after his dinner things were cleared away, Gerald returned.
+
+The lawyer had not troubled to enter the adjoining chamber; the fact
+that it had been left unlocked convinced him that his man carried the
+notes on his person.
+
+And he did at that stage, for he had just returned from his interview
+with the dentist.
+
+With locked door, and eye to his funnel, Loide watched.
+
+He was seized with a frenzy as he saw Gerald take the notes from an
+envelope, and count them one by one--nineteen of them.
+
+Had the look on the lawyer's face been seen by Gerald, that gentleman
+would not have hummed so blithely and looked so happy.
+
+Gerald put the notes in his breast pocket, and pinned the top of it
+up--he was taking great care of them.
+
+Loide had made up his mind to get those notes. He rather fancied that he
+would get them that night.
+
+He generally got what he laid himself out to get. He was not a man to
+stick at trifles.
+
+Presently Gerald drew from his pocket and opened a little box.
+
+Loide knew what it was--he had seen them in a shop window.
+
+A small alarm with points to be pressed into the floor, so that when the
+door it lay against was pushed--the lawyer's hope of getting possession
+of the notes that night received a rude shock.
+
+The moment Gerald had swallowed his meal he went out again. He came back
+within an hour, and once more the lawyer's eye was busy.
+
+Gerald took a ticket from his pocket and put it on the mantelpiece. To
+the girl who was dusting the room he said:
+
+"Tell Mrs. Parkes I am leaving to-morrow morning; ask her to have my
+bill made out, including the morning's breakfast."
+
+The watcher strained his eyes, and ultimately read the ticket on the
+mantel board.
+
+It was a second class passage on the American liner _Cascaria_.
+
+Loide heard Gerald order tea for six o'clock, and then putting on his
+hat and breathing a prayer of thankfulness that it was raining--the
+devil helps his children--he went downstairs and out into the street.
+
+Had Gerald been looking out of the window he would only have seen an
+umbrella leaving the house--the man beneath was effectually concealed by
+it.
+
+Loide entered the nearest news agent's shop, and bought the morning
+paper. Looking down the shipping advertisements, he found to which line
+the _Cascaria_ belonged, and took a cab to the company's head office.
+
+The passenger list was open to inspection. Gerald had booked in his own
+name.
+
+To the lawyer's chagrin, the whole cabin had been booked. What had
+looked an easy road, now showed a stumbling block.
+
+He had counted on sharing that cabin. He had shared one once before, and
+the performance therein had been--in a measure--a success.
+
+He had looked to a repetition of it--it had been so easy.
+
+He booked--booked, too, a cabin to himself as Gerald had done. He
+reflected that there were contingencies likely to arise when his sole
+occupancy of the cabin might be advantageous.
+
+He hoped to secure the notes without risk. He quite recognized the
+danger attending the luring of Gerald into his own cabin, and
+then--besides, perhaps he wouldn't be lured; he might turn a deaf ear to
+the charmer, charm he never so wisely.
+
+Loide purchased a box of cigars to smoke on the steamer. Then he went
+into a chemist's and bought a tiny hypo syringe, and a certain drug, the
+potency of which was known to him.
+
+He rather prided himself on his general knowledge--he was a well read
+man. His reading was now serving him a good turn.
+
+With that syringe he would inject the drug into one of the cigars--there
+was no knowing when such a thing might prove useful.
+
+He entered the house at ten minutes past six.
+
+He reflected that Gerald would not be through with his tea in ten
+minutes, and that there was little likelihood of a meeting on the
+stairs--he was right; he reached his own room in safety.
+
+Nothing happened that night. The next morning he watched Gerald packing.
+
+He saw by the way he packed his portmanteau that the money was not to be
+placed in it.
+
+Presently Gerald called out to his landlady for a needle and thread.
+
+The watcher saw him put the notes in the envelopes, then wrap them in
+brown paper and tie the packet with a piece of white grocer's twine.
+
+The packet lay on the table, and the shape and size thereof were easily
+seen.
+
+Then the lining of the vest was ripped, the packet pushed in, and the
+lining sewn down again with the needle and black thread.
+
+Loide made a mental note of further things he needed for the voyage.
+
+Item: needle and black thread; item: brown paper and white twine.
+
+The articles went on board with him in the shape of a parcel--a
+duplicate of Gerald's.
+
+He guessed the train Gerald would go by, and resolved to travel by it
+himself.
+
+He did not want to let his man out of his sight more than was absolutely
+necessary.
+
+Within four minutes of Gerald's departure, Loide left, and a cab took
+him to the station.
+
+He was in the train first, and, unseen himself, watched Gerald enter. So
+on to the boat.
+
+He played his cards well, and during the voyage he and Gerald became
+close acquaintances.
+
+With his syringe and drug, Loide had doctored his cigars. They rested in
+his case for use when the occasion arose.
+
+One night on deck the conversation turned on moon blindness, and Loide
+testified to its effects. If the picture he drew of its results lacked
+truth, it was at least original, and he had a manner which was
+convincing.
+
+He concluded the conversation by handing Gerald a cigar and saying,
+"Good-night," and left him to smoke it.
+
+He came back within three minutes. He had watched from a shadowed
+portion of the boat, and seen the cigar drop from the smoker's mouth and
+roll on the deck.
+
+Loide picked it up and threw it overboard--it had served its purpose.
+
+He helped Gerald to his feet, and in a dazed, unseeing way, the drugged
+man was helped to his cabin. There he sank on his bunk unconscious.
+
+Loide turned on the electric light and fastened the door. He did
+nothing hurriedly; he knew just how long the effects of the drug would
+last--he had plenty of time.
+
+Undoing the coat and vest, he ripped out the stitches which held in the
+notes.
+
+He put the packet in his pocket, and replaced it by another similar in
+shape and size.
+
+Then very carefully he sewed up the vest again with a needle and thread
+he had about him, buttoned up the coat, turned off the light, and found
+his way to his own cabin.
+
+There he undid the parcel. His eyes glistened.
+
+Nineteen crackling pieces of paper worth a thousand pounds each!
+
+He rolled and pressed them together till they formed a very small ball,
+and then he took off his clubfoot boot. The thick clump was for
+lightness--hollow.
+
+By lifting the inner soles he had been able to put his finger into the
+hollow--now he put the notes.
+
+With the contents of a penny bottle of liquid glue he glued down the
+leathers he had raised, one by one, and then left the thing to be dry by
+the morning--which it was, solidly dry.
+
+Brown paper, envelopes, string, needle, thread, glue were all cast from
+a port-hole into the sea.
+
+From a bottle he had with him he took a deep drink of brandy--he thought
+he had earned it.
+
+Then he undressed, carefully fastened his door, turned off the light,
+and prepared for the earliest night's rest he had had for many a day.
+
+Next morning Gerald woke with a headache--he said nothing of what was
+not quite clear to him--his finding himself in his bunk with his clothes
+on.
+
+His first waking movement was to grip and look at his vest--all was
+secure.
+
+He had not feared anything otherwise, but it was the first night he had
+slept with his door unlocked.
+
+Still he had the vest on, and after all, he reflected--with a
+smile--that was the safest place. No one could possibly have tampered
+with it without his knowing the fact.
+
+And he smiled again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+ONCE MORE ON THE TRACK
+
+
+When Gerald was turned out of the farm, it was too late to catch a train
+to New York. He slept in a roadside shed.
+
+Early next morning he was in the city, and he had made up his mind to go
+to police headquarters, and tell sufficient of his story to justify a
+stoppage of the notes.
+
+He passed a money changer's on the other side of the way, and looked at
+the shop.
+
+As he did so, he saw something which turned him rigid.
+
+Emerging from the money changer's was his close companion of the voyage.
+It was not so much that which came as a shock to him as the change in
+the fellow's appearance.
+
+The humpbacked man was no longer humpbacked. The club-footed man was no
+longer club-footed.
+
+The toothless gums were now filled with teeth, and where there had been
+a long drawn face, there was now a round one.
+
+The glasses off, revealed eyes, sharp, shrewd, keen, piercing eyes,
+which even with the road between them, Gerald recognized in a
+moment--Lawyer Loide's!
+
+In that moment there flashed on him the knowledge of how he had been
+robbed.
+
+Loide boarded a passing car, and was carried away.
+
+Gerald hesitated. Should he follow? No, he must first ascertain beyond a
+doubt that the notes were in the man's possession.
+
+He could follow the car in a hack, and catch it up if need be.
+
+He dashed across the road, and entered the money changer's.
+
+"You are the principal?"
+
+"Yes. Vat can I do for you?"
+
+"I am an English detective."
+
+"So."
+
+"I am shadowing a man who has just left you. Stolen notes, a thousand
+pounds each. Has he cashed one with you?"
+
+"No, no, mine frent. He not haf me so. I makes inquiries first."
+
+Gerald pulled out his note-book.
+
+"Was the note he presented one of these numbers?"
+
+"Dat von."
+
+The index finger of the banker's hand was at work.
+
+"What name did he give you?"
+
+"Loide."
+
+"Richard Loide, lawyer, of Liverpool Street, London?"
+
+"Dat vos so. Here vos his cart."
+
+"Has he left the note with you?"
+
+"I haf lock him in mine safe."
+
+"What to do with it?"
+
+"I am at his oxpense cabling to Englant. Dat is all rights, den I vos
+pay him--but not now."
+
+"What address has he given you here?"
+
+"Oriental Hall, Seventh Avenue."
+
+"You will not do anything with the note till you see me again? We shall
+probably arrest him to-night, or in the morning."
+
+"Dat vos so."
+
+"Good-bye for the present."
+
+"Goot-bye."
+
+"Seventh Avenue, Oriental Hotel, drive like fury."
+
+Such were Gerald's instructions to the hackman.
+
+He knew he would get there before Loide. As a matter of fact, he passed
+the car bearing that individual half way.
+
+When he had paid his fare, the number of dollars he had left he could
+have counted on his finger-tips.
+
+It was a third-rate hotel. While waiting for the hotel clerk, he looked
+through the visitors' or arrival book. Loide had signed his own name; it
+stood out boldly, "Richard Loide, London, Eng."
+
+"Is room No. 40 (the next one to Loide's) vacant?" he inquired.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I'll book it."
+
+He did so; signed a fictitious name in the visitors' book, received his
+key, and went up in the elevator to his room.
+
+He sat down and waited, waited till he heard the tenant of No. 41 come
+along the passage, and pass through the room bearing that number.
+
+Then Gerald flung off his coat, stepped into the passage, satisfied
+himself that no soul was in sight, turned the handle of the door of No.
+41, pushed it open, and sprang on its occupant--Loide.
+
+The surprise party generally has the advantage--Gerald had.
+
+Before Loide could utter a cry, or turn to gaze at his assailant, strong
+fingers were gripping his throat and half choking him.
+
+The lawyer was being garroted. Resistance ceased.
+
+He became limp. Gerald was holding an unconscious man in his arm.
+
+Gerald dropped his burden to the floor and sprang to the door, shot the
+bolt, and then turned to the man on the carpet.
+
+He felt his heart, it was beating--beating furiously. That was all
+right.
+
+Gerald knew his victim to be a murderer, but he did not want to become
+one himself.
+
+He went over the man. In the breast pocket, in an envelope, he found the
+notes. He counted them--eighteen.
+
+One glance at the man, one more feel of the heart, and he went into his
+own chamber.
+
+Getting into his coat, and putting on his hat, he went out of his room,
+and, key in hand, was carried by the lift to the ground floor.
+
+Leaving his key in the bureau, he walked away from the hotel, and
+inquiring of a policeman where the office of the New York Central Bank
+was, he made in its direction.
+
+At the bank counter he filled a form paying in to the credit of George
+Depew eighteen thousand pounds.
+
+"Will you wire through to your Oakville branch, telling them to let Mr.
+Depew know at once that this money has been paid to his account?"
+
+"Certainly, sir. It shall be done immediately."
+
+"Thank you. Give me the name of the most respectable lawyer near here,
+will you?"
+
+"Denison, Coomer & Wall--they rank highest around here."
+
+"Thanks."
+
+Gerald went to the lawyers. To the acting partner he said:
+
+"I was recommended here by the New York Central Bank. I was commissioned
+by Mr. George Depew, farmer, of Oakville, to go to England to collect
+nineteen thousand pounds, money left him under a will. I got it, and
+came over by the _Cascaria_. I was robbed on board. Eighteen thousand
+pounds of the money I have recovered and paid into the New York Central
+to Mr. Depew's credit; here is the bank's receipt."
+
+"Yes--that is an order."
+
+"One thousand pounds is missing--I traced it to Myer Wolff's--Exchange
+Bureau on Broadway. I went in. He has the note.
+
+"I told him not to part with the money for it. The man who left it with
+him was the thief. He is a shrewd, clever thief; prompt measures must be
+taken to prevent his getting that thousand pounds."
+
+"Where's Depew?"
+
+"At home in Oakville. I want you to fetch him here express."
+
+"Why don't you fetch him yourself?"
+
+"He thinks I am the thief. I only got hands on the eighteen thousand
+pounds an hour ago. The whole lot was missing yesterday."
+
+"He'll have to make a declaration and get bondsmen before that thousand
+pounds can be successfully claimed."
+
+"He can do that--most respectable man in the section."
+
+"I'll write him now to come along, and send the letter through special.
+How do the trains run? Can he get here to-night?"
+
+"Dead easy. If you catch the next out with your letter, he can be back
+here before half past four."
+
+"Good. I'll tell him to be here at five o'clock. There'll be justices
+around at that time. You'll come back?"
+
+"I will--you'll want me?"
+
+"To join in the declaration--that's so."
+
+"Good. I'll be here."
+
+"Till five o'clock then. Good-bye."
+
+"Good-bye."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+THE LAWYER LIFTED INTO ANOTHER SPHERE
+
+
+Loide lifted himself on his elbow and looked round. Then he
+remembered--he was in his room at the New York hotel.
+
+He had entered the room and then--of course, some one had sprung on him
+from behind.
+
+A horrible thought smote him. He plunged his hand into his breast pocket
+and screamed with rage--the pocket was empty!
+
+The notes were gone!
+
+He sprang to his feet and thought.
+
+What should he do? Give information to the police--would it be safe?
+
+He had--foreseeing possession again--written the Bank of England
+withdrawing the stop on the notes, saying they were now in his client's
+possession.
+
+How then was he to account for the holding of them himself? Would not
+unpleasant inquiries be made?
+
+Would he be able to answer them--without danger?
+
+Had all his labor been in vain? How had the robber possibly known that
+he had these notes in his possession?
+
+At the money changer's he had purposely only spoken of one.
+
+He knew it was not the work of a common hotel thief, for his studs,
+watch, and loose money had not been touched. It must have been some one
+who knew.
+
+He would, at that moment, have cheerfully given one of the missing notes
+to know who the thief was.
+
+He was afraid to go to the police, to say that he was an English lawyer
+bringing the money over to his client, Depew, and that he had been
+robbed, because if there was a real Depew, he would step forward and
+claim the money, and he--Loide--would be worse off than ever.
+
+Besides, what explanation of his attempt to cash the one note could he
+give?
+
+There was the thousand pounds fortunately saved from the robbery. This
+was safe in the money changer's hands. He looked at his watch. By the
+time he reached the banker's office, time would have elapsed, the reply
+cable would probably be back.
+
+He would secure the thousand pounds first, and consider what he should
+do about the others after.
+
+He took a car to Broadway and entered the banker's office.
+
+The money changer looked at him.
+
+"You haf come back--alone, eh?"
+
+"Alone?--yes. I told you I was a stranger in New York."
+
+"Dat vos so. But you haf frents here--frents anxious to meet wit you."
+
+"What do you mean? What nonsense are you talking? Have you got a cable
+back from England?"
+
+"No, mine frent, nor did I cable out there--I saves the oxpense."
+
+"You----"
+
+"You see, von of the peeples vat is so anxious to meet mit you, he comes
+in directly you leaf here."
+
+"My--friend?"
+
+"Oh, yes. He know you quite well. He say to me, 'Dat vos my very goot
+frent, Meestair Loide, the lawyer, of London, England, eh?'"
+
+"Said--that--to--you?"
+
+"Ogsactly. I say, 'Yes, dat vos so.' Den your frent he answers that he
+came after you about stolen notes. He say, 'Dat I change him.' I smile.
+He go out to seeks you. I am much surprised to see you alone here all
+by yourself."
+
+"Alone!"
+
+"Yes, because he say that he tink to-day he arrest you."
+
+"Arrest me!"
+
+"Dat is a way vid detectives; dey do dat wid peoples vot steals bank
+notes."
+
+"Steals!"
+
+"So."
+
+"This is a trick! Give me back my note."
+
+"Your note?"
+
+"Yes--damn you--give me back my money."
+
+"Shacob," the money changer called to his assistant sitting in the glass
+office behind, "will you oblige me by ring up the call for the police."
+
+"Police," said Loide.
+
+"So."
+
+"What the devil do you mean?"
+
+"Vait, mine frent. Do not get oxcited. It is big mistakes. Vait till the
+police come. They explain tings bettaire."
+
+"Curse you!"
+
+"So--if it please you, it pass the times."
+
+"I shall go to my lawyer," he was making for the door as he spoke, "you
+shall pay for this."
+
+"Ogsactly."
+
+Loide disappeared. He saw a couple of policemen coming along the
+sidewalk, and promptly jumped on a car going in the opposite direction.
+
+It took him the way of the hotel. There would be time to go in, get his
+bag, and leave before the police turned up there.
+
+There was a little money left in the bag; he must secure that.
+
+He got his key in the hotel office, and was carried in the elevator to
+his floor.
+
+Locking himself in his room, he tore open his bag, and threw the
+contents on the floor.
+
+Papers--he crammed them into the grate, and, applying a match, set them
+burning. He destroyed everything which would link him with the name of
+Loide.
+
+Then he started to resume the disguise which had been so successful on
+the boat. He would be safe in it, he thought.
+
+He would wait for the police, and give another name and--and then there
+flashed to his memory the recollection of the register! He had signed
+there his full name, Richard Loide. His signature would convict him.
+
+He sank with a groan on the bed. What should--what could he do?
+
+The police were on his track without doubt, or why the call at the
+money changer's? What a fool he had been to set foot in America--how
+could he set foot out of it?
+
+If he was to escape, there was no time to be lost. He took his bag in
+his hand and passed out into the passage.
+
+Looking over the staircase, he saw on the ground floor two policemen
+talking to the hotel clerk. Was he too late?
+
+One of the officers stepped into the ever moving elevator. Slowly he was
+being borne upwards.
+
+What should he do? The thought occurred to him that they would find his
+room empty, and think him gone.
+
+He would hide--on the floor above. They would not think of searching
+there.
+
+He sprang into the elevator--he should have waited for the next up
+coming car--the floor was nearly level with his knees when he jumped.
+The result was that he slipped, staggered, and fell prone on the floor
+of the lift, his head projecting.
+
+Before he could move, the floor of the compartment reached the next
+floor of the building.
+
+There was a scream of agony, a sudden wrenching jerk which shook the
+lift and halted the powerful machinery for half a moment, and then the
+cars went on in their old automatic way.
+
+But when the policeman alighted on the floor on which room No. 14 was
+situate, he was horrified to see a bleeding human head staring him in
+the face, and marked the trail of blood across the floor leading to it,
+while the policeman below was equally shocked when the lift reached the
+ground to see the headless trunk of a human body lying on the floor.
+
+The coroner's jury brought in the usual verdict.
+
+Loide had at one time feared death by hanging, English fashion; later by
+electrocution, American fashion; he had never feared a French
+performance--the guillotine--and yet, after all, decapitation was his
+end.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+MRS. DEPEW HOLDS THE REINS
+
+
+At the farm bells jangled. The usual harmony was not prevailing.
+
+No one struck the right key in conversation. After the manner of
+mothers, Mrs. Depew sympathized with her daughter, with a result that
+things were not running smoothly with the farmer.
+
+A wife has facilities for disturbing a husband's tranquillity.
+
+Apart from the displeasure of his wife and daughter, George Depew was
+not that pleased with himself.
+
+Gerald's behavior when leaving had certainly not been that of a guilty
+man. And when the farmer came to think things over quietly, he came to
+the conclusion that he had been a large sized fool to lose his temper as
+he had done.
+
+He realized Gerald's story must have been true--what would have been the
+sense of trying to pass off that folded piece of newspaper as bank
+notes? The trick would necessarily be found out at once.
+
+The midday meal was under way, and was being disposed of in unusual
+silence.
+
+Mrs. Depew did not like the red eyed appearance of her daughter, and her
+husband did not like the glances his wife occasionally favored him with
+as a result thereof.
+
+A messenger came to the door with a letter for the farmer. He took it
+and tried to read it, but could only make out a word here and there.
+
+"Here, Tess, just read this out, will you?"
+
+His daughter took it and read.
+
+The farmer said "Jerusalem!" His wife--after the manner of wives--said,
+"There! I told you so," and the daughter said tearfully, "And you called
+him a thief, father!"
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Depew, rubbing it in, after the manner of her sex, "an
+almost stranger goes out of his way to bring you more money than you
+have ever dreamed of, and you call him a thief! I've no patience with
+the man."
+
+"No, old woman, you haven't," replied the farmer. "Mebbe it would be
+better for all of us if you had. Give me my store coat and hat. I'm
+going right away to N'York by the next train."
+
+"And what good's that, I should like to know? Sakes alive! Can't the man
+understand that the money's to his credit here in Oakville?"
+
+"Yes, the man's got gumption enough for that," answered the farmer
+grimly. "Just now, it ain't the money that's agitating me--that's all
+right."
+
+"Then, what on earth do you want to go to N'York for?"
+
+"To make about the most humble apology lips ever vented. I'm going to
+find Gerald Danvers, and tell him that a bigger old fool don't prowl
+about this airth than I am; and I'm going to beg him--d'ye hear--beg him
+to forgive me for insulting him."
+
+"Dear father!"
+
+"That's it, Tess. Because your old dad's a bit of a fool, you don't want
+to rub it in, do you? You leave that to your mother. Come here, girlie,
+and gimme a kiss."
+
+"Lawd sakes, now! Just listen to the man! As if I'd said anything!"
+
+"No, mother," said the farmer, over Tessie's shoulder--he was holding
+her to him--"it wouldn't be you to say anything. Silence is the kind of
+thing you shine in. Now, Tessie, gimme your sweetheart's address, and
+I'll get there slick away."
+
+"Father, I don't know it."
+
+"You--don't--know--it?"
+
+"No, father. He will come back here now the money is found."
+
+"Not if I know him, he won't," interposed the farmer's wife. "People
+that are turned out of doors and called 'thief' and threatened with
+whips ain't likely to come groveling around."
+
+"Mother!"
+
+"Oh, yes, 'mother.' But 'mother' won't find that boy, will it? Lawd
+sakes! When I was a gal, sweethearts didn't behave like that. When your
+father was courting me, I should ha' liked to see him stalk away to
+N'York without telling me where he was going to put up. My--yes!"
+
+"Hullo!" said the farmer, "here's a special delivery letter!"
+
+"Perhaps it's from Gerald, father.
+
+"More likely," snorted Mrs. Depew, "from the county lunatic asylum, to
+say they've a vacancy for a permanency if your father likes to call."
+
+"Here, Tess, girlie, read this. See who it's from, and what it's about."
+
+The girl took the letter and read.
+
+"That makes the nineteen thousand pounds," said Tessie, as she finished
+reading the letter. "I wondered what eighteen meant."
+
+"There's time to catch the train;" he walked to the window as he spoke,
+and called out, "You, Sam, just hitch the mare on to the buggy----"
+
+"And what's the buggy for?" interrupted his wife.
+
+"To drive to the station, of course."
+
+"Well, the buggy won't hold four people, will it?"
+
+"Four?"
+
+"Yes. Sam'll have to go to bring it back. Do you expect me and Tessie to
+hang on to that axle?"
+
+"What? Are you going?"
+
+"Am I? I reckon. If you think, George Depew, that you are going to
+career around the streets of N'York, bulging money at every pocket, with
+nary a sensible soul to look after you, let me tell you, you make a
+mistake."
+
+"But, mother dear," said Tessie; "you will never be ready. The train
+goes in twenty minutes, and you will never have time to change your
+dress."
+
+"Won't I? Sakes alive! You've known me for nigh on nineteen years, and
+you don't know your mother yet."
+
+She had thrown off her apron and was rolling down her sleeves as she
+spoke. Then she called out to the hired girl:
+
+"You, Liz, my boots, the ones I wore last time I was in Oakville. Won't
+be ready, won't I?" she continued, as she bustled up-stairs to change
+her dress; "I guess I shall be ready before you are."
+
+Her husband changed the order, and the horse was harnessed to a four
+wheeled trap. By the time the farmer had changed into fresh boots and
+coat, Mrs. Depew was heard descending the stairs.
+
+"On time, I reckon, ain't I?" she inquired as she tied her bonnet
+strings. "Where's that gal? Now, you, Tessie, jump about; never mind
+your hair, clap your hat on, and come right down at once. We don't need
+to miss that train."
+
+She was outside getting into her seat, and had taken the reins in hand
+before she had finished speaking.
+
+Tessie ran down, jumped up, and presently they were driving rapidly in
+the direction of the station.
+
+The train was caught, and during the journey the situation was discussed
+with much spirit.
+
+The fact that the hero had appealed to Mrs. Depew, when her husband had
+turned him out, was not forgotten by that lady. Her "I told you so" song
+she sang for all it was worth, and kept her foot on the low pedal, too.
+
+"I know a man, I do hope, when I see one," she said, "and at five
+o'clock this afternoon I hope to put my arms round the neck of one, and
+give him a good sounding kiss. I'm just real anxious to fill a great
+gaping hole in our midst. I'm wanting to extend a welcoming hand to a
+son-in-law that'll fill it, and supply the common sense we're so hard up
+for with our men folk."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+MRS. DEPEW HAS THINGS HER OWN WAY
+
+
+Before five o'clock the three Depews--father, mother, and daughter--were
+in the New York lawyer's office, and punctually at the hour Gerald
+entered.
+
+The lawyer, who had guessed something of what had happened, judiciously
+left them together for a few minutes.
+
+Mrs. Depew carried out her threat; she walked straight over to Gerald,
+and gave him what she called a "smack."
+
+"You, Gerald," she said, "I'm as real pleased to see you as I am to see
+the snow go away in winter. I believed in you, my lad, from the first,
+and if I've got an old fool for a husband, remember that he is only an
+old fool, and there's no scrap of real bad in him--that he's as good a
+husband, and as good a father as ever stepped in shoes."
+
+"I want to say right here, Gerald," interposed the farmer, "that I'm as
+real sorry as any man can be for what I----"
+
+"There's no need for you to say anything to me just now, farmer,"
+interrupted Gerald stiffly; "you said enough last time we met to last me
+for many a day."
+
+"I know, lad, I know, lad--don't I know it? You're not going to play
+heavy on a man old enough to be your father?"
+
+"You were heavy enough on me--young enough to be your son! I have made
+up my mind"--he sat down with an air of determination as he spoke "to
+talk to you; to talk to you freely, when the whole of your nineteen
+thousand pounds is found.
+
+"I've got hold on the balance that's missing, and it only wants the
+lawyer to put things in trim for it to be recovered. When it is--when
+the whole nineteen thousand pounds is in your possession--I shall want
+you to eat the word 'thief' you applied to me."
+
+"Ain't I just eating it, Gerald?" said the old man humbly. "Is there a
+man here in N'York with as much humble pie in his mouth as I've got? I
+take back all I said----"
+
+"Maybe, but I----"
+
+And then Gerald paused.
+
+Two soft, warm hands passed over the back of his chair, passed his face,
+came round his neck; warm lips touched his ear, and a voice he loved
+better than any other whispered:
+
+"Gerald!--he is my father."
+
+That did it. Gerald jumped up and took the farmer by the hand.
+
+All his anger had evaporated under the touch of those soft, warm lips.
+
+"Well, farmer, let bygones be bygones. We'll forget all that's been said
+that ought not to have been said. Here comes the lawyer. Let's get along
+with the declaration."
+
+"I have it all ready," said the lawyer. "It is a joint declaration." He
+read it, and then said, "Come along with me to the justice's office; and
+it can be declared right off."
+
+The justice before whom they presented themselves glanced at the
+document he was signing.
+
+"Coincidence," he said, "or is it the same? Loide's--an English
+lawyer--death was reported at the police station this afternoon."
+
+Death! Gerald started. Had he then killed the man he had struggled with?
+He said:
+
+"You mean Richard Loide." And he mentioned the hotel.
+
+"That's where the accident occurred. Lift accident--there is the
+certificate just brought in."
+
+"Will you loan this to me?" inquired the lawyer, after perusing it; "I
+think it will save some trouble."
+
+"Yes," answered the justice; "if you return it within two hours. It has
+to go to the coroner by then."
+
+This was promised. Outside the office the lawyer hailed a hackman.
+
+"Get in," he said to his companions; "we will drive straight to the
+money changer's."
+
+They did. The hackman waited. They entered the office.
+
+"You remember me, Mr. Wolff?" queried the lawyer.
+
+It was evident the banker did--from his obsequious manner in receiving
+his visitor. Doubtless the lawyer knew something of him.
+
+"You have a thousand pound English note in your possession belonging to
+my client here."
+
+"I hope you not tink, Meestair Denison, dat I intends----"
+
+"Oh, I know you only want to give it up to the right owner. He's
+here--this gentleman. Mr. Loide left it with you--Loide's dead. Here's
+the police certificate of his death."
+
+"Det, eh?"
+
+"He was acting in England as a lawyer for this client of mine, and paid
+over eighteen out of nineteen thousand pounds. The other thousand pound
+note was missing. This declaration sworn to before Justice Colonel
+George F. Vanderwood to-day proves the ownership."
+
+"So."
+
+It was evident that the mention of the justice had impressed the banker.
+
+"You will give up the note, I suppose, without any trouble?"
+
+"Sairtenly, Meestair Denison, if you say so. I suppose I haf some
+eendemnity, eh?"
+
+"I have prepared one. Here it is. Mr. Depew, will you sign it?"
+
+Mr. Depew did so, and in exchange got the missing thousand pound note.
+
+"Now, back to my office," said the lawyer, "where the ladies are
+waiting."
+
+They returned there. The farmer flourished his note, and then threw it
+into his wife's lap.
+
+"All's well, old girl," he said; "got him. It's all settled."
+
+"And now you have only to settle with me," said the lawyer, with a
+smile, "and the whole thing will be ended."
+
+"Not much, it isn't," interposed Mrs. Depew. "There's a marriage
+settlement for you to draw up. My old man is settling nine thousand
+pounds on our daughter, Tessie, who is to be married to Mr. Gerald
+Danvers here."
+
+"No need for a settlement, madam. Give her the money now before they are
+married, and it's hers as firmly as any deed could make it so."
+
+"Is that so? Then, George, you'd better give it right away--here."
+
+"Plenty of time, old girl, when we get back----"
+
+"Get back! There's no putting back from here with a couple of single
+people around. Those two is going to be made one before we step out of
+N'York again."
+
+"Mother!"
+
+"That's me, Tess--you hear me say it.
+
+"You really mean that, Mrs. Depew," inquired Gerald, with sparkling
+eyes.
+
+"Young man," she answered, "you've evidently got to learn that when your
+mother-in-law that is to be says a thing, she means it."
+
+"Mrs. Depew, you're the finest mother-in-law the world holds! You're a
+brick! a regular brick!"
+
+"But, mother," said the blushing Tessie, "I haven't got anything
+ready----"
+
+"Lawd sakes! Listen to that now! And here are we in N'York with a bank
+full of money, too! Can't you buy what you want?"
+
+"Of course she can," interrupted Gerald eagerly. "Mrs. Depew, you're the
+most sensible woman I've ever met."
+
+"None of your soft soap now!"
+
+"It's a fact. It's a capital idea. Couldn't be better. Don't you think
+so, farmer?"
+
+Of course the farmer thought so. He valued his domestic peace, and
+assured it by acquiescence in most of his wife's ideas.
+
+He even went so far as to say that he had thought a similar idea out as
+they drove along.
+
+Tessie made another--must it be confessed, very faint-hearted?--protest.
+
+"Why should you be in such a hurry, mother?"
+
+"Because I don't believe in long engagements--that's why. Because this
+boy was promised his reward--that's why. Because you know perfectly well
+that you are just as anxious to get married as he is to marry
+you--that's why. Because I'm getting an old woman, and the sooner you
+get married, the longer I shall have on earth to play with my
+grandchildren--that's why."
+
+"Mother!"
+
+Of course it was settled that way. When they left New York shortly
+after, Gerald and Tessie were man and wife.
+
+Mrs. Depew usually contrived to get her own way. If, of that household
+it was true that the husband was the head, she was the neck--she was so
+capable of turning the head.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of '£19,000', by Burford Delannoy
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK '£19,000' ***
+
+***** This file should be named 34934-8.txt or 34934-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/9/3/34934/
+
+Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
+scanned images of public domain material from the Google
+Print archive.
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/34934-8.zip b/34934-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..54f2683
--- /dev/null
+++ b/34934-8.zip
diff --git a/34934-h.zip b/34934-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f78c31d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/34934-h.zip
diff --git a/34934-h/34934-h.htm b/34934-h/34934-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9bfda05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/34934-h/34934-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,9015 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of "£19,000", by Burford Delannoy.
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+/*<![CDATA[  XML blockout */
+<!--
+    p {  margin-top: .75em;
+         text-align: justify;
+         margin-bottom: .75em;
+         }
+    h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {
+         text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+         clear: both;
+         }
+    hr { width: 33%;
+	 margin-top: 2em;
+	 margin-bottom: 2em;
+         margin-left: auto;
+         margin-right: auto;
+         clear: both;
+       }
+
+    table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;}
+
+    body{margin-left: 10%;
+         margin-right: 10%;
+        }
+
+    .pagenum  { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+            /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+                position: absolute;
+                left: 92%;
+                font-size: smaller;
+                text-align: right;
+              } /* page numbers */
+
+    .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;}
+
+    .center   {text-align: center;}
+    .smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+    .caption  {font-weight: bold;}
+
+    .figcenter   {margin: auto; text-align: center;}
+
+    /* XML end  ]]>*/
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of '£19,000', by Burford Delannoy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: '£19,000'
+
+Author: Burford Delannoy
+
+Release Date: January 12, 2011 [EBook #34934]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK '£19,000' ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
+scanned images of public domain material from the Google
+Print archive.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<h1>"&pound;19,000"</h1>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>"&pound;19,000"</h2>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<h2>By BURFORD DELANNOY</h2>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><i>Author of "The Garden Court Murder"</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>"The Missing Cyclist" Etc. Etc.</i></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;">
+<img src="images/ill_001.jpg" width="100" height="99" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<h4>R.&nbsp;F. FENNO &amp; COMPANY</h4>
+
+<h4>9 and 11 East Sixteenth Street, New York</h4>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<h4>WARD LOCK &amp; COMPANY, LONDON</h4>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p class="center">Copyright, 1900, by</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">R.&nbsp;F. Fenno &amp; Company</span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>Contents</h2>
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><b>THE DENTIST'S IN FINSBURY SQUARE</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><b>WHAT WAS FOUND ON THE BODY</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><b>ON BOARD THE AMERICAN LINER</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><b>THE CITY LAWYER AND THE CLIENT FROM THE WILD AND WOOLY WEST</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><b>BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND QUEENSTOWN</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><b>MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><b>THE NUMBERS OF THE MISSING NOTES</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><b>THE SEALED UP CABIN</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><b>A WAITING WIFE'S DISCOVERY</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><b>HOW THE DEVIL TEMPTED HIM</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><b>A LIFE FOR A LIFE</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><b>FATHER AND CHILD&mdash;THE OLD STORY</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><b>LOVERS&mdash;MORE OF THE OLD STORY</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIV.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><b>THE METHOD IN SUSAN TODD'S MADNESS</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XV.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><b>BOUND TO THE WHEEL</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVI.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"><b>SUSAN TODD SEES A GHOST</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"><b>A SICK BED CONFESSION</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XVIII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><b>A WIFE FOR REWARD</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XIX.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><b>GERALD PUTS HIS NOSE TO THE TRAIL</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XX.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><b>INSIDE THE LAWYER'S OFFICE</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXI.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><b>THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S ART AND ARTFULNESS</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><b>THE HANDCUFFS PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><b>AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DENTIST</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIV.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"><b>AN AMATEUR CARPENTER</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXV.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV"><b>A WOULD-BE SUICIDE</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXVI.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI"><b>GERALD WALKS INTO THE TRAP</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXVII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII"><b>PECULIAR MESSENGERS</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXVIII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII"><b>A PISTOL AND AN OPEN GRAVE</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXIX.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX"><b>THE NEXT MOVE IN THE GAME</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXX.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX"><b>AT THE DENTIST'S</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXI.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXI"><b>MOON BLINDNESS</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXII"><b>THE LOVERS MEET</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXIII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIII"><b>THIEF!</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXIV.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIV"><b>A THEATRICAL MAKE-UP</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXV.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXV"><b>NOT A MAN TO STICK AT TRIFLES</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXVI.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVI"><b>ONCE MORE ON THE TRACK</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXVII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVII"><b>THE LAWYER LIFTED INTO ANOTHER SPHERE</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXVIII.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXVIII"><b>MRS. DEPEW HOLDS THE REINS</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XXXIX.</td><td align='left'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXXIX"><b>MRS. DEPEW HAS THINGS HER OWN WAY</b></a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2>
+
+<h3>THE DENTIST'S IN FINSBURY SQUARE</h3>
+
+<p>The gong fixed in the door frame sounded.</p>
+
+<p>A man entered as Sawyer hurriedly ceased a perusal of the pages of the
+<i>Boys of the World</i>, and stuffed that sample of the literature of young
+England up his page's jacket.</p>
+
+<p>"Is the boss in?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I want a tooth out."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir. Will you take a seat a moment?"</p>
+
+<p>The boy handed the visitor a newspaper as he spoke, and then entered the
+inner room. To his employer he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Gent wants a tooth extracted, sir."</p>
+
+<p>He had attained the word "extracted" by diligent practice. It had been
+hard work, but he got home with it at last.</p>
+
+<p>There was a hope prevailing in the dentist's breast that in time the boy
+would be able to say "gentleman"; at present there were no indications
+of the realization of that hope beyond the word's first syllable.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The dentist was wearily glancing out of the window. He looked very down
+in the mouth.</p>
+
+<p>That is said of him metaphorically, as, actually, it is part of the
+business of a dentist to do that sort of thing. That is patent.</p>
+
+<p>He had little to do but admire the scenery of Finsbury Circus. It is not
+an inspiring landscape&mdash;weariness naturally follows its frequent
+observation.</p>
+
+<p>His brother had rooms a few doors away, and was the proprietor of a
+brass plate which bore four letters after his name&mdash;Arthur Lennox,
+M.R.C.S.</p>
+
+<p>Sawyer was a divided possession. However impossible it may seem for a
+man to serve two masters, the boy did&mdash;it came cheaper that way.</p>
+
+<p>The surgeon and dentist were not having good times.</p>
+
+<p>Patience is necessary in waiting for patients, and the stock of it they
+had laid in when they started in their respective practices was nearly
+exhausted.</p>
+
+<p>Overdue rent and unpaid bills stared them in the face. In addition to
+their kinship they were brothers in misfortune.</p>
+
+<p>It was such a rare thing for a patient to call that, when the page
+announced one, the dentist quite started. Immediately he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Show him in."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The boy did so, and retired. To his visitor, the dentist said:</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning. You are Mr. Charles Lennox?"</p>
+
+<p>There was just that twang about the speaker's voice which some persons
+find so "charming"&mdash;and others tip their noses at&mdash;American.</p>
+
+<p>"That is my name."</p>
+
+<p>"I saw it up on the wire blind with the word 'dentist' after it."</p>
+
+<p>"You need dental attention?"</p>
+
+<p>"I need a tooth out."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you sit down here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Say! Hold on a minute. There's another combination on your blind.
+'Painless Dentistry.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"I want to sample that kind."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean&mdash;gas?"</p>
+
+<p>"I mean the kind where you yank the tooth out without the owner knowing
+it. I've heard that it's done that way."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, very frequently."</p>
+
+<p>"Then fire away, boss."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall have to ask you to wait a minute or two."</p>
+
+<p>"What for?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I must send for a medical man to administer the gas."</p>
+
+<p>"Can't do it yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, it is not usual."</p>
+
+<p>"Will it be long?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, my an&aelig;sthetist is but a few doors away."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, then."</p>
+
+<p>"It is proper that I should mention that for the administration of gas
+an extra fee is charged."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"The charge is half a guinea extra."</p>
+
+<p>"Fifteen and six in all?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right. If it really comes out without my knowing it, I
+shan't ask for my change out of a sovereign. Money's no object with me
+just now."</p>
+
+<p>The dentist looked his opinion of the speaker, and, opening the
+communication doors, called the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"Run in to Mr. Arthur, and ask him if he will come in&mdash;gas patient
+waiting."</p>
+
+<p>The boy ran in&mdash;and remained in Mr. Arthur Lennox' rooms, minding them
+while the surgeon went to help his brother.</p>
+
+<p>As he entered the dentist's sanctum, the man who had been sent for said:</p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Good-morning; are you the pain killer?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is my present mission," replied the surgeon, with a smile, as he
+drew out the rubber gas bag, and prepared the apparatus.</p>
+
+<p>"What happens after I'm loaded? Sort of balloon business, this. How long
+do I stay gassed up?"</p>
+
+<p>"But a minute, and during that minute the tooth is extracted."</p>
+
+<p>"Sure it don't hurt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all&mdash;take my word for it. You are conscious, perhaps, of what is
+being done, but you will experience no pain."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, then. It's warm in here; do you mind me taking off my coat,
+mister?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all."</p>
+
+<p>"I've been walking around pretty much all to-day winding things up."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!"</p>
+
+<p>Politeness induced the surgeon to utter that exclamation; he was wholly
+uninterested. He wondered why patients should be so communicative.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I'm off back to the States to-morrow. I have been round to Eldon
+Street about my passage, and as I walked into Finsbury Circus, blest if
+this tooth didn't come on aching a treat. I didn't<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> reckon on any
+dentist being aboard the boat, so, when I saw your sign, I popped right
+in."</p>
+
+<p>"And now, if you will sit here.... So. That's it."</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo! what's that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be nervous&mdash;just the gas. Imagine you are going to sleep. That is
+it.... There you are; Charley, he's gone under."</p>
+
+<p>The surgeon walked aside, the dentist took his place, and, instrument in
+hand, quickly operated.</p>
+
+<p>As he put the forceps down, and picked up a glass of water, he suddenly
+cried:</p>
+
+<p>"Arthur! what's wrong? Arthur, quick!"</p>
+
+<p>The surgeon was at the window, drumming with his finger-tips on the
+panes. He turned round hurriedly when he was addressed and inquired:</p>
+
+<p>"What's the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>But he needed no verbal answer. A look at the patient's face told him
+much.</p>
+
+<p>He clawed up a towel, and putting it beneath the chin, snatched the
+glass of water the dentist was holding, and dashed it on the livid,
+colorless face.... It had no effect.</p>
+
+<p>He threw the glass and towel down, and felt the pulse, tore open the
+man's vest, and applied his stethoscope; seized the body, laid it on the
+floor, and on his knees was astride it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Brandy," he said, as he started in his muscular endeavor to restore
+animation.</p>
+
+<p>His brother brought brandy, and poured some between the unconscious
+man's lips.</p>
+
+<p>"My case is in the bag, Charley," said the surgeon, as he continued his
+efforts to pump air into the man's lungs. "Fill the hypo-syringe with
+brandy."</p>
+
+<p>The dentist did so, and handed it to his brother.</p>
+
+<p>The injection had no effect. Once more the manual exercise was
+tried&mdash;tried for nearly half an hour.</p>
+
+<p>The dentist wore a very white face as he watched what was being
+done&mdash;the exercise kept the color in the surgeon's.</p>
+
+<p>But when presently the latter rose to his feet and wiped the
+perspiration from his brow with his handkerchief, the hue of his face
+was in close competition with his brother's.</p>
+
+<p>"Lock the outer door, Charley," he said, hoarsely.</p>
+
+<p>The dentist did so without a word, but with a shaking hand. When he
+returned, the surgeon was drinking neat brandy.</p>
+
+<p>And when he had finished drinking, he poured out more, and handed the
+glass to his brother.</p>
+
+<p>The dentist looked his inquiry. The surgeon answered it:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Dead. This happens about once in five thousand cases. Our luck, I
+suppose, our luck still helping us."</p>
+
+<p>He said this very bitterly, as they stood looking down at the body.</p>
+
+<p>Presently the dentist inquired:</p>
+
+<p>"What is to be done?"</p>
+
+<p>The other shook his head by way of reply.</p>
+
+<p>Again the dentist broke the silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Shall we send for the police?"</p>
+
+<p>"What good will that do?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is the usual thing, is it&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Usual! The whole thing is unusual. The police spells for us ruin. A
+thing of this sort gets into the papers, and we might as well put up the
+shutters at once."</p>
+
+<p>"Can we avoid&mdash;&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>"We must. Let me think&mdash;yes."</p>
+
+<p>"You have thought of something?"</p>
+
+<p>"Plain and ordinary enough. It did not want much thinking about."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Finsbury Circus is deserted at night?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait till then. Then throw the body over the rails into the Circus
+garden. Let the police find it there."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Horrible!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why? The man's dead. The police have to find the body. What can it
+matter whether it is found in these rooms or the open air? It can't hurt
+the dead man to be found there. It will certainly hurt us if he is found
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so."</p>
+
+<p>There was no help for it. Their exchequer was low enough down as it
+was&mdash;they must prevent the happening of anything which would reduce it
+still lower.</p>
+
+<p>They had no belief in the proverb that when things were at their worst
+they would mend&mdash;because their condition was as bad as it very well
+could be, and there was an utter absence of any sign of a mend about
+it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2>
+
+<h3>WHAT WAS FOUND ON THE BODY</h3>
+
+<p>"Couldn't we put the body in a cab and send it home?"</p>
+
+<p>"Could&mdash;but it would probably mean putting ourselves in the bankruptcy,
+if not the police court. The thing would be traced home to us. True, the
+bankruptcy would come only a little before the appointed time, just
+hasten things along, as it were."</p>
+
+<p>"Could not we put&mdash;&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let's put the body in this cupboard. That's the wisest thing to do for
+the present.... That's it. Turn the key. Now I'll get round to my rooms
+and send Sawyer back. That little imp must have no inkling of what has
+happened."</p>
+
+<p>"He leaves at five o'clock."</p>
+
+<p>"And it is close on that hour. Let him come in, and suppose the place
+empty. Let him leave at the usual time, in the usual way, and then I
+will come back."</p>
+
+<p>Things happened that way, and soon after Sawyer had left for the day,
+the surgeon closed his offices and went into the dentist's.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He locked the outer door, and walking into the inner chamber, said:</p>
+
+<p>"Charley, I have been thinking it over, and it does seem an awful thing
+to do that over the railings business. Mind you, I still believe it all
+sentiment, but, if possible, we will find out where the man lived, and
+devise a means of driving him home."</p>
+
+<p>"Won't it be dangerous?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Still we will risk it. It seems a brutal thing to do as I
+suggested. We will put him on his own doorstep late to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"You think we can manage it without&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Great point is, where he lived. If in a quiet suburb we can manage it
+all right. Get a cab here at my door, send the cabby round the corner
+for some cigars, we mind the horse, and, while he is away, slip the body
+in. When he comes back he will notice nothing in the darkness."</p>
+
+<p>"But the man said he was going to America to-morrow!"</p>
+
+<p>"Great Scott! So he did. I had forgotten that. Anyway, let us see if he
+has any address, pocketbook, letters&mdash;or anything on him to show where
+he would have slept if living to-night."</p>
+
+<p>The key was turned in the lock of the cupboard, the body brought out and
+searched.</p>
+
+<p>In the pockets were a passage ticket for America,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> letters addressed to
+"Mr. George Depew (of New York), Armfield's Hotel, Finsbury."</p>
+
+<p>It was evident from the wording of the letters, which the brothers read,
+that Mr. Depew had stayed at Armfield's since his arrival from America.</p>
+
+<p>The letters were from a city solicitor named Loide&mdash;Richard Loide, of
+Liverpool Street.</p>
+
+<p>A perusal of those letters showed the whole reason of Mr. Depew's being
+that side of the Atlantic.</p>
+
+<p>Loide had acted for Depew's aunt in the collection of the rents of
+certain properties. That aunt died, and Depew was sole legatee.</p>
+
+<p>When the lawyer's letter reached him to that effect, Depew cabled Loide
+to sell all the property immediately. Another cable, a few hours later,
+announced that Depew was aboard a liner, and on his way to England. He
+was coming to look after his own.</p>
+
+<p>The last letter from the solicitor was dated only one day before, and
+appointed two o'clock that very day&mdash;the day of the death&mdash;for Depew to
+attend at the lawyer's office, and receive nineteen thousand pounds, the
+amount the deceased woman's estate had realized.</p>
+
+<p>The brothers were silent for a few moments after the perusal of that
+last letter. The consideration of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> a sum like nineteen thousand pounds,
+by two poor men, needs a few moments' silence.</p>
+
+<p>Then they turned over again the contents of the dead man's pockets. The
+purse contained a few sovereigns and dollars, the steamer passage
+ticket, two Broad Street station cloak room tickets, and nothing more.</p>
+
+<p>"Nineteen thousand pounds!"</p>
+
+<p>It was the surgeon speaking. He looked at his brother; his brother
+looked at him. Each look was full of eloquence.</p>
+
+<p>Then they picked up the dead man's coat, felt every inch of the lining
+thereof, thinking to find a secret pocket, or notes sewn in it. Nothing.</p>
+
+<p>The two cloak room tickets for portmanteaus inspired the dentist to
+remark:</p>
+
+<p>"Must be in one of the portmanteaus."</p>
+
+<p>The surgeon shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"No man," he said, "would be fool enough to intrust such a sum to a
+cloak room's tender mercies."</p>
+
+<p>"Then at the hotel?"</p>
+
+<p>The surgeon did not think so&mdash;said as much as he bent over the body and
+unbuttoned the waistcoat, to make a closer search.</p>
+
+<p>He felt something hard round the waist, investigated further, unbuckled
+what he found, and brought a money belt to the table and loosed the
+catch.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Notes! He pulled them out, and, as he fingered them, the rustle was as
+sweet music.</p>
+
+<p>There were nineteen of them! Each for a thousand pounds.</p>
+
+<p>They might have dreamed of such things, but they had never expected to
+actually handle such a sum.</p>
+
+<p>For some while silence reigned. In incidents of this kind silence plays
+a big part.</p>
+
+<p>There was no need of conversation&mdash;the brothers seemed to read each
+other's thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a small fortune," presently whispered the dentist.</p>
+
+<p>"And must be ours."</p>
+
+<p>"Will the notes be traced?"</p>
+
+<p>"We must guard against that."</p>
+
+<p>"How?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have been thinking&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"This ticket&mdash;passage&mdash;has been booked in London; he will not be known
+on the ship."</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"He intended going from Broad Street to Euston, thence to Liverpool, in
+time for the boat to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"He will have to go."</p>
+
+<p>"What, in heaven's name, do you mean?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Heaven," said the surgeon grimly, "I am afraid, has little to do with
+this job. But, see here, Charley, there's time yet. We can be poor and
+honest, and give up this fortune, or a few hours' nasty work, and
+wealth&mdash;nineteen thousand pounds."</p>
+
+<p>He picked up the notes again, and the rustle made both men's eyes
+sparkle.</p>
+
+<p>A piano organ in the distance was jigging out a "Belle of New York"
+tune, but no sound of it was heard by the brothers. Their ears were full
+of that crisp, crackling sound.</p>
+
+<p>"But how do you mean that he will have to go?"</p>
+
+<p>"One of us in his name, to America."</p>
+
+<p>"Surely there is no need for that."</p>
+
+<p>"Every need."</p>
+
+<p>"Why?"</p>
+
+<p>"For two reasons. He&mdash;this&mdash;has to be disposed of."</p>
+
+<p>He indicated the corpse at their feet, and went on:</p>
+
+<p>"Then, again, some one in his name must land in America, and disappear
+there, so that, when ultimately a hue and cry is raised, no suspicion
+may arise this side of the water."</p>
+
+<p>"I see."</p>
+
+<p>"While one of us is on the way to America, the other must gradually cash
+these notes at home. The numbers cannot be stopped for a week or two."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes. But&mdash;but the body?"</p>
+
+<p>"Must be taken aboard the boat."</p>
+
+<p>"Good God!"</p>
+
+<p>"No help for it, Charley. I had better be the passenger; you look after
+the money. I have more nerve for the work. I shall take the body in two
+portmanteaus, and manage to drop them overboard <i>en route</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"In two portmanteaus?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. My old days at the hospital operating table will come back to me.
+Yes. Don't look so scared; there's no help for it&mdash;just lock the door
+after me while I go in for my case of instruments."</p>
+
+<p>The dentist did so, and stood there waiting his brother's return. Waited
+with bulging eyes and open mouth.</p>
+
+<p>His training had not been that of the hospital. He had not the coolness
+in handling the limbs of his fellow-men which practice had given the
+surgeon.</p>
+
+<p>The piano organ had struck into a religious tune now, and was
+discharging "Abide With Me." The dentist heard that. Heard it and
+shivered. The eventide was falling fast.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2>
+
+<h3>ON BOARD THE AMERICAN LINER</h3>
+
+<p>Arthur returned with his case of knives. He saw his brother would be
+worse than useless about him in the task he had in hand.</p>
+
+<p>Personally, he had no more compunction about dismembering his fellow-men
+than a butcher had in disjointing a calf&mdash;it was his business.</p>
+
+<p>"Drink this, Charley"&mdash;he had poured out some brandy and handed it to
+his brother. "And now put on your hat and go out; take a cab down to
+Goffs. Buy two large portmanteaus&mdash;second hand&mdash;not less than a yard
+long. Put them on a cab, and come back here with them. Rap three times
+on the door&mdash;don't forget, three times&mdash;then I shall know it is you.
+While you are away I will do what is necessary."</p>
+
+<p>He did. Before his brother returned, there were five small parcels and
+one larger one&mdash;the contents may be guessed&mdash;done up in newspaper.</p>
+
+<p>Not a trace of blood or otherwise of his handiwork was visible. He had
+been an attentive student,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> and profited by it now. In class he had been
+marked "clean."</p>
+
+<p>Three raps at the door. He opened it, and the dentist entered with the
+portmanteaus.</p>
+
+<p>"Put them down, laddie, and while I pack, you clear out. See here, those
+bags in the cloak room at the station had better be fetched away; there
+is no knowing what is in them. If they are not large, get a porter to
+bring them by hand; if too big, put them on a cab and bring them that
+way. Here are the cloak room tickets."</p>
+
+<p>And while his brother was away he packed the two portmanteaus with the
+American, and carefully locked and strapped them.</p>
+
+<p>The keys he tied together with a piece of twine, and put into his
+pocket. Not that they were of use&mdash;the locks were never to be turned
+again.</p>
+
+<p>He helped his brother in with the two bags from the cloak room. They
+carefully went through the contents, opening the locks with the keys
+they had found in the dead man's trousers pocket.</p>
+
+<p>The bags were full of clothing, hosiery, and general wearing apparel;
+not a scrap of paper or article of any other kind.</p>
+
+<p>"Charley," said the surgeon, "chirp up, old man. There is nothing to
+fear. Before I am far away on the trip to America you may be sure that
+every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> trace of a clue to the contents of those portmanteaus will be
+lying at the bottom of the sea. A dark night, an open port, and there
+will be an end of the matter. This passage ticket is, I see, for a two
+berthed cabin&mdash;that makes it easier."</p>
+
+<p>"I fear&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I know you do, old man&mdash;early and provident fear is the mother of
+safety. But there is nothing to fear. Murder will out, that we see day
+by day. But it is not as if we had murdered the man. We have not that
+crime on our consciences. Keep cool, and all will be well.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall&mdash;must&mdash;land in America. I shall clear from the boat, one of the
+first. There I shall get another outfit, and come back in the next boat
+in another name. I shall go out, of course, as George Depew."</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot get rid of the fear&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Charley, I know you cannot. But there is nothing to fear. Think
+what the money means to you, to us both. To you more than to me. You
+have a wife and little Edith to think of. Think what the money means,
+the happiness it will bring to mother and child&mdash;to them both."</p>
+
+<p>"I know&mdash;I know."</p>
+
+<p>"After all, I am doing whatever is being done, Charley. You
+conscientious old beggar you, just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> wipe the thing out of your mind. Let
+it be a leaf in the book of the past. Paste it down. Don't look at it,
+don't think of it. Only think of the future&mdash;the brightness of a future
+from which the clouds have rolled away, and which a few hours ago did
+not seem to have a piece of blue sky in it."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;yes."</p>
+
+<p>"The boat starts from Liverpool, calls only at Queenstown, and then
+steams away across to the States. Why, given ordinary traveling&mdash;I shall
+not be away more than a fortnight, Charley, and when I come back I shall
+expect you to have cashed all those notes&mdash;and turned them into
+something less traceable."</p>
+
+<p>"How had I better do that? Go to the bank?"</p>
+
+<p>"M'no. I don't think I can trust you to do that, Charley. You would
+present those notes with such a white face and trembling hand that the
+most unsophisticated bank clerk breathing would think there was
+something fishy."</p>
+
+<p>"What shall I do, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"M'well.... I have it! There are two rooms empty above these?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Take them to-morrow. Take them in the name of Jones, Brown,
+Robinson&mdash;any name. Get a list of the brokers on the stock exchange, and
+buy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> from separate men nine hundred pounds' worth of stock. Good
+stock&mdash;no risk. Railway shares and that sort of thing. Pay each of the
+brokers with a thousand pound note; you will want the change out of it
+for working with. Worse come to the worst, if the shares have to be
+sold, there will only be the loss of a few pounds."</p>
+
+<p>"I will do that."</p>
+
+<p>"And now get along home, Charley, or you will have your little woman
+worrying about you. Don't, for heaven's sake, breathe a solitary
+syllable which will give the faintest clue to what has happened. Your
+wife is a smart little woman&mdash;don't give her too much money at first.
+Just a pound or two more for housekeeping expenses. Let her think your
+practice is gradually getting better day by day. And now shake hands.
+Good-bye."</p>
+
+<p>"But you&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I stop here to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"With those&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. I don't let them leave my possession till I drop the contents in
+the sea. I take no unnecessary risks."</p>
+
+<p>"But&mdash;you&mdash;can&mdash;sleep&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly! soundly. Why not? There might be some reason to fear a live
+man, but a dead one&mdash;bah!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I will come up early, and see you off."</p>
+
+<p>"You will do nothing of the sort. Don't do anything a wee bit out of the
+ordinary course of things. I shall go out for half an hour presently,
+taking the key of the door with me, get something to eat, buy some
+collars, shirts, and a few necessary things for the journey, and then
+sleep in your operating chair."</p>
+
+<p>"The chair he died in!"</p>
+
+<p>"Dear boy, what of that? There, get along. Good-bye."</p>
+
+<p>He literally pushed his brother from the rooms, and closed the door.
+Afterwards he did as he had said he would do.</p>
+
+<p>In early morning a cab took the four portmanteaus to Euston Station, and
+he caught the train for Liverpool.</p>
+
+<p>There he had two of the portmanteaus labeled "For Cabin Use!" the
+others, bags of clothing, were shot into the hold.</p>
+
+<p>He found that the occupant of the other berth, his cabin companion for
+the voyage, had already turned in&mdash;presumably to get as much sleep as
+possible before the voyage began&mdash;and was breathing heavily, the breath
+of sleep.</p>
+
+<p>A short time after he had got on board the vessel started. He determined
+not to leave the cabin, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> sight of his portmanteaus, till he had
+thrown them or their contents into the deep waters.</p>
+
+<p>That he would do when they were fairly out to sea. Then he would pick
+safer&mdash;quite safe.</p>
+
+<p>The vessel steamed on for her one and only stopping&mdash;Queenstown, to pick
+up the mails.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+
+<h3>THE CITY LAWYER AND THE CLIENT FROM THE WILD AND WOOLLY WEST</h3>
+
+<p>Aunt Depew had lived on the rentals of the property she had left to her
+nephew. Loide had been her solicitor for nearly twenty years.</p>
+
+<p>She had a blind confidence in him&mdash;that way fraud lies. Absolute trust
+in a man oft tempts him to break it.</p>
+
+<p>Regularly every quarter he had paid over to her the rentals of the
+properties; that was all she had cared for. She had never troubled
+about, or even visited, the places in which the buildings were situated.</p>
+
+<p>She had no idea that by reason of the building of a railway station, and
+other developing influences, the revenue of her property had gone up by
+leaps and bounds, and that ultimately, while she was receiving two
+hundred and fifty pounds a year from property which she thought worth
+about five thousand pounds, the lawyer was receiving four times that
+sum, and the real value was about twenty thousand pounds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Could any more sad blow have been aimed at the lawyer than the black
+edged intimation which reached him one morning&mdash;tidings of the death of
+his best client?</p>
+
+<p>The dead woman had had a companion living with her, and this companion
+had witnessed the will, and herself after the funeral handed it to
+Loide.</p>
+
+<p>Otherwise there is a question when the tidings would have reached the
+legatee in America&mdash;if they ever got so far.</p>
+
+<p>Yet that eternal hope we hear of in the human breast, sprang up in the
+lawyer's, when he reflected that America was a long way off, that he,
+Loide, was the executor, and would have the proving of the will.</p>
+
+<p>What would be easier than to show the legatee the income his aunt had
+been deriving, and effect a bogus sale of a part of the property for
+about five thousand pounds? That he could transmit to America, and end
+the matter.</p>
+
+<p>He wrote Depew, and when the cablegram came in reply, instructing him to
+sell the property at once, Loide rubbed his hands together and chuckled
+with glee. It was just what he had wanted.</p>
+
+<p>But the glee was short lived. Another cablegram came, saying that Depew
+was on his way to England, and would be there in a few days.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then all hope left Loide's heart. Black ruin stared him in the face.</p>
+
+<p>He had been drawing nearly a thousand pounds a year from the property
+which was to be at once sold. Few city lawyers could view the sudden
+cutting off of twenty pounds a week of their income with equanimity.</p>
+
+<p>Loide viewed it with clenched hands, curses on his lips, and fear in his
+heart.</p>
+
+<p>Then the fear gave place to another feeling&mdash;hatred. Hatred of this man
+who was crossing the water to rob him of what he had come to look on as
+his own.</p>
+
+<p>This cursed American would come over and sell, and disappear with the
+proceeds.</p>
+
+<p>But would he? Should he&mdash;Loide&mdash;allow him to do so?</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer sat and thought. Then he determined to wait till Depew came
+and see what he could make out of him, see what manner of man he was.</p>
+
+<p>It might be possible to handle him&mdash;profitably. The lawyer rarely
+handled mankind otherwise.</p>
+
+<p>But when the American came, the thermometer of the lawyer's hopes
+dropped down to zero again.</p>
+
+<p>Depew was a powerful, wiry, keen, shrewd, intelligent man of business.
+He picked the lawyer to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> pieces in five minutes, and so took greater
+precaution in seeing that he was fairly dealt with.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer had quite an unpleasant time.</p>
+
+<p>"Say, lawyer, things appear to have been handled by my aunt with a light
+hand. Understand that I am driving now, will you, and the coach won't
+rock, perhaps."</p>
+
+<p>"How dare&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't bluster, old son. I come from a land where we make holes in
+blusterers&mdash;round holes, with bullets at the bottom of 'em."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you dare threaten me?"</p>
+
+<p>"What, with a shooting iron? Nary a threat. Ain't even brought one along
+with me. Away back in the woods where I live I wouldn't open the door
+without one in reach of my hand. I was warned not to carry arms in this
+country&mdash;that the British didn't take kindly to 'em."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what you mean."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you? What are you looking so skeered about, then? What's your
+face gone all the color of paste for?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let me tell you&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"No, don't, old son&mdash;you let me tell you. We'll get there all the
+quicker. I don't say you have robbed my aunt&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Robbed!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's the creckt word. I don't say you robbed my aunt, but I'll take
+tarnation good care that you don't rob me. See? Now you just set about
+winding up this here estate quick as greased lightning, and mind that it
+realizes the best price. See?"</p>
+
+<p>The man's shrewd eyes were fixed on his listener all the while he was
+speaking. Loide felt that the man saw through him, and the lawyer's
+shoes held a shaking man.</p>
+
+<p>It was apparent that Depew was not an individual to be played
+with&mdash;successfully.</p>
+
+<p>Within a very short time the property was sold; and, after deduction of
+the expenses, there was a sum of nineteen thousand pounds to hand
+over&mdash;the handing over nearly broke what was left of the lawyer's heart.</p>
+
+<p>And it was a less fragile one than most men's, too.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, old man," said Depew, as he buckled the notes in a belt he wore,
+"we'll have lunch together, you and I. The matter's been settled
+promptly, and I owe you some thanks."</p>
+
+<p>They went into the Great Eastern Hotel, and had as elaborate a lunch as
+could be served.</p>
+
+<p>The champagne raised the spirits of both. The American's were light
+enough. Loide's needed raising.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And while they sat there, a scheme shaped itself in Loide's brain&mdash;it
+was an active, busy, plotting brain&mdash;and it found good ground to mature
+on.</p>
+
+<p>He determined that the nineteen thousand pounds should be his at any
+cost. He said that again to himself&mdash;at any cost. His was a
+determination not easily shaken.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you thinking of, lawyer?"</p>
+
+<p>Loide started as he answered:</p>
+
+<p>"Really of nothing. I was enjoying my wine."</p>
+
+<p>"Where'll I book my passage&mdash;is there a bureau near here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, in Eldon Street there is a passenger agent&mdash;close here. I'll walk
+with you."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you? I'll take it kindly. The streets are thicker here than in New
+York, and are a bit confusing to a stranger."</p>
+
+<p>Depew paid the bill, and, lighting cigars, the two men walked along
+Liverpool Street into Eldon Street.</p>
+
+<p>"You are still staying at Armfield's?"</p>
+
+<p>"All the time&mdash;it's a good show. I sleep there to-night, and to-morrow
+on the Atlantic."</p>
+
+<p>They entered the passenger agent's office, and that worthy had a
+two-berthed cabin vacant.</p>
+
+<p>Depew booked one berth. The agent confirmed it on the telephone at the
+shipping office, the passage money was paid, and the men left.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well," said the lawyer, "I must get back; which way are you going?"</p>
+
+<p>"Through the Circus here. First I'm going to have an aching tooth out,
+and then on to the hotel. I've sent my luggage on, but I've got a small
+bag there still."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you go that way?... Good-bye, good-bye, and a pleasant voyage
+home."</p>
+
+<p>They shook hands heartily, and separated, going in opposite directions.</p>
+
+<p>The moment Depew was out of sight, the lawyer returned to the passenger
+agent's office.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend has altered his mind," he said. "He will book the other
+berth, and so have the whole cabin to himself."</p>
+
+<p>"Right you are, sir."</p>
+
+<p>The same process was gone through as before, and presently the lawyer
+left the office, with a ticket for the other berth in the cabin Depew
+was to journey in.</p>
+
+<p>Did he intend to travel to America? Not quite as far.</p>
+
+<p>The only place the boat stopped at after leaving Liverpool, so the
+passenger agent told them, was Queenstown. Stopped two or three hours
+there, sometimes, waiting for the tender to bring off the mails.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The lawyer determined to leave the ship at Queenstown, and he hoped to
+bring off his coup there&mdash;to bring off the steamer those nineteen crisp
+Bank of England notes which helped to girdle Mr. Depew's waist.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2>
+
+<h3>BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND QUEENSTOWN</h3>
+
+<p>Mr. Richard Loide was getting into the sere, the yellow leaf. A certain
+amount of baldness on his head he covered with a wig. His age and the
+wig prompted him to two courses of action.</p>
+
+<p>He knew that he would be at a disadvantage in any personal struggle
+which might result from the steps he proposed taking. He discreetly
+determined to avoid one.</p>
+
+<p>Firearms, in dealing with the man with the money round his waist, were
+out of the question. The noise would frustrate the very object he had in
+view&mdash;would attract the attention of others in the ship.</p>
+
+<p>He did not desire an audience for the performance he had in mind.</p>
+
+<p>So he bethought him of a long, stiletto shaped, yet fine pointed,
+two-edged knife he had seen for sale in a shop window.</p>
+
+<p>He went to that shop, and acquired the weapon, tested its razor-like
+edge on a hair, then on a piece of paper, and was satisfied with the
+result.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He hoped that Mr. Depew would, soon after leaving Liverpool, lie down in
+his bunk. He was anxious for that position, because it, apart from the
+knife, would give him an advantage.</p>
+
+<p>In plain words, he proposed cutting the throat of Mr. Depew. It struck
+Loide as being an effective way of silencing, in a double sense, his
+man.</p>
+
+<p>He did not suppose that a cry, if the man were able to raise one, would
+attract much attention, or be heard above the noise of the ship; but he
+did not want to take any unnecessary risk.</p>
+
+<p>So he figured in his own mind that method of dealing with the
+American&mdash;killing two birds with one stone.</p>
+
+<p>If, on the other hand, Depew did not lie down, then he would have to use
+his weapon stiletto fashion. A spring from his bunk on to his victim
+standing with his back towards him, and a powerful downward sweep and
+plunge, would be half way successful.</p>
+
+<p>He imagined that most men threw up their arms and staggered back on the
+happening of such a thing&mdash;gathered the idea from witnessing the dramas
+of the Adelphi&mdash;that would enable him to turn and plunge the weapon into
+the man's heart.</p>
+
+<p>All that would be necessary, then, was to put him in his bunk before the
+blood began to make a mess, take from his body the notes which
+engirdled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> it, and be ready to leave on the tender for Queenstown the
+moment that vessel came alongside the liner.</p>
+
+<p>He knew that two-edged weapons were proverbially dangerous, but he was
+comforted by the recollection of another proverb about cutting both
+ways.</p>
+
+<p>As to its wig, he determined to change its color. It would be as well.</p>
+
+<p>Not that he feared detection much; still the prudent man always took
+precautions, and Mr. Loide rated prudence very high.</p>
+
+<p>He knew that when the boat left Queenstown it did not stop again till it
+got to the other side. That he counted on.</p>
+
+<p>It would enable him to reach London, cash the notes, and be prepared for
+anything which might happen. He felt that with the money in his
+possession he would be prepared for anything.</p>
+
+<p>He knew that when the purser went his rounds, or the steward, or whoever
+it might be, and discovered the dead body, all would be confusion.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor and captain would be sent for, and an examination entered
+upon&mdash;but all the time the vessel would be leaving Queenstown further
+and further behind.</p>
+
+<p>He knew the coursing of these ocean greyhounds well enough to know that
+the ship would not put<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> back. That hundreds of passengers would not be
+inconvenienced, simply because one was dead, that the ship would go
+plowing her way right on.</p>
+
+<p>He turned up in the post-office directory the name of a wig maker the
+other side of London, and took a cab there.</p>
+
+<p>He told some wholly unnecessary lies about the need of a colored wig,
+but might have saved himself the trouble, because the sale of a wig or
+wigs was an every-day occurrence with the keeper of the shop.</p>
+
+<p>When Loide saw his reflection in the peruquier's mirror he was astounded
+at the change in his appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The shopman, thinking he was dealing with an amateur actor, very kindly
+drew attention to his bushy black eyebrows.</p>
+
+<p>"Want toning down," he said, "to match the wig."</p>
+
+<p>"How do you&mdash;how do it?"</p>
+
+<p>The shopman produced a little stick of what looked to the lawyer like
+cosmetic, and handed it to the customer.</p>
+
+<p>The look of ignorance concerning its use made the man smile.</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down," he said; "it's evident you are a new hand at making up. Let
+me show you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He did. Daubed the grease paint on the hair, on the brows, and then
+combed them out.</p>
+
+<p>When Loide looked in the glass again he started in astonishment.... He
+paid the man, thanked him, and withdrew.</p>
+
+<p>The shop of a ready made clothier's caught his attention. He went in and
+bought a light colored cutaway coat and vest and soft cap&mdash;he had worn
+black clothing and the regulation chimney pot hat for the last thirty
+years of his life.</p>
+
+<p>At a hosier's he purchased a colored shirt with a turn down collar, and
+a colored bow.</p>
+
+<p>His immaculate white shirt, stiff upstanding collar and stock, should be
+discarded for the time being.</p>
+
+<p>Later on, when he had donned this attire, he marveled at the change in
+himself. He was confident that no living soul would be able to recognize
+him.</p>
+
+<p>And curiously enough, nature assisted him.</p>
+
+<p>As he sat in the train to Liverpool, the loss of his upstanding collar
+and stock made his open neck an easy prey to the draft. When he set foot
+on the deck of the steamer he had a sore throat and a cold, which made
+his voice so raucous that no soul would have recognized in it the clear,
+distinct utterance of Mr. Loide, the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>His portmanteau on board, after satisfying the officer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> in charge of his
+right to a berth, he at once took possession.</p>
+
+<p>He was lying in his berth&mdash;apparently asleep&mdash;when the occupant of the
+other half of the cabin entered.</p>
+
+<p>He was lying with his face to the wall, and only his red hair was
+visible. That and the smart colored cutaway suit, he felt, made him as
+much unlike the city lawyer as well could be. He did not fear Depew's
+recognition.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the second man entered the cabin, the vessel started. Loide
+knew at what hour she was expected to arrive off her one and only
+stopping place.</p>
+
+<p>During the night, it was fair to assume that no officer of the ship
+would come to the cabin, and during the night he would kill and rob the
+other man. In the early morning he would leave on the Queenstown tender.
+That was his scheme.</p>
+
+<p>He kept in his bunk. By the electric light in the cabin his companion
+read for some time.</p>
+
+<p>He could hear the rustling of the newspaper; he dared not look round.
+About midnight the paper was thrown down, and the listener heard the
+sounds of a man making ready for his berth.</p>
+
+<p>And presently the electric button was turned, and the cabin was in
+darkness.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The lawyer's heart beat the faster then. So far all was going as well as
+he could wish.</p>
+
+<p>Darkness, and his victim recumbent, perhaps asleep. What could he wish
+for more? Fortune was favoring him.</p>
+
+<p>There were three hours now to wait before the reaching of Queenstown,
+and during those three hours the other man went to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Loide knew it, because he heard the sleeper's deep, heavy breathing,
+which bordered closely on snoring.</p>
+
+<p>He handled his weapon, and dropped noiselessly to his stockinged feet.
+Paused&mdash;the same still, regular breathing.</p>
+
+<p>He went to the door and noiselessly shot home the bolt. Paused&mdash;the same
+still, regular breathing.</p>
+
+<p>Then he prepared to stop that breathing forever.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+
+<h3>MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS</h3>
+
+<p>Before his companion had entered the cabin, Loide had located everything
+in it.</p>
+
+<p>Although in the dark, he knew the exact position of all things. So he
+reached the sleeper's side without a stumble or noise.</p>
+
+<p>He knew where to place his hand on a towel, and he placed it. Folded it
+into a sort of pad, and gripped the middle in his left hand.</p>
+
+<p>He bent over the sleeper, heard his breathing, and located his mouth by
+the feel of the warm breath. He paused to notice that the sleeper was
+lying on his back, then he gripped his knife&mdash;saw fashion.</p>
+
+<p>In another moment he had clapped the towel over his victim's mouth, and
+drawn down the knife with a sawing, cutting movement.</p>
+
+<p>There was just a faint, gurgling sound for a moment, a convulsive quiver
+of the whole of the sleeper's body, then stillness. The towel had
+stifled any possible cry&mdash;the knife had done the rest.</p>
+
+<p>Loide stood there for a moment to recover his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> breath. He could almost
+hear his own heart beating.</p>
+
+<p>He tried to still it by thinking that there was not a scrap of risk,
+that it was all over now, that, presently, he would possess nineteen
+thousand pounds.</p>
+
+<p>That last thought was not without its comfort. It is a fashion to speak
+of money as if it were dross, but as a salve to the conscience, pounds,
+shillings, and pence are unsurpassed.</p>
+
+<p>The towel he was holding, he opened and threw it over the dead man's
+head and shoulders. He was not hyper-sensitive, but he wanted to avoid
+seeing what the towel would hide.</p>
+
+<p>Then he turned the button of the electric light.</p>
+
+<p>He looked round&mdash;not a sign of a struggle, not a drop of blood. Yet
+stay&mdash;his right hand! He must wash it.</p>
+
+<p>Quickly he had water in the basin and was cleaning that hateful red
+stain away. While he wiped his hands, he reflected that he had but to
+pull the head curtains, and the body would appear to be that of an
+ordinary sleeping man.</p>
+
+<p>That way the ship might get a dozen hours away from Queenstown before
+discovery. He shook hands with himself over the happiness of the idea he
+had&mdash;so far&mdash;carried out so cleverly.</p>
+
+<p>Then he turned up the blankets and sheeting of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> the bunk. For obvious
+reasons he preferred turning them up from the feet to turning them down
+from the head.</p>
+
+<p>Depew had, with an oath, told him that, sleeping or waking, the belt
+would never leave him. He thought grimly that now the man was dead the
+oath would be broken.</p>
+
+<p>He started in surprise; the man was not wearing a belt! He stood still,
+holding the bedclothes in sheer amazement.</p>
+
+<p>He had expected the thing to be so easy of accomplishment&mdash;and the
+object of his search was not there at all!</p>
+
+<p>He stepped back, and fell rather than sat on his own berth. He was more
+than surprised.</p>
+
+<p>Then it occurred to him that perhaps, after all, the man had locked the
+money in one of his portmanteaus. Loide was thankful that he had time
+before him, in which to make search. He had been wise not to leave
+things till the last moment.</p>
+
+<p>He felt in the dead man's coat, vest, and ultimately in a trousers
+pocket found two keys, tied together with a piece of twine. These he
+presently found fitted the portmanteaus.</p>
+
+<p>He inserted a key in one, turned the lock, and unbuckled the straps. The
+bag contained but one thing&mdash;a huge parcel wrapped in newspapers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He would try the other bag&mdash;did so. Found it contained five smaller
+parcels, four long shaped and one something like a large football.</p>
+
+<p>He picked up one of the long parcels and felt it. It had a curious half
+hard feeling.</p>
+
+<p>He sat on his berth again and opened it on his knees. There was no
+string round the parcel.</p>
+
+<p>As he held the end of the paper it unwound itself, and the contents
+dropped on to the floor&mdash;a human arm and hand!</p>
+
+<p>He clapped his own hand to his mouth and so stifled a scream.</p>
+
+<p>It is all very well to be cool over your own murderous work, but when
+you come across another man's, it is apt to startle you. Loide was the
+most startled individual on the Atlantic at that particular moment.</p>
+
+<p>He sat there in stony amazement and horror. He feared to open the other
+parcels. Still he had to.</p>
+
+<p>Qualms had to be kept down. The possession of nineteen thousand pounds
+depended on his search.</p>
+
+<p>He imagined that Depew had murdered some one in England, and was taking
+the body out, perhaps to hide traces of his crime in the sea.</p>
+
+<p>So curiously fashioned was the lawyer's intellect that he was rather
+glad that he had killed Depew&mdash;looked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> upon himself as a kind of weapon
+in the hand of justice.</p>
+
+<p>There is no accounting for the kinks into which a man's intellect will
+twist.</p>
+
+<p>The avenger idea gave him the necessary courage to go on examining the
+rest of the parcels. Not a solitary thing save of the awful kind the
+first was.</p>
+
+<p>The big parcel in the other portmanteau made him shudder in horror. He
+was glad when he was able to shut the bags and get rid of the sight of
+those horrible bundles.</p>
+
+<p>Then another bag&mdash;a little hand bag&mdash;caught his attention. He felt mad
+with himself that he had not examined that first.</p>
+
+<p>It needed no key. A pressure of the lock opened it, and he turned the
+contents on the floor; collars, handkerchiefs, shirts, and
+socks&mdash;nothing else.</p>
+
+<p>Once more he sat on his bunk&mdash;sat there with his chin in the palms of
+his hands, thinking.</p>
+
+<p>How long he sat there he never knew. He was awakened by the steamer's
+gongs; the engine room was being signaled.</p>
+
+<p>He clambered to the port-hole, and in the gray of the early morning he
+could see they were off Queenstown, and the tender was nearly alongside.</p>
+
+<p>He had no time to lose. What should he do?</p>
+
+<p>Then it occurred to him that, as a measure of precaution,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> the man had
+given his belt to the captain, to be locked up in the ship's
+strong-room. That was the solution of the mystery, then.</p>
+
+<p>He cursed his luck, himself, and the dead man. For absolutely nothing he
+had run all this risk, and killed a man, and had yet to escape.</p>
+
+<p>It was&mdash;from his point of view&mdash;perfectly monstrous. If the dead man
+could have wanted revenge, surely he was having it then.</p>
+
+<p>There was a screech from the tender's siren; she was coming alongside.</p>
+
+<p>He put on his boots, and as he did so there was a sound of rapping at
+the door. He hurriedly pulled the head curtains of his victim's berth,
+and, shooting back the bolt, opened the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Any letters or telegrams for shore, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is there time to go ashore?"</p>
+
+<p>"Can if you like, sir; the tender will bring you back. You will get
+about an hour ashore."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, I will go, then."</p>
+
+<p>"At once, sir. The tender will leave in less than five minutes."</p>
+
+<p>And the officer went on his round collecting letters and telegrams.</p>
+
+<p>Loide put on his hat, flung the blood stained knife out of the
+port-hole, turned the button of the electric light, and stepped outside,
+closing the door after him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then he suddenly remembered that the most likely place of all he had
+overlooked. A sleeping man would place valuables beneath his pillow.</p>
+
+<p>He entered the cabin again, turned the electric light button, and slid
+his hand under the dead man's pillow&mdash;nothing.</p>
+
+<p>To make assurance doubly sure&mdash;much as he dreaded looking on the face of
+the man he had murdered&mdash;he pulled aside the towel.</p>
+
+<p>Then for a second time he was paralyzed with astonishment and horror,
+and thrust his fingers in his mouth to prevent the escape of a cry. He
+had never before seen the face of his victim. It was not his client
+Depew.</p>
+
+<p>He had killed the wrong man!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+
+<h3>THE NUMBERS OF THE MISSING NOTES</h3>
+
+<p>Loide got off the boat safely. On the wharf at Queenstown he secured a
+position where, concealed himself, he could watch the liner.</p>
+
+<p>Hours seemed to drag by which were in reality minutes. At last the
+tender put off with the mails and reached the steamer's side.</p>
+
+<p>With his glasses he could see everything that was going on. There was no
+excitement.</p>
+
+<p>The bags were handed on board, and presently he made out a wake of foam
+from the blades of the steamer's screw. The tender had turned and was
+coming back; the steamer was going on.</p>
+
+<p>Loide breathed a deep sigh of relief. So far nothing had been
+discovered.</p>
+
+<p>Ultimately he reached London, and let himself into his office after
+dark&mdash;as he had left it.</p>
+
+<p>He made shirt, clothing, and wig, and all the coal he had in his office
+scuttle into a parcel, and a short while after that parcel was making a
+hole for itself in the soft mud under London Bridge.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The disguise was disposed of&mdash;and Richard was himself again.</p>
+
+<p>An aggravated, very much upset Richard. He had committed actual murder,
+and was not a penny the richer for it.</p>
+
+<p>The heinousness of the crime did not present itself to him; he rather
+looked at it from the standpoint of its barren financial result.</p>
+
+<p>He had so counted on a large profit in connection with his quick return.</p>
+
+<p>He had food for thought, sufficient to last an ordinary man many meals.</p>
+
+<p>But Mr. Richard Loide was not an ordinary man. He no longer imagined
+those crisp Bank of England notes to be in the steamer's strong-room.</p>
+
+<p>He did not believe they were even on the ship. That towel removed and a
+tragic story stared him in the face.</p>
+
+<p>What did it mean?</p>
+
+<p>That he could not fathom. One solid fact was existent&mdash;there had been
+foul play.</p>
+
+<p>Some one had the notes. The man in whose possession they were had a hand
+in the murder. And that is where Mr. Loide hoped to step in and take a
+part in the drama.</p>
+
+<p>The hand of death had lowered the curtain on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> first act, and the
+lawyer just hankered after getting behind the scenes.</p>
+
+<p>He formed an idea of his own that, for some reason, Depew was lurking in
+England; had bargained with the man Loide had killed to personate him on
+the boat, and so destroy a clue to his existence in London.</p>
+
+<p>What then did the other, the cut up body mean? Who could that have been?</p>
+
+<p>He regretted now that his horror had prevented his looking at the head.</p>
+
+<p>That was another puzzle, and he could not in any way solve it.</p>
+
+<p>But he was bent on one thing&mdash;the finding of Mr. Depew, and the bleeding
+of him for all he was worth.</p>
+
+<p>Being a city lawyer, and moving in city financial circles, blackmailing
+had not for him the horrid appearance it presented to most people.</p>
+
+<p>One gets used to the atmosphere one breathes daily, and the atmosphere
+of London city reeks of blackmail.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly a thought came to him which sent all the blood to his heart,
+and caused him to start to his feet in alarm.</p>
+
+<p>Suppose he had been deceived? Suppose he had not handed the money over
+to the real George Depew?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He broke into a cold sweat at the mere idea!</p>
+
+<p>He remembered how exceedingly lax he had been because Depew had
+frightened him.</p>
+
+<p>The American had seen through the frauds on his aunt, and practically
+taxed the lawyer with them. Had he chosen, he could have made him
+disgorge all those gains of years.</p>
+
+<p>Why had he not? If the real, genuine nephew, cute and sharp as he had
+been in getting the full value of the estate from the sale, why had he
+not, with his suspicions aroused, insisted on an inspection of the back
+accounts?</p>
+
+<p>Why had he not? And once more the sweat of fear beaded on Loide's brow.</p>
+
+<p>He was poor enough as it was. What if a real George Depew appeared on
+the scene and demanded that which was his?</p>
+
+<p>The perspiration beads grew in size.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer called to mind how meagre had been the identification. He
+remembered that, frightened as he had been he had accepted a certificate
+of birth, and some envelopes directed to Depew in America, as
+confirmation that he was the real man.</p>
+
+<p>For that the lawyer would never forgive himself. In ordinary
+circumstances he would have probed much more deeply.</p>
+
+<p>That fright&mdash;that was what did it&mdash;unmanned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> him, and made him behave
+like a perfect ass. He could have kicked himself for an hour and
+rejoiced in the resultant pain.</p>
+
+<p>He told himself that he needed punishment&mdash;badly.</p>
+
+<p>He thought of his own disguise; how he had so changed his own appearance
+that he had not known himself in the mirror.</p>
+
+<p>Why should not Mr. Depew have done a similar thing?</p>
+
+<p>Then another thought. Did disguise account for the different appearance
+of the man who was now crossing the Atlantic with a gaping wound in his
+throat?</p>
+
+<p>No; he felt that was not so. Depew was a head shorter than the man he
+had killed.</p>
+
+<p>He was glad he remembered that, because it removed the slightest doubt.
+It convinced him that Depew was in London, and it must be
+his&mdash;Loide's&mdash;business to find him.</p>
+
+<p>Find him, and put pertinent questions to him; make him do a sum in
+arithmetic&mdash;two into nineteen&mdash;and hand over the quotient.</p>
+
+<p>He did not fear an interview. The unexpected always happens, and the
+unexpectant one is generally at a disadvantage.</p>
+
+<p>Loide felt that. Felt that, in the language of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> Depew's country, he
+would be "upper dog" in the interview.</p>
+
+<p>And then he set his wits to work&mdash;how to discover George Depew's
+whereabouts.</p>
+
+<p>And meanwhile, in the same compass, within the radius of the city of
+London, another man was thinking&mdash;thinking with the same strained look
+on his face, too.</p>
+
+<p>He was standing looking out of the window of a room in Finsbury Circus,
+standing there gnawing what was left of the nails of his hand, and
+watching but for one man's advent&mdash;the postman.</p>
+
+<p>He was not looking for the telegraph boy&mdash;he knew it was too late for
+that&mdash;but a letter from his brother.</p>
+
+<p>It had been arranged between them that the moment Arthur reached
+Queenstown in safety he should despatch a wire with the two words "All
+serene" if things were so.</p>
+
+<p>And in case he should be asleep when the boat was off Queenstown, he had
+asked the purser to give him a call.</p>
+
+<p>No such wire reached the dentist, hence his own disturbed serenity.</p>
+
+<p>He waited and waited for it till he worked himself into such a state of
+nervousness&mdash;he had not his brother's iron will&mdash;that he shook from head
+to foot.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>That no one in need of dental attention visited him that day was
+fortunate for the man with the aching tooth.</p>
+
+<p>A trembling hand is not the best kind with which to grip forceps.</p>
+
+<p>As the day passed by and nothing came, the dentist became positively
+ill. He drank all that was left of the bottle of brandy, and for the
+first time in his life went home the worse for it.</p>
+
+<p>His wife was surprised, amazed, shocked. That was, perhaps, as well.</p>
+
+<p>In her offended dignity she stood aloof from him. It was better so.</p>
+
+<p>Long before breakfast in the morning he had left the house. He wanted to
+be in Finsbury Circus before the postman, and he was.</p>
+
+<p>The first delivery&mdash;no letter. He staggered back, fell into a chair, and
+buried his face in his hands. What could it mean?</p>
+
+<p>It did not occur to him that a letter from Queenstown could not reach so
+quickly.</p>
+
+<p>His brain was pregnant with but two ideas. His brother had promised to
+telegraph&mdash;he had not. His brother had promised to write&mdash;he had not.</p>
+
+<p>And he seemed to see that one question standing out in fiery letters on
+the wall: "What did it mean?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He had the notes. He had instructions what to do with them, but he dared
+not carry out those instructions.</p>
+
+<p>Suppose his brother had been arrested&mdash;arrested with the terrible
+contents of those two portmanteaus in his possession!</p>
+
+<p>As each edition of the evening papers came out, he sent Sawyer for
+copies, but he gleaned nothing from them, no arrest was reported,
+nothing in any way bearing on the matter.</p>
+
+<p>The purchase of the papers did no good&mdash;save sending him up in the
+estimation of his satellite.</p>
+
+<p>Sawyer imagined that "the guv'nor had been putting a bit on the four
+legged 'uns," and was anxious to peruse the column captioned "All the
+Winners."</p>
+
+<p>His own sporting instincts made him look up to his employer for the
+first time.</p>
+
+<p>And the lawyer?</p>
+
+<p>Made up his mind. It was risky what he proposed doing, because, as a man
+innocent of any knowledge of what had occurred, he was clearly, legally
+wrong in doing it.</p>
+
+<p>Still he had to find Mr. Depew, and there was only one way to do it.</p>
+
+<p>Fraught with risk&mdash;but he risked it. Desperate diseases need desperate
+remedies.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He sat down and pulled a sheet of his headed office paper towards him.
+Then&mdash;as a lawyer&mdash;he wrote a letter.</p>
+
+<p>It was to the Bank of England stopping the numbers of the nineteen notes
+he had obtained from that institution, and paid over to Mr. Depew.</p>
+
+<p>Bold, daring, but must necessarily be successful.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+
+<h3>THE SEALED UP CABIN</h3>
+
+<p>"Man overboard!"</p>
+
+<p>The cry rang through the ship&mdash;as cries of that sort do&mdash;first uttered
+by the man who witnessed the happening, and then passed from mouth to
+mouth.</p>
+
+<p>As a matter of fact it was a girl&mdash;a child&mdash;who had fallen overboard,
+and the nurse was standing with blanched face and clasped hands,
+watching what looked like a bundle of clothing on the surface of the
+ocean, which bundle the vessel was now rapidly leaving astern.</p>
+
+<p>Then another cry rang out. It was literally as well as vocally a man
+overboard this time&mdash;a real man.</p>
+
+<p>For such a title is surely due to one who plunges from a liner's deck
+into the sea to save another's life.</p>
+
+<p>The gongs were ringing in the engine-room before the man touched the
+water, but a liner traveling at the rate of twenty knots an hour has a
+way on her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Full speed astern" showed on the indicator, and then careful handling
+of the vessel became necessary. Almost directly she stopped.</p>
+
+<p>As she stopped, the boat which had been hanging from the outspread
+davits with a crew in her was rapidly lowered, and once in the water,
+vigorously rowed in the direction pointed out by the standing coxswain.</p>
+
+<p>Rescuer and rescued were promptly hauled into the boat, and carried to
+the waiting ship, neither of them much the worse for their ducking.</p>
+
+<p>The girl was seized by her mother and nurse, and speedily carried off to
+their own private cabin.</p>
+
+<p>The rescuer&mdash;Gerald Danvers, a second-class passenger&mdash;at his own
+request went down the stoke hole.</p>
+
+<p>Brave enough to dive into the sea, he yet had a dreadful fear of
+rheumatism, to which he was subject; hence his desire for the warmth of
+the stoke hole.</p>
+
+<p>A drink of brandy and willing hands to rub him down and the warmth of
+the stoke hole soon made him himself.</p>
+
+<p>He had at hand only the clothes he stood upright in; the rest of his
+wardrobe, packed in a portmanteau, was in the hold.</p>
+
+<p>The usual custom was departed from, and a man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> despatched to try to find
+his portmanteau&mdash;a brown one with his initials "G.&nbsp;D." on it.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't bring it down here, old chap," said Danvers to the man who had
+volunteered to fetch it. "Here are my keys. There are only clothes in
+it. Just bring me underflannels and shirt, that's all. I can wait while
+these trousers dry."</p>
+
+<p>He had thrown off coat and vest and boots before he had dived.</p>
+
+<p>The things were brought him, and he sat talking to the men while his
+trousers dried, as they very quickly did in such an atmosphere, and
+before long he was on deck again.</p>
+
+<p>He would probably have been made to pose as a hero&mdash;for a shipload of
+passengers needs something to occupy its attention&mdash;but another more
+startling sensation came about.</p>
+
+<p>The mere saving of a life sank into insignificance before the loss of
+one.</p>
+
+<p>The sea was not rough, and very few passengers were in their berths.
+Nearly all of them sat down to the meals prepared for them.</p>
+
+<p>Before dinner, the steward went over his list, and found that the
+occupants of one of the two berthed cabins had not figured at breakfast
+or luncheon.</p>
+
+<p>He went to the door of the cabin, and rapped with his
+knuckles&mdash;twice&mdash;thrice. Getting no answer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> he turned the handle and
+pushed open the door.</p>
+
+<p>One berth was empty; in the other the occupant was apparently asleep.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you feel well, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>No answer. Question repeated. Same result.</p>
+
+<p>Then the steward drew aside the curtains, and was transformed into the
+whitest faced being aboard that ship. For what he saw was a man lying
+there with his throat cut.</p>
+
+<p>To bound out of that cabin and fetch the doctor and captain was the work
+of a few moments.</p>
+
+<p>"Suicide."</p>
+
+<p>One word the steward had let drop, and it spread all over the ship like
+wildfire.</p>
+
+<p>But the doctor shook his head at the suggestion the moment he saw the
+body.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?" inquired the captain; "don't you think it suicide?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," answered the doctor laconically; "murder."</p>
+
+<p>"Murder!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Who occupied the other berth? Where is he? Find him. What? went ashore
+at Queenstown&mdash;don't know whether he came back on tender? Who received
+the mails? Tell him to come here."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The officer sent for came.</p>
+
+<p>It was in his watch that the tender departed and returned. Had noticed a
+red-haired man who had come aboard at Liverpool.</p>
+
+<p>"Passenger of this berth was red-haired," interjected the steward.</p>
+
+<p>"Go on," said the captain; "did you see the man come back on the tender?
+Is he aboard?"</p>
+
+<p>The officer scratched his head and replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Come to think of it, sir, I don't remember that he did come back."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you sure?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, yes, I am, sir. It was very early morning when we touched, and I
+noted that only one passenger went on the tender."</p>
+
+<p>"Sure it was the occupant of this berth?"</p>
+
+<p>"Must have been, sir," interrupted the steward, "because when I rapped
+for letters and telegrams the red-haired man asked whether he could go
+ashore, and how long he could stop."</p>
+
+<p>"And you&mdash;&mdash;?"</p>
+
+<p>"Told him, sir. I didn't actually see him go, but he was already
+dressed."</p>
+
+<p>The captain turned to the officer who had received the mails.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you sure the man did not come back on the tender?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir. Certain, now I come to remember."</p>
+
+<p>"He has escaped, then," said the captain. Then, looking at his watch, he
+continued: "We are nearly twelve hours out from Queenstown. I shall not
+put back."</p>
+
+<p>"Gives the murderer a good opportunity of escape, doesn't it?" queried
+the doctor.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes; I know. But we should be more than a dozen hours getting back
+with this wind, and the ship would be detained. No, I'll go on. Let the
+American police investigate it."</p>
+
+<p>"Information ought to be furnished as promptly as possible," said the
+doctor dubiously.</p>
+
+<p>"That's all very well for you, doctor; but what would they say to me as
+captain of the ship? We will draw up a full report. Just write down as
+detailed a description of the escaped man as you can, steward. Bryer,
+run up to the bridge, and tell the mate to steer for any vessel coming
+in, and fly a flag that we want to communicate. We'll send the
+description back. That's the best way out of the difficulty, doctor."</p>
+
+<p>It was not the doctor's duty to dispute the captain's authority.</p>
+
+<p>He may have had his own opinion as to what should be done, but he
+forbore from expressing it. He had his thoughts, and he had his living
+to get.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The latter fact often prevents a man's thoughts finding their way to his
+lips. This is an age of discretion&mdash;it often pays better than mere
+valor.</p>
+
+<p>"Been dead over a dozen hours," he said, after examining the body.</p>
+
+<p>"That seems to confirm the idea of murder and escape at Queenstown."</p>
+
+<p>"Better leave all things as they are for the police to examine, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>Disinfectants were put in the cabin, and the door locked.</p>
+
+<p>At the suggestion of the doctor, the captain affixed seals to a piece of
+tape fastened to the door and its lintel. The ship steamed on.</p>
+
+<p>Ocean bore a secret on her billowy bosom&mdash;it was but one added to the
+myriads buried in her fathomless depths.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+
+<h3>A WAITING WIFE'S DISCOVERY</h3>
+
+<p>In the sight of the harbor of New York the ship slowed down, and the
+tender came alongside.</p>
+
+<p>The customs officers and port sanitary authority came aboard.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after the liner was moored at her pier, and in compliance with the
+signal she had hoisted, the police came on board.</p>
+
+<p>Not a passenger was allowed to land until the officers had thoroughly
+gone into their characters, and investigated the details which the
+captain had thoughtfully put on paper.</p>
+
+<p>Every passenger, his address, description, and destination had been
+listed; the evidence of the second mate, doctor, steward, and purser had
+been committed to paper and signed.</p>
+
+<p>The two berthed cabin spoke for itself&mdash;eloquently.</p>
+
+<p>The passengers were allowed to land at last. There was no reasonable
+excuse for their further detention.</p>
+
+<p>The crowds waiting on shore had wondered at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> the delay, but the first
+man off told the news, and it spread.</p>
+
+<p>The extra editions of the newspapers sold well that evening. It is an
+ill wind which fails to inflate the circulation of the newspapers.</p>
+
+<p>The people assembled at the pier gradually dispersed, moving away with
+the friends they had come to meet, until at last only the working staff
+of boat and shore hands were around.</p>
+
+<p>The public had gone home&mdash;all save one member of it, a tall, bony,
+dressed in country style woman.</p>
+
+<p>She had started from home with whole white cotton gloves on.</p>
+
+<p>As she stood watching the boat now, there was not a whole finger left in
+one of the gloves&mdash;she had nibbled them off in her anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>She attracted the attention of the hands discharging the cargo, and was
+the object, among themselves, of many humorous remarks.</p>
+
+<p>"Waitin' for some one, missus?" at last one of the men inquired of her.</p>
+
+<p>She was glad. She had been afraid to come forward and make inquiries.
+Now the spell was broken, she said:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Have all the passengers landed?"</p>
+
+<p>"There's one&mdash;or two&mdash;still aboard," the man answered, grimly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But the grimness was lost on the woman. She gave a sigh of relief. She
+had yet to learn that the passengers spoken of by the man had crossed
+the Stygian Ferry as well as the Atlantic.</p>
+
+<p>"Mebbe one of 'em's the one I've come to meet."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope not."</p>
+
+<p>"Why?"</p>
+
+<p>The man disregarded the question. Something had occurred to him. He
+inquired:</p>
+
+<p>"What might be the name of the person you've come to meet?"</p>
+
+<p>The woman hesitated a moment, and then answered:</p>
+
+<p>"Depew."</p>
+
+<p>The man suppressed a whistle of astonishment, and repeated the name:</p>
+
+<p>"Depew!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; George Depew. Was he aboard, do you know?"</p>
+
+<p>"Wait here a moment, missus&mdash;don't go away. I'll go and inquire for
+you."</p>
+
+<p>He disappeared in the ship. He went to the captain's cabin, and knocked
+at the door.</p>
+
+<p>The police officers and witnesses were there discussing the murder.</p>
+
+<p>"Come in."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And he went. Touched his cap, then took it off, and spoke:</p>
+
+<p>"Woman outside, sir&mdash;been waitin' long time."</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"I spoke to her&mdash;asked who she was waitin' for."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Said for Depew&mdash;George Depew."</p>
+
+<p>The plain clothes officer was on his feet in a moment inquiring:</p>
+
+<p>"Where is she?"</p>
+
+<p>"On the pier."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go and see her; come, point her out to me."</p>
+
+<p>They left the cabin. The tall, gaunt woman was standing where the sailor
+had left her. Thanking the man, the officer went towards her.</p>
+
+<p>"They tell me," he said pleasantly, "that you are waiting for a
+passenger."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps you did not see him land."</p>
+
+<p>"I never took my eyes off the gangway."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you think he is aboard."</p>
+
+<p>"I understood the man to say there were one or two passengers there
+still."</p>
+
+<p>The detective suppressed a smile at the grim humor of the sailor's
+remark. They were there still&mdash;very still.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What is the name of the person you were expecting to meet?"</p>
+
+<p>Again there was a slight hesitation before the woman spoke. Then she
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"Depew."</p>
+
+<p>"George?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Then he is aboard?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;you&mdash;see&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>Then something dawned on, some fear seized the woman. It was in a
+trembling voice that she inquired:</p>
+
+<p>"You, you are not wearing the ship's uniform. You&mdash;you are a policeman?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's so."</p>
+
+<p>"My God! I see. I see why he has not landed. It's all found out&mdash;he's in
+custody."</p>
+
+<p>The detective twiddled the ends of a moustache he had under cultivation.</p>
+
+<p>The case had looked complicated&mdash;and he liked complications&mdash;indeed, got
+a living out of them. But this latest phase of the business looked like
+the envelopment of the puzzle in another one.</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me," she said, "is he aboard?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Let me see him."</p>
+
+<p>"Come this way."</p>
+
+<p>She came.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As they went below, the detective paused a minute. He inquired:</p>
+
+<p>"Are you any relation of his?"</p>
+
+<p>"His wife."</p>
+
+<p>The detective whistled. Then he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Come in here."</p>
+
+<p>"He is not here?"</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"Take me to him."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be in a hurry. See here, you'd best prepare yourself for a
+shock."</p>
+
+<p>"Shock!"</p>
+
+<p>"Your husband came aboard this boat at Liverpool."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that; is he here now?"</p>
+
+<p>"His&mdash;his remains are."</p>
+
+<p>"His&mdash;his&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Now brace up. Take the blow like a&mdash;like a real woman."</p>
+
+<p>"G-go on."</p>
+
+<p>"He's lying aboard the ship now."</p>
+
+<p>"Lying!"</p>
+
+<p>"Dead."</p>
+
+<p>"D-dead."</p>
+
+<p>"Here, hold up. There, there, pull yourself together, missus&mdash;&mdash;. Here,
+drink that&mdash;&mdash;. That's better&mdash;&mdash;. We all have to die, you know, sooner<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+or later&mdash;&mdash;. That's it. Sit there a minute or two. Now, you are going
+along all right, aren't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Drop more water? That's it. Now, how do you feel? Well enough to see
+the body? You'd like to? That's all right, then. Must be identified, you
+know. Just sit here a minute, and I'll arrange things for you."</p>
+
+<p>He went out, leaving the woman staring stonily at the roof of the
+saloon. To a subordinate on duty he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Open that cabin, Mace. Tuck a towel round the neck so the wound don't
+show. Woman's his wife. I haven't told her yet he's been murdered. Time
+for that after she identifies him. Stand by."</p>
+
+<p>He returned to the saloon in which he had left the woman.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Mrs. Depew."</p>
+
+<p>The woman started.</p>
+
+<p>"Just lean on my arm, ma'am, and brace yourself up. This way. Mind the
+step. That's it. In here. There you are, ma'am. There's the body."</p>
+
+<p>The woman moaned, braced herself up as she had been told to, and went
+forward.</p>
+
+<p>The moment her eyes rested on the dead body she screamed:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That!"</p>
+
+<p>She flung up her arms, and burst into hysterical laughter, which ended
+in a wail as she sank, a nerveless heap, in the officer's arms.</p>
+
+<p>"Too much for her, Mace. Here, give me a hand out with her. That's it.
+Take her on deck, the air will bring her to. That's it. Fetch a pillow
+for her head. Heart's beating, and she's breathing all right&mdash;it's only
+a faint. The shock was too great for her."</p>
+
+<p>It was. She had expected to see in the dead man her husband.</p>
+
+<p>It was an expectation she had not realized.</p>
+
+<p>The face of the dead man was utterly unknown to her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2>
+
+<h3>HOW THE DEVIL TEMPTED HIM</h3>
+
+<p>"There, there," said the doctor; "you will be all right in a few
+minutes."</p>
+
+<p>The woman closed her eyes again.</p>
+
+<p>"It was the shock of seeing her dead husband."</p>
+
+<p>The doctor spoke this in a whisper, but the woman heard. She opened her
+eyes. She spoke:</p>
+
+<p>"Let me lie like this for half an hour. I shall be all right then. I&mdash;I
+am subject to fainting fits."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly. We shall be in that cabin there&mdash;there, away where you see
+the light. You see it? That's all right. We will leave you now, and when
+you feel well enough, come in, and you shall hear all the particulars."</p>
+
+<p>She moved her head. They walked away.</p>
+
+<p>She shifted on her back, and the eyes in the head resting on the pillow
+were fixed on the stars. She lay quiet&mdash;thinking.</p>
+
+<p>Thinking what to do; or what had happened; how to escape; of the mistake
+she had made, and whether it would bear bad fruit.</p>
+
+<p>For the dead man lying in the ship's cabin was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> not named Depew, nor was
+the living woman lying on the ship's deck named that way.</p>
+
+<p>It was a case of lying right through, and she thought to herself that
+she had in a measure given the show away.</p>
+
+<p>So she lay thinking. The mantle of night fell gradually and cloaked
+things.</p>
+
+<p>Shadows were deep. She might steal off the ship in them unseen.</p>
+
+<p>A boat's lantern hung at each end of the gangway, but there appeared to
+be no one watching her.</p>
+
+<p>There was not. It was not supposed that there was the slightest chance
+of her running away.</p>
+
+<p>A woman overcome by emotion as she had been does not run away from the
+recently discovered body of her dead husband.</p>
+
+<p>So the police argued&mdash;argued in the dark&mdash;in ignorance of the facts, and
+left her in the dark in fancied possession of them.</p>
+
+<p>Should she go to that cabin with the light, brave it out there, and
+carry the lie on further?</p>
+
+<p>Or should she steal off in the gradually growing darker night, and
+escape home?</p>
+
+<p>Home! Her home more than fifty miles away in the village of Oakville.</p>
+
+<p>She determined to do that. Many reasons prompted her to the act.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Her husband had not been on the boat. Another man bearing his name
+filled his berth.</p>
+
+<p>There was trickery somewhere&mdash;but that was no novelty where her husband
+was concerned. She was unprepared for it, and had made a mistake. Best
+rectify it by escape.</p>
+
+<p>She did. Cleared the ship without a soul noticing it.</p>
+
+<p>Reached the railway station, and hid herself in a corner of the ladies'
+waiting room till the Oakville train started. In that train she was
+carried home.</p>
+
+<p>Her real name? Todd&mdash;Susan Todd. Her husband? Josh Todd.</p>
+
+<p>All that was left of the husband was in the cabin of the ship she had
+left. It had traveled in two portmanteaus.</p>
+
+<p>His had been a checkered career, but at last he had handed in his
+checks.</p>
+
+<p>How did it happen that he masqueraded before Lawyer Loide as George
+Depew?</p>
+
+<p>Because he was the right hand of the somewhat illiterate western farmer
+who bore that name, or as he would himself have described it, his head
+cook and bottle washer.</p>
+
+<p>George Depew could write his name, and his caligraphic talents ended
+right there. So he took for assistant Josh Todd.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Josh saw to all the correspondence, opened the letters, read and
+answered them. His wife, Susan, was the house help.</p>
+
+<p>Between them, they were paid well, and could have put away for the rainy
+day. But providence was a thing unknown to Josh.</p>
+
+<p>He put nothing away, except an excessive quantity of old Rye. On
+Saturday nights he went into Oakville, and in the saloon there sat at
+the table presided over by Mr. Jack Hamblin.</p>
+
+<p>Jack Hamblin was generally the richer by Josh's visits.</p>
+
+<p>Frequent handling of the cards had made him expert in the dealing
+thereof. He usually dealt.</p>
+
+<p>So Josh&mdash;as he figuratively put it&mdash;had not a feather to fly with. And
+he did not like it.</p>
+
+<p>There was farmer George Depew&mdash;provident man&mdash;putting by a little each
+year. Not much, but sufficient for his wife and daughter, Tessie, if he
+should suddenly be beckoned into the next world.</p>
+
+<p>Then one day there came a letter from a London lawyer named Loide, to
+George Depew.</p>
+
+<p>As usual Josh opened it. He cursed the luck of Depew freely, and then
+paused&mdash;paused to wonder whether he could not make that luck his own.</p>
+
+<p>Susan had been with the Depews when they paid a visit to England many
+years before. So Josh<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> took counsel with the wife of his bosom, and
+learned all there was to know about George.</p>
+
+<p>It was a certain thing that on the other side of that wide water&mdash;which
+the rapidity of our ocean grayhounds has made us come to think so
+narrow&mdash;not a living soul could remember George Depew.</p>
+
+<p>That determined Josh. And when he had determined he always went on.</p>
+
+<p>His scheme was simplicity itself. But for lawyer Loide's fears he
+probably would not have succeeded so well.</p>
+
+<p>Josh told the real George Depew that he had had a little money left him
+in Europe, and that his attendance the other side was necessary.</p>
+
+<p>Good-hearted, honest old George congratulated him, and willingly acceded
+to the request for a month's holiday.</p>
+
+<p>He went into New York, bought two portmanteaus, had the initials "G.&nbsp;D."
+painted on them, and to them transferred the contents of the bags with
+which he had left the farm.</p>
+
+<p>A certificate of his employer's birth, a bundle of letters directed to
+him, two cables to the lawyer, a passage on the next outgoing steamer,
+and he had all the voyage to think of what he could do next.</p>
+
+<p>A shrewd, keen man, he at once saw through the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> cheating of lawyer
+Loide&mdash;and handled that limb of the law accordingly.</p>
+
+<p>Fear of detection blinded the lawyer; he failed to make the usual
+precautionary inquiries. Conscience doth make cowards of us all.</p>
+
+<p>Susan saw her husband off from New York, and she never saw him again.</p>
+
+<p>She had a cable from him saying which boat he was returning by, and that
+he had sent a letter to her to be called for at the New York
+post-office.</p>
+
+<p>She went to New York on the day the home coming steamer was to arrive,
+and called for the letter sent by the preceding mail. It read:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Dear Old Girl</span>:</p>
+
+<p>All's gone right, and I am as happy as a clam at high water.
+There's been two hands at the grab game I've been playing,
+but I've raked in the pool. Nineteen thousand English
+pounds, old girl. Think of it. Reckon it up, and see what it
+comes to in almighty dollars.</p>
+
+<p>The property is all sold, and the proceeds will be mine in a
+day or two. The lawyer here is a cute thief, but he found me
+cuter. I gave him some chin music he'd never listened to
+before in his natural. No bunco steerer can come it over
+Josh, and don't you forget it.</p>
+
+<p>I'll be back by the boat arriving on Wednesday the 13th.
+I'll cable you certain, so you can come out to meet me.</p>
+
+<p>No more work, old girl. Enjoyment for the future.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> There's
+no chance of anything being found out, but all the same
+we'll skip from the farm. I'm just as full of joy as I was
+of Old Rye the day you saw me off.</p>
+
+<p>Only one thing troubling me: that blamed old tooth of mine
+at the back, that you put the cotton in, is aching like mad.
+I'll just get a dentist to yank it out if I can find one to
+do it without pain.&mdash;So long, old girl, your loving husband,</p></div>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 34em;"><span class="smcap">Josh</span>.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>P.S.&mdash;Burn this when you've read it.</p></div>
+
+<p>Susan did not comply with the request contained in the postscript. She
+had read it when she left the post-office, and thrust it into her pocket
+as she hurried to the pier.</p>
+
+<p>There, the shock of the discovery that her husband was dead, and the
+double shock of relief and joy to find that the dead man was not her
+husband, upset her so, that she lost consciousness, and for a time the
+subsequent proceedings interested her no more.</p>
+
+<p>She came to herself on deck with the letter still in her pocket.</p>
+
+<p>If she stayed in New York there was going to be trouble. She saw that
+plainly. She must go home and wait for another cable from Josh.</p>
+
+<p>So she went home. And the letter was still in her pocket.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+
+<h3>A LIFE FOR A LIFE</h3>
+
+<p>Danvers&mdash;the man who had dived from the ship and saved the child&mdash;was
+the bearer of a letter of introduction to George Depew, and the next day
+he presented himself with it at the farmhouse.</p>
+
+<p>Susan admitted him. Neither had, of course, ever seen the other.</p>
+
+<p>Danvers was a rolling stone&mdash;had been a colossal failure as a moss
+gatherer in the mother country.</p>
+
+<p>He was keen and intelligent, and busy with other people's affairs, but
+sleepy, indolent, and lazy with his own.</p>
+
+<p>Every one liked him, yet every one shook his or her head when his name
+was mentioned. It was felt that he would never be a success.</p>
+
+<p>At last it was determined to ship him to a country where he would have
+to work, from the fact that there there would be no friends to help him.</p>
+
+<p>If he wanted to eat, he must earn his food by his labor. It was felt
+that it was best for Danvers&mdash;and best for the friends he had been
+living on so long.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The friends felt that strongly.</p>
+
+<p>The exile jumped at the idea. He had long wanted to see America.</p>
+
+<p>One of his friends had done business with Depew over certain
+consignments, and to Depew he wrote a letter introducing Danvers, and
+asking him to do what he could for the bearer.</p>
+
+<p>Others of his friends purchased for him clothing and outfit generally,
+and saw him off&mdash;with their pockets lighter perhaps, but a strong
+feeling of relief.</p>
+
+<p>Depew welcomed Danvers heartily.</p>
+
+<p>Strangers were rarely seen in Oakville. Come from the mother country, he
+was doubly welcome.</p>
+
+<p>Danvers felt that he had dropped on both feet.</p>
+
+<p>Straightway, too, he fell in love with the farmer's daughter, and it
+must be admitted that his city ways found favor in the eyes of Tessie.</p>
+
+<p>The farmer promised to find him work, and meanwhile put him into the
+position the supposed to be holiday making Josh had filled.</p>
+
+<p>This was a thing which disturbed Susan.</p>
+
+<p>Days went by and she was still without news from her husband, and here
+was a stranger&mdash;she knew now that he came over in the boat she had been
+on&mdash;filling the post her husband had so long occupied.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She feared, too, lest any of Josh's petty delinquencies should come to
+light. She knew that his books must bristle with evidence of them.</p>
+
+<p>So things went on for two or three weeks, Susan working herself up to
+such a state of excitement that at times the blood rushed so to her head
+that her eyes were blinded to the work she was engaged in.</p>
+
+<p>The acuteness of her agony nearly drove her mad; it arose from the
+silence which was imposed on her; she dared not make any inquiries.</p>
+
+<p>And then one day she received such a shock that she became mad in real
+earnest. For she felt convinced that her husband had been murdered, and
+that Danvers was his murderer.</p>
+
+<p>Did she not at that very moment hold in her hands unquestionable proof
+of his guilt?</p>
+
+<p>She was standing at the wash-tub when she discovered it. It had been
+through her hands once before at the weekly wash.</p>
+
+<p>It was simply a flannel undervest, given out with the rest of his
+washing by George Danvers.</p>
+
+<p>But it bore her private mark, which she had with her own fingers put on
+to the vest of her missing husband weeks before. It had belonged to and
+been worn by Josh Todd!</p>
+
+<p>There was no real mystery about it, and if she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> had opened her mouth the
+matter would have been made plain to Susan. But her lips were sealed to
+silence.</p>
+
+<p>She remained with the firm conviction that her husband was dead, and
+that his murderer was sleeping beneath the same roof as herself.</p>
+
+<p>She became filled with a fiendish desire for revenge. It was impossible
+for her to give any information which would convince the police and
+bring about the murderer's punishment, but she was none the less
+convinced herself.</p>
+
+<p>She could not insure his sitting in the electrocution chair, but that
+was no reason why he should go unpunished.</p>
+
+<p>But one desire filled her&mdash;she hankered for vengeance.</p>
+
+<p>She sought for means of compassing it. She never closed her eyes at
+night for thinking about it&mdash;thinking how to get level with Danvers.</p>
+
+<p>She wanted a life for a life.</p>
+
+<p>The solution of the mystery? Simple enough. Gerald Danvers' things had
+been got together by his friends. He had only handled them in packing
+his portmanteau&mdash;a portmanteau which bore his initials.</p>
+
+<p>When in the stoke hole on that day of the child's rescue, he had asked
+one of the sailors to get his portmanteau and handed the keys from his
+wet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> trousers. The man had singled out in the hold a portmanteau bearing
+the initials "G.&nbsp;D." and the key fitting it&mdash;it was the ordinary key,
+one of which will fit hundreds of the cheaper kind of lock&mdash;he had taken
+out an undervest and shirt.</p>
+
+<p>That they were not an accurate fit in no way disturbed Danvers; he had
+not bought them himself, and he imagined that his friends had jumped at
+his size.</p>
+
+<p>As a matter of fact, the sailor had opened one of Josh Todd's
+portmanteaus, which, of course, bore the initials "G.&nbsp;D."</p>
+
+<p>It was all capable of simple explanation, but Susan Todd was not in need
+of simple explanation. She had a large sized thirst for revenge on just
+then&mdash;a thirst she determined should be quenched.</p>
+
+<p>The woman was mad&mdash;absolutely mad; filled with all the cunning which
+madness proverbially entails.</p>
+
+<p>Mere death would not satisfy her. She must make this murderer suffer.
+That was why she worried.</p>
+
+<p>She had opportunities for killing him fifty times in a day, for she was
+strong, and bony, and powerful; and an axe or a chopper would have
+bought about all she wanted.</p>
+
+<p>But the act itself would give her no pleasure. Her mind was full of the
+leading up to it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She wanted the man who had killed her husband to die a slow death by
+torture, and she was puzzled how to devise this.</p>
+
+<p>She anticipated a pleasure from watching him counting the moments to his
+death. Three parts of the pleasure of life lies in its anticipation.</p>
+
+<p>Then there came to her an idea. There must surely have been a strain of
+the old Indian blood in her, for it savored so of those times when the
+brave was honored who invented the most devilish kind of torture.</p>
+
+<p>The material for her scheme was close at hand, not a mile from the
+farmhouse&mdash;an old, disused water mill.</p>
+
+<p>Disused for want of motor power.</p>
+
+<p>It stood on the banks of what had been a swift, flowing river, but
+diversion of its course nearer its rise had turned the river into a
+little stream which could be crossed in almost all parts without water
+coming over shoe tops. Only in wet weather was it ever deep enough to
+rise to one's knees.</p>
+
+<p>When it rained above, and the waters gathered, it would come down in a
+little rush.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly prior to its final abandonment, a new wheel had been put to the
+mill. That accounted for the wheel being its soundest part&mdash;all else was
+ruin.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It had been disconnected, and the machinery of the mill removed years
+ago; but still the big paddle wheel rested on its axle, and every time
+it rained sufficiently to swell the stream above and make the water flow
+stronger, so assuredly, the wheel would revolve&mdash;revolve till the strong
+flow ceased, and the water trickled again as it was wont to do in dry
+weather.</p>
+
+<p>How the scheme came into Susan Todd's head it is impossible to say, but
+it came&mdash;came to stop.</p>
+
+<p>She would lure her husband's murderer to the old mill. She had no fear
+of an inability to do that. There she would overpower him by a blow from
+behind, which would stun him.</p>
+
+<p>His unconscious form she would drag outside the little window, and tie
+it with a clothes-line to one of the blades or paddles of the wheel.</p>
+
+<p>The accomplishment of the task the muscles of her brawny arms told her
+would be simple, and she gloated over the enjoyment she would experience
+in coming to the mill as often as possible to talk to the gagged and
+bound man.</p>
+
+<p>She would discuss the weather for his benefit, and let him know whether
+the glass was high or low&mdash;whether rain might be expected.</p>
+
+<p>And then, when the rain came, assuredly she must be there, even if it
+came in the dead of the night.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She must be there to watch the agony on the upturned face of a starving,
+thirsty man, an agony bred of a knowledge of what would happen when the
+water was strong enough to turn the mill wheel.</p>
+
+<p>She wanted to see the mill wheel start; she had watched it before and
+knew how it acted, and she knew it would act just the same with its
+human burden.</p>
+
+<p>The water moved it just a little at first, then further, then further,
+and all the while the bound wretch would be going slowly but surely to
+that pool of water through which the lower paddles of the wheel always
+passed.</p>
+
+<p>Half drowned in that, he would be dragged up into air again for the same
+ghastly performance to commence again.</p>
+
+<p>Oh! it would be beautiful&mdash;she hugged herself in the joy of the
+anticipation.</p>
+
+<p>And when the wheel had ceased whirling, and the waters had gone down,
+what easier than to cut the bonds, and let the body drop into the pool
+beneath, buried from human sight forever!</p>
+
+<p>What easier!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+
+<h3>FATHER AND CHILD&mdash;THE OLD STORY</h3>
+
+<p>"Come here, Tessie."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, dad."</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down, girlie."</p>
+
+<p>"Let me kneel, here. There, like that, then you can't be very cross, I
+know. Let me put my arms around your neck, and I know your lecture won't
+be very serious."</p>
+
+<p>"Kiss me."</p>
+
+<p>"There."</p>
+
+<p>"And now I want to talk to you, seriously, Tessie."</p>
+
+<p>"I knew you did, dad; you had such a long face. What have I done?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing yet, girlie. It's to prevent your doing something that I fear
+you will be sorry for all your life that I am talking to you now."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, dad."</p>
+
+<p>"Gerald Danvers has been here nearly a month. He's in love with
+you&mdash;that's plain to be seen. There's no blame to himself for that. You
+are a very pretty girl."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Dad!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's so. That don't matter much; and if you are only flirting that
+wouldn't matter much, either. But the point is&mdash;are you? Do you feel
+that you love him, Tessie?"</p>
+
+<p>She was playing with the seal at the end of his watch-chain, and her
+eyes were cast down as she answered:</p>
+
+<p>"He's the nicest man round these parts, dad."</p>
+
+<p>"To look at, Tessie&mdash;yes. I admit that. He's got the city polish on him.
+It's a question if that's good though. The bit of veneer on an article
+of furniture doesn't make the wood beneath any better quality."</p>
+
+<p>"No, but the farm hands, dad! And then at Oakville who is there to talk
+to?"</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe not polished people, Tessie."</p>
+
+<p>"No, dad, and that's it. Don't think I'm blaming you, dear old daddie,
+but you see the years you sent me away to boarding-school made a change
+in me. The girls&mdash;I met people of a different class. One must talk, you
+know, dad, and there isn't a soul for miles round that has an idea
+beyond the crops."</p>
+
+<p>"I see&mdash;I see."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't think I'm finding fault, daddie&mdash;not for a moment. I am as happy
+as possible at the dear old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> farm. I was born here, and I should like to
+die here. But one likes to exchange ideas, dad. You might, for instance,
+circle ten miles round the farm and you would not meet one soul who
+could tell you what poetry meant."</p>
+
+<p>"And this man, Danvers, he talks well?"</p>
+
+<p>"He is a gentleman, dad."</p>
+
+<p>"Without a dollar to call his own."</p>
+
+<p>"Dad! is he any the less a gentleman for that?"</p>
+
+<p>"The world thinks so, Tessie."</p>
+
+<p>"Let it, dad, I don't; and I know you don't. A man's a man for all
+that."</p>
+
+<p>"But a poor man, Tessie&mdash;in a double sense. I am really sorry to hear
+you say this."</p>
+
+<p>"What have I said, dad?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, girlie, nothing. But I can read you. You like Danvers?"</p>
+
+<p>She was playing with the charm on the chain again as she answered:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't dislike him, dad."</p>
+
+<p>The old man sighed.</p>
+
+<p>"I have heard you yourself say, dad, that you liked him."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! but there's a difference in my and your liking. When a woman begins
+by liking a man, she generally ends up by loving him."</p>
+
+<p>No answer.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Danvers was sent out to me, Tessie, with a letter of introduction. You
+read it. By the next mail another letter came. I opened it myself, as I
+have done all letters since Josh went away. It was from the writer of
+the letter of introduction."</p>
+
+<p>"Another, dad?"</p>
+
+<p>"No. He repeated that he would be glad if I would do all I could for
+Danvers, but, above all, I was to make him work, and work hard. That his
+life up, he had never done a stroke of work, that he had always lived on
+his friends, that his friends had provided him with an outfit and paid
+his passage money, and hoped that in a new country, where he had not a
+single friend, he would be forced to work&mdash;work for his living."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor fellow!"</p>
+
+<p>"Tessie!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, dad, isn't he a poor fellow? Fancy, thousands of miles from a
+friend, and, as you say, without a dollar of his own. Am I wrong, dad,
+to sympathize with, and say of him 'poor fellow'?"</p>
+
+<p>The old man stifled a groan.</p>
+
+<p>He was acting badly. He felt that. He was trying to paint this man in
+repulsive colors, and was but exciting a tender feeling! He was putting
+his foot into it deeper every step he took.</p>
+
+<p>It is curious how persistently parents force their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> children into the
+marriages they are so anxious not to bring about.</p>
+
+<p>Bespatter her lover to a girl, and straightway the girl loves him the
+more. Call him everything black you can lay your tongue to, and the girl
+will be framing pretty speeches for future use&mdash;to make up to him for
+it.</p>
+
+<p>"Tessie, think, my girl, you are happy now because you have everything
+you can reasonably want. Just picture to yourself what your life would
+be married to a centless man."</p>
+
+<p>"But, dad, why should you think he will always be poor?"</p>
+
+<p>"All his life, Tessie, he has been living on other people."</p>
+
+<p>"But he may reform, dad. You said he was doing the work better than Josh
+had done it."</p>
+
+<p>"New brooms sweep clean."</p>
+
+<p>"And in a new country, dad, perhaps he has turned over a new leaf."</p>
+
+<p>"Supposing he has, Tessie, what is his future? If he left here, he might
+get a job as a store clerk; what can he expect to be better? A store
+clerk with perhaps a dozen dollars a week."</p>
+
+<p>"You are hard on him, dad."</p>
+
+<p>"Come, Tessie, have I been? But for the fact that Josh is away on a
+holiday, what could I have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> done with him? There is not an ounce of farm
+work in him. They send such men out from the mother country&mdash;God knows
+what for&mdash;when we want only muscle, strength, and grit."</p>
+
+<p>"He has been useful, dad."</p>
+
+<p>"Useful! And when Josh comes back, what then? I have told him it is only
+a temporary job, and perhaps that is the reason."</p>
+
+<p>"For what, dad?"</p>
+
+<p>"His making love to you."</p>
+
+<p>"Dad!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I know the world, Tessie, better than you do. He thinks you are a
+pretty girl, and that if he can make you love him, he is in for a soft
+thing."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, dad, you are unjust."</p>
+
+<p>"I would to God he had never come here."</p>
+
+<p>"Dad!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is true. Marry? Of course you'll marry. It's a woman's mission in
+life. I can't say I have seen the man yet that I think worthy of you,
+but that is neither here nor there. But I did think you would fall into
+the hands of a man who had a bit of land of his own to walk on, and a
+roof of his own to cover him&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You are bitter, dad."</p>
+
+<p>"I feel so, girlie. You are so bound up heart<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> and soul in my heart and
+soul that what affects you affects me. I want to see you happy."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that, dad."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me, he has not spoken to you of love yet?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not&mdash;with his lips, dad&mdash;yet."</p>
+
+<p>Then the old man groaned aloud. He knew it was hopeless to talk.</p>
+
+<p>He prayed for the return of Josh that he might have a reasonable excuse
+for packing off Danvers.</p>
+
+<p>And Josh&mdash;all that was left of him&mdash;after the inquest had been buried in
+the city cemetery.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+
+<h3>LOVERS&mdash;MORE OF THE OLD STORY</h3>
+
+<p>"Tessie, why are you angry with me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Angry?"</p>
+
+<p>His question answered by another, answered to the accompaniment of
+elevated eyebrows and a pretty little expression of surprise&mdash;after the
+manner of her sex.</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;yes. You are&mdash;aren't you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Was never better tempered in my life."</p>
+
+<p>"I rather wish that you would get ill tempered."</p>
+
+<p>"Why?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because&mdash;because then you are nicer. Nicer to me.</p>
+
+<p>"Nicer, Mr. Danvers?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Danvers!"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, that is your name, is it not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, certainly, Miss Depew."</p>
+
+<p>The girl laughed nervously.</p>
+
+<p>They were walking across the fields from the milking shed, the girl
+carrying the cream for supper.</p>
+
+<p>"You are laughing now," he said.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You said once you liked to hear me laugh."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I mean you are laughing at me. Don't feel sufficient interest in
+me, I suppose? Please don't say it; I will take it you mean that."</p>
+
+<p>"I think you are very horrid this afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>"I feel so. My feelings are oozing up to the surface, I suppose. And I
+meant to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"To what?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it&mdash;it does not matter."</p>
+
+<p>"You talk in&mdash;well, I can't understand you."</p>
+
+<p>"Like a man awakening from a sleep. Wits have been wool gathering. I
+have been dreaming. Accept my apologies, Miss Depew."</p>
+
+<p>"Miss Depew! How dreadfully formal you have grown."</p>
+
+<p>"Blizzard came along, and froze me all up."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor fellow!"</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad you have some sort of feeling for me&mdash;if it is only pity."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I always sympathize with&mdash;with people who are all frozen up."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose it is no use asking you for a plain answer to a plain
+question?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;you are a woman."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that a compliment for my sex, or is it marked 'personal'?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Tessie&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"That's better; you are thawing."</p>
+
+<p>"Tessie!"</p>
+
+<p>"You have called me twice, and I am listening all the time."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know how to say what I want to say."</p>
+
+<p>"How curious! You are usually so&mdash;well, never at a loss for words."</p>
+
+<p>"You chill me."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor fellow! Going into the Arctic regions again?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am going away from the farm&mdash;to the Arctic regions, or to the devil,
+I don't much care where."</p>
+
+<p>She started when he said he was going away, and caught her underlip
+between her teeth, and held it there.</p>
+
+<p>It prevented its trembling. Presently she said:</p>
+
+<p>"I thought you were going to stay&mdash;quite a while."</p>
+
+<p>"So did I."</p>
+
+<p>"Why are you going, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Driven away."</p>
+
+<p>"Really."</p>
+
+<p>She was herself again by now. A conscious smile played round her lips as
+she inquired:</p>
+
+<p>"Who's the driver?"</p>
+
+<p>"Tessie Depew."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It did not surprise her a bit; she had guessed what was coming. But she
+simply said again:</p>
+
+<p>"Really!"</p>
+
+<p>And he found it most aggravating. She had said "really" in that
+surprised tone so often that he began to hate the word.</p>
+
+<p>He swished the heads of the tall grass with the stick he was
+carrying&mdash;the beheading operation was a relief to his feelings.</p>
+
+<p>She watched him from beneath her long lashes, and there was a curve
+round her lips all the time&mdash;she couldn't help a smile.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought at one time, Tessie&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thought you&mdash;well, I was a fool for thinking so, wasn't I?"</p>
+
+<p>"Really can't tell what you did think," she answered demurely. "I am
+sure I should be a conspicuous failure as a thought reader."</p>
+
+<p>"Last night I went to bed the happiest man in America."</p>
+
+<p>"So?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. I am a poor devil of a wandering sort of sheep, and a woman's kind
+words have come on my ears so seldom&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"That they influence me when they come."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Women," she spoke with assumed carelessness, "have been kind to you,
+then?"</p>
+
+<p>"You were kind to me last night, Tessie."</p>
+
+<p>"Really! What did I say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not so much what you said, but the way you said it. Tessie, don't drive
+me mad. You know&mdash;you do&mdash;now, don't you&mdash;that I love you?"</p>
+
+<p>Of course she knew it, but she was not going to admit it. She looked
+quite surprised, as if such an idea had never occurred to her.</p>
+
+<p>She was a true woman&mdash;an actress to the tips of her fingers, when the
+subject of the play was love. He went on:</p>
+
+<p>"I led an idle sort of life, Tessie, in the old country, and I came out
+here to turn over a new leaf. I have turned it over, and fastened down
+the old one.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not worth a red cent&mdash;whatever that is&mdash;now, but I have faith in
+myself, and I believe that presently, if hard work and persistence raise
+a man on the ladder, I'll be able to climb up. I never expected for a
+moment that you would climb with me; I would not be such a selfish brute
+as to ask you to. But there was something I had intended to ask
+you&mdash;only&mdash;only&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"What was it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your kindness made me think of it. I told you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> that I went to bed last
+night the happiest man in all America. But I didn't tell you I slept.</p>
+
+<p>"I did not. I lay thinking&mdash;thinking all the time of you. I thought I
+would begin that climb with such a heart, with such an eagerness, with
+such a will, because I would have you for an incentive."</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"I thought that last night, because you behaved to me like a&mdash;like an
+angel. And I determined to ask you to-day to&mdash;to&mdash;that's why I came out
+to the sheds to meet you."</p>
+
+<p>"What were you&mdash;what were you going to ask me?"</p>
+
+<p>"To wait for me, Tessie. To wait a year or two till I was up the tree a
+bit with a nest I could invite you to share with me. I love you, Tessie,
+love you with all my heart and soul.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose I ought to have told you all this differently; then you would
+have liked me all the better for it. But I am not experienced in love
+affairs, Tessie. You are the first woman I have ever really loved&mdash;the
+first I have ever told so."</p>
+
+<p>She did not, somehow, seem dissatisfied with his manner of telling it,
+and the concluding sentence was as wise a one as he could have framed.</p>
+
+<p>They were walking very slowly now, and if the girl did not say much, she
+thought the more. Nice,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> pleasant, happy thoughts, and they made her
+sweet to the man who had inspired them.</p>
+
+<p>"The plain question I wanted a plain answer to, Tessie, was: Was I a
+fool last night? Was I ass enough to misunderstand you? Did my vanity
+make me think you cared for me? Tessie, Tessie, do you love me?"</p>
+
+<p>"You said a plain question, Gerald."</p>
+
+<p>She had her eyes fixed on the ground as she spoke. "But I have counted
+four questions all in that one breath."</p>
+
+<p>"Tessie, darling, answer me."</p>
+
+<p>"What, all four?"</p>
+
+<p>She had raised her mischievous eyes to his, and fixed them on him in
+such a way that his heart leaped.</p>
+
+<p>"Tessie!"</p>
+
+<p>"Supposing I answer one?"</p>
+
+<p>"Tessie?"</p>
+
+<p>"The&mdash;last&mdash;one."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, yes."</p>
+
+<p>"That is my answer."</p>
+
+<p>"What?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>He caught her in his arms then, and&mdash;well, Blossom standing in the
+middle of the meadow chewing her cud paused in that operation in sheer
+astonishment.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+
+<h3>THE METHOD IN SUSAN TODD'S MADNESS</h3>
+
+<p>The next day the farmer's daughter went into Oakville shopping. She had
+arranged to have tea with a friend and be back before dusk.</p>
+
+<p>Danvers had been sent in another direction in the early morning, and
+knew nothing of this. He was back early in the afternoon, and wondered
+at seeing nothing of the girl of his heart.</p>
+
+<p>Susan spoke to him presently. She beckoned him as he passed the back of
+the house.</p>
+
+<p>"I've a message for you, Mr. Danvers."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! What is it, Susan?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not so loud! From Miss Tessie."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!"</p>
+
+<p>"She's gone for a ride. Will you meet her in the old water mill at four
+o'clock?"</p>
+
+<p>"The old&mdash;why on earth all that distance away? What is she doing there?"</p>
+
+<p>"That she did not tell me," the woman answered shortly; "don't go if you
+don't want to. I've given you the message."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's all right, Susan; don't lose your temper. I'll go fast enough."</p>
+
+<p>"She told me to say, too, that you were not to tell any one."</p>
+
+<p>"Trust me, I won't. What's the time by your kitchen clock? Just three.
+There's an hour to wait. All right."</p>
+
+<p>He went away about his business. Susan watched him out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>Presently she went away about her business&mdash;in the direction of the old
+water mill. She took with her some old pieces of rope which had been
+used for binding butter kegs, and which she knew would never be missed.
+They had been thrown aside as useless, because they were so soaked in
+fat.</p>
+
+<p>She had half an hour to wait before the hands of the kitchen clock would
+point to four, but she waited patiently.</p>
+
+<p>Her revenge was coming within her grasp, the revenge she had been
+praying and hoping for&mdash;a life for a life.</p>
+
+<p>The roof of the old mill and the rafters and part of the loft flooring
+were fairly sound.</p>
+
+<p>She tied a heavy stone to her rope, and, after climbing to the loft,
+pulled up the stone after her. There she waited. The old mill was a
+baited trap.</p>
+
+<p>She passed the time in coiling the rope, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> handling and weighing the
+stone. She intended to drop the stone on her victim's head.</p>
+
+<p>She knew it would stun him. She had seen a man fall senseless&mdash;and
+remain senseless for an hour&mdash;on the occasion of a far less heavy weight
+falling on his head.</p>
+
+<p>Ten minutes would suffice for her task, if he remained senseless as
+long.</p>
+
+<p>She mapped out what she would do if the stone failed. She would drop
+from above, spring on him from behind, and half choke the life out of
+him with her strong, long, bony fingers.</p>
+
+<p>Then she would bring him to again, when she had fastened him up. She did
+not want him to die&mdash;yet.</p>
+
+<p>Before four o'clock, Gerald Danvers entered the mill.</p>
+
+<p>Before four o'clock he was lying senseless on the floor, a great ugly
+gash in the back of his head, and a woman feeling at his heart to know
+if it was beating, and laughing a maniacal laugh of triumph when she
+found it was, and that her scheme was successful&mdash;so far.</p>
+
+<p>Then she tied him up. Tightly round the ankles and knees, and his wrists
+close round his waist.</p>
+
+<p>His arms she kept open&mdash;open for the binding cords to be looped
+through.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The wheel she kept in a fixed position by means of a wooden pin thrust
+in its side from the interior of the mill. That fixed, it was easy to
+walk out of the door window on the floor's level, straight to the paddle
+nearest it.</p>
+
+<p>Susan dragged Gerald's unconscious body along the floor, out of the
+window, on to the paddle, and then she began to bind him to the blade.</p>
+
+<p>She had come with plenty of pieces of rope, and, slinging one round the
+paddle, she caught the end of it the other side.</p>
+
+<p>By that means she fastened the feet. Another piece, thrown in a similar
+way, she drew through the arms, and her prisoner was securely bound
+then, unable to move, literally, hand or foot.</p>
+
+<p>Then she drew the man's handkerchief from his pocket, and forcing his
+mouth open, used it as a gag, knotting it behind his head.</p>
+
+<p>She got off the paddle, back into the mill, and gazed on her handiwork.</p>
+
+<p>The figure did not stir. The eyes were closed, and although the blood
+had ceased flowing, the body seemed lifeless.</p>
+
+<p>This did not suit Susan. She wanted the man to awake, to suffer torture.</p>
+
+<p>She wondered how she could get water to pour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> over him. She had come
+without dipper or basin of any kind.</p>
+
+<p>Could she move the wheel, she wondered. She knew she was strong. If she
+could gradually turn this, blade by blade, it would go faster and
+faster, and as the bottom three blades, she could see, were in the pool,
+it followed that, for a few moments, the man would be&mdash;from head to
+foot&mdash;in the cold water. That could not fail to revive him.</p>
+
+<p>She would try. She did.</p>
+
+<p>She withdrew the pin, and pulled and pushed with all the strength that
+in her lay.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed a hopeless task, but presently she felt the paddle she was
+pushing move just half an inch, then an inch, then more and more, and at
+last the second paddle was where the first had been.</p>
+
+<p>The wheel was moving. The man was on his road to the water at the
+bottom.</p>
+
+<p>The wheel went round faster because the weight of the man told.</p>
+
+<p>The body passed through the water and came up. And then real hard work
+for Susan commenced.</p>
+
+<p>She had not thought of the additional weight on the upward journey.</p>
+
+<p>But she was bound to bring the body up to a level position, if she broke
+every sinew in her wiry frame.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>After infinite labor she succeeded, and with a sigh of relief thrust the
+pin into its place again&mdash;the pin which held the wheel firm.</p>
+
+<p>Not that there was any need for that. Lying in a level position, the
+balance was true.</p>
+
+<p>The wheel would have stayed so without the pin.</p>
+
+<p>Then she looked at the prisoner&mdash;he was looking at her! The water had
+nearly choked him, but it had at the same time brought him back to life,
+if not to understanding of the situation. The woman spoke to him:</p>
+
+<p>"You are back to your senses. You can understand what I am saying?"</p>
+
+<p>The look in his eyes answered her. She went on:</p>
+
+<p>"You are going to die, Gerald Danvers. Die slowly. I am killing you
+because you killed my husband. It's a life for a life. Your life for
+that of the man you killed on the ship.</p>
+
+<p>"You will live there, just as you are, without bite or sup, till the
+rain comes. You will be able to see the clouds as you lie there, the
+stars at night and the sun by day. When the rain comes the waters gather
+above, and where you see that trickling which just escapes your head, a
+waterfall appears and turns the wheel you are on."</p>
+
+<p>The man had his eyes fixed on her all the time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He understood clearly all she was saying now&mdash;but he could not fathom
+what was the reason for it all&mdash;what he had done to merit such a
+revenge.</p>
+
+<p>He did not understand how&mdash;as Byron says&mdash;sweet is revenge, especially
+to women.</p>
+
+<p>But for the handkerchief in his mouth, he might have been able to
+explain; as it was, he could not make a sound. She continued:</p>
+
+<p>"If you want to live, pray that the rain may not come; if you want to
+die, pray that it may. When you feel that waterfall reaching you, then
+you may know that presently there will be force enough to turn the
+wheel, and that you will go round and round, faster and faster, now in
+the air, now in the water, now in the air, now in the water!"</p>
+
+<p>She was waving her arms round and round to illustrate her meaning&mdash;she
+was so fearful that he should lose any of the horror of his position.</p>
+
+<p>She need not have been. He lost none.</p>
+
+<p>Every word she uttered went home. He realized it the more because he saw
+the woman was mad. Her eyes alone spoke the fact eloquently.</p>
+
+<p>"If you pray for life, remember it will be a famishing, thirsty, hungry
+life. If we have no rain for a dozen days, not a taste of food, not a
+drop of water do you get. You can hear the water always trickling by
+you, and in a day or two as you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> get hungry I will bring my dinner here,
+and you shall see me eat it, you murdering brute, you!"</p>
+
+<p>He realized, without the maniacal laughter, how mad she was.</p>
+
+<p>His heart almost ceased beating. He was not a coward, but he felt that
+at this woman's mercy his death was certain. Not a speedy death, but a
+lingering, torturing one.</p>
+
+<p>Rescue was out of the question. Not a soul came near the old mill,
+except at haymaking time to cut the grass. That was weeks ahead.</p>
+
+<p>Still the woman talked.</p>
+
+<p>"Till the rain comes, you know what to expect. Till the rain comes.
+And when it is all over I shall cut your cords and let you
+drop&mdash;splash&mdash;into the pool you have just been through.</p>
+
+<p>"You killed my husband, you murderer, you! His blood calls out for
+vengeance. I am going to take&mdash;a terrible vengeance. But it is justice,
+the justice the parson tells us of&mdash;a life for a life&mdash;a tooth for a
+tooth. You took my husband's life&mdash;I am going to take yours. You
+murdering brute!"</p>
+
+<p>It was her farewell speech. She slammed to the door, and he was left
+alone!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2>
+
+<h3>BOUND TO THE WHEEL</h3>
+
+<p>Gerald Danvers was never able to realize how long he lay there.</p>
+
+<p>Blissful moments of unconsciousness came with awful awakenings to the
+reality of that painful binding. Every time he moved the cords seemed to
+attain the heat of redness, and to burn into his flesh.</p>
+
+<p>Thirst&mdash;that was the most awful feeling. He had not been there an hour
+before he was assailed with it.</p>
+
+<p>The handkerchief made his mouth water, and the linen seemed to act like
+blotting paper, absorbing and drawing up every drop of moisture in his
+body.</p>
+
+<p>He could turn his head, and there, not a yard away, sparkling in the
+sun, was water trickling down; the waterfall which was to swell in body
+and force and whirl him to his death.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before he was praying for death&mdash;life seemed so full of
+pain.</p>
+
+<p>The acute agony of that immovable position, with the cords seeming to
+cut into his flesh every time he attempted to move, became unendurable.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He could keep no count of the hours, but when at last the setting sun
+turned things red, he felt that he had been there days and days.</p>
+
+<p>Not that he noticed the color of the sun; the blood which had rushed to
+his head made things all black one moment, all red the next.</p>
+
+<p>Night fell; all was darkness&mdash;so black a darkness that in the shadow in
+which he lay he could not see the faintest outline of the mill.</p>
+
+<p>Presently a little speck of light appeared above him. Water was in his
+eyes, tears forced there by the pain, blurring his sight.</p>
+
+<p>The little light looked like a flashing diamond. He could not wipe the
+water from his eyes, but when presently it fell away, and his vision was
+clearer, he saw that what had appeared as a speck of light was a star in
+the sky above him.</p>
+
+<p>Then he realized that it was night. He gathered some idea of the time,
+too.</p>
+
+<p>He knew that the moon did not rise till nine o'clock, and it had not
+risen yet. It was clear and cloudless, the canopy above him, and he knew
+that ere long the moon would rise and lighten up his surroundings.</p>
+
+<p>Then he lapsed into unconsciousness again.</p>
+
+<p>From that state he was aroused by a noise&mdash;aroused to find that the moon
+was up, and flooding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> half the mill wheel with light, and throwing the
+other half in deep shadow.</p>
+
+<p>His head and chest were in the former, and the rest of him in darkness.</p>
+
+<p>The noise was slight, but his tense nerves caught it; it was on the
+wheel, and presently he was conscious that some one was feeling his
+legs, and then higher up his body, round his waist.</p>
+
+<p>He guessed it was the mad woman come back, and he was not sorry. He
+still heard the slight noise, and imagined it to be the woman creeping
+along the paddle.</p>
+
+<p>He closed his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Not that he feared death. In his conscious moments, for hours past, he
+had been praying for release from his torturing position&mdash;praying for
+death.</p>
+
+<p>And he felt that it was coming at last. He closed his eyes because he
+did not want to see in what shape it had arrived.</p>
+
+<p>He guessed that it would be a noiseless weapon, perhaps a knife, and a
+feeling of wonder stole over him, wonder of how it would feel as the
+knife sheathed itself in his heart.</p>
+
+<p>No feeling of fear, not a scrap; he would welcome it. It would end the
+pain. And then he prayed.</p>
+
+<p>He felt the movements about his legs, but his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> limbs were so numbed that
+he could not very well tell what was being done.</p>
+
+<p>And then he felt a weight on his chest, a moving weight. He thought that
+his last moments had arrived&mdash;that his murderer was getting closer and
+closer. Still he prayed.</p>
+
+<p>His had not been a very religious upbringing. Indeed, there had been
+times when he had scoffed at godly people, and the idea of entering a
+church had never occurred to him since his childhood.</p>
+
+<p>There had been nothing particularly vicious in his life, but the idea of
+prayer had never entered his mind. He had, he had thought, too much to
+do in thinking of this world to trouble himself about the next one. Time
+enough for that when he was dying.</p>
+
+<p>Quite a number of persons think that way. The heavenly bookkeepers are
+troubled only with entries on the debit side during most men's healthy
+times.</p>
+
+<p>No grateful acknowledgment rises for that same health; it is only when
+illness reaches the man on earth that he thinks of heaven.</p>
+
+<p>The recording angel can usually gauge a man's health by a reference to
+the credit side of his ledger account. The entries tell.</p>
+
+<p>Now, with closed eyes, Gerald Danvers prayed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> He thanked God for
+bringing his torture to an end, and asked forgiveness for his previous
+forgetfulness. He was earnest in his prayer, and he prayed on. And all
+the time he felt the movement on his chest; but his life was spared.</p>
+
+<p>Then he wondered why. He knew that his chest was in the moonlight, and
+that if he opened his eyes he could see his murderer there.</p>
+
+<p>And the suspense was as bad to bear as the previous torture. He would
+open his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Danvers opened his eyes. Could he have given vent to a scream it would
+have been one of mortal fear and agony.</p>
+
+<p>His cry to God was not one of thankfulness now, but of fear, horror, and
+fear of being eaten alive!</p>
+
+<p>For on his chest, his legs, his whole body, there seemed to be swarming
+hundreds and hundreds of huge rats!</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps his prayer was answered, for once more he became oblivious of
+his surroundings. And he remained unconscious for many hours, so much so
+that, when next he opened his eyes, the sun was rising, and the whole
+place was bright with the light of daybreak.</p>
+
+<p>He cast his eyes to his chest, to his feet; thank God! not a sign of a
+rat. Moreover, the feeling of numbness and pain had left him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He began to wonder whether it had all been a fearful dream.</p>
+
+<p>And then something happened which startled him. A fly alighted on his
+face.</p>
+
+<p>Involuntarily he started to brush it away with his hand. And the hand
+brushed it away!</p>
+
+<p>It was not till he had so used his hand that he realized that that
+member was free. Then he could not understand.</p>
+
+<p>He lay there quite still with the hand poised in the air&mdash;his own hand
+free. He looked at his wrist, and there were the red marks where the
+rope had been. He could not understand it.</p>
+
+<p>Gently he tried to move his left hand&mdash;and succeeded. Lifted it till it
+grasped the blade of the wheel to his left.</p>
+
+<p>Still he lay quiet, unable to realize that his hands were free&mdash;and what
+that meant.</p>
+
+<p>But it did not take long for the full meaning to burst on him, and when
+it did, he lost no time.</p>
+
+<p>A moment after he was in a sitting position, and had wrenched the
+handkerchief from his aching, parched mouth.</p>
+
+<p>The sitting position pained him intensely for a few moments, after his
+long recumbent attitude, and he rested for the pain to go off.</p>
+
+<p>He heard a noise, and, looking down over the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> wheel, saw cattle on the
+brink of the rivulet&mdash;cattle endeavoring to bury their noses in the cool
+water.</p>
+
+<p>The sight gave him fresh life; he must reach that water and drink, and
+drink, and drink.</p>
+
+<p>He essayed to move his legs&mdash;he could. He was quite free. Just cramped,
+that was all.</p>
+
+<p>What could it mean? How had his liberation been effected?</p>
+
+<p>He looked around, and there was not a trace of the ropes which had bound
+him.</p>
+
+<p>Yet stay, what was that upon which he was sitting? He put his hands
+beneath him, and withdrew a piece of rope&mdash;a piece of greasy rope.</p>
+
+<p>He examined it carefully. It was a piece that had been entirely covered
+by his body. He examined the ends, and the marks thereon told him all.</p>
+
+<p>The rats which had caused him such horror had been his salvation.
+Attracted by the fat sodden rope, they had gnawed it and gnawed it all
+the while he was lying unconscious.</p>
+
+<p>And now&mdash;thank God&mdash;he was free at last.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+
+<h3>SUSAN TODD SEES A GHOST</h3>
+
+<p>That water&mdash;that delicious water! Would he ever forget that drink?</p>
+
+<p>It was some little while before he was able to climb off the mill wheel,
+and he staggered, too, when he reached the ground.</p>
+
+<p>Prone on his chest, he buried his mouth and nose in the little stream,
+and sucked up the water. Never had he tasted sweeter.</p>
+
+<p>He looked across the fields. Away in the distance he could see in the
+clearness of the early morning the windows of the farmhouse with the
+blinds drawn.</p>
+
+<p>Half way between himself and the house were the milking sheds.</p>
+
+<p>He walked towards them. He could see the cows beginning to gather there,
+ready for the relief of the early milking.</p>
+
+<p>He stood sorely in need of food&mdash;a draft of milk would be as good as a
+meal.</p>
+
+<p>At first walking was hard work. His late cramped position told.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But each step he took, the pain seemed to wear away more and more. He
+reached the sheds, had no difficulty in finding a pail, and was
+presently gratefully drinking the warm milk. It made a man of him.</p>
+
+<p>It was still early. Susan, he knew, was the first to be up in the
+household.</p>
+
+<p>If he went to the farm now he would come face to face with the woman who
+had tried to murder him.</p>
+
+<p>That he determined to do. He was consumed with a feverish anxiety to
+know why he had been sentenced to death.</p>
+
+<p>At the same time, strong as he felt now, and prepared for assault, he
+would take precautions.</p>
+
+<p>He looked around for something wherewith to arm himself. An ax hung by a
+cord from the wall of the shed. He took it and walked towards the farm.</p>
+
+<p>He knew that Susan would come down and make straight for her kitchen;
+that the first thing she would do would be to open wide the door leading
+to the garden.</p>
+
+<p>In that garden he would stand. He was curious to see how she would view
+him. He would stand there and wait&mdash;with the ax behind him in case of
+accidents.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He did so. Waited a long while. Then he heard the sounds of her
+footsteps clattering over the hard kitchen floor; the shooting of the
+top bolt, then the bottom one, the rattle of fingers on the catch, and
+then the door opened.</p>
+
+<p>He saw the woman&mdash;she saw him. The color left her face, she went livid,
+she threw up her arms, screamed and fell senseless to the floor,
+muttering:</p>
+
+<p>"A ghost! A ghost!"</p>
+
+<p>Gerald entered the kitchen. The scream had alarmed the people in the
+house; he could hear them hurriedly moving about up-stairs.</p>
+
+<p>He bent over the unconscious woman. She had struck her head in falling,
+and it was bleeding slightly.</p>
+
+<p>It would be untrue to record any feeling of pity on Gerald's part. He
+rather grimly recognized a coincidence.</p>
+
+<p>They both had head wounds. She had let something fall on his, now she
+had fallen on her own.</p>
+
+<p>"What's this? What&mdash;you Gerald! Where have you been? What does this
+mean?"</p>
+
+<p>It was farmer Depew talking.</p>
+
+<p>"This woman's mad."</p>
+
+<p>"Mad! What on earth do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"You will scarcely believe me when I tell you. But the woman is in a
+faint now. Let us&mdash;&mdash;"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You leave her to Harper there. Harper, throw some cold water over her.
+And now you, Mr. Danvers, just throw some light on these fixings, will
+you? Where have you passed the night?"</p>
+
+<p>"Bound hand and foot to the old mill wheel!"</p>
+
+<p>"See here&mdash;you said she was mad, I shall begin to think&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Hear me out&mdash;you won't then. I have been nearer death's door than I
+shall ever be again without entering. Death must keep his hinges well
+oiled," he added grimly, "or I should have heard them creaking."</p>
+
+<p>"What&mdash;how did it happen?"</p>
+
+<p>"I went into the mill yesterday afternoon, just before four o'clock.
+This young lady"&mdash;he indicated Susan with his foot&mdash;"was there before
+me. She had climbed aloft with something heavy. What it was she dropped
+on my head I don't know, but I know it struck me at the time as being
+heavy."</p>
+
+<p>"Curious thing to joke about!"</p>
+
+<p>"If you felt as light-hearted as I do, farmer, you would want to skip
+and dance. It was no joking matter at the time, I can tell you."</p>
+
+<p>"Go on."</p>
+
+<p>"The blow rendered me insensible. When I came to myself I found that my
+lady here had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> dragged me on to the wheel, and tied me to it, bound hand
+and foot, and gagged."</p>
+
+<p>"Good God!"</p>
+
+<p>"Fact. Look at my wrists. There are the marks, you see, yet. She had
+evidently thrown pails of water over me, I suppose to bring me to, for I
+was drenched from head to foot."</p>
+
+<p>"Go on."</p>
+
+<p>"It evidently did bring me to, for I found myself looking her in the
+face. She spoke. Told me what she intended to do with me."</p>
+
+<p>"What?"</p>
+
+<p>"Leave me there without food or drink till the rain came and made the
+stream powerful enough to revolve the wheel, and let me be whirled to
+glory."</p>
+
+<p>"Is&mdash;it possible?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know. I didn't wait to see."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you certainly take it light-heartedly&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't at the time. I was the most heavy-hearted man in this country.
+But it is over, and the reaction is immense."</p>
+
+<p>"Did she not give her reason for this behavior?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well&mdash;she seemed to think that I had killed her husband, and that it
+was her duty to lay me out in consequence."</p>
+
+<p>"Killed her husband?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's what she said&mdash;killed him on a boat."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"On a boat? What does she mean? Has she been thinking about the murder
+on the liner you came over by? She may have heard you talking about it."</p>
+
+<p>"I never thought of that! She said, 'Your life for that of the man you
+killed on the ship.' Had that man anything to do with her husband?"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't know. Wait till she comes round, we will see. She's moving a bit
+now."</p>
+
+<p>The woman did move. Opened her eyes, and then seemed to remember how she
+came on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>She started into a sitting position, and her eyes fell on Gerald. Once
+more she screamed out:</p>
+
+<p>"A ghost! A ghost! A ghost!"</p>
+
+<p>Then she fell back in a burst of frenzied hysterical laughter, and
+despite the fact that two men held her down, the tattoo made by the
+tapping of her feet could be heard all over the building.</p>
+
+<p>Ultimately, she was carried up to her room, quieted, and with the
+assistance of the farmer's wife and daughter undressed and put to bed.</p>
+
+<p>Danvers was rather struck by the change in positions. He had been afraid
+for his life of her, now she was afraid of him.</p>
+
+<p>It caused him to hang up the ax. He felt he would be able to get along
+without it now.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+
+<h3>A SICK BED CONFESSION</h3>
+
+<p>One of the men built the fire, and assistance with the crockery by
+others meant breakfast being served ultimately.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald had an appetite which some of the farm hands paused to view with
+a kind of envy. In the rare intervals of the meal, when his mouth was
+not too full, he told the farmer the rest of the story.</p>
+
+<p>Susan came out of her fit, but it left her lying there as weak as a rat.</p>
+
+<p>It was explained to her that Gerald was really alive, and then she
+relapsed into sullen silence&mdash;she guessed that the sheriff or his men
+would be the next to interview her.</p>
+
+<p>Later in the day the farmer and Gerald went up to her room.</p>
+
+<p>Danvers was so buoyant over his release, so assured that the woman had a
+grievance, and above all so curious to get to the bottom of the affair,
+that he greeted her with a smile on his lips, and no visible anger.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>She answered him never a word.</p>
+
+<p>He sat on the bedside, and addressed her at some length, while the
+farmer seated himself near the head of the bed.</p>
+
+<p>"Susan, those born to be hanged can't be drowned, you know; so I am
+here. There's no need to bother you by telling you how I escaped&mdash;I'm
+here. That's good enough. Now, what I want to know is what the dickens
+made you put me on the wheel."</p>
+
+<p>Sullen silence.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't think I feel more than necessarily angry over it, because I
+don't. I know perfectly well that you, in your own mind, thought you had
+a good reason, or you would not have done it. What was it?"</p>
+
+<p>Sullen silence.</p>
+
+<p>"You said I had murdered your husband. I have never seen him, never even
+heard his name, and never hurt, killed, or wounded any man, woman, or
+child in the whole course of my life."</p>
+
+<p>She turned her head and looked at him.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," he said smilingly, "I can look you straight in the face, Susan.
+And I should be scarcely likely to do that, should I, if I had killed
+your husband?"</p>
+
+<p>Still she looked at him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"On the steamer in which I crossed the Atlantic there certainly was a
+man found dead. But whether murdered or suicide, or what his name was, I
+don't know. Was that your husband, or was the other man?&mdash;who, no doubt
+had been murdered, judging by the way his body was found."</p>
+
+<p>That made her open her lips. She was startled into a speech. She said:</p>
+
+<p>"Other man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; there were two bodies found in the one cabin."</p>
+
+<p>"I only saw one."</p>
+
+<p>That brought the farmer to his feet. He said:</p>
+
+<p>"You saw? How on earth could you see?"</p>
+
+<p>But the woman, annoyed at having been betrayed into speech, was silent.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald spoke again.</p>
+
+<p>"Susan, don't be a fool. If your husband is dead, I did not kill him.
+Your common sense ought to tell you that. But if he is dead, you ought
+to know how, and by what means.</p>
+
+<p>"I never saw either of the passengers who were found dead, and do not
+know their names&mdash;if I ever heard them. But it is surely a duty for you
+to find out the true story. Dead men tell no tales, but live ones do.</p>
+
+<p>"Find out the truth. Come, let me help you. I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> bear you no malice&mdash;not a
+scrap. Tell me all about it&mdash;tell me."</p>
+
+<p>She spoke at last.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't trust you."</p>
+
+<p>"I see that, Susan," he answered cheerfully; "and it is that distrust I
+want to wipe away. Why, do you know, over in England, I was in the
+office of a private detective agency, and there is no knowing how I
+might be able to help you."</p>
+
+<p>Again she said:</p>
+
+<p>"I don't trust you."</p>
+
+<p>"I know. But why? You have got in your mind some reason for this
+distrust. It's a wrong reason, absolutely wrong, Susan. Anyway, tell me
+what causes you to suspect me, and see if it cannot be explained away."</p>
+
+<p>"You are wearing my dear husband's clothes."</p>
+
+<p>"What!"</p>
+
+<p>He sprang to his feet in such genuine amazement, that even Susan's
+belief in his guilt was shaken.</p>
+
+<p>"Your husband's clothes!" he blurted out; "why, I bought this suit the
+very week I left England at Samuels', on Ludgate Hill."</p>
+
+<p>"I meant your underclothes," she said shortly.</p>
+
+<p>"Underclothes!" he answered. "Those I certainly did not buy. Friends got
+the outfit for me.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> It came on board in my portmanteau, save those
+things I wore on board. How on earth you can suppose that I am wearing
+another man's clothes, I can't think."</p>
+
+<p>"All the same, you have been wearing my husband's shirt."</p>
+
+<p>"Your husband who was on the boat? Stay, though. A light breaks in on
+me. I changed on board. I got wet through in jumping overboard after a
+child. I sent one of the men to the hold for my portmanteau. What is
+your husband's name?"</p>
+
+<p>The woman did not answer&mdash;the farmer did:</p>
+
+<p>"Josh Todd."</p>
+
+<p>"That's not it, then," said Danvers. "That is not the explanation. No
+sailor would be such an ass as to make a mistake like that. I told him
+to go to a long, brown portmanteau with the initials 'G.&nbsp;D.' on."</p>
+
+<p>"My initials," said the farmer.</p>
+
+<p>"So they are," said Danvers. "I did not notice it. But that does not
+affect the matter. No sailor would be fool enough when I told him to go
+to a bag labeled 'G.&nbsp;D.' to go to one bearing the initials 'J.&nbsp;T.' That
+throws no light on the thing."</p>
+
+<p>The woman turned uneasily on her bed. Danvers spoke again, earnestly
+now.</p>
+
+<p>"Susan, tell us everything. You have some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> knowledge. You know
+something. I can see you do. What is it? Lying here you will never find
+the man who murdered your husband, and you seem sure that he is dead."</p>
+
+<p>"Or he would have written me; I know it, I know it, I know it."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yes, I understand. You think he was on the steamer?"</p>
+
+<p>"I did. Then I didn't. I do now."</p>
+
+<p>"Why now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because when I was there I heard nothing of two bodies."</p>
+
+<p>"Why were you there?"</p>
+
+<p>"I went to meet my husband."</p>
+
+<p>"He was on the boat, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"He cabled me from England that he was coming by it."</p>
+
+<p>"England?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; he has been over there."</p>
+
+<p>"You say you saw one body on the boat?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; the boat people showed it me, then I fainted from relief that it
+was not my husband."</p>
+
+<p>"Did they not tell you of the other?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I did not wait. I came away, back home here as quickly as
+possible."</p>
+
+<p>"And," interposed the farmer, "that is all she would know. We are right
+off the map here.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> There is no one to carry the news. Some weeks we get
+a N'York paper, other weeks we don't, and I question if Susan ever
+picked one up."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me," she said, "the description of the other dead man."</p>
+
+<p>"I can't, Susan, for I don't know it. I certainly, as a matter of
+curiosity, read it, but I don't remember."</p>
+
+<p>His humanity made him abstain from telling her how the second body was
+found. He said:</p>
+
+<p>"We can find all that out for you, Susan. Just trust us fully. It is
+right you should know, and you shall. Do you believe you can trust me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Now&mdash;yes, I do."</p>
+
+<p>"Why the change?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I can understand your wearing my husband's shirt now."</p>
+
+<p>"You can?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, in the change on the boat."</p>
+
+<p>"No; I told you that my bag was marked 'G.&nbsp;D.'&mdash;your husband's was not."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;it was!"</p>
+
+<p>"What!"</p>
+
+<p>"I had better make a full confession, and tell you everything. It is the
+better way."</p>
+
+<p>She was going to do so. It was no longer a case of rebellious Susan.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+
+<h3>A WIFE FOR REWARD</h3>
+
+<p>"That time you asked for a day's holiday," said the farmer, "was when
+you went to meet the boat, I suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. It is a hard thing to say of your husband, farmer, but there is no
+help for it now, if I am to tell all. My husband robbed you."</p>
+
+<p>"Robbed me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Of nineteen thousand pounds."</p>
+
+<p>The farmer did not speak. He simply looked at the woman.</p>
+
+<p>The story of the tying to the mill wheel had roused his suspicions as to
+her sanity&mdash;this last speech convinced him.</p>
+
+<p>Nineteen thousand pounds! He had never in his life possessed such a sum
+or anything like it.</p>
+
+<p>The little nest egg he added to year by year for those he might leave
+behind him did not count a nineteenth part of that sum.</p>
+
+<p>Nineteen thousand pounds! He smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"You think I am mad?" queried the woman,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> reading it in his face. "I am
+not. You had an aunt named Depew living in England?"</p>
+
+<p>The farmer started. The smile left his face. He said:</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Through Josh. She is dead. She died worth a lot of property&mdash;nineteen
+thousand pounds."</p>
+
+<p>The farmer looked in amazement; he was too astonished to speak.</p>
+
+<p>The woman continued:</p>
+
+<p>"Josh used to open all your letters. One day one came from an English
+lawyer to say your aunt was dead, and had left you all her money."</p>
+
+<p>The farmer gasped. The woman continued:</p>
+
+<p>"The idea occurred to Josh to take your place."</p>
+
+<p>"Take my place!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. He did. He went over to England in your name. Said he was you.
+Took documents to prove it. He got the money and cabled me that he was
+coming back on the boat you came by."</p>
+
+<p>She looked at Danvers as she finished speaking, and he said suddenly:</p>
+
+<p>"Now, I see. On his portmanteau there would be the initials 'G.&nbsp;D.' for
+George Depew."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. They were painted on before he left New York. He thought of
+that."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Gerald thoughtfully, "it is the most extraordinary
+coincidence&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Coincidence be damned," interposed the farmer; "where's my nineteen
+thousand pounds?"</p>
+
+<p>He had got rid of the theory of insanity now. Had almost lost sight of
+the idea of Josh's supposed murder.</p>
+
+<p>His own loss was predominant.</p>
+
+<p>"My man has been robbed of it, I expect," said the woman; "that would be
+why he was murdered. Some one must have known he had the money, and
+killed him for it."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you the cable your husband sent you?" inquired Gerald.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and a letter, too. Open that top drawer and you'll see them
+between the leaves of the Bible under my handkerchiefs."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald opened the drawer and found the documents. He read them both.</p>
+
+<p>The letter commencing "Dear old Girl," and ending "Your loving husband,
+Josh," told the story.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald was by no means a fool, and he read between the lines of that
+letter&mdash;read the character of the writer; the rejoicing in the success
+of his villainy; the rogue meets rogue clause; the aching tooth and the
+fear of pain at the dentist's.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed, it did not require a very shrewd brain to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> read between the
+lines of that letter, and understand the nature of the man who penned
+it.</p>
+
+<p>"Your knowledge ends there, Susan?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"May I take these letters? They may prove a clue."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you accept my assurance that I will do all possible to have this
+matter out, and clear it up satisfactorily?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then; for the present, good-bye. Next time I see you I may
+have something to report."</p>
+
+<p>The two men left the room. Gerald seemed a changed man.</p>
+
+<p>His ability to look after other people's affairs in better fashion than
+his own has been mentioned. He proposed looking after the present
+business.</p>
+
+<p>"Farmer," he said, "you believe all you have just heard?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, and a damned nice&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Let me take this matter in hand for you."</p>
+
+<p>"For me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. There's nineteen thousand pounds hanging to it."</p>
+
+<p>"Stolen, if Susan's story is right."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Let me trace the money."</p>
+
+<p>"You?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. I was in a private detective's agency once, and I know how to set
+about an affair of this sort."</p>
+
+<p>"What would you do?"</p>
+
+<p>"Get to New York, ascertain all about the man who figured in your name.
+Get identification. See if the man who was 'packed' was Josh Todd."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"Then ascertain how he shipped. Go across the Atlantic, and find out who
+paid him the money, and how."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"It is not likely that any man would take nineteen thousand pounds in
+gold&mdash;it would be too weighty."</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"If he took notes, the numbers are traceable."</p>
+
+<p>"True."</p>
+
+<p>"It is worth inquiring into. Being a murder case, the police will give
+every assistance. What do you say?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe in throwing good money after bad. I fancy that money,
+if it has been stolen, will never be seen again."</p>
+
+<p>"And I think you are wrong. Fifty pounds<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> wouldn't affect you. Spend
+that. Let me have it for passage over, and necessary expenses. It is not
+a great sum even if it is lost. It's a small stake to try to get
+nineteen thousand pounds with."</p>
+
+<p>"M' yes."</p>
+
+<p>"It shall not cost you more. There's much in that letter Todd wrote to
+Susan. It bristles with clues if they can only be followed. I believe I
+can follow them."</p>
+
+<p>"You seem confident."</p>
+
+<p>"Because I know what I am talking about. What do you say?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go to the fifty pounds&mdash;but, mind, not a cent more. I am not a
+wealthy man, and fifty pounds is fifty pounds to me."</p>
+
+<p>"I know that. By the same rule, nineteen thousand pounds would be
+acceptable."</p>
+
+<p>"Acceptable! When I think of that villain Josh, I&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't get excited. Does no good. Just tell me all about your aunt who
+left you this money."</p>
+
+<p>"I have not seen her for years. I was with her when a little boy. I
+think I am the only relation she had."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I can soon trace out the property, the name of her lawyers, and
+what her property was."</p>
+
+<p>"You can?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Certainly. The will's been proved. I go to Somerset House and pay a
+search fee; reading the will over does the rest."</p>
+
+<p>"I see."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, give me a check on the Oakville branch of the New York Central
+Bank, and let me get to work at once."</p>
+
+<p>"How about your own payment?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't ask for any now. Wait till I find the money. Payment shall be
+based on result."</p>
+
+<p>"What is the payment to be?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not money."</p>
+
+<p>"Not money!"</p>
+
+<p>"No. If I am successful&mdash;the hand of your daughter, Tessie."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX</h2>
+
+<h3>GERALD PUTS HIS NOSE TO THE TRAIL</h3>
+
+<p>The intelligence of Gerald Danvers has been remarked on.</p>
+
+<p>He had a long interview with Tessie, and told her that her father had
+engaged him to do certain work, in which, if successful, his reward was
+her engagement to himself. Which was true.</p>
+
+<p>What the work was he did not say. The farmer, after giving his promise,
+was rather ashamed of having done so, and bound Danvers down to secrecy
+on the subject of his mission.</p>
+
+<p>He did not want his wife to laugh at him for throwing fifty pounds away.
+A wife's mirth under such circumstances is irritating. It is not a thing
+easy to get away from.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald cashed his fifty pound check, and, arrived in New York, sat down
+and thought.</p>
+
+<p>It was clear to him that Josh Todd&mdash;if he were one of the murdered
+men&mdash;could not have had about him any writing to lead to identification
+with the man whose name he had assumed; because no shadow of an inquiry
+had been made at the farm.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The latter was some way from Oakville, and Oakville was a long way from
+New York. So although the papers after the time that the news reached
+them were full of the name of Depew, taken from the passenger list, not
+a copy of any journal had found its way to the farm.</p>
+
+<p>That made Gerald ponder.</p>
+
+<p>Was it wise in going to the New York police at all? He knew that a
+murderer had escaped at Queenstown&mdash;it had been common talk on the
+ship&mdash;and that the murder was done in English waters.</p>
+
+<p>Why then wake up the American police by giving them identification clues
+to Josh, and so possibly foul a trail in England?</p>
+
+<p>It was just possible that the murderer was lulled to an idea of security
+by the absence of discovery. That would make his own work easier.</p>
+
+<p>The news in the American papers would be copied by the English press,
+and Gerald's first work was to secure copies of the <i>New York Herald</i>
+and <i>World</i> daily editions dating from the day of the arrival of the
+ship.</p>
+
+<p>He perused these papers with all their sensational hydra headed columns,
+from first to last.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing had been discovered more than he knew. Not the faintest trace of
+the identity of the man in the portmanteau could be found.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was known that two berths had been booked in the name of Depew, but
+who Depew was or where he had lived was still unascertained.</p>
+
+<p>The man who had been found lying dead in his berth had been
+photographed, and the picture was sent to England for the inspection of
+the passenger agent where the berth had been booked.</p>
+
+<p>He in no way recognized it&mdash;had never seen the face! That had deepened
+the mystery.</p>
+
+<p>It was plain that the New York police knew nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald felt that no good purpose would be served by enlightening them,
+and that the sooner he got to England, the sooner he would be getting at
+the root of the matter.</p>
+
+<p>The newspapers gave portraits reproduced by the half tone process from
+the photograph taken, and Gerald cut one of these out and pasted it on a
+card.</p>
+
+<p>It went with him to England. He went there himself by the next outgoing
+steamer.</p>
+
+<p>A photograph of only one of the dead men had been taken&mdash;for reasons
+which will be readily understood. That photograph in no way resembled
+Josh Todd.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald knew that, because he had brought away from the farm a
+daguerreotype of the missing man.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> Comparison showed its unlikeness to
+the picture of the man with the cut throat.</p>
+
+<p>By personating a man with a missing friend&mdash;thereby receiving
+information and giving none&mdash;he obtained from the police a description
+of the head of the man found in the portmanteau.</p>
+
+<p>He told the police that it in no way resembled the person for whom he
+was looking. All the same he was convinced it was Josh.</p>
+
+<p>Josh packed dead in England and despatched to America, meant that the
+packers were in Europe with the nineteen thousand pounds.</p>
+
+<p>Danvers was keen on getting that money. The steamer on which the murder
+had been committed bore him in the direction of it.</p>
+
+<p>He was keen on it, because it meant the possession of Tessie. He wanted
+her badly.</p>
+
+<p>On board the boat he learned everything there was to be learned.</p>
+
+<p>He checked the evidence of the boat people as it had appeared in the
+papers by what they said now.</p>
+
+<p>From Liverpool to London. There he rented a cheap room.</p>
+
+<p>He did not communicate with his own friends in any way, but put his nose
+to the trail.</p>
+
+<p>His first visit was to Somerset House. He paid a fee, and read the will
+of Aunt Depew.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>From it he learned that the farmer was the sole legatee, and that Lawyer
+Loide was sole executor. The property left was described&mdash;certain east
+end houses.</p>
+
+<p>Should he go straight to the lawyer? No, he would go down and see the
+houses first.</p>
+
+<p>He did. Knocked at the doors and asked who, before the sale of the
+property, had managed it.</p>
+
+<p>"Lawyer Loide," was the answer.</p>
+
+<p>Managed the property, and was sole executor.</p>
+
+<p>Danvers chewed that over. The end was juicy.</p>
+
+<p>He wanted to see Loide&mdash;before Loide saw him. He believed in surprises,
+and he liked to be the surprise party.</p>
+
+<p>He went to Liverpool Street where the lawyer's offices were.
+Interviewed, and subsequently had a drink with the janitor there. From
+him obtained a description of Loide.</p>
+
+<p>Loide was no believer in Christmas boxes or tips of any description&mdash;how
+great events from little causes spring!</p>
+
+<p>The janitor did not reverence the lawyer for this want of belief. He was
+willing to say anything against him he could.</p>
+
+<p>Told Danvers&mdash;over the third glass&mdash;that he had never been in arrears
+with his rent before, that he had discharged his two clerks, and had
+only a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> junior working for him now, and that even he was under notice to
+leave.</p>
+
+<p>They parted. Danvers went home and wrote a letter to Loide. It ran:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>:</p>
+
+<p>I happened to hear that your clerk is leaving you. At the
+end of the year I am going to Germany to join (as junior
+partner) a commercial house, where a knowledge of the
+rudiments of English commercial law may be of much use to
+me. May I offer my services as your clerk?</p>
+
+<p>You can see I write well, and am quick at figures, and
+willing to make myself useful. Of course I shall not expect
+any salary.</p></div>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 32em;">Yours truly,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 34em;"><span class="smcap">G. Danvers</span>.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"If he is hard up," muttered the writer, "that last line may appeal to
+him. It may come off: it may not. If it does, a week will enable me to
+turn the place inside out for any clue there may be. Was the nineteen
+thousand pounds ever handed Josh Todd?"</p>
+
+<p>Therein lay the reason for the course Danvers was taking. It seemed to
+him a reasonable solution of the matter.</p>
+
+<p>Instead of handing Todd the money, the lawyer had killed him, bribed
+another man to help him, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> to divert suspicion, had sent that man
+with Todd's body on the ship for America, telling him to return and
+share the spoil.</p>
+
+<p>But before the ship left English waters, Loide had managed to kill his
+accomplice, and so, as he thought, destroy all trace of his crime.</p>
+
+<p>But, thought the pursuer, he has Gerald Danvers to deal with!</p>
+
+<p>Gerald said this to himself, with a note of exclamation at the end of
+it. Most of us have a trace of melodrama in our natures. Gerald was not
+without it.</p>
+
+<p>He had a description of the perky, red haired, rough voiced, flashily
+dressed man who had left the boat at Queenstown, and he quite reckoned
+that when he saw Lawyer Loide he would&mdash;mentally&mdash;exclaim, "Thou art the
+man!"</p>
+
+<p>With that melodramatic trait aforesaid, he no doubt would.</p>
+
+<p>If he found it so, he would not betray the faintest sign of his
+knowledge. He must work quietly, and give his man no pretext for flight.</p>
+
+<p>He must find where that nineteen thousand pounds was deposited, and draw
+the meshes of his net so closely around that the bird could not
+escape&mdash;anyway, with the money.</p>
+
+<p>As a matter of fact, Gerald was more concerned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> about the money than the
+murder. Because it concerned Tessie more closely.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, it was but human to expect that a nineteen thousand pound
+father-in-law would be generous in the way of wedding presents.</p>
+
+<p>He guessed that the housekeeper's story of Loide's poverty was a piece
+of acting on Loide's part to divert suspicion.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps the discharge of the clerks meant only the gradual winding up of
+his business, and that presently he would sail away to another land.
+Danvers felt cold at the fear of this. If it were true, there was not
+the faintest chance of a reply to his application for a situation. His
+letter could only appeal to a poor man.</p>
+
+<p>And while he was thinking this again the next morning, an answer came.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX</h2>
+
+<h3>INSIDE THE LAWYER'S OFFICE</h3>
+
+<p>Gerald opened the letter. The flap of the envelope bore the embossed
+name and address of the lawyer. The contents read:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>I shall be pleased to see you if you will give me a call
+to-morrow between ten and eleven o'clock, with reference to
+your letter of yesterday's date.</p></div>
+
+<p>Gerald was pleased too. He just chuckled with glee. He did not fear
+obtaining the situation. And then the smile left his face.</p>
+
+<p>His theory that the lawyer had the nineteen thousand pounds had received
+rather a rude shock. A man with that money would not trouble about the
+mere saving of a clerk's salary.</p>
+
+<p>Anyway, he thought he would be in touch with the man who last dealt with
+Josh Todd.</p>
+
+<p>In Todd's letter to his wife, he had spoken of Loide as a "cute thief."
+Was there anything in that?</p>
+
+<p>There would be the letter books and office papers open to him. If he was
+unable to get an answer to that question, surely it would be his own
+fault.</p>
+
+<p>He was in Liverpool Street between ten and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> eleven o'clock next morning.
+Saw the lawyer and settled with him.</p>
+
+<p>He was to begin his duties on Monday&mdash;three days after. The lawyer was
+satisfied with his appearance, and did not ask for references.</p>
+
+<p>He could not very well do so, as the man was giving him his services.
+Moreover, things were fitting so tightly with Mr. Loide that anything a
+clerk could filch would not be worth looking at.</p>
+
+<p>When a man's income is suddenly reduced it hurts. Hurts badly.</p>
+
+<p>Loide was experiencing that. At present his little luxuries were knocked
+off, and in the future he foresaw a difficulty in the procuration of
+even necessaries.</p>
+
+<p>He had been wont to take home from the city fish shop a middle cut of
+salmon. Now he took the&mdash;perhaps as toothsome but certainly
+cheaper&mdash;fresh herring.</p>
+
+<p>As with the fish, so with all things. His economy was of the studied
+kind. It had to be.</p>
+
+<p>The cutting off of the twenty pounds a week did not unfortunately mean
+that sum only. Money breeds money, and Mr. Loide was an excellent
+breeder&mdash;sixty pet cent. breed.</p>
+
+<p>He liked to lend a man a five or ten pound note for a week, and charge
+him one or two guineas for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> the loan. If you work that out you will find
+it quite a big percentage.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Loide did not need to do so. He knew. He had done it so often. It
+was a big source of revenue to him.</p>
+
+<p>Indeed money lending was the profitable part of his business. He had
+found it so much so, that he had neglected the more legitimate but less
+profitable legal work.</p>
+
+<p>The result was that that had slowly filtered away. It had not mattered a
+bit so long as the thousand pounds a year was coming in. In the course
+of the year his interest enabled him to double it.</p>
+
+<p>So it will be seen that honesty&mdash;strictly speaking&mdash;if the best was
+certainly not the most profitable policy with Mr. Loide.</p>
+
+<p>Wipe that nearly forty pounds a week away from his income, and&mdash;well,
+wipe the naught off the forty, and you get at about what his legal work
+brought him in now.</p>
+
+<p>Four pounds a week is not colossal wealth. It comes very, very hard on a
+man to have to live on it who has been living on ten times as much.</p>
+
+<p>Loide found it so. Cold, flinty, bed rock bottom hardness.</p>
+
+<p>On Monday morning Gerald took his first step on the trail, and his seat
+in Loide's office.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There was not much work to do. Gerald saw that at a glance.</p>
+
+<p>There was no acting about the matter. His employer was poor. What did it
+mean?</p>
+
+<p>Round the walls of the outer office were black tin boxes, with&mdash;real and
+imaginary&mdash;names of clients printed on the flap doors thereof in white
+letters.</p>
+
+<p>You turned the key and the flap fell down, enabling you to get at the
+contents. One in particular had a great charm for the new clerk. He
+fixed his eyes on it with an eager I-wonder-what's-inside-you sort of
+glance.</p>
+
+<p>It bore the name of Depew.</p>
+
+<p>The locks were poor things. Evidenced by the fact that one key on the
+bunch seemed to open them all.</p>
+
+<p>Loide kept the bunch in his trousers pocket. If he wanted a paper from a
+particular box, he would ring his bell, give the keys and ask for the
+paper to be brought to him.</p>
+
+<p>That seemed to take the pebbles out of Gerald's part&mdash;smoothed his
+course a trifle.</p>
+
+<p>Why? Because he knew it would enable him to examine the Depew papers.</p>
+
+<p>The next time he was asked to get a paper, he first opened the Depew
+flap, and closed it again without turning the key.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He kept the flap in position by a small wedge of paper. It was handy
+that way.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Loide would go to lunch at one o'clock, and Gerald proposed devoting
+that hour to an examination of the Depew papers.</p>
+
+<p>He was not the kind of young man to let the grass grow to any extreme
+length under his feet.</p>
+
+<p>"If you are learning, you should commence at the beginning. Mount the
+ladder from the lowest rung, and you will know then what the work is
+like."</p>
+
+<p>So spake the lawyer to Gerald. It was in connection with the letter
+book.</p>
+
+<p>The indexing of it was in arrear, and Gerald's business was to bring
+that index up to date.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer showed him how. He had a system of his own, had Loide. In
+addition to the name of the sender of the letter, the letter itself was
+indexed under the name of the action or matter.</p>
+
+<p>It was a good way, because when Loide made out his bills of costs, he
+did not miss a single letter he could charge for.</p>
+
+<p>There was perhaps no man in the City of London who could make out a
+better bill of costs than Loide.</p>
+
+<p>There were rivals in his profession who said that if you blew your nose
+in his office, he clapped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> down six and eightpence, while if you wiped
+your feet on his door-mat, it meant three and six.</p>
+
+<p>But then rivals will say anything, won't they? And again, if there is
+any reputation for truthfulness in the legal profession, it is not a
+world-wide one.</p>
+
+<p>Its patron saint is the father of lies.</p>
+
+<p>So it was that, with the letter book in his hand, at his own desk,
+Gerald turned up in the index "Depew."</p>
+
+<p>There were two entries; one he found applied to a letter sent to Depew
+in America, which had brought him over, and the other to a series of
+letters connected with the winding up of the affair.</p>
+
+<p>The letter to Depew he read, and was not a whit the wiser. Then he took
+on a perusal of the others.</p>
+
+<p>He started at the last, and proposed to work his way back.</p>
+
+<p>He was surprised to find the last letter of so recent a date. And when
+he saw it was to the governor of the Bank of England, and read in it
+that Loide was stopping the numbers of the notes for nineteen thousand
+pounds, he stopped himself.</p>
+
+<p>Stopped right there and did nothing but look out of the window
+blankly&mdash;he was so unutterably amazed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>That he had struck a tangled web he knew quite well. That when he was in
+the lawyer's office he was in the meshes of that web, he guessed.</p>
+
+<p>But he had not expected the spider to give him such a facer as this. He
+knew&mdash;knew most certainly now that Loide did not possess the missing
+money.</p>
+
+<p>He was depressed, his heart sank a bit, he had been so sure&mdash;so sure.
+Chicken counting before hatchment is a poor game anyway. Gerald indorsed
+that.</p>
+
+<p>When lunch time came, he did not even open the tin box with "Depew" on
+it. It had ceased to interest him.</p>
+
+<p>He knew it would not help him along a bit. He sat there all the time
+thinking.</p>
+
+<p>His theory of Todd's disappearance shaped differently now.</p>
+
+<p>He somehow felt convinced that the lawyer had had a hand in the man's
+murder, and he tried to piece things together so that he could account
+for the notes being missing.</p>
+
+<p>His short acquaintance with the lawyer did not favor the idea that he
+was a man to lose things.</p>
+
+<p>Then ideas came to him. He thought he had struck the solution.</p>
+
+<p>There had been a quarrel about the division of the spoil&mdash;the nineteen
+thousand pounds&mdash;between<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> Loide and the man who was lying with his
+throat cut on the boat. Or Loide had perhaps murdered him for possession
+of the whole sum.</p>
+
+<p>He had been disappointed to find that his victim had not the notes in
+his possession, had probably given them to a friend in London to mind
+till his return from America.</p>
+
+<p>The moment Loide got back to London he would stop the notes.</p>
+
+<p>He tallied the date of the murder and the date of the letter to the
+bank. They fitted his idea.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald was aware that where there had been a mere hill, there was a
+mountain for him to climb now; but he was not dismayed. There was Tessie
+for certain, and a possible <i>dot</i> on the top of that mountain. Its
+summit was worth reaching.</p>
+
+<p>He meant getting there&mdash;he was full up to the brim with excelsior.</p>
+
+<p>He was debating now whether he should keep up the farce of clerkship any
+longer, or blossom forth&mdash;for surprise purposes&mdash;as a New York
+detective, and see what he could frighten out of Loide.</p>
+
+<p>Then he determined to wait a little longer, till he had seen the
+passenger agent at Eldon Street.</p>
+
+<p>That individual had been away ill, and would be at the office, it was
+thought, to-morrow or the day after. Gerald decided to wait till then.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI</h2>
+
+<h3>THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S ART AND ARTFULNESS</h3>
+
+<p>When the lawyer came back from lunch, the new clerk went out to his.</p>
+
+<p>His meal consisted&mdash;apart from a sandwich and glass of beer&mdash;of the
+absorption of the contents of a catalogue of photographic materials.</p>
+
+<p>He spent the greater part of his dinner hour on the second floor at
+Benetfink's in Cheapside. That firm's photographic department is there.</p>
+
+<p>He was purchasing a small snapshot hand camera, and the difficulty he
+had was in getting one which went off at short range.</p>
+
+<p>He wanted to photograph a picture at about two yards' distance. He
+succeeded finally in procuring what he wanted.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald knew nothing of photography, and the assistant very kindly
+"loaded" his camera for him.</p>
+
+<p>There is a dark room on the premises kept for the convenience of
+customers, and a few moments later, Gerald emerged&mdash;armed with the
+loaded camera.</p>
+
+<p>When he returned to the office, Mr. Loide went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> out to keep an
+appointment at the West End of London. That left the floor free for
+Gerald.</p>
+
+<p>He went into his employer's room, and stood opposite the fireplace. With
+the "view finder" on his camera, he brought the mantel within focus.</p>
+
+<p>He did that because hanging above the mantel was an oil painting of the
+lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>There was a little tablet let into the frame of the painting inscribed,
+"From a grateful client."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald rather wondered whether the artist&mdash;the client filled with
+gratitude&mdash;could have been quite sane; but his business just then was
+with the painting&mdash;not the painter.</p>
+
+<p>He had described the room to Benetfink's assistant, the light it faced,
+and so on; and had been told to pull down the lever, count seventy-five
+seconds by his watch, and then let go.</p>
+
+<p>These instructions he carried out.</p>
+
+<p>First he measured off two yards, and piling up tin boxes till he got the
+level he required, he snapped his first photograph for seventy-five
+seconds' exposure.</p>
+
+<p>He used all six plates, varying the distance of his tin boxes support an
+inch each time, to insure focus.</p>
+
+<p>Then he packed up his camera, replaced the tin boxes, and waited till
+closing time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He left the office at half-past five, mounted a tram-car in the City
+Road, and with his camera in a hand bag made for the regions of the
+Euston Road.</p>
+
+<p>For some reason the Euston Road is famous for the number of its
+photographers&mdash;the lower class of that art.</p>
+
+<p>The double description is used as it is a calling full of artfulness and
+craft. The this-style-in-a-frame-for-a-shilling sort seem to look on it
+as a happy hunting ground.</p>
+
+<p>The tout outside produces samples of the photographic art&mdash;created
+perhaps a dozen miles away&mdash;and lies with the freedom of a cyclometer.</p>
+
+<p>Night makes but little difference to these artists. They have an
+arrangement of what the outside man calls "magnesia," which he will
+assure you "results in as good a picter as if tiken in the brord
+dielight."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald entered one of these art studios. He found the man inside quite
+as full of art as the outside one.</p>
+
+<p>When Gerald stated his business and needs, the man shook his head, and
+spoke of terms which made Gerald put the camera back in his bag.</p>
+
+<p>The art of the photographer fell before that act, and his artfulness
+came into play&mdash;it looked like money walking away.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When Gerald spoke of trying another photographer, the studio man thought
+he could manage it&mdash;became sure of it, and a bargain was struck.</p>
+
+<p>Benetfink's man had told Gerald something. Told him that after
+development, the negative could have a bath of spirits of wine, and be
+dry enough to print from in ten minutes.</p>
+
+<p>He had also sold Gerald a packet of special printing paper, which could
+easily be printed on by the light from an ordinary gas jet.</p>
+
+<p>Ultimately&mdash;things were a trifle tight in the neighborhood of Euston
+Road; to servant girls and their military admirers photography seemed to
+have lost its charm&mdash;the photographer agreed to develop the six plates,
+and print one copy of each for six and sixpence.</p>
+
+<p>Four of the plates turned out failures in the developing dish; the other
+two were all right. When, later on, the printing paper came out of the
+little printing frames, Gerald was quite satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>He cheerfully paid the six and sixpence, and walked away with two
+unmistakable pictures of Loide, the lawyer, in an envelope in his
+pocket.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning he went to Eldon Street before going to his office, and
+was cheered to hear that the steamboat agent was much better, and was
+coming to business that morning.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Gerald asked if he would be in between two and three o'clock, and was
+answered affirmatively.</p>
+
+<p>So it came about that in his dinner hour he walked round to the agent's.
+The agent was in.</p>
+
+<p>"I have come to see you about the Europia murder case."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you?" replied the agent, somewhat wearily; "and what particular
+line is yours&mdash;newspaper? If so, I haven't a scrap of fresh news for
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Gerald, with a smile; "there's nothing journalistic about
+me."</p>
+
+<p>"Not the police then again, surely! I understood from Inspector Welch
+that they had dropped the matter."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe the English police have," answered Gerald quietly; "but the
+American force hasn't. I'm from the other side&mdash;come over in the Europia
+last week."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Is that so? Anything fresh? I suppose so, by your coming across the
+pond."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I think we are striking a trail. I want you to help me a little.
+I see by one of the newspaper interviews that you stated to a reporter
+that you would know the two men who booked the particular berth in which
+the murder took place."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so. One thing, my memory's keen on,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> is faces. If I see a man
+once, I know him again. I could locate him in a crowd."</p>
+
+<p>"That will perhaps help us."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so. They photographed one of the bodies found on the
+boat, and it was sent across here for identification. Inspector Welch
+brought it here, but bless your soul, it wasn't a tiny scrap like either
+of the men."</p>
+
+<p>"So I understand."</p>
+
+<p>"Inspector Welch didn't quite believe me. Thought I placed too much
+reliance on my memory. Almost said so. But I know right enough where my
+strong point lies. I didn't recognize that photograph simply because it
+wasn't the picture of either of the men. But the moment I get a
+photograph of either of the real men before me, you'll see I'll pick it
+out from fifty others."</p>
+
+<p>"You are sure you would know it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Know it! I'm dead certain&mdash;cock-sure."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Gerald, as he quietly drew the daguerreotype of Josh Todd
+from his pocket and put it on the agent's desk, "is that like either of
+them?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's one!&mdash;that one!" cried the agent excitedly, as he banged his
+fist on the desk. "I'd know him from a thousand. That's the man that
+spoke with a Yankee accent and came in first."</p>
+
+<p>"So," said Gerald quietly, although in his excitement<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> his blood was
+racing through his veins, "and possibly this may be the portrait of the
+other one?"</p>
+
+<p>He placed the picture he had brought away from the Euston Road studio
+before the agent.</p>
+
+<p>"By God, sir, you're right! That's 'em&mdash;that's 'em both. You've got the
+right men, sir&mdash;you've got 'em. I always said if the American detectives
+took the case up over here, they'd strike the trail. No English 'tec can
+touch 'em for cuteness. If you know where to put your hands on these two
+men, you're able to solve the Europia mystery."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII</h2>
+
+<h3>THE HANDCUFFS PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART</h3>
+
+<p>That was just what Gerald was unable to do.</p>
+
+<p>He knew Todd was dead. His suspicions about Loide were in a measure
+confirmed.</p>
+
+<p>He was convinced now that the lawyer was involved in this crime&mdash;but how
+far? To know that was what troubled him.</p>
+
+<p>The red haired man was the mystery&mdash;a mystery which looked clueless.</p>
+
+<p>Loide had booked a passage after Todd had done so. Todd was found in a
+parcel, and the other man in the berth with his throat cut, and yet the
+lawyer was alive!</p>
+
+<p>It was a problem which needed a deal of thought.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald gave it that. He thought all the time.</p>
+
+<p>So far, he still filled the r&ocirc;le of clerk, but he got no nearer a
+solution. He waded through the evidence again and again in the hope of
+spotting a hole which the lawyer would fit.</p>
+
+<p>To run through the disguise shops of London in the hope of tracing a man
+who had bought a red<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> wig, he knew would be as sensible a task as
+endeavoring to find the needle in the proverbial stack of hay.</p>
+
+<p>He read again and again the description of the spruce, smartly dressed,
+jaunty looking, raucous voiced, red haired missing man, and for the life
+of him, he could not make it fit in with the present appearance of the
+lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>He started rehearsing his bogus detective from New York idea. Thought
+how best he could so surprise the lawyer as to force the truth from him.</p>
+
+<p>He knew him to be a cute old fox, and that if he gleaned anything it
+would be at a time when the lawyer's shrewdness was overclouded by fear.</p>
+
+<p>His business was to bring on that cloud&mdash;to inspire that fear.</p>
+
+<p>It took him a long while to formulate his scheme. He knew that a false
+move in it would upset everything&mdash;that the lawyer would snap it up in a
+moment, and save himself.</p>
+
+<p>When he had got his idea as near perfection as he thought he could get,
+he walked into Loide's private room, ostentatiously turned the key in
+the door, and seated himself opposite the astonished lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"What the devil does this mean, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"It means, Mr. Loide, that the game is up."</p>
+
+<p>As he spoke, he drew from his pocket a pair of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> handcuffs he had hired
+for a shilling at a theatrical costumer's in the neighboring
+Houndsditch.</p>
+
+<p>Even yet, so surprised was he, the lawyer did not understand the
+situation. He spluttered out:</p>
+
+<p>"What does this play acting business mean in office hours?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm afraid your office hours, Mr. Loide, are all over. I throw off the
+disguise of clerk, and appear as Detective Crayle of the New York
+police."</p>
+
+<p>"Detective!"</p>
+
+<p>"There is a warrant out for your arrest in connection with the murder on
+the Europia."</p>
+
+<p>The livid face of the lawyer told Gerald all he wanted to know&mdash;he had
+hit the right nail on the head, despite the red hair.</p>
+
+<p>He continued:</p>
+
+<p>"There's been a little trouble in trailing this scent, Mr. Loide, but
+we've got it all mapped out from the moment of your entrance of the
+Eldon Street agent's office, and your subsequent purchase of the other
+half of the berth, down to the present moment. You have been watched
+right through, Mr. Loide."</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer groaned.</p>
+
+<p>"The American system of police work is different from the English. Every
+man to his department. Now, mine is not to arrest you. There's a man on
+the Atlantic now, in response to my cable,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> on his way here to do
+that&mdash;no, don't look at the door; don't play at silly fools&mdash;you know I
+could put you in the custody of the first policeman we met."</p>
+
+<p>"If not to arrest me, what is your business, then?"</p>
+
+<p>The hoarse voice of the lawyer showed how deeply he was affected.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I've been deputed to hunt up that missing nineteen thousand
+pounds."</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer looked up. Gerald continued:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I know you don't know where it is, but if I heard the whole story
+from your lips, I might be able to find a clue. Now, bargain for
+bargain&mdash;I've told you my business isn't to arrest you.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't personally care whether you go to eternity vi&acirc; our recently
+invented electrocution chair, or whether you scoot. See? Just tell me
+the whole story from beginning to end without missing a single
+detail&mdash;and remember, I know the facts, so if you lie or attempt to
+deceive me, I shall consider the bargain off&mdash;do this, and you'll get
+three days start. I'll leave you to do what you like&mdash;go where you
+like."</p>
+
+<p>"I can believe&mdash;rely&mdash;on that?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'm no liar in straight business, Mr. Loide. Follow my example, tell me
+the truth, and we'll say<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> good-bye. If we meet again, it will be your
+own fault."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, I will tell you, then."</p>
+
+<p>"Good. I've my note-book here containing an account of every movement of
+yours since&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I'll tell the truth. On the day of the settlement with Depew, I
+handed him nineteen thousand pounds in notes. The numbers&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I know them," interposed Gerald&mdash;he had got them from the lawyer's
+letter book&mdash;"get on with the story."</p>
+
+<p>"After that we went to the Great Eastern Hotel opposite and had lunch.
+He did not know where the passenger agent's was, so I showed him. It was
+the agent saying he had the other half berth which confirmed me in my
+idea of robbing him, which, as you know, I did not do."</p>
+
+<p>"I know all about it," said Gerald, "but all the same, you tell me the
+whole thing complete."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, after Depew had bought his ticket, we came outside, shook hands,
+and parted, and I never saw him again until I saw his cut up
+remains"&mdash;the lawyer shuddered at the recollection&mdash;"in the Europia's
+cabin."</p>
+
+<p>"After you parted, you went back to the agent's, and got the other
+berth. Where did Depew go; do you know that?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"No. I fancy to his hotel. He was staying during his visit to England at
+Armfield's."</p>
+
+<p>"Did he go in that direction?"</p>
+
+<p>"No. Now I come to think of it, I remember he spoke of an aching tooth,
+and said he was going to a dentist's in Finsbury Circus to have one&mdash;as
+he called it&mdash;'yanked out.'"</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer faithfully detailed every other incident which had occurred,
+and with which the reader who has followed this narrative will be
+acquainted.</p>
+
+<p>When he had finished, Gerald said:</p>
+
+<p>"Just write me a letter to the Bank of England, withdrawing that stop on
+the notes, will you?"</p>
+
+<p>"What?" inquired the lawyer eagerly. "Have you found the missing notes,
+then?"</p>
+
+<p>"I came over to Europe for that purpose," answered Gerald shortly. "Give
+me that letter. That'll do, and now good-bye. You deserve a shove into
+Kingdom Come, but it's not my business to push you."</p>
+
+<p>He put the handcuffs into his pockets and opened the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Now put your hat on and mizzle. I'll take charge of this office. Don't
+set foot near it again, or you'll have yourself to blame for the
+consequences."</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer gathered up a few letters, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> cramming them into his
+pocket, walked to the hat rail.</p>
+
+<p>"This isn't a trap," he inquired; "they are not waiting for me at the
+bottom of the stairs?"</p>
+
+<p>"I've told you I'm not a liar. You can walk straight away and no soul
+will attempt to stop you."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye."</p>
+
+<p>Left to himself, Gerald locked the outer door, and sat down to think.</p>
+
+<p>So far, he had arrived at very little. He knew now that Todd had stopped
+at Armfield's, that when he left the lawyer he had gone into a dentist's
+in Finsbury Circus, that when next seen he was unrolled from a newspaper
+parcel on the boat.</p>
+
+<p>He took down the post-office directory from the shelf and turned up
+Finsbury Circus.</p>
+
+<p>Surgeons and doctors abounded. That set Gerald thinking.</p>
+
+<p>At the inquest, medical evidence had been given that only a medical
+expert could have dismembered the body so neatly. He went down the names
+in the directory carefully.</p>
+
+<p>One thing struck him. There was a Mr. Charles Lennox, a dentist, and a
+door or two off a Mr. Arthur Lennox, surgeon. There might be nothing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> in
+it, but it was worth looking into. The combination was suggestive.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald made up his mind to have his teeth seen to at one place, and to
+attend at the other with some imaginary complaint.</p>
+
+<p>He then took the whole of the Depew papers from the tin box, and made
+them into a compact parcel. They might be useful to the farmer.</p>
+
+<p>Then he put on his hat, and with the parcel under his arm left the
+building.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII</h2>
+
+<h3>AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DENTIST</h3>
+
+<p>At Armfield's Gerald learned but little more.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing had been seen of Depew there after eleven o'clock on the morning
+of his leaving. His bags he had taken away to the station, paid his
+bill, and had said he was not sure whether he would sleep there or at
+Liverpool that night.</p>
+
+<p>There was a small hand bag still at the hotel, containing a shirt,
+collars, and handkerchiefs&mdash;nothing more.</p>
+
+<p>That left Finsbury Circus for Gerald to investigate.</p>
+
+<p>He remembered the names of Lennox, and looked at his short cuff whereon
+he had penciled the numbers of the houses from the directory.</p>
+
+<p>He saw the letters on the wire blind which had attracted Todd, "Painless
+Dentistry"; and he remembered what Todd had said in the letter to his
+wife about the extraction of his tooth.</p>
+
+<p>He went further and saw a brass plate&mdash;"Arthur Lennox, M.R.C.S." This
+determined him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He believed in his power of reading faces, and he was eager to try his
+hand at the doctor's.</p>
+
+<p>He entered the house, and went to the surgeon's door. Knocked and
+knocked again; and again.</p>
+
+<p>Then he pulled the housekeeper's bell.</p>
+
+<p>In reply to his inquiries he learned that Mr. Arthur Lennox was away
+abroad; had gone&mdash;he tallied the date&mdash;the day the Europia sailed with
+Todd's body aboard.</p>
+
+<p>Further information, the housekeeper told him, could be obtained of the
+surgeon's brother&mdash;a dentist, a few doors off.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald felt that at last he was nearing his goal.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! I don't want to see the dentist," he said. "I don't know him. I was
+very friendly with the doctor, and I promised to see him when I came to
+England. I wasn't quite sure, though, that I had the address
+correct&mdash;indeed, I am not now sure that this Dr. Lennox is the one I
+want. What sort of a man is he?"</p>
+
+<p>The housekeeper described him. And at each detail of the description
+Gerald's hopes rose higher and higher.</p>
+
+<p>For she was describing the man who had been found with his throat cut,
+the man whose newspaper picture Gerald had then in his coat pocket.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He withdrew that from his pocketbook, and handing it to the housekeeper,
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"Is that anything like him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes," answered the housekeeper in a moment; "there is no mistaking
+it. That's he right enough."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I haven't made any mistake after all. Thank you for&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"There goes his brother if you want to see him," interposed the
+housekeeper hurriedly. "He goes home about this time&mdash;they used both to
+leave at five o'clock."</p>
+
+<p>"No, thank you," answered Gerald; "I am obliged to you. Good-day;" and
+he went down the steps.</p>
+
+<p>"The dentist has gone," he muttered. "I'll just look at his show now,
+and interview him to-morrow. A night's thought on this won't do any
+harm. There's such a thing as being in too great a hurry. More haste,
+less speed."</p>
+
+<p>He entered the house in which the dentist had rooms.</p>
+
+<p>As he stood looking at the door, it opened, and a boy started to come
+out.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-afternoon," said Gerald cheerfully, and walking in. "Is it too
+late to have a tooth seen to?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Just too late, sir," replied the boy Sawyer; "Guv'nor's just gone.
+He'll be here at ten o'clock in the morning&mdash;if he's well enough."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sorry. Do you mind my sitting down and resting for just a minute or
+two? I hurried here so fast for fear of missing him, that it set my
+heart beating dangerously fast."</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I was recommended here by an American gentleman, a friend of mine."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Some while ago he came here&mdash;one afternoon&mdash;and had a tooth out,
+and spoke so well of the job that I determined to come here myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"He had a tooth extracted painlessly."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir, lots of people has 'em out that way."</p>
+
+<p>"How is it done&mdash;chloroform?"</p>
+
+<p>"Bless you, no sir! With the gas."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it dangerous at all?"</p>
+
+<p>"Lor no, sir. 'Sides, there's always a doctor present to help."</p>
+
+<p>"Really?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. The guv'nor used to have his brother in to do it before he went
+abroad."</p>
+
+<p>"Has rooms some doors off, hasn't he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's him, sir."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Has he been abroad long?"</p>
+
+<p>"Been away just&mdash;well, that's curious, sir, as you mentioned an American
+gent. I haven't seen the doctor since the day the last American gent
+came here."</p>
+
+<p>"That is very funny. Very likely, too, it happened to be my friend. Do
+you remember him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Rather, sir. We don't have too many patients here"&mdash;with a grin&mdash;"as I
+can't remember em."</p>
+
+<p>"You would know him again if you saw him?"</p>
+
+<p>"Rather."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that like him?"</p>
+
+<p>Gerald handed the boy the daguerreotype of Todd as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Like him!" said the boy; "it is him."</p>
+
+<p>"That certainly is a curious thing. My American friend was a bit of a
+coward, you know. I guess he made a big fuss about having his tooth
+pulled. Did he call out in any pain?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought you said&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You see I minded both places. When your American friend came in and
+said he wanted the gas, I was sent in for the doctor, and minded his
+place for him when he came in here."</p>
+
+<p>"I see."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"When I came back, of course your friend had gone."</p>
+
+<p>"Hadn't, I suppose, fallen asleep on the couch or in the operating
+chair, had he?"</p>
+
+<p>"No. I said had gone."</p>
+
+<p>"So you did&mdash;I thought perhaps you might have overlooked him."</p>
+
+<p>"Not much. I have to put away the things tidily, and I shouldn't
+overlook much."</p>
+
+<p>"My American friend described to me the chair he sat in&mdash;operating
+chair, don't they call it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, that's it."</p>
+
+<p>"As being a very curious one&mdash;is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing out of the common. This is it."</p>
+
+<p>He opened the inner door as he spoke, and Gerald entered.</p>
+
+<p>"You were right about not overlooking him. If he had been here you must
+have seen him."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"This cupboard would have held him, though."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied the boy, with a grin. "It is big enough; but we don't
+stick patients into cupboards, you know."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald laughed heartily at the joke.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," he said, "my heart's quiet enough, now, thanks. I am much
+obliged to you for letting me rest. I'll come in and see the dentist
+to-morrow."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If he's well enough to come to business, he'll be pleased to see you."</p>
+
+<p>"Ill, is he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir. Has been for some weeks, ever since his brother went away."</p>
+
+<p>"That's curious."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir. Shall I make an appointment for you to-morrow, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; you can say I'll be here at eleven o'clock sharp."</p>
+
+<p>"Right you are, sir; he'll keep the appointment right enough if he can.
+He won't fail."</p>
+
+<p>"Nor shall I."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-evening, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-evening."</p>
+
+<p>Down the steps went Gerald, down into the Circus.</p>
+
+<p>He felt more pleased with himself than he had felt for a long while. He
+was on the right scent now, he was sure.</p>
+
+<p>To-morrow at eleven he must assume once more the guise of the New York
+detective. The appointment was eleven o'clock. Gerald would not fail to
+keep it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV</h2>
+
+<h3>AN AMATEUR CARPENTER</h3>
+
+<p>Loide left Liverpool Street with trembling limbs, and a heart full of
+bitterness.</p>
+
+<p>That nineteen thousand pounds he had so counted on getting at least a
+part of, was safe in the possession of the New York detective, who had
+been one too many for him&mdash;that was his dominant, irritating thought.</p>
+
+<p>It worried him.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald had played a bluff game, and with success. Loide quite believed
+all he had said about his three days' freedom from arrest.</p>
+
+<p>Either Gerald was an artistic liar, or the lawyer's impressions of the
+ways and doings of the American police were quaintly original.</p>
+
+<p>He had made up his mind to flee within three days, but the details of
+his flight were not worrying him just then; he was more easily engaged
+in taking a tight hold of the fact that he was a ruined man&mdash;practically
+a penniless fugitive from justice&mdash;unless&mdash;&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>That "unless."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He had killed one man with the idea of possessing that nineteen thousand
+pounds, and although the murder did not lie heavily on his conscience,
+the ill success attending his effort did&mdash;very heavily.</p>
+
+<p>As he walked through his office to the Mansion House station of the
+electric railway, he was debating in his mind whether he should have
+another shot for the nineteen thousand pounds the New York detective had
+in his possession.</p>
+
+<p>En route to Waterloo he made up his mind that he would. His mind did not
+need much making up&mdash;the fancied rustle of those crisp Bank of England
+notes helped a deal.</p>
+
+<p>He lived at a place called The Elms, on the outskirts of Wimbledon. His
+house stood in its own grounds, some distance away from the road, and
+from other houses.</p>
+
+<p>It was a property he had acquired by foreclosing a mortgage. It would be
+a quiet spot in which to carry out the scheme he was mentally sitting
+on.</p>
+
+<p>He hoped to hatch out a nineteen thousand pound egg.</p>
+
+<p>His big difficulty would lie in luring the detective to Wimbledon. And
+again, as an old man, he would be at a disadvantage in any struggle.</p>
+
+<p>To kill the officer would be an easy task, but that was not his
+intention. Not that he hesitated at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> mere taking of a life&mdash;that was
+a detail&mdash;but he wanted to profit by his work.</p>
+
+<p>He was tired of profitless murder. One incident of that sort he felt was
+sufficient to last a long time.</p>
+
+<p>He guessed that the officer would not walk about all day with nineteen
+thousand pounds in his possession, that he had stored the notes away
+safely.</p>
+
+<p>That he had them he was convinced, and his conviction was confirmed by
+the request for the letter to the Bank of England withdrawing the
+stoppage.</p>
+
+<p>That letter had helped to form Loide's idea.</p>
+
+<p>He would imprison the detective, keep him without food or drink till he
+wrote a note to the custodian of the notes requesting the handing over
+of them to the bearer of the letter. Loide anticipated playing the part
+of the bearer.</p>
+
+<p>He reached Wimbledon station, alighted, and walked along the road.</p>
+
+<p>As he did so, he reflected that within three days he would have shaken
+the dust of that suburb from his feet for good and all.</p>
+
+<p>At a furniture dealer's he paused. Entering the shop, he said:</p>
+
+<p>"You know me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; Mr. Loide, the lawyer."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's right. I am leaving the neighborhood&mdash;giving up possession of my
+house."</p>
+
+<p>"Sorry to hear that, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I am going to live at Brighton. I have hesitated about the expense of
+moving my furniture, and now I am confirmed in my belief that it would
+be best to sell it. It is getting old, and would not fit my new
+house&mdash;larger rooms, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"I want you to come along with me now, and make me a cash offer for the
+houseful of furniture, just as it stands. If your offer is good enough I
+shall accept it, on condition that you clear the whole lot out before
+to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"To-night!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, to-night. There are only nine rooms&mdash;a couple of vans would move
+it all easily. However, if you don't think you can manage it, I'll try
+somewhere&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all, sir," said the man, taking off his apron, and rolling down
+his shirt-sleeves; "I'll be ready in two seconds."</p>
+
+<p>He scented a profitable job. Hasty matters of this kind often come in
+the way of furniture dealers and brokers&mdash;generally with much profit to
+the buyer.</p>
+
+<p>The buyers are wont to sing gladsomely of such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> transactions.
+Surrounding creditors usually sang in another key.</p>
+
+<p>The shopman put on his coat and hat, and went with Loide to The Elms.</p>
+
+<p>Loide let himself in with his key. His servants had been dismissed long
+since. His meals he had obtained in the city, visiting his home purely
+for sleeping purposes.</p>
+
+<p>A bargain was struck. The dealer guaranteed that before six o'clock the
+house should be absolutely clear of furniture&mdash;that within an hour the
+two vans should drive up and clear out all.</p>
+
+<p>They did. The furniture dealer was as good as his word.</p>
+
+<p>Everything was cleared save three feather beds which Loide kept back.</p>
+
+<p>The furniture dealer marveled at this, but he had done well over the
+deal, and said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>Loide placed those feather beds to his own credit&mdash;as an act of mercy.
+They were to save the detective pain.</p>
+
+<p>The furniture removers had completed their task and driven away. At
+their heels trod Loide&mdash;in the direction of the post-office.</p>
+
+<p>From there he sent a telegram to his late clerk's address. He thanked
+his memory that he had remembered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> the address in the letter applying
+for the situation.</p>
+
+<p>The telegram ran:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Leaving England to-night, strange and most important
+information to give you in exchange for your kindness
+to-day. Come at once, trains every few minutes from
+Waterloo.</p></div>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 34em;"><span class="smcap">Loide</span>, <i>The Elms, Maypole Road, Wimbledon</i>.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>He paid the one and eightpence cost of the telegram, and then sought in
+the high road an ironmonger's.</p>
+
+<p>There he bought two saws, a hammer, chisel, some nails, and some yards
+of webbing.</p>
+
+<p>At a lamp shop he purchased a pound of candles, a ready trimmed bicycle
+lamp, and then hurried home with his purchases to The Elms.</p>
+
+<p>Entering, he threw off his coat, and tucked up his shirt-sleeves.</p>
+
+<p>Manual labor was not in his way, but he guessed from having seen workmen
+prepare for their tasks in that way that it was the correct thing to
+work coatless&mdash;he had some hard work ahead of him.</p>
+
+<p>His bicycle lamp lighted, he set to work, drove four of his long French
+nails through the floor of the passage.</p>
+
+<p>The four nails formed a square&mdash;a square yard.</p>
+
+<p>With his bicycle lamp in hand, he went downstairs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> to the wine cellar. A
+stout old door yielded to the key.</p>
+
+<p>Loide in his palmy days had been a lover of wine, and the cellar had
+been built to his order. It was the most lofty apartment in the house.</p>
+
+<p>Air and light came to it through strong iron bars, which were on a level
+with the ground above. The roof was at least fourteen feet from the
+floor.</p>
+
+<p>On to that roof, formed&mdash;apart from the cobwebs&mdash;of the rafters
+supporting the floor boards above, Loide threw the rays of his lantern.</p>
+
+<p>Four bright, sharp points were sticking through the wood, dust, and
+cobwebs. He grunted with satisfaction as he noted the situation of the
+points of his nails.</p>
+
+<p>He hurried out of the cellar, up the steps to where the heads of the
+nails were, and there his real hard work began.</p>
+
+<p>He bored a hole with the aid of the chisel and hammer, then inserting
+the fret saw, worked through the width of one of the boards, working
+against the passage wall.</p>
+
+<p>This operation he repeated the other side, and in a few minutes had a
+length of floor board up&mdash;a yard long.</p>
+
+<p>With the larger saw he had bought, he was soon sawing through five other
+boards and their supports,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> and there presently gaped an opening more
+than a yard square.</p>
+
+<p>He hurriedly put the boards together again as he had taken them up.</p>
+
+<p>Going into a back room, he ripped some laths from the Venetian blinds.
+These he nailed to the floor boards, fastening them together as a lid
+for the hole he had made.</p>
+
+<p>He tried it&mdash;it fitted well. But for his holding it, the lid would have
+fallen through the hole.</p>
+
+<p>He cut the parcel of webbing open, and, leaning over the hole, nailed
+pieces along one side of the square beneath the floor boards.</p>
+
+<p>When he had nailed the other ends of these pieces to his lid, he had a
+crude but perfectly hinged flap.</p>
+
+<p>Rushing up-stairs, he dragged down two of the feather beds, one after
+the other, and dropped them through the hole.</p>
+
+<p>That was what he counted as his mercy. He did not want to break any of
+the detective's limbs.</p>
+
+<p>He just wanted information about the nineteen thousand pounds.</p>
+
+<p>Two pieces of lath slightly tacked under the opposite side of the hole
+to prevent the lid falling through till trodden on, and he lowered the
+flap on its hinges.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Apart from the sawdust around, it looked a perfect floor. He swished
+away the dust, and stood up with a smile of satisfaction on his face.</p>
+
+<p>He was dog tired with the work, but he had done all he needed to do. The
+snare was set&mdash;the trap was waiting.</p>
+
+<p>Would the bird come to his call?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV</h2>
+
+<h3>A WOULD BE SUICIDE</h3>
+
+<p>At Finsbury Circus next morning dentist Lennox was in attendance.</p>
+
+<p>He had been growing very ill lately, mentally and physically, and this
+morning he had turned over in his bed with the intention of remaining in
+it for the day.</p>
+
+<p>Dental patients were so few and far between that he did not fear losing
+much by his absence.</p>
+
+<p>But when his wife&mdash;as was her custom&mdash;brought up his cup of tea, and
+morning letters, there was a post-card from Sawyer&mdash;his boy. It was to
+tell him that a patient would call about his teeth at eleven o'clock.</p>
+
+<p>Despite his really ill condition, he bathed and dressed, and got to the
+city somehow.</p>
+
+<p>He was in time for his appointment, and waited long for the coming
+patient. But eleven o'clock struck and he came not.</p>
+
+<p>Calling Sawyer in, he questioned him minutely as to the person making
+the appointment, and the likelihood of his turning up later.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, he meant coming right enough, sir. Had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> been recommended here by a
+friend who had been."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, who was that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dunno his name, sir. That American agent, sir, what came the day Mr.
+Arthur went away."</p>
+
+<p>The dentist controlled his emotion, checked an exhibition of it by
+gripping the arms of his chair, and inquired:</p>
+
+<p>"What did he say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Said the American gent had spoken very 'ighly of the painless manner in
+which you treated him when he called here."</p>
+
+<p>The dead man, the cut up man, had spoken highly of his treatment!</p>
+
+<p>The dentist's lip was kept from trembling by the grip of his teeth on
+it. He wiped away the beads of perspiration from his brow, and inquired:</p>
+
+<p>"This gentleman who called was a friend of his?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yus, sir; was most interested about him. Arst a lot of questions, sir,
+and showed me his picture which he had in his pocket."</p>
+
+<p>Not a word from the dentist; he seemed frozen to his chair.</p>
+
+<p>His head was turned from the boy. Could Sawyer have seen it, he would
+have wondered at the stony look of fright in his master's face.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>For the dentist feared the worst. He guessed that the man coming was a
+detective. Conscience doth make cowards of us all.</p>
+
+<p>He sat there, waiting&mdash;a prey to indescribable fear. Useless, he knew,
+to attempt to escape&mdash;perhaps even now the place was being watched.</p>
+
+<p>Well! let them arrest him; it would be the end of all&mdash;of all the worry
+and trouble which he felt was hastening him to the grave.</p>
+
+<p>And then he thought of his wife, of his girl child, and groaned aloud.</p>
+
+<p>Was his widow to be shamed by his death; was he to cast a cloud over his
+child's life, to give people a chance of saying of her: "Her father was
+hanged for murder."</p>
+
+<p>He groaned again in his mental agony.</p>
+
+<p>Suicide! Ah! why had he not thought of that?</p>
+
+<p>It would save all&mdash;the exposure, the torture of the trial, the
+disgraceful death at the hangman's hand. What a fool that the idea had
+not occurred to him before!</p>
+
+<p>His brother died with his throat cut, why should he not do the same?
+Life with its overhanging fears and terrors was not worth the living to
+him. He would shuffle off this mortal coil.</p>
+
+<p>He walked quietly to the door, and gently turned the key in the lock.
+Then he unlocked a small safe<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> in the corner of the room, and from the
+drawer thereof he took out the nineteen Bank of England notes he had
+always been afraid to attempt to cash.</p>
+
+<p>He looked at them and shuddered&mdash;blood money! Their rustle gave him no
+pleasure now.</p>
+
+<p>To his desk&mdash;then inserting the notes in an envelope, he directed it on
+the outside, "To the Police, Scotland Yard."</p>
+
+<p>His hand trembled so he could not write more. He had intended giving an
+explanation of the whole thing, but as he asked himself&mdash;who would
+believe so wildly improbable&mdash;so incredible&mdash;a story?</p>
+
+<p>He sat, pen in his trembling fingers, intending to write to his wife,
+and then it occurred to him that to do so would mean ruin to her&mdash;that
+were his death ascribed to suicide, the moneys payable under his
+insurance policies would be forfeited.</p>
+
+<p>The thought made him pause.</p>
+
+<p>No, he must run no risk. Those scraped together premiums on the policies
+must not be lost.</p>
+
+<p>He reflected that it was better to die. That then there would be an end
+to that grinding, scraping, pinching poverty at home&mdash;that looking at
+every sixpence before it was spent.</p>
+
+<p>He was insured for fifteen hundred pounds&mdash;a policy issued for the
+benefit of his wife, so that she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> would get the whole sum without his
+creditors being able to touch a penny of it, or any deduction for death
+dues.</p>
+
+<p>He thought how it would lighten the burden of the woman to whom he had
+been bound till death should them part.</p>
+
+<p>Death! He feared it&mdash;feared it horribly. He loathed himself for his
+cowardice all the while he feared. It was his duty to destroy himself.</p>
+
+<p>His daughter Edith, too&mdash;his little Edie&mdash;how different her future would
+be! She would be sent to a first-class school, where they turned out
+women, and not mechanical scholars, the result of the cramming process
+of the brass plated Seminary for Young Ladies.</p>
+
+<p>He thought of all this as he considered how he should compass the death
+which was to bring about these things.</p>
+
+<p>He must do it in such a way that no suspicion should arise; there must
+be no doubt about the death&mdash;it must be ascribed to an accident.</p>
+
+<p>He looked around. His eyes rested on his dead brother's case of surgical
+instruments.</p>
+
+<p>The case had remained in his rooms since&mdash;he shuddered at the
+recollection of their use. He walked to the side table and opened the
+box.</p>
+
+<p>The cold glitter of the polished steel made him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> shudder again, and from
+his lips came the whispered prayer:</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, God, give me courage to do this thing."</p>
+
+<p>How should he make assurance doubly sure? By Sawyer's aid.</p>
+
+<p>It was certain there would be an inquest, the boy's evidence would be
+essential&mdash;the last human being to see him alive. He must supply that
+witness with material.</p>
+
+<p>He took one of the knives in his hand, gently turned the key in the
+lock, and walked into the outer room.</p>
+
+<p>Sawyer hurriedly concealed the pages of "The Brass Bound Pirate of the
+Pacific, or the One Eyed Man in the Crimson Mask."</p>
+
+<p>It was the sort of mental food his taste ran to. Exciting and
+cheap&mdash;dirt cheap.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you know that fancy shop&mdash;bazar&mdash;just opposite the entrance to
+Liverpool Street Station, Sawyer?"</p>
+
+<p>"Two or three doors from the corner? Yussir."</p>
+
+<p>"They have some hones in the window."</p>
+
+<p>"Some which, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sharpening stones. You will see them in the window at a shilling each."</p>
+
+<p>"Yussir."</p>
+
+<p>"Get me one. Here's a shilling. I want to sharpen this knife."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yussir."</p>
+
+<p>"You understand what I want it for. To sharpen this knife."</p>
+
+<p>"Yussir."</p>
+
+<p>Sawyer went out, procured the required article, and returned with it to
+his employer.</p>
+
+<p>"You will be going to dinner in half an hour, Sawyer?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yussir."</p>
+
+<p>"When you do so, go into the post-office and register this letter&mdash;it is
+already stamped."</p>
+
+<p>"Yussir."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, I'll sharpen my knife."</p>
+
+<p>The dentist went into his room. His fingers rested on the key in the
+lock for a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"No," he muttered; "a locked door would create suspicion. Besides, there
+is no need."</p>
+
+<p>He unfastened his sleeve link, and rolled back the cuff of his shirt.</p>
+
+<p>He was surgeon enough to know which opened vein would drain his body the
+quickest, for he intended to bleed to death.</p>
+
+<p>It was an almost painless way&mdash;the drawback to it, its slowness.</p>
+
+<p>Thrice he poised the knife, thrice the hand holding it dropped to his
+side, thrice he groaned in his despair&mdash;at his own cowardice.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Oh, God," he prayed&mdash;and if ever heartfelt prayer ascended to the
+heavenly throne, one went up then&mdash;"give me strength and courage to do
+this thing. My life has been a useless one. Give me courage, God, to end
+it for my wife and child's sake."</p>
+
+<p>A loud rapping at the door broke in on his prayer.</p>
+
+<p>He had disregarded&mdash;had not heard the previous tapping. Relieved at the
+interruption, he opened the door.</p>
+
+<p>He started when he did so. Was he too late?</p>
+
+<p>For behind Sawyer, who had been knocking, there stood two men in the
+uniform of the police.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI</h2>
+
+<h3>GERALD WALKS INTO THE TRAP</h3>
+
+<p>Gerald was enveloped in an atmosphere of tobacco smoke which nearly
+choked his landlady when she entered the room.</p>
+
+<p>A telegram had come for him, and it being, as she explained, "that
+dratted gal's night out," she had ascended the stairs with the message
+herself.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald was thick in smoke, because he had an idea that his brain liked
+it; he thought better with a pipe in his mouth.</p>
+
+<p>And he was as full of thought just then as a pomegranate is of pips.</p>
+
+<p>He took the telegram, opened it, and raised his eyebrows at the
+contents.</p>
+
+<p>"What's the meaning of it?" he muttered. "What can have happened since
+the morning? What more can he know?"</p>
+
+<p>He was in no way suspicious that it was part of a trap.</p>
+
+<p>He did not credit Loide with any revengeful feeling, because he had been
+dealt with leniently&mdash;let fly when his wings should have been clipped.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Was it possible that there was such a thing as gratitude in that tough
+old legal breast? He half smiled as he wholly doubted it.</p>
+
+<p>And yet&mdash;well, he would go down and see what it was. Wimbledon was not
+far&mdash;he could soon get there and back.</p>
+
+<p>He turned down his lamp, and, putting on his coat and hat, went out,
+took train to, and reached Wimbledon.</p>
+
+<p>He had some difficulty in finding his way through the ill-lit streets,
+but at last he reached The Elms.</p>
+
+<p>Through the slats of the Venetian blinds he saw the house well lighted.
+There was nothing dark or mysterious about it.</p>
+
+<p>A faint suspicion which had been born en route subsided.</p>
+
+<p>Clever Loide had foreseen and disarmed such suspicion by means of his
+pound of candles, lighted and distributed on the floors of the front
+rooms.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald opened the gate and walked up the steps to the door. He knocked.</p>
+
+<p>Presently he heard footsteps, and then a voice&mdash;a voice he recognized as
+the lawyer's&mdash;saying:</p>
+
+<p>"That is all right, Mary; don't bother to open the door. I will. I know
+who it is&mdash;a gentleman I am expecting. Just put some coals on the
+dining-room fire, will you?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then there was a rattling of the lock, and the hall door swung open. The
+lawyer stood there.</p>
+
+<p>"Come in," he said. "Excuse the condition of the hall; the white washers
+are at work."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald entered, and the lawyer closed the door behind him.</p>
+
+<p>"Straight on," he said. "My room is at the end of the passage, the door
+facing you."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald walked on. Then suddenly the floor gave way beneath him.</p>
+
+<p>With a cry he stretched out his hands, and gripped the edge of what he
+perceived to be a trap, saving himself from falling thereby. The lawyer
+saw this, and endeavored with his foot on Gerald's shoulder to thrust
+him down.</p>
+
+<p>In turn Gerald released one hand, and made a grab at the lawyer's leg.
+Just in time Loide withdrew his limb, and Gerald replaced his hand on
+the edge of the opening, striving to draw himself up.</p>
+
+<p>There was only one thing to be done, and the lawyer did it. He
+deliberately placed his feet, one on the fingers of each of the hands
+gripping the wood.</p>
+
+<p>With a cry of pain Gerald released his hold, and fell to the feather bed
+below.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer knelt on the edge of the hole, and, throwing the rays of his
+lantern down, inquired:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"All right? You aren't hurt, are you?"</p>
+
+<p>"What's the meaning of this devil's trick? Is this the gratitude you
+spoke of?"</p>
+
+<p>"A little bit of it&mdash;just a little bit of it. I'm sorry; really, truly
+sorry to put you in such a position, but business, you know, business
+must be attended to."</p>
+
+<p>"I've walked into your trap."</p>
+
+<p>"Just nicely and comfortably."</p>
+
+<p>"Like a fool."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, don't say that," said the lawyer soothingly. "You couldn't
+possibly foresee."</p>
+
+<p>"What does it mean? What's your object? How long do you propose to keep
+me here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Depends entirely on yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"How?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let me handle those nineteen thousand pound notes, and you shall have
+your liberty within twenty four hours."</p>
+
+<p>"And if I don't do that?"</p>
+
+<p>The grim smile on the lawyer's face seemed to answer him.</p>
+
+<p>"Supposing I cannot?"</p>
+
+<p>Once more the lawyer smiled. He stroked his chin and said quietly:</p>
+
+<p>"You are not a fool. I don't think I am. Let's play this game, then,
+like men. You are here in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> my power. You've got to stop here till I
+handle those notes. I can't afford to let that time be a long one, so I
+must hurry things on a bit."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean to torture me?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's as you may choose to put it. You must remember that the torture
+will cease the moment you care to let it. You've got the check string in
+your hand."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you intend doing?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, I hope, because I think you will see the game is mine, and
+hand over the pool."</p>
+
+<p>"You think I have the notes on me?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I don't, or I should have adopted other means&mdash;rendered you
+unconscious while I despoiled you of them, and then perhaps popped you
+where you are for some hours while I cashed the notes and cleared out."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it you want me to do, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, you made me sit down and write a note once, didn't you? I have a
+stylographic pen here, paper, and an envelope."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"I want you to write a letter, authorizing the giving up to the bearer
+of it the packet containing the notes."</p>
+
+<p>"A letter&mdash;to whom?"</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer laughed as he answered:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"To the custodian of them, of course."</p>
+
+<p>"And if I can't&mdash;if I don't do that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Then, my friend, you'll gain knowledge. You will know what it is to be
+hungry and thirsty. I don't know that the information will be of much
+service to you in the police force, but for all it's worth, it will be
+yours."</p>
+
+<p>"You will starve me!"</p>
+
+<p>"I shall keep you without bite or sup till you give me what I want, if
+it's for a day or a week, or&mdash;or as long as you can live. If you are
+obstinate enough, if ultimately your skeleton is found here&mdash;for I may
+tell you that rats abound in the cellar, and they are reputed to be
+excellent bone pickers&mdash;the fault will be yours, wholly yours, not
+mine."</p>
+
+<p>There was silence for a few moments.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald was in a cold sweat of fear and horror. He knew the lawyer well
+enough to know that an appeal to his mercy would be wasted.</p>
+
+<p>If he told the truth&mdash;that he did not know where the notes were&mdash;he
+would not be believed. If he did convince the lawyer, then what might
+happen?</p>
+
+<p>At the fellow's mercy he might be killed, just as the man on the boat
+had been. Human life, he knew, was no sacred thing to the man who held
+him prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>To lie or to tell the truth&mdash;which should he do?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"How do you shape?" presently inquired the lawyer. "Will you make
+yourself as comfortable on those beds as you can for the night without
+bedclothes, and with rodent company, or will you give me the letter I
+ask for now?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't give it."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said the lawyer, pretending to smile genially, although he
+was sick at heart at the answer. "Perhaps a night's reflection will make
+you change your mind;" he drew up the flap as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night."</p>
+
+<p>"God! Are you going to leave me here in the dark?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid so. I am sleeping in the house, and if the loneliness&mdash;but
+you will have plenty of company&mdash;if you should change your mind in the
+night, call out. I shall hear you, and bring a light."</p>
+
+<p>"If I scream for help the neighbors&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Will not hear you. Grip that fact, and it will be a breath saver. This
+house stands off the road in its own grounds. There is not a living
+being within earshot."</p>
+
+<p>"Leave me a light, man&mdash;it's inhuman."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry you think that. However, it's your own fault, you know. Give
+me the letter I want,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> and I'll lower this lamp to you, and before this
+time to-morrow night you shall be as free as air."</p>
+
+<p>He waited a minute, holding the flap in his hand. No answer.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry you don't see your way to it. You don't mind my shutting
+this flap, do you? You'll get plenty of ventilation from the barred
+window. By the by, don't waste strength trying the bars. I tried them
+before you dropped down, and you can take my word that they are firm
+enough; while as to the door, it's as solid a piece of oak as was ever
+carpentered. Accept my assurance that you are as secure as it is
+possible to make you, will you? Good-night."</p>
+
+<p>He put one of the pieces of lath across a corner of the opening as he
+spoke, and rested the flap on that.</p>
+
+<p>The square border of light, which those eager eyes in the cellar looked
+up to, the light of the lamp through the cracks, gradually grew fainter
+and fainter&mdash;the lantern had been lifted.</p>
+
+<p>The light faded, then all was darkness. The prisoner was alone.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII</h2>
+
+<h3>PECULIAR MESSENGERS</h3>
+
+<p>Gerald was alone for some time; he remained in the same position.</p>
+
+<p>He was partly stunned by what had happened. It had all taken place so
+rapidly, and so unexpectedly, and he feared&mdash;greatly&mdash;the danger ahead.</p>
+
+<p>Man to man, he would have feared nothing. He was not a coward.</p>
+
+<p>But, as it was, he had a murderer to deal with, and his opponent had the
+keys.</p>
+
+<p>He considered Loide's character, and he calculated that his own life was
+a small thing in the lawyers estimation. It was an unwholesome thought.</p>
+
+<p>He turned his head slowly, and then very quickly, for he saw a glimmer
+of light. It was from the barred window.</p>
+
+<p>The moon was shining, and would soon o'ertop the trees he could see
+silhouetted on what was his horizon.</p>
+
+<p>He thought of escape&mdash;naturally. But it was a poor thought; he
+anticipated no success.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A point in his favor was his early athletic training. With finger or
+foothold he would have been a factor to reckon with in an attempt to get
+out.</p>
+
+<p>Running the whole length of what was his roof were the supporting beams
+of the floor boards above. They afforded no grip if he got there&mdash;and he
+had to reach them.</p>
+
+<p>He looked at the window. If he ran and sprang high enough, he would be
+able to grip the bars.</p>
+
+<p>He essayed it&mdash;failed at first, but was clinging successfully the second
+time.</p>
+
+<p>The width between the bars was not great enough for him to put his head
+through, but he threw up his left leg and hooked the toe of his boot so
+that he could rest there, and look round without the heavy strain on his
+arms.</p>
+
+<p>In the semi-darkness he looked out on what appeared to be a long garden
+with high trees at the bottom.</p>
+
+<p>Behind those trees he knew the moon was coming up, and that presently
+that awful darkness would be ended.</p>
+
+<p>The rafters above him&mdash;they were his only hope of escape.</p>
+
+<p>By means of the window he could reach those beams, and possibly the
+trap-door, but he feared&mdash;horribly feared&mdash;that his fingers would slip
+from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> pieces of square wood, which it seemed impossible to grip.</p>
+
+<p>He tried it, however. He got both legs up and through the rails till the
+thickness of his thighs prevented further protrusion.</p>
+
+<p>He sat there with his calves out of window, resting a moment, and
+getting ready for his test of strength.</p>
+
+<p>Then, his hands at the top of the bars, and his feet resting at their
+base, he stretched up first one hand and then the other.</p>
+
+<p>He gripped easily the long timbers&mdash;gripped them easily while his weight
+was supported by his feet, but the moment he hung&mdash;well, that same
+moment he dropped to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>In his fall he did not hurt himself at all&mdash;he was prepared for it.</p>
+
+<p>He had known, even while testing it, that the task was a hopeless one;
+there was nothing to grip in the strict sense of the word; all he could
+do was to pinch the wood with his fingers, and the difficulty of that
+operation with one hundred and forty pounds depending is apparent.</p>
+
+<p>He felt his way over to the beds, and lay down; his exertions had
+fatigued him a bit.</p>
+
+<p>He lay very quietly, thinking&mdash;thinking of the possibility of escape,
+and realizing more and more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> how hopeless the idea was, how secure was
+the trap he was in.</p>
+
+<p>He heard a sound and started up&mdash;the sound ceased. He called out:</p>
+
+<p>"Who's there?"</p>
+
+<p>And there was a scampering, scraping, scratching noise. What it was
+burst on him at once. He muttered:</p>
+
+<p>"Rats!"</p>
+
+<p>He was not afraid of them. His limbs were free.</p>
+
+<p>He had read accounts of those rodents attacking living men, but he had
+looked upon them as mere fiction. He was content to think that he could
+beat them off if his voice failed to frighten them.</p>
+
+<p>The moon o'ertopped the trees, and he was thankful. The light was a
+great comfort.</p>
+
+<p>It shone into the cellar, and he lay there on the beds as in a patch of
+lime-light, the shadow of the bars running as great dark lines across
+the floor.</p>
+
+<p>He put his hands under his head, and lay quite still, looking up at the
+moon. Presently a shadow was cast&mdash;there was something at the window!</p>
+
+<p>He did not move, and then he saw what it was&mdash;a cat&mdash;a common or garden
+cat!</p>
+
+<p>A well cared for, plump, collared member of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> feline race&mdash;he could
+see the silver part of the leather collar in the moon's beams.</p>
+
+<p>The cat looked in between the bars and listened. Then she stealthily ran
+or dropped, after the manner of her kind, down the wall on to the floor.</p>
+
+<p>It was evident from her manner that this was not her first visit. The
+squeaking and scuttling of the rats had ceased as by magic.</p>
+
+<p>The fear they had not felt for the man, they instinctively felt for the
+cat&mdash;their natural enemy.</p>
+
+<p>Quite idly, without moving, Gerald said:</p>
+
+<p>"Puss, puss; poor pussie."</p>
+
+<p>The cat paused in her stealthy walk across the cellar floor. Gerald
+spoke again.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps she was reassured by his voice, for she did not run away when he
+stretched out his hand and scratched her neck and head; indeed, she came
+closer. Evidently Gerald had found her soft spot.</p>
+
+<p>Another shadow! Another cat! Then another!</p>
+
+<p>They followed the example of the first and dropped down&mdash;it was
+evidently a happy hunting ground for the neighboring cats.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald was rather pleased than otherwise&mdash;they acted as a kind of
+police, so far as the rats were concerned.</p>
+
+<p>The moon, as it climbed its way along the heavens, lighted up different
+parts of the cellar, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> presently in looking round a ray of hope
+entered Gerald's heart&mdash;for there, on a nail in the wall, was a coil of
+wire!</p>
+
+<p>There were possibilities in it.</p>
+
+<p>He walked to the coil and took it down, and his heart sank again.</p>
+
+<p>It was the thread-like wire used in bottling, and absolutely useless as
+a means of escape.</p>
+
+<p>Then suddenly a thought occurred to him, which sent the blood rushing to
+his head, and set his pulse and heart beating faster.</p>
+
+<p>"My God!" he said, "there's a chance yet."</p>
+
+<p>From his breast pocket he drew his note-book and tore three leaves out.
+In the light of the moon with a pencil he wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"For God's sake, whoever finds this, take it to the nearest
+police station. I am imprisoned without food or drink in the
+back cellar of The Elms, Maypole Road, Wimbledon, by a man
+who threatens to murder me. This is life or death. For God's
+sake, help."</p></div>
+
+<p>"That ought to be strong enough," he muttered, as he reread it. "I don't
+know that I can add to it in any way."</p>
+
+<p>Then he made two copies of the document, and folded all three into flat,
+long-shaped tapers.</p>
+
+<p>He then broke off a couple of yards of the wire, and called a cat to
+him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Scratching the cat, and fastening the note to the collar with the wire,
+was not altogether an easy task, but he accomplished it. Then he
+effected the same thing round the necks of the other two.</p>
+
+<p>One had no collar at all, and Gerald had to make one with the wire. He
+succeeded, and then one by one he pitched the cats up to the window.</p>
+
+<p>They looked round with ruffled fur at this indignity after such soothing
+treatment as they had been experiencing, and probably in their hearts
+thought that Gerald was no gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>They evidenced this thought of him by walking away and leaving him.</p>
+
+<p>He climbed up to the window bars, and watched them as well as he could.</p>
+
+<p>They lingered, probably with a view to the formation of a choir; but
+Gerald said "Shoo!" and they fled. As they did so, he heard a clock
+striking.</p>
+
+<p>Counting the strokes, he found it was ten o'clock. He had been in the
+cellar an hour only, and it seemed days.</p>
+
+<p>He remembered the period of his residence in suburban lodgings. He
+remembered the care of the proprietors of cats then, how before going to
+bed they would patiently call "puss, puss, puss" at their back doors, in
+order to prevent their pets spending a night out.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He prayed earnestly that the owners of the feline trinity he had just
+let loose were affectionately disposed towards their cats. He hoped
+great things from those messages.</p>
+
+<p>If not to-night, surely in the morning one of the three must bear fruit.
+He prayed so with all his heart and soul.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2>
+
+<h3>A PISTOL AND AN OPEN GRAVE</h3>
+
+<p>Eleven o'clock struck. In that upper room at The Elms, where he had left
+a feather bed, Loide lay smoking and thinking.</p>
+
+<p>He was disappointed at the ill success of his scheme.</p>
+
+<p>His talk of starving out the detective had been all bluff&mdash;starvation
+was a process which would fill too much time.</p>
+
+<p>It would be three days before the man with the warrant touched English
+shores. Before that time expired, Loide must be away.</p>
+
+<p>But he wanted to flit with the money&mdash;the nineteen thousand pounds.</p>
+
+<p>A hundred and one ideas floated through his mind.</p>
+
+<p>Would it be any use trying to bribe the man in the cellar? His life
+threatened, he would be justified in giving information as to the
+hiding-place of the notes.</p>
+
+<p>What if he promised to give him a share of the spoil in untraceable
+gold? But he had not much faith in that idea.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He knocked the ashes from his pipe, and replaced the latter in its
+pistol-shaped case&mdash;and that very act gave him an idea.</p>
+
+<p>He had not been firm enough. He had not frightened the detective&mdash;that
+was evident from the man's silence.</p>
+
+<p>Despite the rats and the darkness, he was holding on. Loide felt that he
+should have played his cards with a firmer hand.</p>
+
+<p>He handled the pipe case&mdash;in the dimly lit room it looked remarkably
+like a pistol. He would play it for that.</p>
+
+<p>Another detail entered his brain, and the humor of it rather appealed to
+him.</p>
+
+<p>It was grim humor. It pertained to the digging of a grave in front of
+the barred window.</p>
+
+<p>With the smile on his lips, pipe in his pocket, and lantern in hand, he
+descended the stairs. He walked slowly along the passage, and stepped
+across the trap.</p>
+
+<p>Not a sound from the man below. The lawyer bit his lips in vexation.</p>
+
+<p>He turned back and lifted the trap. The light from his lantern showed
+Gerald lying on the beds.</p>
+
+<p>"Sleeping pretty comfortably?" queried the lawyer genially.</p>
+
+<p>"Sleep! What do you think I'm made of?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Flesh and blood just at present. So you can't sleep, eh? We will alter
+that. You shall sleep soundly enough within the next hour, I promise
+you."</p>
+
+<p>He let the flap fall as he spoke, and walked away in the direction of
+the back door.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald heard the unfastening of the bolts, the descent of the stone
+steps into the garden, and presently a glimmer of light from the lantern
+showed through the window on to the cellar wall.</p>
+
+<p>Springing to his feet, he jumped up to the bars and clung to them.</p>
+
+<p>He could see Loide walking down the garden path, and saw him enter a
+sort of shed. Soon he came out, carrying a spade.</p>
+
+<p>With this he walked in the direction of the window, and then, putting
+down the lantern on the ground, with the edge of the spade marked out a
+space on the earth, about six feet long and two feet wide.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer then started digging. He never turned his head to note if
+there was a face at the window, but from the corner of his eye he saw it
+and chuckled.</p>
+
+<p>Could he have seen Gerald's appearance, he would have been still better
+pleased, for the eyes in the face at the window were protruding, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
+the hair on the head was almost on end. The shape of that hole the
+lawyer was digging caused the fright&mdash;it was the shape of a grave.</p>
+
+<p>Steadily the lawyer went on with his task. He was really digging in the
+middle of a flower-bed, so that his work was not very difficult.</p>
+
+<p>The hole got deeper and deeper, the digger standing in it and shoveling
+out the earth, and all the while the white face remained glued to the
+bars of the window.</p>
+
+<p>As midnight struck, the task was finished. The lawyer stuck the spade
+into the earth, wiped his brow, put on his coat, and picked up his
+lantern.</p>
+
+<p>As he mounted the steps leading into the house, Gerald dropped to the
+floor of the cellar, and waited, dreading&mdash;he knew not what.</p>
+
+<p>The flap was flung up, and the lawyer bent over. In one hand Gerald
+could see a pistol!</p>
+
+<p>This was laid down beside the lantern, and coolly squatting on the floor
+with folded arms, the lawyer addressed his prisoner.</p>
+
+<p>"You have been down there some little time, policeman, and I dare say
+you have been thinking of the best way to get out&mdash;I guess that's what
+you would think."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I have thought a little of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Has anything struck you? I am asking you for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> information. I mean, how
+it would be possible for me to get you out through this hole."</p>
+
+<p>"If you mean to let me out"&mdash;his heart gave a great leap as he
+spoke&mdash;"surely it would be better to open the door."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said the lawyer, shaking his head. "I am not so young as I was.
+Age robs one of one's strength. Besides, you are a big, heavy fellow&mdash;by
+reason of that I have allowed a good two feet wide&mdash;I should never be
+able to drag you up the cellar stairs&mdash;I could drag you down all right."</p>
+
+<p>"I could walk," said Gerald hoarsely, full of horrible thoughts
+engendered of the lawyer's last speech; "you wouldn't need to assist
+me."</p>
+
+<p>Again the lawyer shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid you don't quite understand the position," he said. "You
+wouldn't be able to help me. When you leave this cellar you will be
+beyond help."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>It was a startled, hoarse voice which came up from the cellar.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer picked up the pipe case, and then put it down again. It was
+an effective bit of byplay.</p>
+
+<p>"You see, my dear fellow, I'm as sorry as sorry can be&mdash;but necessity
+knows no law. I tried to arrange things comfortably. You'll admit I was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>
+thoughtful; I did not even want to hurt a limb. I even took the trouble
+to break your fall with feather beds."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"But you didn't respond. I wanted those notes&mdash;now I have given up any
+idea of your telling me where they are. I thought I should cash them,
+and plant a couple of thousand pounds in gold where you would be able to
+find them later on. Your imprisonment here would have given you all the
+excuse you would have needed. But you did not clinch on to the idea."</p>
+
+<p>"It was&mdash;it is&mdash;impossible."</p>
+
+<p>"Just so, just so," replied the lawyer soothingly. "I admire that trait
+in any man's character; and seeing you're in the position you are,
+facing your own grave, why, damme, it positively borders on heroism."</p>
+
+<p>"Heroism?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's it, that's the word. I'm full of unqualified praise. But, as I
+said, necessity knows no law. As I said to myself when I loaded this
+pistol"&mdash;byplay again&mdash;"'it's a hundred pities to make holes in the
+man's head, and then plant him in the back garden,' but what would you
+do? There's no help for it."</p>
+
+<p>"No&mdash;help&mdash;for&mdash;it?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Ah, it strikes you so, does it? You see you could have earned your
+freedom and a couple of thousand pounds, and you prefer going over to
+the great majority."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't mean to tell me that you are going to murder me in cold
+blood?"</p>
+
+<p>"Afraid so, dear boy, afraid so. What's troubling me is, how the devil I
+am to get you out into the garden. Frankly, I don't want to leave you
+here to be nibbled by the rats&mdash;skeletons are such horrible things, and
+I'm a sensitive sort of beast when you come to know me. I have dug a
+nice comfortable little grave outside, and you'll be as snug as can be
+in it."</p>
+
+<p>"You&mdash;murderer!"</p>
+
+<p>"Just so, just so. I confessed as much to you once when you had me in
+your power, didn't I? The positions are reversed now you are in my
+power, but you don't make any confession of the whereabouts of these
+notes."</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot."</p>
+
+<p>"Just so, just so. As I have said before, it's heroism&mdash;beautiful
+heroism. I'll have to take my chance of dragging you up the cellar
+stairs, I suppose. There's no last sort of wish or request you have to
+make, have you"&mdash;byplay again&mdash;"before I put a bullet in your brain?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX</h2>
+
+<h3>THE NEXT MOVE IN THE GAME</h3>
+
+<p>Before Gerald could answer the very unpleasant question, there came a
+sound which caused both men's hearts to cease beating for a moment, the
+one with hope, the other with fear.</p>
+
+<p>For it was a loud hammering on the front door, and an authoritative
+voice crying:</p>
+
+<p>"Open instantly, or we break in."</p>
+
+<p>Looking at the door, the lawyer saw through the ground glass a round
+disk of light, such as a bull's-eye lantern throws, and then silhouetted
+a helmet&mdash;a policeman's helmet.</p>
+
+<p>Loide stood in the passageway with a blanched face&mdash;irresolute&mdash;for a
+moment. There was not time to be so longer.</p>
+
+<p>Then he rushed to the back door, and disappeared down the steps into the
+darkness.</p>
+
+<p>His movements were quickened by the sound of breaking glass. A truncheon
+had shattered one of the panels in the door, and a coat sleeve, with a
+striped band round it, was thrust through the hole in the glass.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There was a hand in the sleeve, a hand feeling around for the catch, a
+policeman's hand.</p>
+
+<p>The hand caught the catch, and presently the door opened.</p>
+
+<p>Three men in uniform stood on the steps, a sergeant and two constables.
+They paused a moment listening, and then entered.</p>
+
+<p>"Be careful," said the sergeant. "Throw your light ahead of you. Hullo!
+What's this?"</p>
+
+<p>He was referring to the open trap which yawned at his feet.</p>
+
+<p>He cast the light of his lantern down the hole, and a voice came up,
+saying:</p>
+
+<p>"The police! Thank God!"</p>
+
+<p>"Wasn't a hoax then, after all," said the sergeant grimly. "Are you all
+right?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," came the voice; "all right now you have arrived. Had you been
+five minutes later you would have had a dead man to carry out."</p>
+
+<p>"Who's the would-be murderer?"</p>
+
+<p>"Escaped the back way as you entered the front. I heard him run down the
+steps."</p>
+
+<p>"Jim, Jack, quick; scour the back, and see what you can find."</p>
+
+<p>The men found nothing. They returned.</p>
+
+<p>"He knew the lay of the land better than we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> did," said the sergeant;
+and then stooping over the opening in the floor, he continued, "How are
+we going to get you out of this?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's the question which was put to me five minutes ago, only it was
+proposed to bring me out dead, not alive."</p>
+
+<p>"Shall I try and borrow a ladder, sergeant?" inquired one of the men.
+"Or a pair of steps would do."</p>
+
+<p>"Where the devil are you going to borrow such a thing at midnight? Slip
+off your belts. Here's mine; buckle them together. That's it."</p>
+
+<p>He leaned over the hole, and lowered the length of leather.</p>
+
+<p>"Just wrap the end round one wrist," he called out to the man below,
+"and hold on with the other hand. Got it? Now, Jim, Jack, grip this.
+Stand on the corner there and pull all together."</p>
+
+<p>The long, strong pull of the three men brought Gerald's head above the
+hole.</p>
+
+<p>"Catch hold of the side with your free hand," called out the sergeant;
+"that will relieve the weight. That's it. Stoop down, Jack, and catch
+his arms. There."</p>
+
+<p>In another moment Gerald formed one of the four panting men in the
+passage.</p>
+
+<p>"And now," inquired the sergeant, "what's the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> meaning of this little
+game? How did you come to get down there?"</p>
+
+<p>"First tell me," inquired Gerald, "how you came to arrive in the very
+nick of time?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, your note&mdash;ingenious idea that&mdash;round the cat's neck, was noticed
+by the cat's owner. At first she thought it was a hoax, but ultimately
+she put on a bonnet and shawl, and came with it to the police station."</p>
+
+<p>"Good woman!"</p>
+
+<p>"It seemed a funny sort of story to find tied to a cat, and at first we
+shared in the belief that it was a hoax. We probably should have treated
+it so&mdash;for you don't find this kind of thing happening except in books,
+you know&mdash;but one of our men who was standing in the office had reported
+that two vans had cleared the furniture away from The Elms during the
+evening.</p>
+
+<p>"I think that decided us. If it had not been for the fact that it was an
+empty house&mdash;empty houses form the backgrounds of a lot of crimes, you
+know&mdash;I don't think we should have taken notice of it."</p>
+
+<p>"That would have been pleasant."</p>
+
+<p>"You can't conceive how the police are hoaxed, or you wouldn't wonder.
+We seem to be fair game for the practical joker. But now, tell us, how
+did you get down that hole?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"It's a long story," said Gerald, who for obvious reasons could not tell
+the true one. "I was lured here presumably by a madman, walked into that
+trap, and when you were knocking at the door, the fellow was standing
+over me with a pistol. He had dug a grave in the back garden&mdash;you can
+see it for yourself&mdash;and was intending to bury me in it."</p>
+
+<p>"Who was it?"</p>
+
+<p>"The man who lived here&mdash;Mr. Loide, the lawyer. I was his clerk. He sent
+for me to come here to-night, and I came down by train. When I got
+here&mdash;well, the man was mad; there can be no doubt of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Just give me his description," said the sergeant; "we don't want madmen
+rambling about a quiet little place like Wimbledon. The sooner we spot
+the old gentleman the better. He seems to be shaping himself for a
+strait jacket."</p>
+
+<p>"A quiet five minutes with him," replied Gerald viciously, as he
+clenched his fist, "would, I think, result in his being one of the
+sanest men in the country. I shouldn't forget in the interview that he
+tried to murder me."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't want to take the law into your own hands. That's what we are
+around for. Now, give me his description."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald gave it. Then the sergeant said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Your own name and address."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald gave them.</p>
+
+<p>While the sergeant had been eliciting these particulars, and writing an
+account of the affair, his men had searched the house from top to
+bottom, and reported absolute emptiness.</p>
+
+<p>"Now I think we have done here. Better let us take the key," said the
+sergeant; "we'll go over the place again to-morrow. If he's as mad as
+you say he is, he's likely to come back. We may be able to clap hands on
+him if we keep watch."</p>
+
+<p>The street door was locked, and the four men made their way to the high
+road.</p>
+
+<p>"I would give something for a drink of brandy," said Gerald.</p>
+
+<p>"I fear you are not in such dire distress as to warrant my knocking up a
+licensed victualer," replied the sergeant. "How would a cup of hot cocoa
+fit you? There's a stall at the corner."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald sampled it, and found it grateful and comforting.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, about sleeping. Will you come on to the station? We can give you a
+pitch there on a rug till the morning."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald thanked them and walked to the police station. The next morning
+he was up betimes, and caught an early train back to London.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>His astonished landlady let him in, and opined with a shaking head that
+there was only one end for young men who stopped out all night.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald did not want to hear what the termination was, but made his way
+up-stairs.</p>
+
+<p>In his own room he lay on his bed and slept. He had not found the bench
+at the police station of a soporific kind.</p>
+
+<p>After the excitement of the preceding evening, he needed sleep, and he
+took his fill of it.</p>
+
+<p>He did not awake till eleven o'clock; then he had breakfast, and mapped
+out his plans for the day.</p>
+
+<p>He rehearsed his coming interview with the dentist&mdash;he did not suppose
+it would matter being an hour or so late&mdash;what he should say, what he
+should do, and then went out.</p>
+
+<p>His landlady sarcastically inquired as he passed whether he thought he
+should sleep at home that night, and he answered by banging the door.</p>
+
+<p>He made his way to Finsbury Circus, and entered the building in which
+the dentist had rooms. Sawyer opened the door.</p>
+
+<p>"Is Mr. Lennox in?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yessir; will you come inside? What name shall I say, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Brown&mdash;John Brown."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then Gerald sat down and waited while the boy took his name in to his
+employer.</p>
+
+<p>"Am I going to draw a prize or a blank," he muttered. "Am I coming out
+of this interview with the notes in sight, or failure?"</p>
+
+<p>His interview with the dentist told him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX</h2>
+
+<h3>AT THE DENTIST'S</h3>
+
+<p>The dentist himself was left&mdash;the last time he was referred to in this
+chronicle&mdash;facing Sawyer and two policemen.</p>
+
+<p>The sight of the policemen caused him to clutch at the door frame for
+support. He thought the moment of his arrest had come, and his knees
+seemed to take on a desire to figure as castanets.</p>
+
+<p>The two men touched their caps and did not attempt to enter.</p>
+
+<p>That surprised the dentist. It dawned on him that a salute was not the
+usual preliminary to an arrest.</p>
+
+<p>One of the men had a note-book in his hand. He spoke:</p>
+
+<p>"Sorry to intrude, sir, but there's a f&ecirc;te on at the Crystal Palace for
+the police orphanage. Your name's down on the books as subscribing
+something last year, and we thought we'd just ask if you'd be so kind as
+to remember the poor orphans again."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>What a feeling, what an intense feeling of relief came over him!</p>
+
+<p>Relief! He almost laughed, the tension for a minute had been so great.</p>
+
+<p>"What did I give last year?" he inquired, in as natural a voice as he
+could assume.</p>
+
+<p>"Five shillings, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Then here's the same again. That's all right."</p>
+
+<p>The men thanked him and withdrew. The dentist closed the door and almost
+sobbed.</p>
+
+<p>Then he changed his mind about the registered letter. Opening the door,
+he entered the outer room, and took it from Sawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll see to this," he said.</p>
+
+<p>That police visit seemed to have roused some courage in him&mdash;it was an
+element in his nature that needed a lot of rousing.</p>
+
+<p>Why should he be afraid of every shadow? Where was the need for it?</p>
+
+<p>Unless he betrayed himself&mdash;and then he remembered the visit of the man
+yesterday, the man who had made an appointment for eleven o'clock that
+day.</p>
+
+<p>What could that mean? His inquiries, his reference to the American, all
+this seemed suspicious.</p>
+
+<p>He would wait another half hour and see. Perhaps after all there was no
+need for fright.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>During that half hour Sawyer tapped at and opened the door.</p>
+
+<p>"The gent that came yesterday, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"His name?"</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Brown, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Show him in."</p>
+
+<p>The dentist braced himself for the interview. He put the envelope
+containing the notes in his table drawer, and looked up as his visitor
+entered.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Brown?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's it."</p>
+
+<p>"You were recommended here, I think, by some one whose teeth I attended
+to."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I don't think you attended to his teeth only."</p>
+
+<p>"No."</p>
+
+<p>"He was rather cut up by your treatment."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald had his eyes fixed on the dentist, and when he had uttered that
+double meaning remark, he saw the man's face grow pale as death.</p>
+
+<p>He knew then that his bolt had gone home; knew that he was on the right
+track at last.</p>
+
+<p>He adopted bold measures. The dentist's appearance warranted them.</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down, Mr. Lennox. You don't mind my turning the key in the door, so
+we shan't be disturbed, do you? That's it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He seated himself opposite the dentist, and pulled out his
+hired-for-a-shilling handcuffs.</p>
+
+<p>The effect of their production was electric. He was more than ever
+convinced that he was right.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course," he said quietly, "you guess the game's up. That little game
+you and your brother played with Mr. George Depew when he came to have a
+tooth out?"</p>
+
+<p>The dentist was incapable of an answer. He sat there as if turned to
+stone.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald went on:</p>
+
+<p>"I'm of the American detective force&mdash;you have perhaps heard of me,
+Detective Grabbem. I gave the name of Brown to your boy because I didn't
+want to give the show away."</p>
+
+<p>Still no answer. Then Gerald said suddenly:</p>
+
+<p>"Where are the nineteen thousand pound notes?"</p>
+
+<p>For answer the tongue-tied dentist with trembling hand opened his
+drawer, and handed Gerald the envelope he had recently given to and
+taken from Sawyer.</p>
+
+<p>"You intended them for the London police? I'm from New York."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald opened the envelope and his eyes sparkled as he handled the
+notes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As a measure of precaution he collated the numbers with the entries in
+his pocketbook&mdash;all were correct.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll take charge of these," he said, as he put the notes in his pocket.
+"Thanks for saving me trouble."</p>
+
+<p>Then Gerald's anxiety was to get away. He said:</p>
+
+<p>"Out of gratitude for saving me bother, is there anything you would like
+me to do for you? Want to write to your friends or anything?"</p>
+
+<p>He had got all he wanted, and he decided to leave with it as promptly as
+possible. The dentist found his tongue, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"I would be grateful for half an hour for&mdash;for the purpose of writing to
+my friends."</p>
+
+<p>"It's yours. There is no back way out of this house, I see. I'll just
+smoke a pipe outside. No tricks, mind. I'll be back in half an hour."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald went out slowly, lighted a pipe within sight of the dentist's
+window, sauntered with his hands behind him, after the manner of one
+waiting, and then when he reached the corner, turned it, and bolted in
+the direction of Moorgate Street.</p>
+
+<p>There he hailed a hansom and was rapidly driven to his lodgings. He was
+one of the happiest fares in a London cab that day.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And the dentist? He completed the unfinished work of the morning.</p>
+
+<p>No need now for the subtleties of the sharpening stone&mdash;all was known.
+He might as well use the knife in the quickest possible way, and end it
+all speedily.</p>
+
+<p>His old cowardice came over him. He loathed himself for it, stamped his
+foot and strove to attain the courage needed to draw that sharp
+surgeon's knife under his chin.</p>
+
+<p>He knew its edge was razor-like, that one strong, firm draw and all
+would be over. But he lacked the nerve.</p>
+
+<p>He almost laughed when he remembered that he had heard it said that a
+suicide is a coward&mdash;he imagined that it required more courage to take
+one's own life than another's.</p>
+
+<p>He looked at the clock; he had fooled away five minutes. That braced him
+up&mdash;he must avoid the hangman's attention at any cost.</p>
+
+<p>It was not the loss of his life which had deterred him so much as the
+method of losing it.</p>
+
+<p>Then an idea occurred to him. He had the gas apparatus, why not&mdash;no
+sooner thought than he started to put the idea into execution.</p>
+
+<p>He had a little bench whereat he worked in and about the repairing and
+making of false teeth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At each end were small vises. He fastened the surgeon's long knife into
+it after the manner of a man who would sharpen a saw.</p>
+
+<p>It was firm and rigid.</p>
+
+<p>The gas apparatus he put on the bench itself, and leaned over to it, his
+neck almost touching the knife.</p>
+
+<p>As he lost consciousness and the power of standing, he knew what would
+happen; the weight of his whole body would drag his neck on to the keen
+edge. Long before he could recover consciousness, all would be over.</p>
+
+<p>Then he expelled a deep breath and inhaled the gas.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>When Gerald's copy of the <i>Star</i> was brought up to him, a triple
+head-lined column caught his eye. It was captioned:</p>
+
+<h4>STRANGE DEATH</h4>
+
+<h4>OF A WELL KNOWN</h4>
+
+<h4>CITY DENTIST</h4>
+
+<p>and it went on to describe the ghastly details of the find in the
+dentist's room.</p>
+
+<p>It was put down as a pure accident. The boy's evidence about the
+sharpening of the knives, the extraordinary position in which the body
+was found,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> were chronicled; there was not the breath of a suspicion of
+suicide.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps that soul which had taken its flight to another world knew
+naught of the happenings in this&mdash;would never know that the insurance
+office paid over the policy moneys, and that the wife and child the dead
+man had thought so much of benefited by the application of a golden
+salve in their time of grief.</p>
+
+<p>And yet&mdash;who knows?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXI" id="CHAPTER_XXXI"></a>CHAPTER XXXI</h2>
+
+<h3>MOON BLINDNESS</h3>
+
+<p>"No need to shave this off now."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald was standing next morning in front of his dressing-glass, and
+referred to his pointed beard.</p>
+
+<p>He had intended shaving as a disguise in case of any bother with the now
+dead dentist. He had not seen what could arise&mdash;what the dentist would
+dare to do&mdash;but the detective's failure to go back for his prisoner
+would naturally excite suspicion in the dentist's breast.</p>
+
+<p>Now&mdash;well, that breast was cold.</p>
+
+<p>"There is no doubt," thought Gerald, "the doctor and the dentist between
+them did for Josh Todd. Both are now done for. So far as Josh Todd's
+murder is concerned, that is avenged. A restoration of the money"&mdash;he
+had the bank notes in front of him as he spoke&mdash;"to its rightful owner
+will end the whole thing.</p>
+
+<p>"And," he thought, with a smile of pleasure playing round his mouth, "it
+will end up like a story too, with a marriage with Tessie&mdash;and, please
+God, a live happy ever after."</p>
+
+<p>He inserted the notes in an envelope. Then in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> another, and another, and
+ultimately in a piece of brown paper, which he tied round with twine.</p>
+
+<p>He went to the head of the stairs, and called out to the landlady, would
+she lend him a needle and cotton?</p>
+
+<p>The maid of all work came up with it, and Gerald set about using the
+same.</p>
+
+<p>He took off his coat and waistcoat, and ripped the lining of the latter
+from the cloth; pushing the envelope of money up, he sewed the lining
+down again.</p>
+
+<p>"That's on my left side," said Gerald, "over the heart. I put that
+waistcoat on now"&mdash;he did so&mdash;"and it shall never leave me till I hand
+the money over to old Depew. I'll sleep in that waistcoat, and never,
+night or day, shall it be out of my touch."</p>
+
+<p>He looked up the trains and boat sailings, booked his passage, and
+arranged to step on board a liner the next day on his way to America&mdash;on
+his way to the girl he loved.</p>
+
+<p>The next day he settled with his landlady. Then he took an omnibus to
+Euston, sitting on the top of it with his bag on his knees, for his
+exchequer was running low, and it did not admit of cab hire. By tram he
+went to the dock, and stepped aboard the vessel which was to bear him to
+the land of the free.</p>
+
+<p>He had gone to the expense in town of booking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span> both berths in his second
+class cabin. It left him almost without a pound in his pocket, but he
+had too much in value about him to run any risk.</p>
+
+<p>He had provided against any tampering with the bolts or locks of his
+cabin door by purchasing one of the bell door alarms which fix into the
+floor, and at the slightest pressure of the door rings a loud alarm.</p>
+
+<p>He did not fear for a moment that any attempt to rob him would be made;
+he simply took no risks.</p>
+
+<p>Traveling second class, no one would suppose him in possession of
+nineteen thousand pounds, and as he had made up his mind that the
+package should never leave his breast, he felt quite safe.</p>
+
+<p>On board the boat, after she sailed, he kept very much to his cabin. He
+did not make many acquaintances. He occasionally chatted and smoked with
+a poor looking, club-footed old man, who was a fellow-passenger.</p>
+
+<p>He was moved to this by the extreme sensitiveness of the man; indeed, a
+veiled pity prompted him to take notice of the only creature on the ship
+who seemed to be without an acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>He was surprised when he found from conversation what a mine of
+information he had struck; that his companion was a well-informed,
+educated, and apparently wealthy man.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes," the other said, "I suppose you are surprised to find me traveling
+second class. I am extremely sensitive. I know with this hideous
+deformity, a hump back and a club foot, that people talk of me in
+pitying tones behind my back.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want their pity," he continued fiercely; "I only want to be let
+alone, unnoticed. With you, it is different. You are the only man on
+this ship who looks at me without conveying an impression that you would
+like to pat me on the back and say, 'Poor old fellow.' Damn their pity!"</p>
+
+<p>Gerald laughed heartily. The man was speaking the truth, he knew.</p>
+
+<p>His almost toothless gums caused chin and nose to come together in a
+manner strikingly suggestive of Punch, and he spoke with a squeak.</p>
+
+<p>His nose even was deformed, and a swelling on one side of it below the
+bridge added to the curious appearance of the face. A bald head, with a
+fringe round it of snow white hair, completed the grotesqueness.</p>
+
+<p>In the more crowded second class cabin, the man escaped notice better
+than he would have done in the saloon.</p>
+
+<p>So it came about that during the voyage Gerald and the club-footed
+hunchback passed many hours together.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Gerald learned much, for there was scarcely a subject on which his
+companion was not well posted.</p>
+
+<p>The nights were particularly pleasant, for the moon was at the full,
+and, well wrapped up, they usually spent the after dinner time on deck,
+while the majority of the passengers were more sociably engaged in the
+way of games or music.</p>
+
+<p>At one meal the subject of moon blindness had cropped up, and many
+curious anecdotes were told anent it&mdash;anecdotes more or less truthful,
+after the manner of shipboard stories.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards, on deck, Gerald's companion continued the conversation. At
+table he rarely spoke. He said:</p>
+
+<p>"It is quite true. Moon blindness is a terrible thing. The great relief
+about it is the knowledge that the sight comes back.</p>
+
+<p>"I remember, many years ago, abroad, being foolish enough to insist on
+sleeping on an open deck. It was, of course, terribly hot weather, or
+even I&mdash;young as I was then&mdash;should never have been so foolish. I lay on
+my back on the deck&mdash;on the back is the only comfortable way in which to
+lie on a hard couch, by the by&mdash;and when I woke I could not see my hand
+before me.</p>
+
+<p>"Fright! God bless me! I believe I went mad."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Enough to make you."</p>
+
+<p>"The captain reassured me by laughing at me. It seemed a cruel thing to
+do, but I have since thought it saved me from going mad. I have always
+feared blindness so&mdash;I have always had weak eyes."</p>
+
+<p>"I notice that you are never without colored glasses."</p>
+
+<p>"That is so. I cannot see a yard away without them.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, on this occasion of which I am speaking, there was no ship's
+doctor aboard. The captain gave me an ointment to use which he told me
+would restore my sight in five or six days."</p>
+
+<p>"Did it?"</p>
+
+<p>"In that time my sight became as good as ever it was. As to the
+ointment&mdash;well, the captain afterwards told me that was a mere trick.
+That nothing but time cured moon blindness, and that he had given me the
+fat as an ointment merely to keep me busy."</p>
+
+<p>"Smart."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. There was another effect it had on a fellow-passenger&mdash;who slept
+as I had slept. He got up from the deck, felt his way to his berth, and
+lay there unconscious for nearly a day and a half.</p>
+
+<p>"When he recovered, he had not the faintest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> recollection of even lying
+down on the deck, and was amazed to find himself in his clothes in his
+bunk."</p>
+
+<p>"Curious."</p>
+
+<p>"So I thought. Don't light your pipe&mdash;try one of these cigars. They are
+from a box I have just opened. I want your opinion of them."</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks&mdash;want the light?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, I won't smoke any more to-night. I think"&mdash;a yawn&mdash;"I'll be getting
+to bed. Good-night."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night. I shan't turn in just yet; as I've lighted this cigar, I'll
+smoke it out."</p>
+
+<p>"Give me your opinion of it in the morning. Good-night."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald sat on in the moonlight smoking, and when in the morning he found
+himself in his berth with his clothes on, he thought of the story of the
+moon struck man, thought he had been affected in the same way, and was
+thankful that he had awakened at his regular hour with nothing worse
+than a headache.</p>
+
+<p>He determined never to go to sleep on deck again while the moon was
+shining.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXII" id="CHAPTER_XXXII"></a>CHAPTER XXXII</h2>
+
+<h3>THE LOVERS MEET</h3>
+
+<p>New York. Gerald bade farewell to his companion, who pressed him, if
+ever he returned to England again, to pay him a visit, and they parted.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald's first act, after fixing on a train at the railway station, was
+to send a wire to Depew.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>Have succeeded in every way. Coming by train, arriving
+Oakville at six. Let Tessie meet me with trap.</p></div>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 34em;"><span class="smcap">Gerald Danvers</span>.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>And Tessie was there to meet him&mdash;Tessie, bright, bonnie, and expectant.</p>
+
+<p>Their eyes spoke, but they just shook hands quietly and then drove away.</p>
+
+<p>When they reached the country road, away from people, Gerald took hold
+of the reins, and pulled the horses up.</p>
+
+<p>"What's that for?"</p>
+
+<p>"Comfort, Tessie. You have just got to give me the biggest kisses you're
+capable of giving, and I don't like them in a jolting cart."</p>
+
+<p>"Gerald!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's it. Now another. I can do with another. Greedy, eh? Why, I
+haven't had a kiss all the time I have been away."</p>
+
+<p>"I should hope not!"</p>
+
+<p>"Little woman, I've come back so full of joy&mdash;and I may say of
+money&mdash;that I wonder my feelings aren't too much for me. I wonder I
+don't burst."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it true, Gerald&mdash;all of it? Dad told us when he got your wire."</p>
+
+<p>"What did he say?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, when he opened it and read it, he said, 'Hallelujah!'"</p>
+
+<p>"That's the old man right enough."</p>
+
+<p>"Then he told us that you had been over for nineteen thousand pounds,
+and that you said you were bringing them with you."</p>
+
+<p>"That was so."</p>
+
+<p>"And is it true, Gerald? True that you have nineteen thousand pounds
+about you now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Feel right here, lassie."</p>
+
+<p>"Your heart?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, you can't feel that&mdash;you've had it for weeks past."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be foolish, Gerald."</p>
+
+<p>"Feel there&mdash;my vest."</p>
+
+<p>"Paper."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"That's it&mdash;wrapped up in more paper&mdash;there's nineteen of them, each for
+a thousand pounds."</p>
+
+<p>"My!"</p>
+
+<p>"Wants some swallowing, doesn't it? That's what I went across the pond
+for, to get that money for your dad."</p>
+
+<p>"So he said."</p>
+
+<p>"And before I went I bargained how I was to be paid for my work. I made
+him promise to give me&mdash;you."</p>
+
+<p>"So he said."</p>
+
+<p>"'Pears to me he has told you 'most all there is to tell."</p>
+
+<p>"He had never said a word to mother or to me till your wire came. But he
+was full enough of talk then."</p>
+
+<p>"Trust the old man for that. When he pops the cork out you can hear
+him."</p>
+
+<p>"He says that if it had not been for you, he never would have seen a
+dollar of the money."</p>
+
+<p>"That's so. Sounds egotistical, but I don't sorter reckon he would."</p>
+
+<p>"He's mapped out what he's going to do with part of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Hasn't lost any time!"</p>
+
+<p>"He's not going to give you any of it."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't want it. I've got his word that he'll give<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> you to me, and that's
+enough for me to handle. I am counting on finding you a handful."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure!"</p>
+
+<p>"Old man's a man of his word; he won't go away from it. Our two beating
+hearts are going to be made one, Tessie, just as soon as a parson can
+tie us up."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see any reason for hurry!"</p>
+
+<p>"Your sight's bad! We'll have to see to it."</p>
+
+<p>"But you haven't asked what he's doing with the part of the money I
+referred to."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't want to know. Don't care a mosquito's wing what he does with it.
+I plank those notes into his hand, and I say, 'Farmer, there's your part
+of the bargain,' then I step across to you and I say, 'and I think this
+is mine?' Farmer he agrees, and you and I&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"But Gerald, darling&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"That's right; you keep on calling me 'darling.' It sounds real
+sweet&mdash;just like molasses&mdash;coming from your lips."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you would be sensible for a minute."</p>
+
+<p>"Couldn't, Tessie, if I tried. I've earned you, my girl, and you're
+mine, mine, mine!"</p>
+
+<p>"Gerald, don't scream out like that!"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't care. There's only the dicky birds to hear, and it won't frighten
+them. Catch up the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> reins, lassie, steer for the farm, let me unload my
+cargo, and have the right to claim you for first mate on our voyage
+through life."</p>
+
+<p>"Gerald! I never saw you so silly."</p>
+
+<p>"Ain't I? I own up. I'm just oozing stupidity at every pore. Gimme a
+kiss, or I'll stop the horse again."</p>
+
+<p>"How rough you are, Gerald!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ain't I? Gimme another. And another. Hallo! What's the mare stopped
+for? Gee up! Don't you know you've got a bride and bridegroom behind
+you? Don't you know the wedding march? Gee up, anyway."</p>
+
+<p>"Gerald! Do be quiet. I want to tell you something."</p>
+
+<p>"Fire away."</p>
+
+<p>"About that money."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dad's going to give me some."</p>
+
+<p>"Well?"</p>
+
+<p>"How much do you think?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dunno&mdash;don't care."</p>
+
+<p>"Nine thousand pounds."</p>
+
+<p>"Get away! What are you giving us?"</p>
+
+<p>"Fact. He's not going to give you a cent. He says he promised to give me
+to you, and he'll settle on me as a wedding portion the odd half."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"He's a thorough, regular, kiln dried brick!"</p>
+
+<p>"Nine thousand pounds, Gerald!"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't seem as if there could be so much money in the world, Tessie,
+does it? There's a capital for us to start a life partnership on!"</p>
+
+<p>"As the capitalist partner, I shall keep you in order, my boy."</p>
+
+<p>"You will&mdash;you will&mdash;I feel it looming."</p>
+
+<p>"You may not be in such a hurry about our marriage after that threat."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes. I am in a greater hurry. I want to get over it."</p>
+
+<p>"You wretch!"</p>
+
+<p>"Ain't I? Biggest wretch on the American continent at this moment.
+Hullo, Tessie! I didn't see the crape round your sleeve. Who's dead?"</p>
+
+<p>"Poor old Susan."</p>
+
+<p>"No!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; she died the second week you were away."</p>
+
+<p>"Poor old soul! She nearly sent me to glory, but I bear her no grudge."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you find out, Gerald, whether her husband was really murdered after
+all?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not only that, Tessie, but I found who were his two murderers."</p>
+
+<p>"Are they arrested?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"They were arrested by the hand of death. No earthly judge and jury will
+try them. They have to toe the mark before the Judge of All."</p>
+
+<p>"Dead?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and that is all we will say about it. We don't want to talk of
+death now, Tessie, but of life, the life which is before us, the life
+which you and I are going to travel in double harness. The life&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Take your arm away, Gerald. There's the farm, and mother and father are
+standing at the door."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>"Hip, hip, hooray, farmer!"</p>
+
+<p>"Come right in, lad, come right in. You, Jim, look after the mare."</p>
+
+<p>"Mother-in-law, give me a kiss."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"It's right, farmer, isn't it? She can kiss her future son-in-law in
+safety, can't she? I bring you home nineteen thousand pounds, and Tessie
+and I enter into partnership till death doth us part. Isn't that the
+bond?"</p>
+
+<p>"Every word of it, sonny, every word. But that money, where is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Here, right here, farmer; on my beating, palpitating,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> manly bosom.
+Mother-in-law that is to be, give me your scissors. No, take 'em
+yourself. Undo the stitches. There. That's it. 'Open sesame' and out she
+rolls.</p>
+
+<p>"Brown paper parcel tied with twine. Don't look worth nineteen thousand
+pounds, does it, farmer? Open the packet, and you will see a sight for
+sore eyes. Nineteen crisp, crackling, rustling Bank of England notes for
+a thousand pounds each!"</p>
+
+<p>The trembling fingers of the farmer gripped the scissors, and he cut the
+twine. Then he tore off the brown paper and revealed&mdash;a piece of folded
+newspaper!</p>
+
+<p>For a moment there was a silence, but in that moment a great change came
+over those present.</p>
+
+<p>All the hilarity left Gerald. He stood looking at the packet with surely
+the whitest face that ever living man bore. The farmer's clouded to the
+pitch of blackness, and, bringing his hand down on the table with a
+force which made the crockery on the dresser ring again, he blurted out:</p>
+
+<p>"What damned fool's game is this, anyhow?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXXIII</h2>
+
+<h3>THIEF!</h3>
+
+<p>Gerald never moved, never took his eyes off that packet, never answered.</p>
+
+<p>Then he walked closer to it, picked it up, dropped it, and sank into a
+chair, still a white faced, speechless man.</p>
+
+<p>The farmer watched him for a whole minute. Then he sneeringly remarked:</p>
+
+<p>"Been robbed of the money, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>Gerald had to moisten his lips before he could ejaculate the word:</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>Then the farmer laughed, but it was not a pleasant laugh.</p>
+
+<p>He rose to his feet and pointed to the door. He uttered but one word:</p>
+
+<p>"Go!"</p>
+
+<p>"Father!"</p>
+
+<p>"Silence, girl! and stand aside from that lying cheat."</p>
+
+<p>"Cheat!"</p>
+
+<p>Gerald spoke the last word. There was an air of unnatural calm about the
+farmer, as he answered:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Cheat! Fraud! Liar! Bunco-steerer; we're a long way from the sheriff,
+or, by the God that's in the heaven above, I'd lodge you in jail
+to-night."</p>
+
+<p>"Lodge&mdash;me&mdash;in&mdash;jail!"</p>
+
+<p>"For robbing me of fifty pounds."</p>
+
+<p>"Robbing!"</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think I don't see through your trickery? Do you take me for a
+hayseed because I'm a farmer? Do you think I believe a word of what you
+say?</p>
+
+<p>"Tell me&mdash;tell me again that you had nineteen thousand pounds in that
+vest of yours, and that you've been robbed of it."</p>
+
+<p>"I sewed&mdash;it&mdash;in&mdash;myself."</p>
+
+<p>Again the farmer laughed&mdash;that unpleasant laugh of his.</p>
+
+<p>Then he walked to the wall and took down a whip&mdash;a stock whip with a
+long thong. He drew the lash through his fingers and said:</p>
+
+<p>"This farmhouse has sheltered a thief long enough. I look on that fifty
+pounds as lost. I give you two minutes to get the other side of that
+door. If you're not gone then, I'll write a receipt on your back with
+this lash. So help me, God!"</p>
+
+<p>"Father!"</p>
+
+<p>"Stand back, girl!&mdash;this is no place for you."</p>
+
+<p>"Father&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Stand back, I say. You're my flesh and blood&mdash;the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> flesh and blood of
+honest people; you want no truck with carrion like this."</p>
+
+<p>"Farmer, you think I have robbed you&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Thief!"</p>
+
+<p>"You think that I&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Thief!"</p>
+
+<p>"I, who wanted to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Thief!"</p>
+
+<p>Gerald walked to the door. Tessie sprang to it, too, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"Gerald!"</p>
+
+<p>"Tessie, I&mdash;answer me, lassie; it looks black enough, God knows. Answer
+me! Do you think I lied when I told you&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"No, Gerald; I believe in you now as I did then."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank God!"</p>
+
+<p>"My own flesh and blood turnin' agin' me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Farmer, I&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Thief!"</p>
+
+<p>"Listen to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Thief!"</p>
+
+<p>"Father!"</p>
+
+<p>"Stand aside, child, and let that thief go out&mdash;out before I lash him
+like the dog he is."</p>
+
+<p>"No, father, you wrong him, you wrong me. He is my promised husband. If
+he is turned out, I go with him."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And once more the farmer muttered:</p>
+
+<p>"My own flesh and blood turnin' agin' me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Tessie, my little girl."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald had his arms round her waist, and drew her to him as he spoke.</p>
+
+<p>"God bless you for those words. They put heart, life, and courage into
+me. But this is your home. Stay here, girlie, till I fetch you from
+it&mdash;till I have found the money of which I have been robbed."</p>
+
+<p>"Gerald!"</p>
+
+<p>"My girlie," there was a little tremble in his voice, "the sky looked so
+clear and bright as we came to the farm, and it looks all drear and
+black now I am leaving it. But the blackest cloud has a silver lining,
+and I know that money is in America.</p>
+
+<p>"I've got to find it, Tessie, and I'm going right away now to do it.
+Right away into New York, and you won't see me back here again until I
+come with the money; until I come to make your father apologize for
+calling an honest man a thief, and admit that it doesn't always do to
+judge by appearances."</p>
+
+<p>"Gerald!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't blame him, lass; things look black, cruelly black; and if
+he knew all, he'd be more full of wonder than unjust rage. I sewed those
+notes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> into this vest myself, Tessie, and sleeping or waking, girlie, it
+has never left my body."</p>
+
+<p>"Where&mdash;where, Gerald, can the notes be?"</p>
+
+<p>"That, lass, I am going to New York to find out. A kiss, girlie; just
+one. You'll see me back; trust me."</p>
+
+<p>"I do, Gerald&mdash;trust you with all my heart and soul."</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Depew, you don't feel so strong about this matter as the farmer;
+you don't know quite so much. If he's inclined to be rough on this girl
+here, remember that I tell you that when she defends me, she defends an
+honest man.</p>
+
+<p>"You told me once that you knew by my eyes I could never tell a woman a
+lie. I'm looking you straight in the face now, Mrs. Depew, and I tell
+you that I sewed that money in my vest myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Why," blurted out the farmer, "why didn't&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Hold on, there, farmer&mdash;you've said enough. I've taken such words from
+you to-night as no living man can say he has ever uttered to me before.
+I don't want to hear you talk now. Later on, I'll listen&mdash;listen when
+you beg my pardon for your injustice; as you shall, by God! Good-night."</p>
+
+<p>And he passed through the doorway, out on to the road, his face towards
+the capital.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXXIV</h2>
+
+<h3>A THEATRICAL MAKE-UP</h3>
+
+<p>We leave America for England, and turn back in our history a week or
+so&mdash;to Wimbledon and The Elms on the night of Gerald's adventure there.</p>
+
+<p>The police and Gerald are in the passage by the front door, and a
+haggard faced man is crouched below the steps listening.</p>
+
+<p>He hears all that Gerald says, and his fury rises to white heat as he
+realizes by his late clerk's reticence that he is not a detective at
+all!</p>
+
+<p>No policeman would speak as he speaks&mdash;concealing the facts from other
+officers.</p>
+
+<p>The police and Gerald go away. Indelibly printed on the lawyer's memory
+is his late clerk's address.</p>
+
+<p>Loide breaks into his own house, and sleeps that night on the bed he had
+left up-stairs.</p>
+
+<p>Early as Gerald leaves Wimbledon next morning, Loide has left it before
+him.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer has profited in his former lesson in make up.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He remembers that in the Waterloo Road there are two or three theatrical
+shops. He waits about till they are open, and then enters one.</p>
+
+<p>"You will be surprised at what I want," he says to the man in the shop,
+"and perhaps you will not be able to give it to me."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"I want such a complete disguise that my own son will not know me."</p>
+
+<p>"Your son!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. It's a ghastly thing for a father to have to confess, but I
+suspect my son of having robbed me. I want to find out if it is so. If
+so, I shall ship him abroad.</p>
+
+<p>"I dare not place the matter in the hands of the police, because, if my
+suspicions are confirmed, I should have to prosecute&mdash;that I cannot do,
+for his mother's sake alone."</p>
+
+<p>"But how will you manage to&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I have thought it all out. We have just discharged our old caretaker at
+the warehouse. I have given out that I am going abroad, and I propose to
+be the new caretaker for a week or so."</p>
+
+<p>"For a week! You can't expect make up to last a week."</p>
+
+<p>"You think the disguise is impossible?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well, no&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"See here, I have false teeth. Now they are out you see what a
+difference it makes."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, you're right; pinches in your cheeks, and brings your nose and
+chin nearer. A good wig&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"I wear one now. I propose not to wear one at all. I am quite bald at
+top. Can you color the fringe of hair round?"</p>
+
+<p>"Color wouldn't stand for a week; besides, in daylight it would be
+seen."</p>
+
+<p>"There is no way, then?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; if you don't mind it."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Bleach it&mdash;won't take five minutes&mdash;bleach what you have, and your
+bushy eyebrows whitened and trimmed will make all the difference in the
+world."</p>
+
+<p>"Good."</p>
+
+<p>"But, mind, you will have to dye it black again when you want to return
+to your own color."</p>
+
+<p>"That's all right. Can you suggest anything else?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Your skin is white&mdash;'London tint' we call it&mdash;that can be stained
+a darker color&mdash;'country tint' our name for it. Complexion is a big
+factor in a make up."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"If you don't mind a little pain, we can alter your nose. This little
+thing put up the nostril distends one side, and contracts the other."</p>
+
+<p>"Good."</p>
+
+<p>"Bodily&mdash;you don't mind walking lame?"</p>
+
+<p>"Don't mind anything so long as the disguise is effective."</p>
+
+<p>"Elevators in your boots raise you three inches in height, and a club
+boot will cause you to walk altogether differently."</p>
+
+<p>"I see."</p>
+
+<p>"A hump on your back, and a pair of tinted glasses will complete the
+thing. It would need a very close observer to detect you."</p>
+
+<p>"The voice is the only thing&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Need not trouble you. This little thing fixes like the plate of false
+teeth in the roof of the mouth. Stage dudes wear them. Speak slowly, and
+you'll find yourself&mdash;unconsciously&mdash;lisping and stammering. The nose
+distender adds a little twangy, nasal sound, and it's your own fault if
+your voice gives you away."</p>
+
+<p>"All sounds good. Can you take me in hand now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Walk in."</p>
+
+<p>Terms were discussed and settled, and for an hour Loide was under the
+shopkeeper's hands.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At the expiration of that time he looked in the glass. He started back
+in amazement.</p>
+
+<p>Truly had he had a son, that son would scarcely have recognized him. He
+would have been a wise child to know his own father in that disguise.</p>
+
+<p>"The advantage of this, you see," said the make up man, "is that it is
+what we call a 'daylight get up.' You needn't be afraid of it rubbing
+off. It'll last. You'll look the same this day week as you look now. It
+will be more than a week before that stain begins to wear off. Now, try
+the coat."</p>
+
+<p>Several coats were tried before a fit to suit the shopman was arrived
+at, and then he gave it out to one of his men with directions.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile boots were tried on.</p>
+
+<p>"You will find the height and the club boot strange at first."</p>
+
+<p>"If I look as I feel with these elevators on, I must appear to be a
+giant."</p>
+
+<p>The shopman laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"It makes a big change. Walk round the shop for five minutes so as to
+get used to them. Coat ready? Now try this on. That will do, I think.
+Put on these tinted specs, and you're complete."</p>
+
+<p>Once more Loide looked in the mirror. His bent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> appearance altered his
+shape as much as the shopman's art had altered his face&mdash;he felt
+absolutely satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>Having paid the bill, he left the shop, and started walking towards the
+bridge; but he did not walk far&mdash;he would have been lame in reality&mdash;he
+hailed a hansom.</p>
+
+<p>The direction he gave the driver was the main road, in a street off
+which Gerald was lodging.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching the end of it he alighted, paid his fare, and boldly walked to
+No. 9&mdash;the number Gerald had given to the police.</p>
+
+<p>It was an ordinary lodging house, and the lawyer was pleased to see a
+bill in the window, bearing the legend, "Bed for Single Gentleman."</p>
+
+<p>He knocked at the door. He was after that bed.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, the landlady was in, said the girl; would he step inside and wait a
+minute?</p>
+
+<p>He stepped. The landlady came; she quoted her terms for a bedroom for a
+week.</p>
+
+<p>Would the gentleman like to see it? The gentleman would&mdash;and did.</p>
+
+<p>The second floor was devoted to bedrooms. Loide approved of the one
+shown him.</p>
+
+<p>He commented on the fact that the tenant of the next room slept late, as
+his boots were still outside his door; and with a darkened brow the
+landlady<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> replied to the effect that those who stopped out all night
+usually slept late the next day.</p>
+
+<p>Loide's heart beat quicker&mdash;he guessed the boots were Gerald's.</p>
+
+<p>He was sleeping in the next room, sleeping there with nineteen thousand
+pounds in his possession.</p>
+
+<p>In the next room&mdash;there were possibilities. Loide smiled pleasantly, and
+his heart felt lightened.</p>
+
+<p>He paid a deposit, and said that if the landlady would get him a chop
+that would be all he would require till supper.</p>
+
+<p>He was left alone.</p>
+
+<p>Turning the key in the lock he carefully felt the walls separating him
+from the adjoining room&mdash;as he suspected, lath and plaster! Presently he
+heard some one moving in there, heard distinctly through the thin wall.
+Then the door was opened, and the boots taken in. Gerald was going out.</p>
+
+<p>He went. Ear to crack in the door, the lawyer heard the man he was so
+anxious about speak to the landlady on the next floor, saying he would
+return in about two hours' time, and would she get him a steak and
+potatoes for then.</p>
+
+<p>Two hours! There would be time.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer stood on his bed and took down from its nail a framed and
+highly colored statement<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> to the effect that The Way of the Transgressor
+is Hard.</p>
+
+<p>On that part of the wall the frame had covered he operated with his
+pocket-knife.</p>
+
+<p>Stripping the paper, he cut away plaster and laths till he could see the
+back of the paper of the adjoining chamber.</p>
+
+<p>He sighed with satisfaction. His task was over.</p>
+
+<p>He did not care how soon Gerald came back. He would have his eye on
+him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXV" id="CHAPTER_XXXV"></a>CHAPTER XXXV</h2>
+
+<h3>NOT A MAN TO STICK AT TRIFLES</h3>
+
+<p>The lawyer then rolled up a sheet of stiff note paper from his bag into
+funnel shape, pinned it so, and made a tiny hole in the wall paper of
+the other room.</p>
+
+<p>Fitting the small end of his funnel to the hole, he commanded a perfect
+view of the next room.</p>
+
+<p>He was surprised, too, to find how it improved the sight looking through
+the tube&mdash;it was like a telescope, it seemed to bring things so near.</p>
+
+<p>With the framed text hanging on its hook again, there was not the
+slightest suspicious thing about the room, and when his chop came up,
+everything was finished.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after his dinner things were cleared away, Gerald returned.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer had not troubled to enter the adjoining chamber; the fact
+that it had been left unlocked convinced him that his man carried the
+notes on his person.</p>
+
+<p>And he did at that stage, for he had just returned from his interview
+with the dentist.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>With locked door, and eye to his funnel, Loide watched.</p>
+
+<p>He was seized with a frenzy as he saw Gerald take the notes from an
+envelope, and count them one by one&mdash;nineteen of them.</p>
+
+<p>Had the look on the lawyer's face been seen by Gerald, that gentleman
+would not have hummed so blithely and looked so happy.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald put the notes in his breast pocket, and pinned the top of it
+up&mdash;he was taking great care of them.</p>
+
+<p>Loide had made up his mind to get those notes. He rather fancied that he
+would get them that night.</p>
+
+<p>He generally got what he laid himself out to get. He was not a man to
+stick at trifles.</p>
+
+<p>Presently Gerald drew from his pocket and opened a little box.</p>
+
+<p>Loide knew what it was&mdash;he had seen them in a shop window.</p>
+
+<p>A small alarm with points to be pressed into the floor, so that when the
+door it lay against was pushed&mdash;the lawyer's hope of getting possession
+of the notes that night received a rude shock.</p>
+
+<p>The moment Gerald had swallowed his meal he went out again. He came back
+within an hour, and once more the lawyer's eye was busy.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald took a ticket from his pocket and put it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> on the mantelpiece. To
+the girl who was dusting the room he said:</p>
+
+<p>"Tell Mrs. Parkes I am leaving to-morrow morning; ask her to have my
+bill made out, including the morning's breakfast."</p>
+
+<p>The watcher strained his eyes, and ultimately read the ticket on the
+mantel board.</p>
+
+<p>It was a second class passage on the American liner <i>Cascaria</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Loide heard Gerald order tea for six o'clock, and then putting on his
+hat and breathing a prayer of thankfulness that it was raining&mdash;the
+devil helps his children&mdash;he went downstairs and out into the street.</p>
+
+<p>Had Gerald been looking out of the window he would only have seen an
+umbrella leaving the house&mdash;the man beneath was effectually concealed by
+it.</p>
+
+<p>Loide entered the nearest news agent's shop, and bought the morning
+paper. Looking down the shipping advertisements, he found to which line
+the <i>Cascaria</i> belonged, and took a cab to the company's head office.</p>
+
+<p>The passenger list was open to inspection. Gerald had booked in his own
+name.</p>
+
+<p>To the lawyer's chagrin, the whole cabin had been booked. What had
+looked an easy road, now showed a stumbling block.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He had counted on sharing that cabin. He had shared one once before, and
+the performance therein had been&mdash;in a measure&mdash;a success.</p>
+
+<p>He had looked to a repetition of it&mdash;it had been so easy.</p>
+
+<p>He booked&mdash;booked, too, a cabin to himself as Gerald had done. He
+reflected that there were contingencies likely to arise when his sole
+occupancy of the cabin might be advantageous.</p>
+
+<p>He hoped to secure the notes without risk. He quite recognized the
+danger attending the luring of Gerald into his own cabin, and
+then&mdash;besides, perhaps he wouldn't be lured; he might turn a deaf ear to
+the charmer, charm he never so wisely.</p>
+
+<p>Loide purchased a box of cigars to smoke on the steamer. Then he went
+into a chemist's and bought a tiny hypo syringe, and a certain drug, the
+potency of which was known to him.</p>
+
+<p>He rather prided himself on his general knowledge&mdash;he was a well read
+man. His reading was now serving him a good turn.</p>
+
+<p>With that syringe he would inject the drug into one of the cigars&mdash;there
+was no knowing when such a thing might prove useful.</p>
+
+<p>He entered the house at ten minutes past six.</p>
+
+<p>He reflected that Gerald would not be through with his tea in ten
+minutes, and that there was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> little likelihood of a meeting on the
+stairs&mdash;he was right; he reached his own room in safety.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing happened that night. The next morning he watched Gerald packing.</p>
+
+<p>He saw by the way he packed his portmanteau that the money was not to be
+placed in it.</p>
+
+<p>Presently Gerald called out to his landlady for a needle and thread.</p>
+
+<p>The watcher saw him put the notes in the envelopes, then wrap them in
+brown paper and tie the packet with a piece of white grocer's twine.</p>
+
+<p>The packet lay on the table, and the shape and size thereof were easily
+seen.</p>
+
+<p>Then the lining of the vest was ripped, the packet pushed in, and the
+lining sewn down again with the needle and black thread.</p>
+
+<p>Loide made a mental note of further things he needed for the voyage.</p>
+
+<p>Item: needle and black thread; item: brown paper and white twine.</p>
+
+<p>The articles went on board with him in the shape of a parcel&mdash;a
+duplicate of Gerald's.</p>
+
+<p>He guessed the train Gerald would go by, and resolved to travel by it
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>He did not want to let his man out of his sight more than was absolutely
+necessary.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Within four minutes of Gerald's departure, Loide left, and a cab took
+him to the station.</p>
+
+<p>He was in the train first, and, unseen himself, watched Gerald enter. So
+on to the boat.</p>
+
+<p>He played his cards well, and during the voyage he and Gerald became
+close acquaintances.</p>
+
+<p>With his syringe and drug, Loide had doctored his cigars. They rested in
+his case for use when the occasion arose.</p>
+
+<p>One night on deck the conversation turned on moon blindness, and Loide
+testified to its effects. If the picture he drew of its results lacked
+truth, it was at least original, and he had a manner which was
+convincing.</p>
+
+<p>He concluded the conversation by handing Gerald a cigar and saying,
+"Good-night," and left him to smoke it.</p>
+
+<p>He came back within three minutes. He had watched from a shadowed
+portion of the boat, and seen the cigar drop from the smoker's mouth and
+roll on the deck.</p>
+
+<p>Loide picked it up and threw it overboard&mdash;it had served its purpose.</p>
+
+<p>He helped Gerald to his feet, and in a dazed, unseeing way, the drugged
+man was helped to his cabin. There he sank on his bunk unconscious.</p>
+
+<p>Loide turned on the electric light and fastened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> the door. He did
+nothing hurriedly; he knew just how long the effects of the drug would
+last&mdash;he had plenty of time.</p>
+
+<p>Undoing the coat and vest, he ripped out the stitches which held in the
+notes.</p>
+
+<p>He put the packet in his pocket, and replaced it by another similar in
+shape and size.</p>
+
+<p>Then very carefully he sewed up the vest again with a needle and thread
+he had about him, buttoned up the coat, turned off the light, and found
+his way to his own cabin.</p>
+
+<p>There he undid the parcel. His eyes glistened.</p>
+
+<p>Nineteen crackling pieces of paper worth a thousand pounds each!</p>
+
+<p>He rolled and pressed them together till they formed a very small ball,
+and then he took off his clubfoot boot. The thick clump was for
+lightness&mdash;hollow.</p>
+
+<p>By lifting the inner soles he had been able to put his finger into the
+hollow&mdash;now he put the notes.</p>
+
+<p>With the contents of a penny bottle of liquid glue he glued down the
+leathers he had raised, one by one, and then left the thing to be dry by
+the morning&mdash;which it was, solidly dry.</p>
+
+<p>Brown paper, envelopes, string, needle, thread, glue were all cast from
+a port-hole into the sea.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>From a bottle he had with him he took a deep drink of brandy&mdash;he thought
+he had earned it.</p>
+
+<p>Then he undressed, carefully fastened his door, turned off the light,
+and prepared for the earliest night's rest he had had for many a day.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning Gerald woke with a headache&mdash;he said nothing of what was
+not quite clear to him&mdash;his finding himself in his bunk with his clothes
+on.</p>
+
+<p>His first waking movement was to grip and look at his vest&mdash;all was
+secure.</p>
+
+<p>He had not feared anything otherwise, but it was the first night he had
+slept with his door unlocked.</p>
+
+<p>Still he had the vest on, and after all, he reflected&mdash;with a
+smile&mdash;that was the safest place. No one could possibly have tampered
+with it without his knowing the fact.</p>
+
+<p>And he smiled again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXXVI</h2>
+
+<h3>ONCE MORE ON THE TRACK</h3>
+
+<p>When Gerald was turned out of the farm, it was too late to catch a train
+to New York. He slept in a roadside shed.</p>
+
+<p>Early next morning he was in the city, and he had made up his mind to go
+to police headquarters, and tell sufficient of his story to justify a
+stoppage of the notes.</p>
+
+<p>He passed a money changer's on the other side of the way, and looked at
+the shop.</p>
+
+<p>As he did so, he saw something which turned him rigid.</p>
+
+<p>Emerging from the money changer's was his close companion of the voyage.
+It was not so much that which came as a shock to him as the change in
+the fellow's appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The humpbacked man was no longer humpbacked. The club-footed man was no
+longer club-footed.</p>
+
+<p>The toothless gums were now filled with teeth, and where there had been
+a long drawn face, there was now a round one.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The glasses off, revealed eyes, sharp, shrewd, keen, piercing eyes,
+which even with the road between them, Gerald recognized in a
+moment&mdash;Lawyer Loide's!</p>
+
+<p>In that moment there flashed on him the knowledge of how he had been
+robbed.</p>
+
+<p>Loide boarded a passing car, and was carried away.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald hesitated. Should he follow? No, he must first ascertain beyond a
+doubt that the notes were in the man's possession.</p>
+
+<p>He could follow the car in a hack, and catch it up if need be.</p>
+
+<p>He dashed across the road, and entered the money changer's.</p>
+
+<p>"You are the principal?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Vat can I do for you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am an English detective."</p>
+
+<p>"So."</p>
+
+<p>"I am shadowing a man who has just left you. Stolen notes, a thousand
+pounds each. Has he cashed one with you?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, no, mine frent. He not haf me so. I makes inquiries first."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald pulled out his note-book.</p>
+
+<p>"Was the note he presented one of these numbers?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Dat von."</p>
+
+<p>The index finger of the banker's hand was at work.</p>
+
+<p>"What name did he give you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Loide."</p>
+
+<p>"Richard Loide, lawyer, of Liverpool Street, London?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dat vos so. Here vos his cart."</p>
+
+<p>"Has he left the note with you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I haf lock him in mine safe."</p>
+
+<p>"What to do with it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am at his oxpense cabling to Englant. Dat is all rights, den I vos
+pay him&mdash;but not now."</p>
+
+<p>"What address has he given you here?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oriental Hall, Seventh Avenue."</p>
+
+<p>"You will not do anything with the note till you see me again? We shall
+probably arrest him to-night, or in the morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Dat vos so."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye for the present."</p>
+
+<p>"Goot-bye."</p>
+
+<p>"Seventh Avenue, Oriental Hotel, drive like fury."</p>
+
+<p>Such were Gerald's instructions to the hackman.</p>
+
+<p>He knew he would get there before Loide. As a matter of fact, he passed
+the car bearing that individual half way.</p>
+
+<p>When he had paid his fare, the number of dollars he had left he could
+have counted on his finger-tips.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was a third-rate hotel. While waiting for the hotel clerk, he looked
+through the visitors' or arrival book. Loide had signed his own name; it
+stood out boldly, "Richard Loide, London, Eng."</p>
+
+<p>"Is room No. 40 (the next one to Loide's) vacant?" he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll book it."</p>
+
+<p>He did so; signed a fictitious name in the visitors' book, received his
+key, and went up in the elevator to his room.</p>
+
+<p>He sat down and waited, waited till he heard the tenant of No. 41 come
+along the passage, and pass through the room bearing that number.</p>
+
+<p>Then Gerald flung off his coat, stepped into the passage, satisfied
+himself that no soul was in sight, turned the handle of the door of No.
+41, pushed it open, and sprang on its occupant&mdash;Loide.</p>
+
+<p>The surprise party generally has the advantage&mdash;Gerald had.</p>
+
+<p>Before Loide could utter a cry, or turn to gaze at his assailant, strong
+fingers were gripping his throat and half choking him.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer was being garroted. Resistance ceased.</p>
+
+<p>He became limp. Gerald was holding an unconscious man in his arm.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Gerald dropped his burden to the floor and sprang to the door, shot the
+bolt, and then turned to the man on the carpet.</p>
+
+<p>He felt his heart, it was beating&mdash;beating furiously. That was all
+right.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald knew his victim to be a murderer, but he did not want to become
+one himself.</p>
+
+<p>He went over the man. In the breast pocket, in an envelope, he found the
+notes. He counted them&mdash;eighteen.</p>
+
+<p>One glance at the man, one more feel of the heart, and he went into his
+own chamber.</p>
+
+<p>Getting into his coat, and putting on his hat, he went out of his room,
+and, key in hand, was carried by the lift to the ground floor.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving his key in the bureau, he walked away from the hotel, and
+inquiring of a policeman where the office of the New York Central Bank
+was, he made in its direction.</p>
+
+<p>At the bank counter he filled a form paying in to the credit of George
+Depew eighteen thousand pounds.</p>
+
+<p>"Will you wire through to your Oakville branch, telling them to let Mr.
+Depew know at once that this money has been paid to his account?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, sir. It shall be done immediately."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you. Give me the name of the most respectable lawyer near here,
+will you?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Denison, Coomer &amp; Wall&mdash;they rank highest around here."</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks."</p>
+
+<p>Gerald went to the lawyers. To the acting partner he said:</p>
+
+<p>"I was recommended here by the New York Central Bank. I was commissioned
+by Mr. George Depew, farmer, of Oakville, to go to England to collect
+nineteen thousand pounds, money left him under a will. I got it, and
+came over by the <i>Cascaria</i>. I was robbed on board. Eighteen thousand
+pounds of the money I have recovered and paid into the New York Central
+to Mr. Depew's credit; here is the bank's receipt."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;that is an order."</p>
+
+<p>"One thousand pounds is missing&mdash;I traced it to Myer Wolff's&mdash;Exchange
+Bureau on Broadway. I went in. He has the note.</p>
+
+<p>"I told him not to part with the money for it. The man who left it with
+him was the thief. He is a shrewd, clever thief; prompt measures must be
+taken to prevent his getting that thousand pounds."</p>
+
+<p>"Where's Depew?"</p>
+
+<p>"At home in Oakville. I want you to fetch him here express."</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't you fetch him yourself?"</p>
+
+<p>"He thinks I am the thief. I only got hands on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> the eighteen thousand
+pounds an hour ago. The whole lot was missing yesterday."</p>
+
+<p>"He'll have to make a declaration and get bondsmen before that thousand
+pounds can be successfully claimed."</p>
+
+<p>"He can do that&mdash;most respectable man in the section."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll write him now to come along, and send the letter through special.
+How do the trains run? Can he get here to-night?"</p>
+
+<p>"Dead easy. If you catch the next out with your letter, he can be back
+here before half past four."</p>
+
+<p>"Good. I'll tell him to be here at five o'clock. There'll be justices
+around at that time. You'll come back?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will&mdash;you'll want me?"</p>
+
+<p>"To join in the declaration&mdash;that's so."</p>
+
+<p>"Good. I'll be here."</p>
+
+<p>"Till five o'clock then. Good-bye."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXXVII</h2>
+
+<h3>THE LAWYER LIFTED INTO ANOTHER SPHERE</h3>
+
+<p>Loide lifted himself on his elbow and looked round. Then he
+remembered&mdash;he was in his room at the New York hotel.</p>
+
+<p>He had entered the room and then&mdash;of course, some one had sprung on him
+from behind.</p>
+
+<p>A horrible thought smote him. He plunged his hand into his breast pocket
+and screamed with rage&mdash;the pocket was empty!</p>
+
+<p>The notes were gone!</p>
+
+<p>He sprang to his feet and thought.</p>
+
+<p>What should he do? Give information to the police&mdash;would it be safe?</p>
+
+<p>He had&mdash;foreseeing possession again&mdash;written the Bank of England
+withdrawing the stop on the notes, saying they were now in his client's
+possession.</p>
+
+<p>How then was he to account for the holding of them himself? Would not
+unpleasant inquiries be made?</p>
+
+<p>Would he be able to answer them&mdash;without danger?<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Had all his labor been in vain? How had the robber possibly known that
+he had these notes in his possession?</p>
+
+<p>At the money changer's he had purposely only spoken of one.</p>
+
+<p>He knew it was not the work of a common hotel thief, for his studs,
+watch, and loose money had not been touched. It must have been some one
+who knew.</p>
+
+<p>He would, at that moment, have cheerfully given one of the missing notes
+to know who the thief was.</p>
+
+<p>He was afraid to go to the police, to say that he was an English lawyer
+bringing the money over to his client, Depew, and that he had been
+robbed, because if there was a real Depew, he would step forward and
+claim the money, and he&mdash;Loide&mdash;would be worse off than ever.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, what explanation of his attempt to cash the one note could he
+give?</p>
+
+<p>There was the thousand pounds fortunately saved from the robbery. This
+was safe in the money changer's hands. He looked at his watch. By the
+time he reached the banker's office, time would have elapsed, the reply
+cable would probably be back.</p>
+
+<p>He would secure the thousand pounds first, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> consider what he should
+do about the others after.</p>
+
+<p>He took a car to Broadway and entered the banker's office.</p>
+
+<p>The money changer looked at him.</p>
+
+<p>"You haf come back&mdash;alone, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"Alone?&mdash;yes. I told you I was a stranger in New York."</p>
+
+<p>"Dat vos so. But you haf frents here&mdash;frents anxious to meet wit you."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean? What nonsense are you talking? Have you got a cable
+back from England?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, mine frent, nor did I cable out there&mdash;I saves the oxpense."</p>
+
+<p>"You&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"You see, von of the peeples vat is so anxious to meet mit you, he comes
+in directly you leaf here."</p>
+
+<p>"My&mdash;friend?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes. He know you quite well. He say to me, 'Dat vos my very goot
+frent, Meestair Loide, the lawyer, of London, England, eh?'"</p>
+
+<p>"Said&mdash;that&mdash;to&mdash;you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ogsactly. I say, 'Yes, dat vos so.' Den your frent he answers that he
+came after you about stolen notes. He say, 'Dat I change him.' I smile.
+He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> go out to seeks you. I am much surprised to see you alone here all
+by yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Alone!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, because he say that he tink to-day he arrest you."</p>
+
+<p>"Arrest me!"</p>
+
+<p>"Dat is a way vid detectives; dey do dat wid peoples vot steals bank
+notes."</p>
+
+<p>"Steals!"</p>
+
+<p>"So."</p>
+
+<p>"This is a trick! Give me back my note."</p>
+
+<p>"Your note?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes&mdash;damn you&mdash;give me back my money."</p>
+
+<p>"Shacob," the money changer called to his assistant sitting in the glass
+office behind, "will you oblige me by ring up the call for the police."</p>
+
+<p>"Police," said Loide.</p>
+
+<p>"So."</p>
+
+<p>"What the devil do you mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Vait, mine frent. Do not get oxcited. It is big mistakes. Vait till the
+police come. They explain tings bettaire."</p>
+
+<p>"Curse you!"</p>
+
+<p>"So&mdash;if it please you, it pass the times."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall go to my lawyer," he was making for the door as he spoke, "you
+shall pay for this."</p>
+
+<p>"Ogsactly."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Loide disappeared. He saw a couple of policemen coming along the
+sidewalk, and promptly jumped on a car going in the opposite direction.</p>
+
+<p>It took him the way of the hotel. There would be time to go in, get his
+bag, and leave before the police turned up there.</p>
+
+<p>There was a little money left in the bag; he must secure that.</p>
+
+<p>He got his key in the hotel office, and was carried in the elevator to
+his floor.</p>
+
+<p>Locking himself in his room, he tore open his bag, and threw the
+contents on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>Papers&mdash;he crammed them into the grate, and, applying a match, set them
+burning. He destroyed everything which would link him with the name of
+Loide.</p>
+
+<p>Then he started to resume the disguise which had been so successful on
+the boat. He would be safe in it, he thought.</p>
+
+<p>He would wait for the police, and give another name and&mdash;and then there
+flashed to his memory the recollection of the register! He had signed
+there his full name, Richard Loide. His signature would convict him.</p>
+
+<p>He sank with a groan on the bed. What should&mdash;what could he do?</p>
+
+<p>The police were on his track without doubt, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> why the call at the
+money changer's? What a fool he had been to set foot in America&mdash;how
+could he set foot out of it?</p>
+
+<p>If he was to escape, there was no time to be lost. He took his bag in
+his hand and passed out into the passage.</p>
+
+<p>Looking over the staircase, he saw on the ground floor two policemen
+talking to the hotel clerk. Was he too late?</p>
+
+<p>One of the officers stepped into the ever moving elevator. Slowly he was
+being borne upwards.</p>
+
+<p>What should he do? The thought occurred to him that they would find his
+room empty, and think him gone.</p>
+
+<p>He would hide&mdash;on the floor above. They would not think of searching
+there.</p>
+
+<p>He sprang into the elevator&mdash;he should have waited for the next up
+coming car&mdash;the floor was nearly level with his knees when he jumped.
+The result was that he slipped, staggered, and fell prone on the floor
+of the lift, his head projecting.</p>
+
+<p>Before he could move, the floor of the compartment reached the next
+floor of the building.</p>
+
+<p>There was a scream of agony, a sudden wrenching jerk which shook the
+lift and halted the powerful machinery for half a moment, and then the
+cars went on in their old automatic way.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But when the policeman alighted on the floor on which room No. 14 was
+situate, he was horrified to see a bleeding human head staring him in
+the face, and marked the trail of blood across the floor leading to it,
+while the policeman below was equally shocked when the lift reached the
+ground to see the headless trunk of a human body lying on the floor.</p>
+
+<p>The coroner's jury brought in the usual verdict.</p>
+
+<p>Loide had at one time feared death by hanging, English fashion; later by
+electrocution, American fashion; he had never feared a French
+performance&mdash;the guillotine&mdash;and yet, after all, decapitation was his
+end.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXXVIII</h2>
+
+<h3>MRS. DEPEW HOLDS THE REINS</h3>
+
+<p>At the farm bells jangled. The usual harmony was not prevailing.</p>
+
+<p>No one struck the right key in conversation. After the manner of
+mothers, Mrs. Depew sympathized with her daughter, with a result that
+things were not running smoothly with the farmer.</p>
+
+<p>A wife has facilities for disturbing a husband's tranquillity.</p>
+
+<p>Apart from the displeasure of his wife and daughter, George Depew was
+not that pleased with himself.</p>
+
+<p>Gerald's behavior when leaving had certainly not been that of a guilty
+man. And when the farmer came to think things over quietly, he came to
+the conclusion that he had been a large sized fool to lose his temper as
+he had done.</p>
+
+<p>He realized Gerald's story must have been true&mdash;what would have been the
+sense of trying to pass off that folded piece of newspaper as bank
+notes? The trick would necessarily be found out at once.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The midday meal was under way, and was being disposed of in unusual
+silence.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Depew did not like the red eyed appearance of her daughter, and her
+husband did not like the glances his wife occasionally favored him with
+as a result thereof.</p>
+
+<p>A messenger came to the door with a letter for the farmer. He took it
+and tried to read it, but could only make out a word here and there.</p>
+
+<p>"Here, Tess, just read this out, will you?"</p>
+
+<p>His daughter took it and read.</p>
+
+<p>The farmer said "Jerusalem!" His wife&mdash;after the manner of wives&mdash;said,
+"There! I told you so," and the daughter said tearfully, "And you called
+him a thief, father!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mrs. Depew, rubbing it in, after the manner of her sex, "an
+almost stranger goes out of his way to bring you more money than you
+have ever dreamed of, and you call him a thief! I've no patience with
+the man."</p>
+
+<p>"No, old woman, you haven't," replied the farmer. "Mebbe it would be
+better for all of us if you had. Give me my store coat and hat. I'm
+going right away to N'York by the next train."</p>
+
+<p>"And what good's that, I should like to know? Sakes alive! Can't the man
+understand that the money's to his credit here in Oakville?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, the man's got gumption enough for that," answered the farmer
+grimly. "Just now, it ain't the money that's agitating me&mdash;that's all
+right."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, what on earth do you want to go to N'York for?"</p>
+
+<p>"To make about the most humble apology lips ever vented. I'm going to
+find Gerald Danvers, and tell him that a bigger old fool don't prowl
+about this airth than I am; and I'm going to beg him&mdash;d'ye hear&mdash;beg him
+to forgive me for insulting him."</p>
+
+<p>"Dear father!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's it, Tess. Because your old dad's a bit of a fool, you don't want
+to rub it in, do you? You leave that to your mother. Come here, girlie,
+and gimme a kiss."</p>
+
+<p>"Lawd sakes, now! Just listen to the man! As if I'd said anything!"</p>
+
+<p>"No, mother," said the farmer, over Tessie's shoulder&mdash;he was holding
+her to him&mdash;"it wouldn't be you to say anything. Silence is the kind of
+thing you shine in. Now, Tessie, gimme your sweetheart's address, and
+I'll get there slick away."</p>
+
+<p>"Father, I don't know it."</p>
+
+<p>"You&mdash;don't&mdash;know&mdash;it?"</p>
+
+<p>"No, father. He will come back here now the money is found."</p>
+
+<p>"Not if I know him, he won't," interposed the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> farmer's wife. "People
+that are turned out of doors and called 'thief' and threatened with
+whips ain't likely to come groveling around."</p>
+
+<p>"Mother!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, yes, 'mother.' But 'mother' won't find that boy, will it? Lawd
+sakes! When I was a gal, sweethearts didn't behave like that. When your
+father was courting me, I should ha' liked to see him stalk away to
+N'York without telling me where he was going to put up. My&mdash;yes!"</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo!" said the farmer, "here's a special delivery letter!"</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it's from Gerald, father.</p>
+
+<p>"More likely," snorted Mrs. Depew, "from the county lunatic asylum, to
+say they've a vacancy for a permanency if your father likes to call."</p>
+
+<p>"Here, Tess, girlie, read this. See who it's from, and what it's about."</p>
+
+<p>The girl took the letter and read.</p>
+
+<p>"That makes the nineteen thousand pounds," said Tessie, as she finished
+reading the letter. "I wondered what eighteen meant."</p>
+
+<p>"There's time to catch the train;" he walked to the window as he spoke,
+and called out, "You, Sam, just hitch the mare on to the buggy&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"And what's the buggy for?" interrupted his wife.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"To drive to the station, of course."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, the buggy won't hold four people, will it?"</p>
+
+<p>"Four?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes. Sam'll have to go to bring it back. Do you expect me and Tessie to
+hang on to that axle?"</p>
+
+<p>"What? Are you going?"</p>
+
+<p>"Am I? I reckon. If you think, George Depew, that you are going to
+career around the streets of N'York, bulging money at every pocket, with
+nary a sensible soul to look after you, let me tell you, you make a
+mistake."</p>
+
+<p>"But, mother dear," said Tessie; "you will never be ready. The train
+goes in twenty minutes, and you will never have time to change your
+dress."</p>
+
+<p>"Won't I? Sakes alive! You've known me for nigh on nineteen years, and
+you don't know your mother yet."</p>
+
+<p>She had thrown off her apron and was rolling down her sleeves as she
+spoke. Then she called out to the hired girl:</p>
+
+<p>"You, Liz, my boots, the ones I wore last time I was in Oakville. Won't
+be ready, won't I?" she continued, as she bustled up-stairs to change
+her dress; "I guess I shall be ready before you are."</p>
+
+<p>Her husband changed the order, and the horse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> was harnessed to a four
+wheeled trap. By the time the farmer had changed into fresh boots and
+coat, Mrs. Depew was heard descending the stairs.</p>
+
+<p>"On time, I reckon, ain't I?" she inquired as she tied her bonnet
+strings. "Where's that gal? Now, you, Tessie, jump about; never mind
+your hair, clap your hat on, and come right down at once. We don't need
+to miss that train."</p>
+
+<p>She was outside getting into her seat, and had taken the reins in hand
+before she had finished speaking.</p>
+
+<p>Tessie ran down, jumped up, and presently they were driving rapidly in
+the direction of the station.</p>
+
+<p>The train was caught, and during the journey the situation was discussed
+with much spirit.</p>
+
+<p>The fact that the hero had appealed to Mrs. Depew, when her husband had
+turned him out, was not forgotten by that lady. Her "I told you so" song
+she sang for all it was worth, and kept her foot on the low pedal, too.</p>
+
+<p>"I know a man, I do hope, when I see one," she said, "and at five
+o'clock this afternoon I hope to put my arms round the neck of one, and
+give him a good sounding kiss. I'm just real anxious to fill a great
+gaping hole in our midst. I'm wanting to extend a welcoming hand to a
+son-in-law that'll fill it, and supply the common sense we're so hard up
+for with our men folk."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXXIX</h2>
+
+<h3>MRS. DEPEW HAS THINGS HER OWN WAY</h3>
+
+<p>Before five o'clock the three Depews&mdash;father, mother, and daughter&mdash;were
+in the New York lawyer's office, and punctually at the hour Gerald
+entered.</p>
+
+<p>The lawyer, who had guessed something of what had happened, judiciously
+left them together for a few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Depew carried out her threat; she walked straight over to Gerald,
+and gave him what she called a "smack."</p>
+
+<p>"You, Gerald," she said, "I'm as real pleased to see you as I am to see
+the snow go away in winter. I believed in you, my lad, from the first,
+and if I've got an old fool for a husband, remember that he is only an
+old fool, and there's no scrap of real bad in him&mdash;that he's as good a
+husband, and as good a father as ever stepped in shoes."</p>
+
+<p>"I want to say right here, Gerald," interposed the farmer, "that I'm as
+real sorry as any man can be for what I&mdash;&mdash;"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There's no need for you to say anything to me just now, farmer,"
+interrupted Gerald stiffly; "you said enough last time we met to last me
+for many a day."</p>
+
+<p>"I know, lad, I know, lad&mdash;don't I know it? You're not going to play
+heavy on a man old enough to be your father?"</p>
+
+<p>"You were heavy enough on me&mdash;young enough to be your son! I have made
+up my mind"&mdash;he sat down with an air of determination as he spoke "to
+talk to you; to talk to you freely, when the whole of your nineteen
+thousand pounds is found.</p>
+
+<p>"I've got hold on the balance that's missing, and it only wants the
+lawyer to put things in trim for it to be recovered. When it is&mdash;when
+the whole nineteen thousand pounds is in your possession&mdash;I shall want
+you to eat the word 'thief' you applied to me."</p>
+
+<p>"Ain't I just eating it, Gerald?" said the old man humbly. "Is there a
+man here in N'York with as much humble pie in his mouth as I've got? I
+take back all I said&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe, but I&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>And then Gerald paused.</p>
+
+<p>Two soft, warm hands passed over the back of his chair, passed his face,
+came round his neck;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> warm lips touched his ear, and a voice he loved
+better than any other whispered:</p>
+
+<p>"Gerald!&mdash;he is my father."</p>
+
+<p>That did it. Gerald jumped up and took the farmer by the hand.</p>
+
+<p>All his anger had evaporated under the touch of those soft, warm lips.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, farmer, let bygones be bygones. We'll forget all that's been said
+that ought not to have been said. Here comes the lawyer. Let's get along
+with the declaration."</p>
+
+<p>"I have it all ready," said the lawyer. "It is a joint declaration." He
+read it, and then said, "Come along with me to the justice's office; and
+it can be declared right off."</p>
+
+<p>The justice before whom they presented themselves glanced at the
+document he was signing.</p>
+
+<p>"Coincidence," he said, "or is it the same? Loide's&mdash;an English
+lawyer&mdash;death was reported at the police station this afternoon."</p>
+
+<p>Death! Gerald started. Had he then killed the man he had struggled with?
+He said:</p>
+
+<p>"You mean Richard Loide." And he mentioned the hotel.</p>
+
+<p>"That's where the accident occurred. Lift accident&mdash;there is the
+certificate just brought in."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you loan this to me?" inquired the lawyer,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> after perusing it; "I
+think it will save some trouble."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," answered the justice; "if you return it within two hours. It has
+to go to the coroner by then."</p>
+
+<p>This was promised. Outside the office the lawyer hailed a hackman.</p>
+
+<p>"Get in," he said to his companions; "we will drive straight to the
+money changer's."</p>
+
+<p>They did. The hackman waited. They entered the office.</p>
+
+<p>"You remember me, Mr. Wolff?" queried the lawyer.</p>
+
+<p>It was evident the banker did&mdash;from his obsequious manner in receiving
+his visitor. Doubtless the lawyer knew something of him.</p>
+
+<p>"You have a thousand pound English note in your possession belonging to
+my client here."</p>
+
+<p>"I hope you not tink, Meestair Denison, dat I intends&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I know you only want to give it up to the right owner. He's
+here&mdash;this gentleman. Mr. Loide left it with you&mdash;Loide's dead. Here's
+the police certificate of his death."</p>
+
+<p>"Det, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"He was acting in England as a lawyer for this client of mine, and paid
+over eighteen out of nineteen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span> thousand pounds. The other thousand pound
+note was missing. This declaration sworn to before Justice Colonel
+George F. Vanderwood to-day proves the ownership."</p>
+
+<p>"So."</p>
+
+<p>It was evident that the mention of the justice had impressed the banker.</p>
+
+<p>"You will give up the note, I suppose, without any trouble?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sairtenly, Meestair Denison, if you say so. I suppose I haf some
+eendemnity, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have prepared one. Here it is. Mr. Depew, will you sign it?"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Depew did so, and in exchange got the missing thousand pound note.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, back to my office," said the lawyer, "where the ladies are
+waiting."</p>
+
+<p>They returned there. The farmer flourished his note, and then threw it
+into his wife's lap.</p>
+
+<p>"All's well, old girl," he said; "got him. It's all settled."</p>
+
+<p>"And now you have only to settle with me," said the lawyer, with a
+smile, "and the whole thing will be ended."</p>
+
+<p>"Not much, it isn't," interposed Mrs. Depew. "There's a marriage
+settlement for you to draw up. My old man is settling nine thousand
+pounds on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> our daughter, Tessie, who is to be married to Mr. Gerald
+Danvers here."</p>
+
+<p>"No need for a settlement, madam. Give her the money now before they are
+married, and it's hers as firmly as any deed could make it so."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that so? Then, George, you'd better give it right away&mdash;here."</p>
+
+<p>"Plenty of time, old girl, when we get back&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Get back! There's no putting back from here with a couple of single
+people around. Those two is going to be made one before we step out of
+N'York again."</p>
+
+<p>"Mother!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's me, Tess&mdash;you hear me say it.</p>
+
+<p>"You really mean that, Mrs. Depew," inquired Gerald, with sparkling
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"Young man," she answered, "you've evidently got to learn that when your
+mother-in-law that is to be says a thing, she means it."</p>
+
+<p>"Mrs. Depew, you're the finest mother-in-law the world holds! You're a
+brick! a regular brick!"</p>
+
+<p>"But, mother," said the blushing Tessie, "I haven't got anything
+ready&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"Lawd sakes! Listen to that now! And here are we in N'York with a bank
+full of money, too! Can't you buy what you want?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Of course she can," interrupted Gerald eagerly. "Mrs. Depew, you're the
+most sensible woman I've ever met."</p>
+
+<p>"None of your soft soap now!"</p>
+
+<p>"It's a fact. It's a capital idea. Couldn't be better. Don't you think
+so, farmer?"</p>
+
+<p>Of course the farmer thought so. He valued his domestic peace, and
+assured it by acquiescence in most of his wife's ideas.</p>
+
+<p>He even went so far as to say that he had thought a similar idea out as
+they drove along.</p>
+
+<p>Tessie made another&mdash;must it be confessed, very faint-hearted?&mdash;protest.</p>
+
+<p>"Why should you be in such a hurry, mother?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because I don't believe in long engagements&mdash;that's why. Because this
+boy was promised his reward&mdash;that's why. Because you know perfectly well
+that you are just as anxious to get married as he is to marry
+you&mdash;that's why. Because I'm getting an old woman, and the sooner you
+get married, the longer I shall have on earth to play with my
+grandchildren&mdash;that's why."</p>
+
+<p>"Mother!"</p>
+
+<p>Of course it was settled that way. When they left New York shortly
+after, Gerald and Tessie were man and wife.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Depew usually contrived to get her own<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> way. If, of that household
+it was true that the husband was the head, she was the neck&mdash;she was so
+capable of turning the head.</p>
+
+<h4>THE END</h4>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of '£19,000', by Burford Delannoy
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK '£19,000' ***
+
+***** This file should be named 34934-h.htm or 34934-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/9/3/34934/
+
+Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
+scanned images of public domain material from the Google
+Print archive.
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/34934-h/images/ill_001.jpg b/34934-h/images/ill_001.jpg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b230862
--- /dev/null
+++ b/34934-h/images/ill_001.jpg
diff --git a/34934.txt b/34934.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e34294
--- /dev/null
+++ b/34934.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9049 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of 'L19,000', by Burford Delannoy
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: 'L19,000'
+
+Author: Burford Delannoy
+
+Release Date: January 12, 2011 [EBook #34934]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 'L19,000' ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
+scanned images of public domain material from the Google
+Print archive.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+"L19,000"
+
+
+
+
+"L19,000"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By BURFORD DELANNOY
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_Author of "The Garden Court Murder"
+"The Missing Cyclist" Etc. Etc._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+R. F. FENNO & COMPANY
+9 and 11 East Sixteenth Street, New York
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+WARD LOCK & COMPANY, LONDON
+
+
+
+
+Copyright, 1900, by
+R. F. FENNO & COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                           PAGE
+        I.  THE DENTIST'S IN FINSBURY SQUARE                           7
+       II.  WHAT WAS FOUND ON THE BODY                                16
+      III.  ON BOARD THE AMERICAN LINER                               23
+       IV.  THE CITY LAWYER AND THE CLIENT FROM THE WILD AND
+                WOOLY WEST                                            30
+        V.  BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND QUEENSTOWN                          38
+       VI.  MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS                                   45
+      VII.  THE NUMBERS OF THE MISSING NOTES                          52
+     VIII.  THE SEALED UP CABIN                                       61
+       IX.  A WAITING WIFE'S DISCOVERY                                68
+        X.  HOW THE DEVIL TEMPTED HIM                                 76
+       XI.  A LIFE FOR A LIFE                                         83
+      XII.  FATHER AND CHILD--THE OLD STORY                           91
+     XIII.  LOVERS--MORE OF THE OLD STORY                             98
+      XIV.  THE METHOD IN SUSAN TODD'S MADNESS                       105
+       XV.  BOUND TO THE WHEEL                                       113
+      XVI.  SUSAN TODD SEES A GHOST                                  120
+     XVII.  A SICK BED CONFESSION                                    126
+    XVIII.  A WIFE FOR REWARD                                        133
+      XIX.  GERALD PUTS HIS NOSE TO THE TRAIL                        140
+       XX.  INSIDE THE LAWYER'S OFFICE                               148
+      XXI.  THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S ART AND ARTFULNESS                    156
+     XXII.  THE HANDCUFFS PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART                     163
+    XXIII.  AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DENTIST                          171
+     XXIV.  AN AMATEUR CARPENTER                                     178
+      XXV.  A WOULD-BE SUICIDE                                       181
+     XXVI.  GERALD WALKS INTO THE TRAP                               195
+    XXVII.  PECULIAR MESSENGERS                                      203
+   XXVIII.  A PISTOL AND AN OPEN GRAVE                               211
+     XXIX.  THE NEXT MOVE IN THE GAME                                218
+      XXX.  AT THE DENTIST'S                                         226
+     XXXI.  MOON BLINDNESS                                           234
+    XXXII.  THE LOVERS MEET                                          241
+   XXXIII.  THIEF!                                                   249
+    XXXIV.  A THEATRICAL MAKE-UP                                     254
+     XXXV.  NOT A MAN TO STICK AT TRIFLES                            262
+    XXXVI.  ONCE MORE ON THE TRACK                                   270
+   XXXVII.  THE LAWYER LIFTED INTO ANOTHER SPHERE                    277
+  XXXVIII.  MRS. DEPEW HOLDS THE REINS                               284
+    XXXIX.  MRS. DEPEW HAS THINGS HER OWN WAY                        290
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE DENTIST'S IN FINSBURY SQUARE
+
+
+The gong fixed in the door frame sounded.
+
+A man entered as Sawyer hurriedly ceased a perusal of the pages of the
+_Boys of the World_, and stuffed that sample of the literature of young
+England up his page's jacket.
+
+"Is the boss in?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I want a tooth out."
+
+"Yes, sir. Will you take a seat a moment?"
+
+The boy handed the visitor a newspaper as he spoke, and then entered the
+inner room. To his employer he said:
+
+"Gent wants a tooth extracted, sir."
+
+He had attained the word "extracted" by diligent practice. It had been
+hard work, but he got home with it at last.
+
+There was a hope prevailing in the dentist's breast that in time the boy
+would be able to say "gentleman"; at present there were no indications
+of the realization of that hope beyond the word's first syllable.
+
+The dentist was wearily glancing out of the window. He looked very down
+in the mouth.
+
+That is said of him metaphorically, as, actually, it is part of the
+business of a dentist to do that sort of thing. That is patent.
+
+He had little to do but admire the scenery of Finsbury Circus. It is not
+an inspiring landscape--weariness naturally follows its frequent
+observation.
+
+His brother had rooms a few doors away, and was the proprietor of a
+brass plate which bore four letters after his name--Arthur Lennox,
+M.R.C.S.
+
+Sawyer was a divided possession. However impossible it may seem for a
+man to serve two masters, the boy did--it came cheaper that way.
+
+The surgeon and dentist were not having good times.
+
+Patience is necessary in waiting for patients, and the stock of it they
+had laid in when they started in their respective practices was nearly
+exhausted.
+
+Overdue rent and unpaid bills stared them in the face. In addition to
+their kinship they were brothers in misfortune.
+
+It was such a rare thing for a patient to call that, when the page
+announced one, the dentist quite started. Immediately he said:
+
+"Show him in."
+
+The boy did so, and retired. To his visitor, the dentist said:
+
+"Good-morning."
+
+"Good-morning. You are Mr. Charles Lennox?"
+
+There was just that twang about the speaker's voice which some persons
+find so "charming"--and others tip their noses at--American.
+
+"That is my name."
+
+"I saw it up on the wire blind with the word 'dentist' after it."
+
+"You need dental attention?"
+
+"I need a tooth out."
+
+"Will you sit down here?"
+
+"Say! Hold on a minute. There's another combination on your blind.
+'Painless Dentistry.'"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I want to sample that kind."
+
+"You mean--gas?"
+
+"I mean the kind where you yank the tooth out without the owner knowing
+it. I've heard that it's done that way."
+
+"Oh, yes, very frequently."
+
+"Then fire away, boss."
+
+"I shall have to ask you to wait a minute or two."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"I must send for a medical man to administer the gas."
+
+"Can't do it yourself?"
+
+"No, it is not usual."
+
+"Will it be long?"
+
+"No, my anaesthetist is but a few doors away."
+
+"All right, then."
+
+"It is proper that I should mention that for the administration of gas
+an extra fee is charged."
+
+"How do you mean?"
+
+"The charge is half a guinea extra."
+
+"Fifteen and six in all?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That's all right. If it really comes out without my knowing it, I
+shan't ask for my change out of a sovereign. Money's no object with me
+just now."
+
+The dentist looked his opinion of the speaker, and, opening the
+communication doors, called the boy.
+
+"Run in to Mr. Arthur, and ask him if he will come in--gas patient
+waiting."
+
+The boy ran in--and remained in Mr. Arthur Lennox' rooms, minding them
+while the surgeon went to help his brother.
+
+As he entered the dentist's sanctum, the man who had been sent for said:
+
+"Good-morning."
+
+"Good-morning; are you the pain killer?"
+
+"That is my present mission," replied the surgeon, with a smile, as he
+drew out the rubber gas bag, and prepared the apparatus.
+
+"What happens after I'm loaded? Sort of balloon business, this. How long
+do I stay gassed up?"
+
+"But a minute, and during that minute the tooth is extracted."
+
+"Sure it don't hurt?"
+
+"Not at all--take my word for it. You are conscious, perhaps, of what is
+being done, but you will experience no pain."
+
+"All right, then. It's warm in here; do you mind me taking off my coat,
+mister?"
+
+"Not at all."
+
+"I've been walking around pretty much all to-day winding things up."
+
+"Ah!"
+
+Politeness induced the surgeon to utter that exclamation; he was wholly
+uninterested. He wondered why patients should be so communicative.
+
+"Yes; I'm off back to the States to-morrow. I have been round to Eldon
+Street about my passage, and as I walked into Finsbury Circus, blest if
+this tooth didn't come on aching a treat. I didn't reckon on any
+dentist being aboard the boat, so, when I saw your sign, I popped right
+in."
+
+"And now, if you will sit here.... So. That's it."
+
+"Hullo! what's that?"
+
+"Don't be nervous--just the gas. Imagine you are going to sleep. That is
+it.... There you are; Charley, he's gone under."
+
+The surgeon walked aside, the dentist took his place, and, instrument in
+hand, quickly operated.
+
+As he put the forceps down, and picked up a glass of water, he suddenly
+cried:
+
+"Arthur! what's wrong? Arthur, quick!"
+
+The surgeon was at the window, drumming with his finger-tips on the
+panes. He turned round hurriedly when he was addressed and inquired:
+
+"What's the matter?"
+
+But he needed no verbal answer. A look at the patient's face told him
+much.
+
+He clawed up a towel, and putting it beneath the chin, snatched the
+glass of water the dentist was holding, and dashed it on the livid,
+colorless face.... It had no effect.
+
+He threw the glass and towel down, and felt the pulse, tore open the
+man's vest, and applied his stethoscope; seized the body, laid it on the
+floor, and on his knees was astride it.
+
+"Brandy," he said, as he started in his muscular endeavor to restore
+animation.
+
+His brother brought brandy, and poured some between the unconscious
+man's lips.
+
+"My case is in the bag, Charley," said the surgeon, as he continued his
+efforts to pump air into the man's lungs. "Fill the hypo-syringe with
+brandy."
+
+The dentist did so, and handed it to his brother.
+
+The injection had no effect. Once more the manual exercise was
+tried--tried for nearly half an hour.
+
+The dentist wore a very white face as he watched what was being
+done--the exercise kept the color in the surgeon's.
+
+But when presently the latter rose to his feet and wiped the
+perspiration from his brow with his handkerchief, the hue of his face
+was in close competition with his brother's.
+
+"Lock the outer door, Charley," he said, hoarsely.
+
+The dentist did so without a word, but with a shaking hand. When he
+returned, the surgeon was drinking neat brandy.
+
+And when he had finished drinking, he poured out more, and handed the
+glass to his brother.
+
+The dentist looked his inquiry. The surgeon answered it:
+
+"Yes. Dead. This happens about once in five thousand cases. Our luck, I
+suppose, our luck still helping us."
+
+He said this very bitterly, as they stood looking down at the body.
+
+Presently the dentist inquired:
+
+"What is to be done?"
+
+The other shook his head by way of reply.
+
+Again the dentist broke the silence.
+
+"Shall we send for the police?"
+
+"What good will that do?"
+
+"It is the usual thing, is it----"
+
+"Usual! The whole thing is unusual. The police spells for us ruin. A
+thing of this sort gets into the papers, and we might as well put up the
+shutters at once."
+
+"Can we avoid----?"
+
+"We must. Let me think--yes."
+
+"You have thought of something?"
+
+"Plain and ordinary enough. It did not want much thinking about."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Finsbury Circus is deserted at night?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Wait till then. Then throw the body over the rails into the Circus
+garden. Let the police find it there."
+
+"Horrible!"
+
+"Why? The man's dead. The police have to find the body. What can it
+matter whether it is found in these rooms or the open air? It can't hurt
+the dead man to be found there. It will certainly hurt us if he is found
+here."
+
+"That's so."
+
+There was no help for it. Their exchequer was low enough down as it
+was--they must prevent the happening of anything which would reduce it
+still lower.
+
+They had no belief in the proverb that when things were at their worst
+they would mend--because their condition was as bad as it very well
+could be, and there was an utter absence of any sign of a mend about
+it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+WHAT WAS FOUND ON THE BODY
+
+
+"Couldn't we put the body in a cab and send it home?"
+
+"Could--but it would probably mean putting ourselves in the bankruptcy,
+if not the police court. The thing would be traced home to us. True, the
+bankruptcy would come only a little before the appointed time, just
+hasten things along, as it were."
+
+"Could not we put----?"
+
+"Let's put the body in this cupboard. That's the wisest thing to do for
+the present.... That's it. Turn the key. Now I'll get round to my rooms
+and send Sawyer back. That little imp must have no inkling of what has
+happened."
+
+"He leaves at five o'clock."
+
+"And it is close on that hour. Let him come in, and suppose the place
+empty. Let him leave at the usual time, in the usual way, and then I
+will come back."
+
+Things happened that way, and soon after Sawyer had left for the day,
+the surgeon closed his offices and went into the dentist's.
+
+He locked the outer door, and walking into the inner chamber, said:
+
+"Charley, I have been thinking it over, and it does seem an awful thing
+to do that over the railings business. Mind you, I still believe it all
+sentiment, but, if possible, we will find out where the man lived, and
+devise a means of driving him home."
+
+"Won't it be dangerous?"
+
+"Yes. Still we will risk it. It seems a brutal thing to do as I
+suggested. We will put him on his own doorstep late to-night."
+
+"You think we can manage it without----"
+
+"Great point is, where he lived. If in a quiet suburb we can manage it
+all right. Get a cab here at my door, send the cabby round the corner
+for some cigars, we mind the horse, and, while he is away, slip the body
+in. When he comes back he will notice nothing in the darkness."
+
+"But the man said he was going to America to-morrow!"
+
+"Great Scott! So he did. I had forgotten that. Anyway, let us see if he
+has any address, pocketbook, letters--or anything on him to show where
+he would have slept if living to-night."
+
+The key was turned in the lock of the cupboard, the body brought out and
+searched.
+
+In the pockets were a passage ticket for America, letters addressed to
+"Mr. George Depew (of New York), Armfield's Hotel, Finsbury."
+
+It was evident from the wording of the letters, which the brothers read,
+that Mr. Depew had stayed at Armfield's since his arrival from America.
+
+The letters were from a city solicitor named Loide--Richard Loide, of
+Liverpool Street.
+
+A perusal of those letters showed the whole reason of Mr. Depew's being
+that side of the Atlantic.
+
+Loide had acted for Depew's aunt in the collection of the rents of
+certain properties. That aunt died, and Depew was sole legatee.
+
+When the lawyer's letter reached him to that effect, Depew cabled Loide
+to sell all the property immediately. Another cable, a few hours later,
+announced that Depew was aboard a liner, and on his way to England. He
+was coming to look after his own.
+
+The last letter from the solicitor was dated only one day before, and
+appointed two o'clock that very day--the day of the death--for Depew to
+attend at the lawyer's office, and receive nineteen thousand pounds, the
+amount the deceased woman's estate had realized.
+
+The brothers were silent for a few moments after the perusal of that
+last letter. The consideration of a sum like nineteen thousand pounds,
+by two poor men, needs a few moments' silence.
+
+Then they turned over again the contents of the dead man's pockets. The
+purse contained a few sovereigns and dollars, the steamer passage
+ticket, two Broad Street station cloak room tickets, and nothing more.
+
+"Nineteen thousand pounds!"
+
+It was the surgeon speaking. He looked at his brother; his brother
+looked at him. Each look was full of eloquence.
+
+Then they picked up the dead man's coat, felt every inch of the lining
+thereof, thinking to find a secret pocket, or notes sewn in it. Nothing.
+
+The two cloak room tickets for portmanteaus inspired the dentist to
+remark:
+
+"Must be in one of the portmanteaus."
+
+The surgeon shook his head.
+
+"No man," he said, "would be fool enough to intrust such a sum to a
+cloak room's tender mercies."
+
+"Then at the hotel?"
+
+The surgeon did not think so--said as much as he bent over the body and
+unbuttoned the waistcoat, to make a closer search.
+
+He felt something hard round the waist, investigated further, unbuckled
+what he found, and brought a money belt to the table and loosed the
+catch.
+
+Notes! He pulled them out, and, as he fingered them, the rustle was as
+sweet music.
+
+There were nineteen of them! Each for a thousand pounds.
+
+They might have dreamed of such things, but they had never expected to
+actually handle such a sum.
+
+For some while silence reigned. In incidents of this kind silence plays
+a big part.
+
+There was no need of conversation--the brothers seemed to read each
+other's thoughts.
+
+"It is a small fortune," presently whispered the dentist.
+
+"And must be ours."
+
+"Will the notes be traced?"
+
+"We must guard against that."
+
+"How?"
+
+"I have been thinking----"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"This ticket--passage--has been booked in London; he will not be known
+on the ship."
+
+"No."
+
+"He intended going from Broad Street to Euston, thence to Liverpool, in
+time for the boat to-morrow."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"He will have to go."
+
+"What, in heaven's name, do you mean?"
+
+"Heaven," said the surgeon grimly, "I am afraid, has little to do with
+this job. But, see here, Charley, there's time yet. We can be poor and
+honest, and give up this fortune, or a few hours' nasty work, and
+wealth--nineteen thousand pounds."
+
+He picked up the notes again, and the rustle made both men's eyes
+sparkle.
+
+A piano organ in the distance was jigging out a "Belle of New York"
+tune, but no sound of it was heard by the brothers. Their ears were full
+of that crisp, crackling sound.
+
+"But how do you mean that he will have to go?"
+
+"One of us in his name, to America."
+
+"Surely there is no need for that."
+
+"Every need."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"For two reasons. He--this--has to be disposed of."
+
+He indicated the corpse at their feet, and went on:
+
+"Then, again, some one in his name must land in America, and disappear
+there, so that, when ultimately a hue and cry is raised, no suspicion
+may arise this side of the water."
+
+"I see."
+
+"While one of us is on the way to America, the other must gradually cash
+these notes at home. The numbers cannot be stopped for a week or two."
+
+"Yes. But--but the body?"
+
+"Must be taken aboard the boat."
+
+"Good God!"
+
+"No help for it, Charley. I had better be the passenger; you look after
+the money. I have more nerve for the work. I shall take the body in two
+portmanteaus, and manage to drop them overboard _en route_."
+
+"In two portmanteaus?"
+
+"Yes. My old days at the hospital operating table will come back to me.
+Yes. Don't look so scared; there's no help for it--just lock the door
+after me while I go in for my case of instruments."
+
+The dentist did so, and stood there waiting his brother's return. Waited
+with bulging eyes and open mouth.
+
+His training had not been that of the hospital. He had not the coolness
+in handling the limbs of his fellow-men which practice had given the
+surgeon.
+
+The piano organ had struck into a religious tune now, and was
+discharging "Abide With Me." The dentist heard that. Heard it and
+shivered. The eventide was falling fast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+ON BOARD THE AMERICAN LINER
+
+
+Arthur returned with his case of knives. He saw his brother would be
+worse than useless about him in the task he had in hand.
+
+Personally, he had no more compunction about dismembering his fellow-men
+than a butcher had in disjointing a calf--it was his business.
+
+"Drink this, Charley"--he had poured out some brandy and handed it to
+his brother. "And now put on your hat and go out; take a cab down to
+Goffs. Buy two large portmanteaus--second hand--not less than a yard
+long. Put them on a cab, and come back here with them. Rap three times
+on the door--don't forget, three times--then I shall know it is you.
+While you are away I will do what is necessary."
+
+He did. Before his brother returned, there were five small parcels and
+one larger one--the contents may be guessed--done up in newspaper.
+
+Not a trace of blood or otherwise of his handiwork was visible. He had
+been an attentive student, and profited by it now. In class he had been
+marked "clean."
+
+Three raps at the door. He opened it, and the dentist entered with the
+portmanteaus.
+
+"Put them down, laddie, and while I pack, you clear out. See here, those
+bags in the cloak room at the station had better be fetched away; there
+is no knowing what is in them. If they are not large, get a porter to
+bring them by hand; if too big, put them on a cab and bring them that
+way. Here are the cloak room tickets."
+
+And while his brother was away he packed the two portmanteaus with the
+American, and carefully locked and strapped them.
+
+The keys he tied together with a piece of twine, and put into his
+pocket. Not that they were of use--the locks were never to be turned
+again.
+
+He helped his brother in with the two bags from the cloak room. They
+carefully went through the contents, opening the locks with the keys
+they had found in the dead man's trousers pocket.
+
+The bags were full of clothing, hosiery, and general wearing apparel;
+not a scrap of paper or article of any other kind.
+
+"Charley," said the surgeon, "chirp up, old man. There is nothing to
+fear. Before I am far away on the trip to America you may be sure that
+every trace of a clue to the contents of those portmanteaus will be
+lying at the bottom of the sea. A dark night, an open port, and there
+will be an end of the matter. This passage ticket is, I see, for a two
+berthed cabin--that makes it easier."
+
+"I fear----"
+
+"I know you do, old man--early and provident fear is the mother of
+safety. But there is nothing to fear. Murder will out, that we see day
+by day. But it is not as if we had murdered the man. We have not that
+crime on our consciences. Keep cool, and all will be well.
+
+"I shall--must--land in America. I shall clear from the boat, one of the
+first. There I shall get another outfit, and come back in the next boat
+in another name. I shall go out, of course, as George Depew."
+
+"I cannot get rid of the fear----"
+
+"No, Charley, I know you cannot. But there is nothing to fear. Think
+what the money means to you, to us both. To you more than to me. You
+have a wife and little Edith to think of. Think what the money means,
+the happiness it will bring to mother and child--to them both."
+
+"I know--I know."
+
+"After all, I am doing whatever is being done, Charley. You
+conscientious old beggar you, just wipe the thing out of your mind. Let
+it be a leaf in the book of the past. Paste it down. Don't look at it,
+don't think of it. Only think of the future--the brightness of a future
+from which the clouds have rolled away, and which a few hours ago did
+not seem to have a piece of blue sky in it."
+
+"Yes--yes."
+
+"The boat starts from Liverpool, calls only at Queenstown, and then
+steams away across to the States. Why, given ordinary traveling--I shall
+not be away more than a fortnight, Charley, and when I come back I shall
+expect you to have cashed all those notes--and turned them into
+something less traceable."
+
+"How had I better do that? Go to the bank?"
+
+"M'no. I don't think I can trust you to do that, Charley. You would
+present those notes with such a white face and trembling hand that the
+most unsophisticated bank clerk breathing would think there was
+something fishy."
+
+"What shall I do, then?"
+
+"M'well.... I have it! There are two rooms empty above these?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Take them to-morrow. Take them in the name of Jones, Brown,
+Robinson--any name. Get a list of the brokers on the stock exchange, and
+buy from separate men nine hundred pounds' worth of stock. Good
+stock--no risk. Railway shares and that sort of thing. Pay each of the
+brokers with a thousand pound note; you will want the change out of it
+for working with. Worse come to the worst, if the shares have to be
+sold, there will only be the loss of a few pounds."
+
+"I will do that."
+
+"And now get along home, Charley, or you will have your little woman
+worrying about you. Don't, for heaven's sake, breathe a solitary
+syllable which will give the faintest clue to what has happened. Your
+wife is a smart little woman--don't give her too much money at first.
+Just a pound or two more for housekeeping expenses. Let her think your
+practice is gradually getting better day by day. And now shake hands.
+Good-bye."
+
+"But you----"
+
+"Oh! I stop here to-night."
+
+"With those----"
+
+"Yes. I don't let them leave my possession till I drop the contents in
+the sea. I take no unnecessary risks."
+
+"But--you--can--sleep----"
+
+"Certainly! soundly. Why not? There might be some reason to fear a live
+man, but a dead one--bah!"
+
+"I will come up early, and see you off."
+
+"You will do nothing of the sort. Don't do anything a wee bit out of the
+ordinary course of things. I shall go out for half an hour presently,
+taking the key of the door with me, get something to eat, buy some
+collars, shirts, and a few necessary things for the journey, and then
+sleep in your operating chair."
+
+"The chair he died in!"
+
+"Dear boy, what of that? There, get along. Good-bye."
+
+He literally pushed his brother from the rooms, and closed the door.
+Afterwards he did as he had said he would do.
+
+In early morning a cab took the four portmanteaus to Euston Station, and
+he caught the train for Liverpool.
+
+There he had two of the portmanteaus labeled "For Cabin Use!" the
+others, bags of clothing, were shot into the hold.
+
+He found that the occupant of the other berth, his cabin companion for
+the voyage, had already turned in--presumably to get as much sleep as
+possible before the voyage began--and was breathing heavily, the breath
+of sleep.
+
+A short time after he had got on board the vessel started. He determined
+not to leave the cabin, or sight of his portmanteaus, till he had
+thrown them or their contents into the deep waters.
+
+That he would do when they were fairly out to sea. Then he would pick
+safer--quite safe.
+
+The vessel steamed on for her one and only stopping--Queenstown, to pick
+up the mails.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THE CITY LAWYER AND THE CLIENT FROM THE WILD AND WOOLLY WEST
+
+
+Aunt Depew had lived on the rentals of the property she had left to her
+nephew. Loide had been her solicitor for nearly twenty years.
+
+She had a blind confidence in him--that way fraud lies. Absolute trust
+in a man oft tempts him to break it.
+
+Regularly every quarter he had paid over to her the rentals of the
+properties; that was all she had cared for. She had never troubled
+about, or even visited, the places in which the buildings were situated.
+
+She had no idea that by reason of the building of a railway station, and
+other developing influences, the revenue of her property had gone up by
+leaps and bounds, and that ultimately, while she was receiving two
+hundred and fifty pounds a year from property which she thought worth
+about five thousand pounds, the lawyer was receiving four times that
+sum, and the real value was about twenty thousand pounds.
+
+Could any more sad blow have been aimed at the lawyer than the black
+edged intimation which reached him one morning--tidings of the death of
+his best client?
+
+The dead woman had had a companion living with her, and this companion
+had witnessed the will, and herself after the funeral handed it to
+Loide.
+
+Otherwise there is a question when the tidings would have reached the
+legatee in America--if they ever got so far.
+
+Yet that eternal hope we hear of in the human breast, sprang up in the
+lawyer's, when he reflected that America was a long way off, that he,
+Loide, was the executor, and would have the proving of the will.
+
+What would be easier than to show the legatee the income his aunt had
+been deriving, and effect a bogus sale of a part of the property for
+about five thousand pounds? That he could transmit to America, and end
+the matter.
+
+He wrote Depew, and when the cablegram came in reply, instructing him to
+sell the property at once, Loide rubbed his hands together and chuckled
+with glee. It was just what he had wanted.
+
+But the glee was short lived. Another cablegram came, saying that Depew
+was on his way to England, and would be there in a few days.
+
+Then all hope left Loide's heart. Black ruin stared him in the face.
+
+He had been drawing nearly a thousand pounds a year from the property
+which was to be at once sold. Few city lawyers could view the sudden
+cutting off of twenty pounds a week of their income with equanimity.
+
+Loide viewed it with clenched hands, curses on his lips, and fear in his
+heart.
+
+Then the fear gave place to another feeling--hatred. Hatred of this man
+who was crossing the water to rob him of what he had come to look on as
+his own.
+
+This cursed American would come over and sell, and disappear with the
+proceeds.
+
+But would he? Should he--Loide--allow him to do so?
+
+The lawyer sat and thought. Then he determined to wait till Depew came
+and see what he could make out of him, see what manner of man he was.
+
+It might be possible to handle him--profitably. The lawyer rarely
+handled mankind otherwise.
+
+But when the American came, the thermometer of the lawyer's hopes
+dropped down to zero again.
+
+Depew was a powerful, wiry, keen, shrewd, intelligent man of business.
+He picked the lawyer to pieces in five minutes, and so took greater
+precaution in seeing that he was fairly dealt with.
+
+The lawyer had quite an unpleasant time.
+
+"Say, lawyer, things appear to have been handled by my aunt with a light
+hand. Understand that I am driving now, will you, and the coach won't
+rock, perhaps."
+
+"How dare----"
+
+"Don't bluster, old son. I come from a land where we make holes in
+blusterers--round holes, with bullets at the bottom of 'em."
+
+"Do you dare threaten me?"
+
+"What, with a shooting iron? Nary a threat. Ain't even brought one along
+with me. Away back in the woods where I live I wouldn't open the door
+without one in reach of my hand. I was warned not to carry arms in this
+country--that the British didn't take kindly to 'em."
+
+"I don't know what you mean."
+
+"Don't you? What are you looking so skeered about, then? What's your
+face gone all the color of paste for?"
+
+"Let me tell you----"
+
+"No, don't, old son--you let me tell you. We'll get there all the
+quicker. I don't say you have robbed my aunt----"
+
+"Robbed!"
+
+"That's the creckt word. I don't say you robbed my aunt, but I'll take
+tarnation good care that you don't rob me. See? Now you just set about
+winding up this here estate quick as greased lightning, and mind that it
+realizes the best price. See?"
+
+The man's shrewd eyes were fixed on his listener all the while he was
+speaking. Loide felt that the man saw through him, and the lawyer's
+shoes held a shaking man.
+
+It was apparent that Depew was not an individual to be played
+with--successfully.
+
+Within a very short time the property was sold; and, after deduction of
+the expenses, there was a sum of nineteen thousand pounds to hand
+over--the handing over nearly broke what was left of the lawyer's heart.
+
+And it was a less fragile one than most men's, too.
+
+"Now, old man," said Depew, as he buckled the notes in a belt he wore,
+"we'll have lunch together, you and I. The matter's been settled
+promptly, and I owe you some thanks."
+
+They went into the Great Eastern Hotel, and had as elaborate a lunch as
+could be served.
+
+The champagne raised the spirits of both. The American's were light
+enough. Loide's needed raising.
+
+And while they sat there, a scheme shaped itself in Loide's brain--it
+was an active, busy, plotting brain--and it found good ground to mature
+on.
+
+He determined that the nineteen thousand pounds should be his at any
+cost. He said that again to himself--at any cost. His was a
+determination not easily shaken.
+
+"What are you thinking of, lawyer?"
+
+Loide started as he answered:
+
+"Really of nothing. I was enjoying my wine."
+
+"Where'll I book my passage--is there a bureau near here?"
+
+"Yes, in Eldon Street there is a passenger agent--close here. I'll walk
+with you."
+
+"Will you? I'll take it kindly. The streets are thicker here than in New
+York, and are a bit confusing to a stranger."
+
+Depew paid the bill, and, lighting cigars, the two men walked along
+Liverpool Street into Eldon Street.
+
+"You are still staying at Armfield's?"
+
+"All the time--it's a good show. I sleep there to-night, and to-morrow
+on the Atlantic."
+
+They entered the passenger agent's office, and that worthy had a
+two-berthed cabin vacant.
+
+Depew booked one berth. The agent confirmed it on the telephone at the
+shipping office, the passage money was paid, and the men left.
+
+"Well," said the lawyer, "I must get back; which way are you going?"
+
+"Through the Circus here. First I'm going to have an aching tooth out,
+and then on to the hotel. I've sent my luggage on, but I've got a small
+bag there still."
+
+"Then you go that way?... Good-bye, good-bye, and a pleasant voyage
+home."
+
+They shook hands heartily, and separated, going in opposite directions.
+
+The moment Depew was out of sight, the lawyer returned to the passenger
+agent's office.
+
+"My friend has altered his mind," he said. "He will book the other
+berth, and so have the whole cabin to himself."
+
+"Right you are, sir."
+
+The same process was gone through as before, and presently the lawyer
+left the office, with a ticket for the other berth in the cabin Depew
+was to journey in.
+
+Did he intend to travel to America? Not quite as far.
+
+The only place the boat stopped at after leaving Liverpool, so the
+passenger agent told them, was Queenstown. Stopped two or three hours
+there, sometimes, waiting for the tender to bring off the mails.
+
+The lawyer determined to leave the ship at Queenstown, and he hoped to
+bring off his coup there--to bring off the steamer those nineteen crisp
+Bank of England notes which helped to girdle Mr. Depew's waist.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND QUEENSTOWN
+
+
+Mr. Richard Loide was getting into the sere, the yellow leaf. A certain
+amount of baldness on his head he covered with a wig. His age and the
+wig prompted him to two courses of action.
+
+He knew that he would be at a disadvantage in any personal struggle
+which might result from the steps he proposed taking. He discreetly
+determined to avoid one.
+
+Firearms, in dealing with the man with the money round his waist, were
+out of the question. The noise would frustrate the very object he had in
+view--would attract the attention of others in the ship.
+
+He did not desire an audience for the performance he had in mind.
+
+So he bethought him of a long, stiletto shaped, yet fine pointed,
+two-edged knife he had seen for sale in a shop window.
+
+He went to that shop, and acquired the weapon, tested its razor-like
+edge on a hair, then on a piece of paper, and was satisfied with the
+result.
+
+He hoped that Mr. Depew would, soon after leaving Liverpool, lie down in
+his bunk. He was anxious for that position, because it, apart from the
+knife, would give him an advantage.
+
+In plain words, he proposed cutting the throat of Mr. Depew. It struck
+Loide as being an effective way of silencing, in a double sense, his
+man.
+
+He did not suppose that a cry, if the man were able to raise one, would
+attract much attention, or be heard above the noise of the ship; but he
+did not want to take any unnecessary risk.
+
+So he figured in his own mind that method of dealing with the
+American--killing two birds with one stone.
+
+If, on the other hand, Depew did not lie down, then he would have to use
+his weapon stiletto fashion. A spring from his bunk on to his victim
+standing with his back towards him, and a powerful downward sweep and
+plunge, would be half way successful.
+
+He imagined that most men threw up their arms and staggered back on the
+happening of such a thing--gathered the idea from witnessing the dramas
+of the Adelphi--that would enable him to turn and plunge the weapon into
+the man's heart.
+
+All that would be necessary, then, was to put him in his bunk before the
+blood began to make a mess, take from his body the notes which
+engirdled it, and be ready to leave on the tender for Queenstown the
+moment that vessel came alongside the liner.
+
+He knew that two-edged weapons were proverbially dangerous, but he was
+comforted by the recollection of another proverb about cutting both
+ways.
+
+As to its wig, he determined to change its color. It would be as well.
+
+Not that he feared detection much; still the prudent man always took
+precautions, and Mr. Loide rated prudence very high.
+
+He knew that when the boat left Queenstown it did not stop again till it
+got to the other side. That he counted on.
+
+It would enable him to reach London, cash the notes, and be prepared for
+anything which might happen. He felt that with the money in his
+possession he would be prepared for anything.
+
+He knew that when the purser went his rounds, or the steward, or whoever
+it might be, and discovered the dead body, all would be confusion.
+
+The doctor and captain would be sent for, and an examination entered
+upon--but all the time the vessel would be leaving Queenstown further
+and further behind.
+
+He knew the coursing of these ocean greyhounds well enough to know that
+the ship would not put back. That hundreds of passengers would not be
+inconvenienced, simply because one was dead, that the ship would go
+plowing her way right on.
+
+He turned up in the post-office directory the name of a wig maker the
+other side of London, and took a cab there.
+
+He told some wholly unnecessary lies about the need of a colored wig,
+but might have saved himself the trouble, because the sale of a wig or
+wigs was an every-day occurrence with the keeper of the shop.
+
+When Loide saw his reflection in the peruquier's mirror he was astounded
+at the change in his appearance.
+
+The shopman, thinking he was dealing with an amateur actor, very kindly
+drew attention to his bushy black eyebrows.
+
+"Want toning down," he said, "to match the wig."
+
+"How do you--how do it?"
+
+The shopman produced a little stick of what looked to the lawyer like
+cosmetic, and handed it to the customer.
+
+The look of ignorance concerning its use made the man smile.
+
+"Sit down," he said; "it's evident you are a new hand at making up. Let
+me show you."
+
+He did. Daubed the grease paint on the hair, on the brows, and then
+combed them out.
+
+When Loide looked in the glass again he started in astonishment.... He
+paid the man, thanked him, and withdrew.
+
+The shop of a ready made clothier's caught his attention. He went in and
+bought a light colored cutaway coat and vest and soft cap--he had worn
+black clothing and the regulation chimney pot hat for the last thirty
+years of his life.
+
+At a hosier's he purchased a colored shirt with a turn down collar, and
+a colored bow.
+
+His immaculate white shirt, stiff upstanding collar and stock, should be
+discarded for the time being.
+
+Later on, when he had donned this attire, he marveled at the change in
+himself. He was confident that no living soul would be able to recognize
+him.
+
+And curiously enough, nature assisted him.
+
+As he sat in the train to Liverpool, the loss of his upstanding collar
+and stock made his open neck an easy prey to the draft. When he set foot
+on the deck of the steamer he had a sore throat and a cold, which made
+his voice so raucous that no soul would have recognized in it the clear,
+distinct utterance of Mr. Loide, the lawyer.
+
+His portmanteau on board, after satisfying the officer in charge of his
+right to a berth, he at once took possession.
+
+He was lying in his berth--apparently asleep--when the occupant of the
+other half of the cabin entered.
+
+He was lying with his face to the wall, and only his red hair was
+visible. That and the smart colored cutaway suit, he felt, made him as
+much unlike the city lawyer as well could be. He did not fear Depew's
+recognition.
+
+Soon after the second man entered the cabin, the vessel started. Loide
+knew at what hour she was expected to arrive off her one and only
+stopping place.
+
+During the night, it was fair to assume that no officer of the ship
+would come to the cabin, and during the night he would kill and rob the
+other man. In the early morning he would leave on the Queenstown tender.
+That was his scheme.
+
+He kept in his bunk. By the electric light in the cabin his companion
+read for some time.
+
+He could hear the rustling of the newspaper; he dared not look round.
+About midnight the paper was thrown down, and the listener heard the
+sounds of a man making ready for his berth.
+
+And presently the electric button was turned, and the cabin was in
+darkness.
+
+The lawyer's heart beat the faster then. So far all was going as well as
+he could wish.
+
+Darkness, and his victim recumbent, perhaps asleep. What could he wish
+for more? Fortune was favoring him.
+
+There were three hours now to wait before the reaching of Queenstown,
+and during those three hours the other man went to sleep.
+
+Loide knew it, because he heard the sleeper's deep, heavy breathing,
+which bordered closely on snoring.
+
+He handled his weapon, and dropped noiselessly to his stockinged feet.
+Paused--the same still, regular breathing.
+
+He went to the door and noiselessly shot home the bolt. Paused--the same
+still, regular breathing.
+
+Then he prepared to stop that breathing forever.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS
+
+
+Before his companion had entered the cabin, Loide had located everything
+in it.
+
+Although in the dark, he knew the exact position of all things. So he
+reached the sleeper's side without a stumble or noise.
+
+He knew where to place his hand on a towel, and he placed it. Folded it
+into a sort of pad, and gripped the middle in his left hand.
+
+He bent over the sleeper, heard his breathing, and located his mouth by
+the feel of the warm breath. He paused to notice that the sleeper was
+lying on his back, then he gripped his knife--saw fashion.
+
+In another moment he had clapped the towel over his victim's mouth, and
+drawn down the knife with a sawing, cutting movement.
+
+There was just a faint, gurgling sound for a moment, a convulsive quiver
+of the whole of the sleeper's body, then stillness. The towel had
+stifled any possible cry--the knife had done the rest.
+
+Loide stood there for a moment to recover his breath. He could almost
+hear his own heart beating.
+
+He tried to still it by thinking that there was not a scrap of risk,
+that it was all over now, that, presently, he would possess nineteen
+thousand pounds.
+
+That last thought was not without its comfort. It is a fashion to speak
+of money as if it were dross, but as a salve to the conscience, pounds,
+shillings, and pence are unsurpassed.
+
+The towel he was holding, he opened and threw it over the dead man's
+head and shoulders. He was not hyper-sensitive, but he wanted to avoid
+seeing what the towel would hide.
+
+Then he turned the button of the electric light.
+
+He looked round--not a sign of a struggle, not a drop of blood. Yet
+stay--his right hand! He must wash it.
+
+Quickly he had water in the basin and was cleaning that hateful red
+stain away. While he wiped his hands, he reflected that he had but to
+pull the head curtains, and the body would appear to be that of an
+ordinary sleeping man.
+
+That way the ship might get a dozen hours away from Queenstown before
+discovery. He shook hands with himself over the happiness of the idea he
+had--so far--carried out so cleverly.
+
+Then he turned up the blankets and sheeting of the bunk. For obvious
+reasons he preferred turning them up from the feet to turning them down
+from the head.
+
+Depew had, with an oath, told him that, sleeping or waking, the belt
+would never leave him. He thought grimly that now the man was dead the
+oath would be broken.
+
+He started in surprise; the man was not wearing a belt! He stood still,
+holding the bedclothes in sheer amazement.
+
+He had expected the thing to be so easy of accomplishment--and the
+object of his search was not there at all!
+
+He stepped back, and fell rather than sat on his own berth. He was more
+than surprised.
+
+Then it occurred to him that perhaps, after all, the man had locked the
+money in one of his portmanteaus. Loide was thankful that he had time
+before him, in which to make search. He had been wise not to leave
+things till the last moment.
+
+He felt in the dead man's coat, vest, and ultimately in a trousers
+pocket found two keys, tied together with a piece of twine. These he
+presently found fitted the portmanteaus.
+
+He inserted a key in one, turned the lock, and unbuckled the straps. The
+bag contained but one thing--a huge parcel wrapped in newspapers.
+
+He would try the other bag--did so. Found it contained five smaller
+parcels, four long shaped and one something like a large football.
+
+He picked up one of the long parcels and felt it. It had a curious half
+hard feeling.
+
+He sat on his berth again and opened it on his knees. There was no
+string round the parcel.
+
+As he held the end of the paper it unwound itself, and the contents
+dropped on to the floor--a human arm and hand!
+
+He clapped his own hand to his mouth and so stifled a scream.
+
+It is all very well to be cool over your own murderous work, but when
+you come across another man's, it is apt to startle you. Loide was the
+most startled individual on the Atlantic at that particular moment.
+
+He sat there in stony amazement and horror. He feared to open the other
+parcels. Still he had to.
+
+Qualms had to be kept down. The possession of nineteen thousand pounds
+depended on his search.
+
+He imagined that Depew had murdered some one in England, and was taking
+the body out, perhaps to hide traces of his crime in the sea.
+
+So curiously fashioned was the lawyer's intellect that he was rather
+glad that he had killed Depew--looked upon himself as a kind of weapon
+in the hand of justice.
+
+There is no accounting for the kinks into which a man's intellect will
+twist.
+
+The avenger idea gave him the necessary courage to go on examining the
+rest of the parcels. Not a solitary thing save of the awful kind the
+first was.
+
+The big parcel in the other portmanteau made him shudder in horror. He
+was glad when he was able to shut the bags and get rid of the sight of
+those horrible bundles.
+
+Then another bag--a little hand bag--caught his attention. He felt mad
+with himself that he had not examined that first.
+
+It needed no key. A pressure of the lock opened it, and he turned the
+contents on the floor; collars, handkerchiefs, shirts, and
+socks--nothing else.
+
+Once more he sat on his bunk--sat there with his chin in the palms of
+his hands, thinking.
+
+How long he sat there he never knew. He was awakened by the steamer's
+gongs; the engine room was being signaled.
+
+He clambered to the port-hole, and in the gray of the early morning he
+could see they were off Queenstown, and the tender was nearly alongside.
+
+He had no time to lose. What should he do?
+
+Then it occurred to him that, as a measure of precaution, the man had
+given his belt to the captain, to be locked up in the ship's
+strong-room. That was the solution of the mystery, then.
+
+He cursed his luck, himself, and the dead man. For absolutely nothing he
+had run all this risk, and killed a man, and had yet to escape.
+
+It was--from his point of view--perfectly monstrous. If the dead man
+could have wanted revenge, surely he was having it then.
+
+There was a screech from the tender's siren; she was coming alongside.
+
+He put on his boots, and as he did so there was a sound of rapping at
+the door. He hurriedly pulled the head curtains of his victim's berth,
+and, shooting back the bolt, opened the door.
+
+"Any letters or telegrams for shore, sir?"
+
+"Is there time to go ashore?"
+
+"Can if you like, sir; the tender will bring you back. You will get
+about an hour ashore."
+
+"Very well, I will go, then."
+
+"At once, sir. The tender will leave in less than five minutes."
+
+And the officer went on his round collecting letters and telegrams.
+
+Loide put on his hat, flung the blood stained knife out of the
+port-hole, turned the button of the electric light, and stepped outside,
+closing the door after him.
+
+Then he suddenly remembered that the most likely place of all he had
+overlooked. A sleeping man would place valuables beneath his pillow.
+
+He entered the cabin again, turned the electric light button, and slid
+his hand under the dead man's pillow--nothing.
+
+To make assurance doubly sure--much as he dreaded looking on the face of
+the man he had murdered--he pulled aside the towel.
+
+Then for a second time he was paralyzed with astonishment and horror,
+and thrust his fingers in his mouth to prevent the escape of a cry. He
+had never before seen the face of his victim. It was not his client
+Depew.
+
+He had killed the wrong man!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+THE NUMBERS OF THE MISSING NOTES
+
+
+Loide got off the boat safely. On the wharf at Queenstown he secured a
+position where, concealed himself, he could watch the liner.
+
+Hours seemed to drag by which were in reality minutes. At last the
+tender put off with the mails and reached the steamer's side.
+
+With his glasses he could see everything that was going on. There was no
+excitement.
+
+The bags were handed on board, and presently he made out a wake of foam
+from the blades of the steamer's screw. The tender had turned and was
+coming back; the steamer was going on.
+
+Loide breathed a deep sigh of relief. So far nothing had been
+discovered.
+
+Ultimately he reached London, and let himself into his office after
+dark--as he had left it.
+
+He made shirt, clothing, and wig, and all the coal he had in his office
+scuttle into a parcel, and a short while after that parcel was making a
+hole for itself in the soft mud under London Bridge.
+
+The disguise was disposed of--and Richard was himself again.
+
+An aggravated, very much upset Richard. He had committed actual murder,
+and was not a penny the richer for it.
+
+The heinousness of the crime did not present itself to him; he rather
+looked at it from the standpoint of its barren financial result.
+
+He had so counted on a large profit in connection with his quick return.
+
+He had food for thought, sufficient to last an ordinary man many meals.
+
+But Mr. Richard Loide was not an ordinary man. He no longer imagined
+those crisp Bank of England notes to be in the steamer's strong-room.
+
+He did not believe they were even on the ship. That towel removed and a
+tragic story stared him in the face.
+
+What did it mean?
+
+That he could not fathom. One solid fact was existent--there had been
+foul play.
+
+Some one had the notes. The man in whose possession they were had a hand
+in the murder. And that is where Mr. Loide hoped to step in and take a
+part in the drama.
+
+The hand of death had lowered the curtain on the first act, and the
+lawyer just hankered after getting behind the scenes.
+
+He formed an idea of his own that, for some reason, Depew was lurking in
+England; had bargained with the man Loide had killed to personate him on
+the boat, and so destroy a clue to his existence in London.
+
+What then did the other, the cut up body mean? Who could that have been?
+
+He regretted now that his horror had prevented his looking at the head.
+
+That was another puzzle, and he could not in any way solve it.
+
+But he was bent on one thing--the finding of Mr. Depew, and the bleeding
+of him for all he was worth.
+
+Being a city lawyer, and moving in city financial circles, blackmailing
+had not for him the horrid appearance it presented to most people.
+
+One gets used to the atmosphere one breathes daily, and the atmosphere
+of London city reeks of blackmail.
+
+Suddenly a thought came to him which sent all the blood to his heart,
+and caused him to start to his feet in alarm.
+
+Suppose he had been deceived? Suppose he had not handed the money over
+to the real George Depew?
+
+He broke into a cold sweat at the mere idea!
+
+He remembered how exceedingly lax he had been because Depew had
+frightened him.
+
+The American had seen through the frauds on his aunt, and practically
+taxed the lawyer with them. Had he chosen, he could have made him
+disgorge all those gains of years.
+
+Why had he not? If the real, genuine nephew, cute and sharp as he had
+been in getting the full value of the estate from the sale, why had he
+not, with his suspicions aroused, insisted on an inspection of the back
+accounts?
+
+Why had he not? And once more the sweat of fear beaded on Loide's brow.
+
+He was poor enough as it was. What if a real George Depew appeared on
+the scene and demanded that which was his?
+
+The perspiration beads grew in size.
+
+The lawyer called to mind how meagre had been the identification. He
+remembered that, frightened as he had been he had accepted a certificate
+of birth, and some envelopes directed to Depew in America, as
+confirmation that he was the real man.
+
+For that the lawyer would never forgive himself. In ordinary
+circumstances he would have probed much more deeply.
+
+That fright--that was what did it--unmanned him, and made him behave
+like a perfect ass. He could have kicked himself for an hour and
+rejoiced in the resultant pain.
+
+He told himself that he needed punishment--badly.
+
+He thought of his own disguise; how he had so changed his own appearance
+that he had not known himself in the mirror.
+
+Why should not Mr. Depew have done a similar thing?
+
+Then another thought. Did disguise account for the different appearance
+of the man who was now crossing the Atlantic with a gaping wound in his
+throat?
+
+No; he felt that was not so. Depew was a head shorter than the man he
+had killed.
+
+He was glad he remembered that, because it removed the slightest doubt.
+It convinced him that Depew was in London, and it must be
+his--Loide's--business to find him.
+
+Find him, and put pertinent questions to him; make him do a sum in
+arithmetic--two into nineteen--and hand over the quotient.
+
+He did not fear an interview. The unexpected always happens, and the
+unexpectant one is generally at a disadvantage.
+
+Loide felt that. Felt that, in the language of Depew's country, he
+would be "upper dog" in the interview.
+
+And then he set his wits to work--how to discover George Depew's
+whereabouts.
+
+And meanwhile, in the same compass, within the radius of the city of
+London, another man was thinking--thinking with the same strained look
+on his face, too.
+
+He was standing looking out of the window of a room in Finsbury Circus,
+standing there gnawing what was left of the nails of his hand, and
+watching but for one man's advent--the postman.
+
+He was not looking for the telegraph boy--he knew it was too late for
+that--but a letter from his brother.
+
+It had been arranged between them that the moment Arthur reached
+Queenstown in safety he should despatch a wire with the two words "All
+serene" if things were so.
+
+And in case he should be asleep when the boat was off Queenstown, he had
+asked the purser to give him a call.
+
+No such wire reached the dentist, hence his own disturbed serenity.
+
+He waited and waited for it till he worked himself into such a state of
+nervousness--he had not his brother's iron will--that he shook from head
+to foot.
+
+That no one in need of dental attention visited him that day was
+fortunate for the man with the aching tooth.
+
+A trembling hand is not the best kind with which to grip forceps.
+
+As the day passed by and nothing came, the dentist became positively
+ill. He drank all that was left of the bottle of brandy, and for the
+first time in his life went home the worse for it.
+
+His wife was surprised, amazed, shocked. That was, perhaps, as well.
+
+In her offended dignity she stood aloof from him. It was better so.
+
+Long before breakfast in the morning he had left the house. He wanted to
+be in Finsbury Circus before the postman, and he was.
+
+The first delivery--no letter. He staggered back, fell into a chair, and
+buried his face in his hands. What could it mean?
+
+It did not occur to him that a letter from Queenstown could not reach so
+quickly.
+
+His brain was pregnant with but two ideas. His brother had promised to
+telegraph--he had not. His brother had promised to write--he had not.
+
+And he seemed to see that one question standing out in fiery letters on
+the wall: "What did it mean?"
+
+He had the notes. He had instructions what to do with them, but he dared
+not carry out those instructions.
+
+Suppose his brother had been arrested--arrested with the terrible
+contents of those two portmanteaus in his possession!
+
+As each edition of the evening papers came out, he sent Sawyer for
+copies, but he gleaned nothing from them, no arrest was reported,
+nothing in any way bearing on the matter.
+
+The purchase of the papers did no good--save sending him up in the
+estimation of his satellite.
+
+Sawyer imagined that "the guv'nor had been putting a bit on the four
+legged 'uns," and was anxious to peruse the column captioned "All the
+Winners."
+
+His own sporting instincts made him look up to his employer for the
+first time.
+
+And the lawyer?
+
+Made up his mind. It was risky what he proposed doing, because, as a man
+innocent of any knowledge of what had occurred, he was clearly, legally
+wrong in doing it.
+
+Still he had to find Mr. Depew, and there was only one way to do it.
+
+Fraught with risk--but he risked it. Desperate diseases need desperate
+remedies.
+
+He sat down and pulled a sheet of his headed office paper towards him.
+Then--as a lawyer--he wrote a letter.
+
+It was to the Bank of England stopping the numbers of the nineteen notes
+he had obtained from that institution, and paid over to Mr. Depew.
+
+Bold, daring, but must necessarily be successful.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE SEALED UP CABIN
+
+
+"Man overboard!"
+
+The cry rang through the ship--as cries of that sort do--first uttered
+by the man who witnessed the happening, and then passed from mouth to
+mouth.
+
+As a matter of fact it was a girl--a child--who had fallen overboard,
+and the nurse was standing with blanched face and clasped hands,
+watching what looked like a bundle of clothing on the surface of the
+ocean, which bundle the vessel was now rapidly leaving astern.
+
+Then another cry rang out. It was literally as well as vocally a man
+overboard this time--a real man.
+
+For such a title is surely due to one who plunges from a liner's deck
+into the sea to save another's life.
+
+The gongs were ringing in the engine-room before the man touched the
+water, but a liner traveling at the rate of twenty knots an hour has a
+way on her.
+
+"Full speed astern" showed on the indicator, and then careful handling
+of the vessel became necessary. Almost directly she stopped.
+
+As she stopped, the boat which had been hanging from the outspread
+davits with a crew in her was rapidly lowered, and once in the water,
+vigorously rowed in the direction pointed out by the standing coxswain.
+
+Rescuer and rescued were promptly hauled into the boat, and carried to
+the waiting ship, neither of them much the worse for their ducking.
+
+The girl was seized by her mother and nurse, and speedily carried off to
+their own private cabin.
+
+The rescuer--Gerald Danvers, a second-class passenger--at his own
+request went down the stoke hole.
+
+Brave enough to dive into the sea, he yet had a dreadful fear of
+rheumatism, to which he was subject; hence his desire for the warmth of
+the stoke hole.
+
+A drink of brandy and willing hands to rub him down and the warmth of
+the stoke hole soon made him himself.
+
+He had at hand only the clothes he stood upright in; the rest of his
+wardrobe, packed in a portmanteau, was in the hold.
+
+The usual custom was departed from, and a man despatched to try to find
+his portmanteau--a brown one with his initials "G. D." on it.
+
+"Don't bring it down here, old chap," said Danvers to the man who had
+volunteered to fetch it. "Here are my keys. There are only clothes in
+it. Just bring me underflannels and shirt, that's all. I can wait while
+these trousers dry."
+
+He had thrown off coat and vest and boots before he had dived.
+
+The things were brought him, and he sat talking to the men while his
+trousers dried, as they very quickly did in such an atmosphere, and
+before long he was on deck again.
+
+He would probably have been made to pose as a hero--for a shipload of
+passengers needs something to occupy its attention--but another more
+startling sensation came about.
+
+The mere saving of a life sank into insignificance before the loss of
+one.
+
+The sea was not rough, and very few passengers were in their berths.
+Nearly all of them sat down to the meals prepared for them.
+
+Before dinner, the steward went over his list, and found that the
+occupants of one of the two berthed cabins had not figured at breakfast
+or luncheon.
+
+He went to the door of the cabin, and rapped with his
+knuckles--twice--thrice. Getting no answer, he turned the handle and
+pushed open the door.
+
+One berth was empty; in the other the occupant was apparently asleep.
+
+"Don't you feel well, sir?"
+
+No answer. Question repeated. Same result.
+
+Then the steward drew aside the curtains, and was transformed into the
+whitest faced being aboard that ship. For what he saw was a man lying
+there with his throat cut.
+
+To bound out of that cabin and fetch the doctor and captain was the work
+of a few moments.
+
+"Suicide."
+
+One word the steward had let drop, and it spread all over the ship like
+wildfire.
+
+But the doctor shook his head at the suggestion the moment he saw the
+body.
+
+"What is it?" inquired the captain; "don't you think it suicide?"
+
+"No," answered the doctor laconically; "murder."
+
+"Murder!"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Who occupied the other berth? Where is he? Find him. What? went ashore
+at Queenstown--don't know whether he came back on tender? Who received
+the mails? Tell him to come here."
+
+The officer sent for came.
+
+It was in his watch that the tender departed and returned. Had noticed a
+red-haired man who had come aboard at Liverpool.
+
+"Passenger of this berth was red-haired," interjected the steward.
+
+"Go on," said the captain; "did you see the man come back on the tender?
+Is he aboard?"
+
+The officer scratched his head and replied:
+
+"Come to think of it, sir, I don't remember that he did come back."
+
+"Are you sure?"
+
+"Well, yes, I am, sir. It was very early morning when we touched, and I
+noted that only one passenger went on the tender."
+
+"Sure it was the occupant of this berth?"
+
+"Must have been, sir," interrupted the steward, "because when I rapped
+for letters and telegrams the red-haired man asked whether he could go
+ashore, and how long he could stop."
+
+"And you----?"
+
+"Told him, sir. I didn't actually see him go, but he was already
+dressed."
+
+The captain turned to the officer who had received the mails.
+
+"Are you sure the man did not come back on the tender?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Certain, now I come to remember."
+
+"He has escaped, then," said the captain. Then, looking at his watch, he
+continued: "We are nearly twelve hours out from Queenstown. I shall not
+put back."
+
+"Gives the murderer a good opportunity of escape, doesn't it?" queried
+the doctor.
+
+"Yes, yes; I know. But we should be more than a dozen hours getting back
+with this wind, and the ship would be detained. No, I'll go on. Let the
+American police investigate it."
+
+"Information ought to be furnished as promptly as possible," said the
+doctor dubiously.
+
+"That's all very well for you, doctor; but what would they say to me as
+captain of the ship? We will draw up a full report. Just write down as
+detailed a description of the escaped man as you can, steward. Bryer,
+run up to the bridge, and tell the mate to steer for any vessel coming
+in, and fly a flag that we want to communicate. We'll send the
+description back. That's the best way out of the difficulty, doctor."
+
+It was not the doctor's duty to dispute the captain's authority.
+
+He may have had his own opinion as to what should be done, but he
+forbore from expressing it. He had his thoughts, and he had his living
+to get.
+
+The latter fact often prevents a man's thoughts finding their way to his
+lips. This is an age of discretion--it often pays better than mere
+valor.
+
+"Been dead over a dozen hours," he said, after examining the body.
+
+"That seems to confirm the idea of murder and escape at Queenstown."
+
+"Better leave all things as they are for the police to examine, eh?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Disinfectants were put in the cabin, and the door locked.
+
+At the suggestion of the doctor, the captain affixed seals to a piece of
+tape fastened to the door and its lintel. The ship steamed on.
+
+Ocean bore a secret on her billowy bosom--it was but one added to the
+myriads buried in her fathomless depths.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A WAITING WIFE'S DISCOVERY
+
+
+In the sight of the harbor of New York the ship slowed down, and the
+tender came alongside.
+
+The customs officers and port sanitary authority came aboard.
+
+Soon after the liner was moored at her pier, and in compliance with the
+signal she had hoisted, the police came on board.
+
+Not a passenger was allowed to land until the officers had thoroughly
+gone into their characters, and investigated the details which the
+captain had thoughtfully put on paper.
+
+Every passenger, his address, description, and destination had been
+listed; the evidence of the second mate, doctor, steward, and purser had
+been committed to paper and signed.
+
+The two berthed cabin spoke for itself--eloquently.
+
+The passengers were allowed to land at last. There was no reasonable
+excuse for their further detention.
+
+The crowds waiting on shore had wondered at the delay, but the first
+man off told the news, and it spread.
+
+The extra editions of the newspapers sold well that evening. It is an
+ill wind which fails to inflate the circulation of the newspapers.
+
+The people assembled at the pier gradually dispersed, moving away with
+the friends they had come to meet, until at last only the working staff
+of boat and shore hands were around.
+
+The public had gone home--all save one member of it, a tall, bony,
+dressed in country style woman.
+
+She had started from home with whole white cotton gloves on.
+
+As she stood watching the boat now, there was not a whole finger left in
+one of the gloves--she had nibbled them off in her anxiety.
+
+She attracted the attention of the hands discharging the cargo, and was
+the object, among themselves, of many humorous remarks.
+
+"Waitin' for some one, missus?" at last one of the men inquired of her.
+
+She was glad. She had been afraid to come forward and make inquiries.
+Now the spell was broken, she said:
+
+"Yes. Have all the passengers landed?"
+
+"There's one--or two--still aboard," the man answered, grimly.
+
+But the grimness was lost on the woman. She gave a sigh of relief. She
+had yet to learn that the passengers spoken of by the man had crossed
+the Stygian Ferry as well as the Atlantic.
+
+"Mebbe one of 'em's the one I've come to meet."
+
+"I hope not."
+
+"Why?"
+
+The man disregarded the question. Something had occurred to him. He
+inquired:
+
+"What might be the name of the person you've come to meet?"
+
+The woman hesitated a moment, and then answered:
+
+"Depew."
+
+The man suppressed a whistle of astonishment, and repeated the name:
+
+"Depew!"
+
+"Yes; George Depew. Was he aboard, do you know?"
+
+"Wait here a moment, missus--don't go away. I'll go and inquire for
+you."
+
+He disappeared in the ship. He went to the captain's cabin, and knocked
+at the door.
+
+The police officers and witnesses were there discussing the murder.
+
+"Come in."
+
+And he went. Touched his cap, then took it off, and spoke:
+
+"Woman outside, sir--been waitin' long time."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I spoke to her--asked who she was waitin' for."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Said for Depew--George Depew."
+
+The plain clothes officer was on his feet in a moment inquiring:
+
+"Where is she?"
+
+"On the pier."
+
+"I'll go and see her; come, point her out to me."
+
+They left the cabin. The tall, gaunt woman was standing where the sailor
+had left her. Thanking the man, the officer went towards her.
+
+"They tell me," he said pleasantly, "that you are waiting for a
+passenger."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Perhaps you did not see him land."
+
+"I never took my eyes off the gangway."
+
+"Then you think he is aboard."
+
+"I understood the man to say there were one or two passengers there
+still."
+
+The detective suppressed a smile at the grim humor of the sailor's
+remark. They were there still--very still.
+
+"What is the name of the person you were expecting to meet?"
+
+Again there was a slight hesitation before the woman spoke. Then she
+said:
+
+"Depew."
+
+"George?"
+
+"Yes. Then he is aboard?"
+
+"Well--you--see----"
+
+Then something dawned on, some fear seized the woman. It was in a
+trembling voice that she inquired:
+
+"You, you are not wearing the ship's uniform. You--you are a policeman?"
+
+"That's so."
+
+"My God! I see. I see why he has not landed. It's all found out--he's in
+custody."
+
+The detective twiddled the ends of a moustache he had under cultivation.
+
+The case had looked complicated--and he liked complications--indeed, got
+a living out of them. But this latest phase of the business looked like
+the envelopment of the puzzle in another one.
+
+"Tell me," she said, "is he aboard?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Let me see him."
+
+"Come this way."
+
+She came.
+
+As they went below, the detective paused a minute. He inquired:
+
+"Are you any relation of his?"
+
+"His wife."
+
+The detective whistled. Then he said:
+
+"Come in here."
+
+"He is not here?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Take me to him."
+
+"Don't be in a hurry. See here, you'd best prepare yourself for a
+shock."
+
+"Shock!"
+
+"Your husband came aboard this boat at Liverpool."
+
+"I know that; is he here now?"
+
+"His--his remains are."
+
+"His--his----"
+
+"Now brace up. Take the blow like a--like a real woman."
+
+"G-go on."
+
+"He's lying aboard the ship now."
+
+"Lying!"
+
+"Dead."
+
+"D-dead."
+
+"Here, hold up. There, there, pull yourself together, missus----. Here,
+drink that----. That's better----. We all have to die, you know, sooner
+or later----. That's it. Sit there a minute or two. Now, you are going
+along all right, aren't you?"
+
+"Yes--yes."
+
+"Drop more water? That's it. Now, how do you feel? Well enough to see
+the body? You'd like to? That's all right, then. Must be identified, you
+know. Just sit here a minute, and I'll arrange things for you."
+
+He went out, leaving the woman staring stonily at the roof of the
+saloon. To a subordinate on duty he said:
+
+"Open that cabin, Mace. Tuck a towel round the neck so the wound don't
+show. Woman's his wife. I haven't told her yet he's been murdered. Time
+for that after she identifies him. Stand by."
+
+He returned to the saloon in which he had left the woman.
+
+"Now, Mrs. Depew."
+
+The woman started.
+
+"Just lean on my arm, ma'am, and brace yourself up. This way. Mind the
+step. That's it. In here. There you are, ma'am. There's the body."
+
+The woman moaned, braced herself up as she had been told to, and went
+forward.
+
+The moment her eyes rested on the dead body she screamed:
+
+"That!"
+
+She flung up her arms, and burst into hysterical laughter, which ended
+in a wail as she sank, a nerveless heap, in the officer's arms.
+
+"Too much for her, Mace. Here, give me a hand out with her. That's it.
+Take her on deck, the air will bring her to. That's it. Fetch a pillow
+for her head. Heart's beating, and she's breathing all right--it's only
+a faint. The shock was too great for her."
+
+It was. She had expected to see in the dead man her husband.
+
+It was an expectation she had not realized.
+
+The face of the dead man was utterly unknown to her.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+HOW THE DEVIL TEMPTED HIM
+
+
+"There, there," said the doctor; "you will be all right in a few
+minutes."
+
+The woman closed her eyes again.
+
+"It was the shock of seeing her dead husband."
+
+The doctor spoke this in a whisper, but the woman heard. She opened her
+eyes. She spoke:
+
+"Let me lie like this for half an hour. I shall be all right then. I--I
+am subject to fainting fits."
+
+"Certainly. We shall be in that cabin there--there, away where you see
+the light. You see it? That's all right. We will leave you now, and when
+you feel well enough, come in, and you shall hear all the particulars."
+
+She moved her head. They walked away.
+
+She shifted on her back, and the eyes in the head resting on the pillow
+were fixed on the stars. She lay quiet--thinking.
+
+Thinking what to do; or what had happened; how to escape; of the mistake
+she had made, and whether it would bear bad fruit.
+
+For the dead man lying in the ship's cabin was not named Depew, nor was
+the living woman lying on the ship's deck named that way.
+
+It was a case of lying right through, and she thought to herself that
+she had in a measure given the show away.
+
+So she lay thinking. The mantle of night fell gradually and cloaked
+things.
+
+Shadows were deep. She might steal off the ship in them unseen.
+
+A boat's lantern hung at each end of the gangway, but there appeared to
+be no one watching her.
+
+There was not. It was not supposed that there was the slightest chance
+of her running away.
+
+A woman overcome by emotion as she had been does not run away from the
+recently discovered body of her dead husband.
+
+So the police argued--argued in the dark--in ignorance of the facts, and
+left her in the dark in fancied possession of them.
+
+Should she go to that cabin with the light, brave it out there, and
+carry the lie on further?
+
+Or should she steal off in the gradually growing darker night, and
+escape home?
+
+Home! Her home more than fifty miles away in the village of Oakville.
+
+She determined to do that. Many reasons prompted her to the act.
+
+Her husband had not been on the boat. Another man bearing his name
+filled his berth.
+
+There was trickery somewhere--but that was no novelty where her husband
+was concerned. She was unprepared for it, and had made a mistake. Best
+rectify it by escape.
+
+She did. Cleared the ship without a soul noticing it.
+
+Reached the railway station, and hid herself in a corner of the ladies'
+waiting room till the Oakville train started. In that train she was
+carried home.
+
+Her real name? Todd--Susan Todd. Her husband? Josh Todd.
+
+All that was left of the husband was in the cabin of the ship she had
+left. It had traveled in two portmanteaus.
+
+His had been a checkered career, but at last he had handed in his
+checks.
+
+How did it happen that he masqueraded before Lawyer Loide as George
+Depew?
+
+Because he was the right hand of the somewhat illiterate western farmer
+who bore that name, or as he would himself have described it, his head
+cook and bottle washer.
+
+George Depew could write his name, and his caligraphic talents ended
+right there. So he took for assistant Josh Todd.
+
+Josh saw to all the correspondence, opened the letters, read and
+answered them. His wife, Susan, was the house help.
+
+Between them, they were paid well, and could have put away for the rainy
+day. But providence was a thing unknown to Josh.
+
+He put nothing away, except an excessive quantity of old Rye. On
+Saturday nights he went into Oakville, and in the saloon there sat at
+the table presided over by Mr. Jack Hamblin.
+
+Jack Hamblin was generally the richer by Josh's visits.
+
+Frequent handling of the cards had made him expert in the dealing
+thereof. He usually dealt.
+
+So Josh--as he figuratively put it--had not a feather to fly with. And
+he did not like it.
+
+There was farmer George Depew--provident man--putting by a little each
+year. Not much, but sufficient for his wife and daughter, Tessie, if he
+should suddenly be beckoned into the next world.
+
+Then one day there came a letter from a London lawyer named Loide, to
+George Depew.
+
+As usual Josh opened it. He cursed the luck of Depew freely, and then
+paused--paused to wonder whether he could not make that luck his own.
+
+Susan had been with the Depews when they paid a visit to England many
+years before. So Josh took counsel with the wife of his bosom, and
+learned all there was to know about George.
+
+It was a certain thing that on the other side of that wide water--which
+the rapidity of our ocean grayhounds has made us come to think so
+narrow--not a living soul could remember George Depew.
+
+That determined Josh. And when he had determined he always went on.
+
+His scheme was simplicity itself. But for lawyer Loide's fears he
+probably would not have succeeded so well.
+
+Josh told the real George Depew that he had had a little money left him
+in Europe, and that his attendance the other side was necessary.
+
+Good-hearted, honest old George congratulated him, and willingly acceded
+to the request for a month's holiday.
+
+He went into New York, bought two portmanteaus, had the initials "G. D."
+painted on them, and to them transferred the contents of the bags with
+which he had left the farm.
+
+A certificate of his employer's birth, a bundle of letters directed to
+him, two cables to the lawyer, a passage on the next outgoing steamer,
+and he had all the voyage to think of what he could do next.
+
+A shrewd, keen man, he at once saw through the cheating of lawyer
+Loide--and handled that limb of the law accordingly.
+
+Fear of detection blinded the lawyer; he failed to make the usual
+precautionary inquiries. Conscience doth make cowards of us all.
+
+Susan saw her husband off from New York, and she never saw him again.
+
+She had a cable from him saying which boat he was returning by, and that
+he had sent a letter to her to be called for at the New York
+post-office.
+
+She went to New York on the day the home coming steamer was to arrive,
+and called for the letter sent by the preceding mail. It read:
+
+     DEAR OLD GIRL:
+
+     All's gone right, and I am as happy as a clam at high water.
+     There's been two hands at the grab game I've been playing,
+     but I've raked in the pool. Nineteen thousand English
+     pounds, old girl. Think of it. Reckon it up, and see what it
+     comes to in almighty dollars.
+
+     The property is all sold, and the proceeds will be mine in a
+     day or two. The lawyer here is a cute thief, but he found me
+     cuter. I gave him some chin music he'd never listened to
+     before in his natural. No bunco steerer can come it over
+     Josh, and don't you forget it.
+
+     I'll be back by the boat arriving on Wednesday the 13th.
+     I'll cable you certain, so you can come out to meet me.
+
+     No more work, old girl. Enjoyment for the future. There's
+     no chance of anything being found out, but all the same
+     we'll skip from the farm. I'm just as full of joy as I was
+     of Old Rye the day you saw me off.
+
+     Only one thing troubling me: that blamed old tooth of mine
+     at the back, that you put the cotton in, is aching like mad.
+     I'll just get a dentist to yank it out if I can find one to
+     do it without pain.--So long, old girl, your loving husband,
+
+  JOSH.
+
+     P.S.--Burn this when you've read it.
+
+Susan did not comply with the request contained in the postscript. She
+had read it when she left the post-office, and thrust it into her pocket
+as she hurried to the pier.
+
+There, the shock of the discovery that her husband was dead, and the
+double shock of relief and joy to find that the dead man was not her
+husband, upset her so, that she lost consciousness, and for a time the
+subsequent proceedings interested her no more.
+
+She came to herself on deck with the letter still in her pocket.
+
+If she stayed in New York there was going to be trouble. She saw that
+plainly. She must go home and wait for another cable from Josh.
+
+So she went home. And the letter was still in her pocket.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A LIFE FOR A LIFE
+
+
+Danvers--the man who had dived from the ship and saved the child--was
+the bearer of a letter of introduction to George Depew, and the next day
+he presented himself with it at the farmhouse.
+
+Susan admitted him. Neither had, of course, ever seen the other.
+
+Danvers was a rolling stone--had been a colossal failure as a moss
+gatherer in the mother country.
+
+He was keen and intelligent, and busy with other people's affairs, but
+sleepy, indolent, and lazy with his own.
+
+Every one liked him, yet every one shook his or her head when his name
+was mentioned. It was felt that he would never be a success.
+
+At last it was determined to ship him to a country where he would have
+to work, from the fact that there there would be no friends to help him.
+
+If he wanted to eat, he must earn his food by his labor. It was felt
+that it was best for Danvers--and best for the friends he had been
+living on so long.
+
+The friends felt that strongly.
+
+The exile jumped at the idea. He had long wanted to see America.
+
+One of his friends had done business with Depew over certain
+consignments, and to Depew he wrote a letter introducing Danvers, and
+asking him to do what he could for the bearer.
+
+Others of his friends purchased for him clothing and outfit generally,
+and saw him off--with their pockets lighter perhaps, but a strong
+feeling of relief.
+
+Depew welcomed Danvers heartily.
+
+Strangers were rarely seen in Oakville. Come from the mother country, he
+was doubly welcome.
+
+Danvers felt that he had dropped on both feet.
+
+Straightway, too, he fell in love with the farmer's daughter, and it
+must be admitted that his city ways found favor in the eyes of Tessie.
+
+The farmer promised to find him work, and meanwhile put him into the
+position the supposed to be holiday making Josh had filled.
+
+This was a thing which disturbed Susan.
+
+Days went by and she was still without news from her husband, and here
+was a stranger--she knew now that he came over in the boat she had been
+on--filling the post her husband had so long occupied.
+
+She feared, too, lest any of Josh's petty delinquencies should come to
+light. She knew that his books must bristle with evidence of them.
+
+So things went on for two or three weeks, Susan working herself up to
+such a state of excitement that at times the blood rushed so to her head
+that her eyes were blinded to the work she was engaged in.
+
+The acuteness of her agony nearly drove her mad; it arose from the
+silence which was imposed on her; she dared not make any inquiries.
+
+And then one day she received such a shock that she became mad in real
+earnest. For she felt convinced that her husband had been murdered, and
+that Danvers was his murderer.
+
+Did she not at that very moment hold in her hands unquestionable proof
+of his guilt?
+
+She was standing at the wash-tub when she discovered it. It had been
+through her hands once before at the weekly wash.
+
+It was simply a flannel undervest, given out with the rest of his
+washing by George Danvers.
+
+But it bore her private mark, which she had with her own fingers put on
+to the vest of her missing husband weeks before. It had belonged to and
+been worn by Josh Todd!
+
+There was no real mystery about it, and if she had opened her mouth the
+matter would have been made plain to Susan. But her lips were sealed to
+silence.
+
+She remained with the firm conviction that her husband was dead, and
+that his murderer was sleeping beneath the same roof as herself.
+
+She became filled with a fiendish desire for revenge. It was impossible
+for her to give any information which would convince the police and
+bring about the murderer's punishment, but she was none the less
+convinced herself.
+
+She could not insure his sitting in the electrocution chair, but that
+was no reason why he should go unpunished.
+
+But one desire filled her--she hankered for vengeance.
+
+She sought for means of compassing it. She never closed her eyes at
+night for thinking about it--thinking how to get level with Danvers.
+
+She wanted a life for a life.
+
+The solution of the mystery? Simple enough. Gerald Danvers' things had
+been got together by his friends. He had only handled them in packing
+his portmanteau--a portmanteau which bore his initials.
+
+When in the stoke hole on that day of the child's rescue, he had asked
+one of the sailors to get his portmanteau and handed the keys from his
+wet trousers. The man had singled out in the hold a portmanteau bearing
+the initials "G. D." and the key fitting it--it was the ordinary key,
+one of which will fit hundreds of the cheaper kind of lock--he had taken
+out an undervest and shirt.
+
+That they were not an accurate fit in no way disturbed Danvers; he had
+not bought them himself, and he imagined that his friends had jumped at
+his size.
+
+As a matter of fact, the sailor had opened one of Josh Todd's
+portmanteaus, which, of course, bore the initials "G. D."
+
+It was all capable of simple explanation, but Susan Todd was not in need
+of simple explanation. She had a large sized thirst for revenge on just
+then--a thirst she determined should be quenched.
+
+The woman was mad--absolutely mad; filled with all the cunning which
+madness proverbially entails.
+
+Mere death would not satisfy her. She must make this murderer suffer.
+That was why she worried.
+
+She had opportunities for killing him fifty times in a day, for she was
+strong, and bony, and powerful; and an axe or a chopper would have
+bought about all she wanted.
+
+But the act itself would give her no pleasure. Her mind was full of the
+leading up to it.
+
+She wanted the man who had killed her husband to die a slow death by
+torture, and she was puzzled how to devise this.
+
+She anticipated a pleasure from watching him counting the moments to his
+death. Three parts of the pleasure of life lies in its anticipation.
+
+Then there came to her an idea. There must surely have been a strain of
+the old Indian blood in her, for it savored so of those times when the
+brave was honored who invented the most devilish kind of torture.
+
+The material for her scheme was close at hand, not a mile from the
+farmhouse--an old, disused water mill.
+
+Disused for want of motor power.
+
+It stood on the banks of what had been a swift, flowing river, but
+diversion of its course nearer its rise had turned the river into a
+little stream which could be crossed in almost all parts without water
+coming over shoe tops. Only in wet weather was it ever deep enough to
+rise to one's knees.
+
+When it rained above, and the waters gathered, it would come down in a
+little rush.
+
+Shortly prior to its final abandonment, a new wheel had been put to the
+mill. That accounted for the wheel being its soundest part--all else was
+ruin.
+
+It had been disconnected, and the machinery of the mill removed years
+ago; but still the big paddle wheel rested on its axle, and every time
+it rained sufficiently to swell the stream above and make the water flow
+stronger, so assuredly, the wheel would revolve--revolve till the strong
+flow ceased, and the water trickled again as it was wont to do in dry
+weather.
+
+How the scheme came into Susan Todd's head it is impossible to say, but
+it came--came to stop.
+
+She would lure her husband's murderer to the old mill. She had no fear
+of an inability to do that. There she would overpower him by a blow from
+behind, which would stun him.
+
+His unconscious form she would drag outside the little window, and tie
+it with a clothes-line to one of the blades or paddles of the wheel.
+
+The accomplishment of the task the muscles of her brawny arms told her
+would be simple, and she gloated over the enjoyment she would experience
+in coming to the mill as often as possible to talk to the gagged and
+bound man.
+
+She would discuss the weather for his benefit, and let him know whether
+the glass was high or low--whether rain might be expected.
+
+And then, when the rain came, assuredly she must be there, even if it
+came in the dead of the night.
+
+She must be there to watch the agony on the upturned face of a starving,
+thirsty man, an agony bred of a knowledge of what would happen when the
+water was strong enough to turn the mill wheel.
+
+She wanted to see the mill wheel start; she had watched it before and
+knew how it acted, and she knew it would act just the same with its
+human burden.
+
+The water moved it just a little at first, then further, then further,
+and all the while the bound wretch would be going slowly but surely to
+that pool of water through which the lower paddles of the wheel always
+passed.
+
+Half drowned in that, he would be dragged up into air again for the same
+ghastly performance to commence again.
+
+Oh! it would be beautiful--she hugged herself in the joy of the
+anticipation.
+
+And when the wheel had ceased whirling, and the waters had gone down,
+what easier than to cut the bonds, and let the body drop into the pool
+beneath, buried from human sight forever!
+
+What easier!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+FATHER AND CHILD--THE OLD STORY
+
+
+"Come here, Tessie."
+
+"Yes, dad."
+
+"Sit down, girlie."
+
+"Let me kneel, here. There, like that, then you can't be very cross, I
+know. Let me put my arms around your neck, and I know your lecture won't
+be very serious."
+
+"Kiss me."
+
+"There."
+
+"And now I want to talk to you, seriously, Tessie."
+
+"I knew you did, dad; you had such a long face. What have I done?"
+
+"Nothing yet, girlie. It's to prevent your doing something that I fear
+you will be sorry for all your life that I am talking to you now."
+
+"Yes, dad."
+
+"Gerald Danvers has been here nearly a month. He's in love with
+you--that's plain to be seen. There's no blame to himself for that. You
+are a very pretty girl."
+
+"Dad!"
+
+"That's so. That don't matter much; and if you are only flirting that
+wouldn't matter much, either. But the point is--are you? Do you feel
+that you love him, Tessie?"
+
+She was playing with the seal at the end of his watch-chain, and her
+eyes were cast down as she answered:
+
+"He's the nicest man round these parts, dad."
+
+"To look at, Tessie--yes. I admit that. He's got the city polish on him.
+It's a question if that's good though. The bit of veneer on an article
+of furniture doesn't make the wood beneath any better quality."
+
+"No, but the farm hands, dad! And then at Oakville who is there to talk
+to?"
+
+"Maybe not polished people, Tessie."
+
+"No, dad, and that's it. Don't think I'm blaming you, dear old daddie,
+but you see the years you sent me away to boarding-school made a change
+in me. The girls--I met people of a different class. One must talk, you
+know, dad, and there isn't a soul for miles round that has an idea
+beyond the crops."
+
+"I see--I see."
+
+"Don't think I'm finding fault, daddie--not for a moment. I am as happy
+as possible at the dear old farm. I was born here, and I should like to
+die here. But one likes to exchange ideas, dad. You might, for instance,
+circle ten miles round the farm and you would not meet one soul who
+could tell you what poetry meant."
+
+"And this man, Danvers, he talks well?"
+
+"He is a gentleman, dad."
+
+"Without a dollar to call his own."
+
+"Dad! is he any the less a gentleman for that?"
+
+"The world thinks so, Tessie."
+
+"Let it, dad, I don't; and I know you don't. A man's a man for all
+that."
+
+"But a poor man, Tessie--in a double sense. I am really sorry to hear
+you say this."
+
+"What have I said, dad?"
+
+"Nothing, girlie, nothing. But I can read you. You like Danvers?"
+
+She was playing with the charm on the chain again as she answered:
+
+"I don't dislike him, dad."
+
+The old man sighed.
+
+"I have heard you yourself say, dad, that you liked him."
+
+"Ah! but there's a difference in my and your liking. When a woman begins
+by liking a man, she generally ends up by loving him."
+
+No answer.
+
+"Danvers was sent out to me, Tessie, with a letter of introduction. You
+read it. By the next mail another letter came. I opened it myself, as I
+have done all letters since Josh went away. It was from the writer of
+the letter of introduction."
+
+"Another, dad?"
+
+"No. He repeated that he would be glad if I would do all I could for
+Danvers, but, above all, I was to make him work, and work hard. That his
+life up, he had never done a stroke of work, that he had always lived on
+his friends, that his friends had provided him with an outfit and paid
+his passage money, and hoped that in a new country, where he had not a
+single friend, he would be forced to work--work for his living."
+
+"Poor fellow!"
+
+"Tessie!"
+
+"Well, dad, isn't he a poor fellow? Fancy, thousands of miles from a
+friend, and, as you say, without a dollar of his own. Am I wrong, dad,
+to sympathize with, and say of him 'poor fellow'?"
+
+The old man stifled a groan.
+
+He was acting badly. He felt that. He was trying to paint this man in
+repulsive colors, and was but exciting a tender feeling! He was putting
+his foot into it deeper every step he took.
+
+It is curious how persistently parents force their children into the
+marriages they are so anxious not to bring about.
+
+Bespatter her lover to a girl, and straightway the girl loves him the
+more. Call him everything black you can lay your tongue to, and the girl
+will be framing pretty speeches for future use--to make up to him for
+it.
+
+"Tessie, think, my girl, you are happy now because you have everything
+you can reasonably want. Just picture to yourself what your life would
+be married to a centless man."
+
+"But, dad, why should you think he will always be poor?"
+
+"All his life, Tessie, he has been living on other people."
+
+"But he may reform, dad. You said he was doing the work better than Josh
+had done it."
+
+"New brooms sweep clean."
+
+"And in a new country, dad, perhaps he has turned over a new leaf."
+
+"Supposing he has, Tessie, what is his future? If he left here, he might
+get a job as a store clerk; what can he expect to be better? A store
+clerk with perhaps a dozen dollars a week."
+
+"You are hard on him, dad."
+
+"Come, Tessie, have I been? But for the fact that Josh is away on a
+holiday, what could I have done with him? There is not an ounce of farm
+work in him. They send such men out from the mother country--God knows
+what for--when we want only muscle, strength, and grit."
+
+"He has been useful, dad."
+
+"Useful! And when Josh comes back, what then? I have told him it is only
+a temporary job, and perhaps that is the reason."
+
+"For what, dad?"
+
+"His making love to you."
+
+"Dad!"
+
+"Oh, I know the world, Tessie, better than you do. He thinks you are a
+pretty girl, and that if he can make you love him, he is in for a soft
+thing."
+
+"Oh, dad, you are unjust."
+
+"I would to God he had never come here."
+
+"Dad!"
+
+"It is true. Marry? Of course you'll marry. It's a woman's mission in
+life. I can't say I have seen the man yet that I think worthy of you,
+but that is neither here nor there. But I did think you would fall into
+the hands of a man who had a bit of land of his own to walk on, and a
+roof of his own to cover him----"
+
+"You are bitter, dad."
+
+"I feel so, girlie. You are so bound up heart and soul in my heart and
+soul that what affects you affects me. I want to see you happy."
+
+"I know that, dad."
+
+"Tell me, he has not spoken to you of love yet?"
+
+"Not--with his lips, dad--yet."
+
+Then the old man groaned aloud. He knew it was hopeless to talk.
+
+He prayed for the return of Josh that he might have a reasonable excuse
+for packing off Danvers.
+
+And Josh--all that was left of him--after the inquest had been buried in
+the city cemetery.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+LOVERS--MORE OF THE OLD STORY
+
+
+"Tessie, why are you angry with me?"
+
+"Angry?"
+
+His question answered by another, answered to the accompaniment of
+elevated eyebrows and a pretty little expression of surprise--after the
+manner of her sex.
+
+"Well--yes. You are--aren't you?"
+
+"Was never better tempered in my life."
+
+"I rather wish that you would get ill tempered."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because--because then you are nicer. Nicer to me.
+
+"Nicer, Mr. Danvers?"
+
+"Mr. Danvers!"
+
+"Well, that is your name, is it not?"
+
+"Oh, certainly, Miss Depew."
+
+The girl laughed nervously.
+
+They were walking across the fields from the milking shed, the girl
+carrying the cream for supper.
+
+"You are laughing now," he said.
+
+"You said once you liked to hear me laugh."
+
+"Oh, I mean you are laughing at me. Don't feel sufficient interest in
+me, I suppose? Please don't say it; I will take it you mean that."
+
+"I think you are very horrid this afternoon."
+
+"I feel so. My feelings are oozing up to the surface, I suppose. And I
+meant to----"
+
+"To what?"
+
+"Oh, it--it does not matter."
+
+"You talk in--well, I can't understand you."
+
+"Like a man awakening from a sleep. Wits have been wool gathering. I
+have been dreaming. Accept my apologies, Miss Depew."
+
+"Miss Depew! How dreadfully formal you have grown."
+
+"Blizzard came along, and froze me all up."
+
+"Poor fellow!"
+
+"I am glad you have some sort of feeling for me--if it is only pity."
+
+"Oh, I always sympathize with--with people who are all frozen up."
+
+"I suppose it is no use asking you for a plain answer to a plain
+question?"
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Well--you are a woman."
+
+"Is that a compliment for my sex, or is it marked 'personal'?"
+
+"Tessie----"
+
+"That's better; you are thawing."
+
+"Tessie!"
+
+"You have called me twice, and I am listening all the time."
+
+"I don't know how to say what I want to say."
+
+"How curious! You are usually so--well, never at a loss for words."
+
+"You chill me."
+
+"Poor fellow! Going into the Arctic regions again?"
+
+"I am going away from the farm--to the Arctic regions, or to the devil,
+I don't much care where."
+
+She started when he said he was going away, and caught her underlip
+between her teeth, and held it there.
+
+It prevented its trembling. Presently she said:
+
+"I thought you were going to stay--quite a while."
+
+"So did I."
+
+"Why are you going, then?"
+
+"Driven away."
+
+"Really."
+
+She was herself again by now. A conscious smile played round her lips as
+she inquired:
+
+"Who's the driver?"
+
+"Tessie Depew."
+
+It did not surprise her a bit; she had guessed what was coming. But she
+simply said again:
+
+"Really!"
+
+And he found it most aggravating. She had said "really" in that
+surprised tone so often that he began to hate the word.
+
+He swished the heads of the tall grass with the stick he was
+carrying--the beheading operation was a relief to his feelings.
+
+She watched him from beneath her long lashes, and there was a curve
+round her lips all the time--she couldn't help a smile.
+
+"I thought at one time, Tessie----"
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"Thought you--well, I was a fool for thinking so, wasn't I?"
+
+"Really can't tell what you did think," she answered demurely. "I am
+sure I should be a conspicuous failure as a thought reader."
+
+"Last night I went to bed the happiest man in America."
+
+"So?"
+
+"Yes. I am a poor devil of a wandering sort of sheep, and a woman's kind
+words have come on my ears so seldom----"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That they influence me when they come."
+
+"Women," she spoke with assumed carelessness, "have been kind to you,
+then?"
+
+"You were kind to me last night, Tessie."
+
+"Really! What did I say?"
+
+"Not so much what you said, but the way you said it. Tessie, don't drive
+me mad. You know--you do--now, don't you--that I love you?"
+
+Of course she knew it, but she was not going to admit it. She looked
+quite surprised, as if such an idea had never occurred to her.
+
+She was a true woman--an actress to the tips of her fingers, when the
+subject of the play was love. He went on:
+
+"I led an idle sort of life, Tessie, in the old country, and I came out
+here to turn over a new leaf. I have turned it over, and fastened down
+the old one.
+
+"I am not worth a red cent--whatever that is--now, but I have faith in
+myself, and I believe that presently, if hard work and persistence raise
+a man on the ladder, I'll be able to climb up. I never expected for a
+moment that you would climb with me; I would not be such a selfish brute
+as to ask you to. But there was something I had intended to ask
+you--only--only----"
+
+"What was it?"
+
+"Your kindness made me think of it. I told you that I went to bed last
+night the happiest man in all America. But I didn't tell you I slept.
+
+"I did not. I lay thinking--thinking all the time of you. I thought I
+would begin that climb with such a heart, with such an eagerness, with
+such a will, because I would have you for an incentive."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I thought that last night, because you behaved to me like a--like an
+angel. And I determined to ask you to-day to--to--that's why I came out
+to the sheds to meet you."
+
+"What were you--what were you going to ask me?"
+
+"To wait for me, Tessie. To wait a year or two till I was up the tree a
+bit with a nest I could invite you to share with me. I love you, Tessie,
+love you with all my heart and soul.
+
+"I suppose I ought to have told you all this differently; then you would
+have liked me all the better for it. But I am not experienced in love
+affairs, Tessie. You are the first woman I have ever really loved--the
+first I have ever told so."
+
+She did not, somehow, seem dissatisfied with his manner of telling it,
+and the concluding sentence was as wise a one as he could have framed.
+
+They were walking very slowly now, and if the girl did not say much, she
+thought the more. Nice, pleasant, happy thoughts, and they made her
+sweet to the man who had inspired them.
+
+"The plain question I wanted a plain answer to, Tessie, was: Was I a
+fool last night? Was I ass enough to misunderstand you? Did my vanity
+make me think you cared for me? Tessie, Tessie, do you love me?"
+
+"You said a plain question, Gerald."
+
+She had her eyes fixed on the ground as she spoke. "But I have counted
+four questions all in that one breath."
+
+"Tessie, darling, answer me."
+
+"What, all four?"
+
+She had raised her mischievous eyes to his, and fixed them on him in
+such a way that his heart leaped.
+
+"Tessie!"
+
+"Supposing I answer one?"
+
+"Tessie?"
+
+"The--last--one."
+
+"Yes, yes, yes."
+
+"That is my answer."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+He caught her in his arms then, and--well, Blossom standing in the
+middle of the meadow chewing her cud paused in that operation in sheer
+astonishment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE METHOD IN SUSAN TODD'S MADNESS
+
+
+The next day the farmer's daughter went into Oakville shopping. She had
+arranged to have tea with a friend and be back before dusk.
+
+Danvers had been sent in another direction in the early morning, and
+knew nothing of this. He was back early in the afternoon, and wondered
+at seeing nothing of the girl of his heart.
+
+Susan spoke to him presently. She beckoned him as he passed the back of
+the house.
+
+"I've a message for you, Mr. Danvers."
+
+"Oh! What is it, Susan?"
+
+"Not so loud! From Miss Tessie."
+
+"Ah!"
+
+"She's gone for a ride. Will you meet her in the old water mill at four
+o'clock?"
+
+"The old--why on earth all that distance away? What is she doing there?"
+
+"That she did not tell me," the woman answered shortly; "don't go if you
+don't want to. I've given you the message."
+
+"That's all right, Susan; don't lose your temper. I'll go fast enough."
+
+"She told me to say, too, that you were not to tell any one."
+
+"Trust me, I won't. What's the time by your kitchen clock? Just three.
+There's an hour to wait. All right."
+
+He went away about his business. Susan watched him out of sight.
+
+Presently she went away about her business--in the direction of the old
+water mill. She took with her some old pieces of rope which had been
+used for binding butter kegs, and which she knew would never be missed.
+They had been thrown aside as useless, because they were so soaked in
+fat.
+
+She had half an hour to wait before the hands of the kitchen clock would
+point to four, but she waited patiently.
+
+Her revenge was coming within her grasp, the revenge she had been
+praying and hoping for--a life for a life.
+
+The roof of the old mill and the rafters and part of the loft flooring
+were fairly sound.
+
+She tied a heavy stone to her rope, and, after climbing to the loft,
+pulled up the stone after her. There she waited. The old mill was a
+baited trap.
+
+She passed the time in coiling the rope, and handling and weighing the
+stone. She intended to drop the stone on her victim's head.
+
+She knew it would stun him. She had seen a man fall senseless--and
+remain senseless for an hour--on the occasion of a far less heavy weight
+falling on his head.
+
+Ten minutes would suffice for her task, if he remained senseless as
+long.
+
+She mapped out what she would do if the stone failed. She would drop
+from above, spring on him from behind, and half choke the life out of
+him with her strong, long, bony fingers.
+
+Then she would bring him to again, when she had fastened him up. She did
+not want him to die--yet.
+
+Before four o'clock, Gerald Danvers entered the mill.
+
+Before four o'clock he was lying senseless on the floor, a great ugly
+gash in the back of his head, and a woman feeling at his heart to know
+if it was beating, and laughing a maniacal laugh of triumph when she
+found it was, and that her scheme was successful--so far.
+
+Then she tied him up. Tightly round the ankles and knees, and his wrists
+close round his waist.
+
+His arms she kept open--open for the binding cords to be looped
+through.
+
+The wheel she kept in a fixed position by means of a wooden pin thrust
+in its side from the interior of the mill. That fixed, it was easy to
+walk out of the door window on the floor's level, straight to the paddle
+nearest it.
+
+Susan dragged Gerald's unconscious body along the floor, out of the
+window, on to the paddle, and then she began to bind him to the blade.
+
+She had come with plenty of pieces of rope, and, slinging one round the
+paddle, she caught the end of it the other side.
+
+By that means she fastened the feet. Another piece, thrown in a similar
+way, she drew through the arms, and her prisoner was securely bound
+then, unable to move, literally, hand or foot.
+
+Then she drew the man's handkerchief from his pocket, and forcing his
+mouth open, used it as a gag, knotting it behind his head.
+
+She got off the paddle, back into the mill, and gazed on her handiwork.
+
+The figure did not stir. The eyes were closed, and although the blood
+had ceased flowing, the body seemed lifeless.
+
+This did not suit Susan. She wanted the man to awake, to suffer torture.
+
+She wondered how she could get water to pour over him. She had come
+without dipper or basin of any kind.
+
+Could she move the wheel, she wondered. She knew she was strong. If she
+could gradually turn this, blade by blade, it would go faster and
+faster, and as the bottom three blades, she could see, were in the pool,
+it followed that, for a few moments, the man would be--from head to
+foot--in the cold water. That could not fail to revive him.
+
+She would try. She did.
+
+She withdrew the pin, and pulled and pushed with all the strength that
+in her lay.
+
+It seemed a hopeless task, but presently she felt the paddle she was
+pushing move just half an inch, then an inch, then more and more, and at
+last the second paddle was where the first had been.
+
+The wheel was moving. The man was on his road to the water at the
+bottom.
+
+The wheel went round faster because the weight of the man told.
+
+The body passed through the water and came up. And then real hard work
+for Susan commenced.
+
+She had not thought of the additional weight on the upward journey.
+
+But she was bound to bring the body up to a level position, if she broke
+every sinew in her wiry frame.
+
+After infinite labor she succeeded, and with a sigh of relief thrust the
+pin into its place again--the pin which held the wheel firm.
+
+Not that there was any need for that. Lying in a level position, the
+balance was true.
+
+The wheel would have stayed so without the pin.
+
+Then she looked at the prisoner--he was looking at her! The water had
+nearly choked him, but it had at the same time brought him back to life,
+if not to understanding of the situation. The woman spoke to him:
+
+"You are back to your senses. You can understand what I am saying?"
+
+The look in his eyes answered her. She went on:
+
+"You are going to die, Gerald Danvers. Die slowly. I am killing you
+because you killed my husband. It's a life for a life. Your life for
+that of the man you killed on the ship.
+
+"You will live there, just as you are, without bite or sup, till the
+rain comes. You will be able to see the clouds as you lie there, the
+stars at night and the sun by day. When the rain comes the waters gather
+above, and where you see that trickling which just escapes your head, a
+waterfall appears and turns the wheel you are on."
+
+The man had his eyes fixed on her all the time.
+
+He understood clearly all she was saying now--but he could not fathom
+what was the reason for it all--what he had done to merit such a
+revenge.
+
+He did not understand how--as Byron says--sweet is revenge, especially
+to women.
+
+But for the handkerchief in his mouth, he might have been able to
+explain; as it was, he could not make a sound. She continued:
+
+"If you want to live, pray that the rain may not come; if you want to
+die, pray that it may. When you feel that waterfall reaching you, then
+you may know that presently there will be force enough to turn the
+wheel, and that you will go round and round, faster and faster, now in
+the air, now in the water, now in the air, now in the water!"
+
+She was waving her arms round and round to illustrate her meaning--she
+was so fearful that he should lose any of the horror of his position.
+
+She need not have been. He lost none.
+
+Every word she uttered went home. He realized it the more because he saw
+the woman was mad. Her eyes alone spoke the fact eloquently.
+
+"If you pray for life, remember it will be a famishing, thirsty, hungry
+life. If we have no rain for a dozen days, not a taste of food, not a
+drop of water do you get. You can hear the water always trickling by
+you, and in a day or two as you get hungry I will bring my dinner here,
+and you shall see me eat it, you murdering brute, you!"
+
+He realized, without the maniacal laughter, how mad she was.
+
+His heart almost ceased beating. He was not a coward, but he felt that
+at this woman's mercy his death was certain. Not a speedy death, but a
+lingering, torturing one.
+
+Rescue was out of the question. Not a soul came near the old mill,
+except at haymaking time to cut the grass. That was weeks ahead.
+
+Still the woman talked.
+
+"Till the rain comes, you know what to expect. Till the rain comes.
+And when it is all over I shall cut your cords and let you
+drop--splash--into the pool you have just been through.
+
+"You killed my husband, you murderer, you! His blood calls out for
+vengeance. I am going to take--a terrible vengeance. But it is justice,
+the justice the parson tells us of--a life for a life--a tooth for a
+tooth. You took my husband's life--I am going to take yours. You
+murdering brute!"
+
+It was her farewell speech. She slammed to the door, and he was left
+alone!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+BOUND TO THE WHEEL
+
+
+Gerald Danvers was never able to realize how long he lay there.
+
+Blissful moments of unconsciousness came with awful awakenings to the
+reality of that painful binding. Every time he moved the cords seemed to
+attain the heat of redness, and to burn into his flesh.
+
+Thirst--that was the most awful feeling. He had not been there an hour
+before he was assailed with it.
+
+The handkerchief made his mouth water, and the linen seemed to act like
+blotting paper, absorbing and drawing up every drop of moisture in his
+body.
+
+He could turn his head, and there, not a yard away, sparkling in the
+sun, was water trickling down; the waterfall which was to swell in body
+and force and whirl him to his death.
+
+It was not long before he was praying for death--life seemed so full of
+pain.
+
+The acute agony of that immovable position, with the cords seeming to
+cut into his flesh every time he attempted to move, became unendurable.
+
+He could keep no count of the hours, but when at last the setting sun
+turned things red, he felt that he had been there days and days.
+
+Not that he noticed the color of the sun; the blood which had rushed to
+his head made things all black one moment, all red the next.
+
+Night fell; all was darkness--so black a darkness that in the shadow in
+which he lay he could not see the faintest outline of the mill.
+
+Presently a little speck of light appeared above him. Water was in his
+eyes, tears forced there by the pain, blurring his sight.
+
+The little light looked like a flashing diamond. He could not wipe the
+water from his eyes, but when presently it fell away, and his vision was
+clearer, he saw that what had appeared as a speck of light was a star in
+the sky above him.
+
+Then he realized that it was night. He gathered some idea of the time,
+too.
+
+He knew that the moon did not rise till nine o'clock, and it had not
+risen yet. It was clear and cloudless, the canopy above him, and he knew
+that ere long the moon would rise and lighten up his surroundings.
+
+Then he lapsed into unconsciousness again.
+
+From that state he was aroused by a noise--aroused to find that the moon
+was up, and flooding half the mill wheel with light, and throwing the
+other half in deep shadow.
+
+His head and chest were in the former, and the rest of him in darkness.
+
+The noise was slight, but his tense nerves caught it; it was on the
+wheel, and presently he was conscious that some one was feeling his
+legs, and then higher up his body, round his waist.
+
+He guessed it was the mad woman come back, and he was not sorry. He
+still heard the slight noise, and imagined it to be the woman creeping
+along the paddle.
+
+He closed his eyes.
+
+Not that he feared death. In his conscious moments, for hours past, he
+had been praying for release from his torturing position--praying for
+death.
+
+And he felt that it was coming at last. He closed his eyes because he
+did not want to see in what shape it had arrived.
+
+He guessed that it would be a noiseless weapon, perhaps a knife, and a
+feeling of wonder stole over him, wonder of how it would feel as the
+knife sheathed itself in his heart.
+
+No feeling of fear, not a scrap; he would welcome it. It would end the
+pain. And then he prayed.
+
+He felt the movements about his legs, but his limbs were so numbed that
+he could not very well tell what was being done.
+
+And then he felt a weight on his chest, a moving weight. He thought that
+his last moments had arrived--that his murderer was getting closer and
+closer. Still he prayed.
+
+His had not been a very religious upbringing. Indeed, there had been
+times when he had scoffed at godly people, and the idea of entering a
+church had never occurred to him since his childhood.
+
+There had been nothing particularly vicious in his life, but the idea of
+prayer had never entered his mind. He had, he had thought, too much to
+do in thinking of this world to trouble himself about the next one. Time
+enough for that when he was dying.
+
+Quite a number of persons think that way. The heavenly bookkeepers are
+troubled only with entries on the debit side during most men's healthy
+times.
+
+No grateful acknowledgment rises for that same health; it is only when
+illness reaches the man on earth that he thinks of heaven.
+
+The recording angel can usually gauge a man's health by a reference to
+the credit side of his ledger account. The entries tell.
+
+Now, with closed eyes, Gerald Danvers prayed. He thanked God for
+bringing his torture to an end, and asked forgiveness for his previous
+forgetfulness. He was earnest in his prayer, and he prayed on. And all
+the time he felt the movement on his chest; but his life was spared.
+
+Then he wondered why. He knew that his chest was in the moonlight, and
+that if he opened his eyes he could see his murderer there.
+
+And the suspense was as bad to bear as the previous torture. He would
+open his eyes.
+
+Danvers opened his eyes. Could he have given vent to a scream it would
+have been one of mortal fear and agony.
+
+His cry to God was not one of thankfulness now, but of fear, horror, and
+fear of being eaten alive!
+
+For on his chest, his legs, his whole body, there seemed to be swarming
+hundreds and hundreds of huge rats!
+
+Perhaps his prayer was answered, for once more he became oblivious of
+his surroundings. And he remained unconscious for many hours, so much so
+that, when next he opened his eyes, the sun was rising, and the whole
+place was bright with the light of daybreak.
+
+He cast his eyes to his chest, to his feet; thank God! not a sign of a
+rat. Moreover, the feeling of numbness and pain had left him.
+
+He began to wonder whether it had all been a fearful dream.
+
+And then something happened which startled him. A fly alighted on his
+face.
+
+Involuntarily he started to brush it away with his hand. And the hand
+brushed it away!
+
+It was not till he had so used his hand that he realized that that
+member was free. Then he could not understand.
+
+He lay there quite still with the hand poised in the air--his own hand
+free. He looked at his wrist, and there were the red marks where the
+rope had been. He could not understand it.
+
+Gently he tried to move his left hand--and succeeded. Lifted it till it
+grasped the blade of the wheel to his left.
+
+Still he lay quiet, unable to realize that his hands were free--and what
+that meant.
+
+But it did not take long for the full meaning to burst on him, and when
+it did, he lost no time.
+
+A moment after he was in a sitting position, and had wrenched the
+handkerchief from his aching, parched mouth.
+
+The sitting position pained him intensely for a few moments, after his
+long recumbent attitude, and he rested for the pain to go off.
+
+He heard a noise, and, looking down over the wheel, saw cattle on the
+brink of the rivulet--cattle endeavoring to bury their noses in the cool
+water.
+
+The sight gave him fresh life; he must reach that water and drink, and
+drink, and drink.
+
+He essayed to move his legs--he could. He was quite free. Just cramped,
+that was all.
+
+What could it mean? How had his liberation been effected?
+
+He looked around, and there was not a trace of the ropes which had bound
+him.
+
+Yet stay, what was that upon which he was sitting? He put his hands
+beneath him, and withdrew a piece of rope--a piece of greasy rope.
+
+He examined it carefully. It was a piece that had been entirely covered
+by his body. He examined the ends, and the marks thereon told him all.
+
+The rats which had caused him such horror had been his salvation.
+Attracted by the fat sodden rope, they had gnawed it and gnawed it all
+the while he was lying unconscious.
+
+And now--thank God--he was free at last.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+SUSAN TODD SEES A GHOST
+
+
+That water--that delicious water! Would he ever forget that drink?
+
+It was some little while before he was able to climb off the mill wheel,
+and he staggered, too, when he reached the ground.
+
+Prone on his chest, he buried his mouth and nose in the little stream,
+and sucked up the water. Never had he tasted sweeter.
+
+He looked across the fields. Away in the distance he could see in the
+clearness of the early morning the windows of the farmhouse with the
+blinds drawn.
+
+Half way between himself and the house were the milking sheds.
+
+He walked towards them. He could see the cows beginning to gather there,
+ready for the relief of the early milking.
+
+He stood sorely in need of food--a draft of milk would be as good as a
+meal.
+
+At first walking was hard work. His late cramped position told.
+
+But each step he took, the pain seemed to wear away more and more. He
+reached the sheds, had no difficulty in finding a pail, and was
+presently gratefully drinking the warm milk. It made a man of him.
+
+It was still early. Susan, he knew, was the first to be up in the
+household.
+
+If he went to the farm now he would come face to face with the woman who
+had tried to murder him.
+
+That he determined to do. He was consumed with a feverish anxiety to
+know why he had been sentenced to death.
+
+At the same time, strong as he felt now, and prepared for assault, he
+would take precautions.
+
+He looked around for something wherewith to arm himself. An ax hung by a
+cord from the wall of the shed. He took it and walked towards the farm.
+
+He knew that Susan would come down and make straight for her kitchen;
+that the first thing she would do would be to open wide the door leading
+to the garden.
+
+In that garden he would stand. He was curious to see how she would view
+him. He would stand there and wait--with the ax behind him in case of
+accidents.
+
+He did so. Waited a long while. Then he heard the sounds of her
+footsteps clattering over the hard kitchen floor; the shooting of the
+top bolt, then the bottom one, the rattle of fingers on the catch, and
+then the door opened.
+
+He saw the woman--she saw him. The color left her face, she went livid,
+she threw up her arms, screamed and fell senseless to the floor,
+muttering:
+
+"A ghost! A ghost!"
+
+Gerald entered the kitchen. The scream had alarmed the people in the
+house; he could hear them hurriedly moving about up-stairs.
+
+He bent over the unconscious woman. She had struck her head in falling,
+and it was bleeding slightly.
+
+It would be untrue to record any feeling of pity on Gerald's part. He
+rather grimly recognized a coincidence.
+
+They both had head wounds. She had let something fall on his, now she
+had fallen on her own.
+
+"What's this? What--you Gerald! Where have you been? What does this
+mean?"
+
+It was farmer Depew talking.
+
+"This woman's mad."
+
+"Mad! What on earth do you mean?"
+
+"You will scarcely believe me when I tell you. But the woman is in a
+faint now. Let us----"
+
+"You leave her to Harper there. Harper, throw some cold water over her.
+And now you, Mr. Danvers, just throw some light on these fixings, will
+you? Where have you passed the night?"
+
+"Bound hand and foot to the old mill wheel!"
+
+"See here--you said she was mad, I shall begin to think----"
+
+"Hear me out--you won't then. I have been nearer death's door than I
+shall ever be again without entering. Death must keep his hinges well
+oiled," he added grimly, "or I should have heard them creaking."
+
+"What--how did it happen?"
+
+"I went into the mill yesterday afternoon, just before four o'clock.
+This young lady"--he indicated Susan with his foot--"was there before
+me. She had climbed aloft with something heavy. What it was she dropped
+on my head I don't know, but I know it struck me at the time as being
+heavy."
+
+"Curious thing to joke about!"
+
+"If you felt as light-hearted as I do, farmer, you would want to skip
+and dance. It was no joking matter at the time, I can tell you."
+
+"Go on."
+
+"The blow rendered me insensible. When I came to myself I found that my
+lady here had dragged me on to the wheel, and tied me to it, bound hand
+and foot, and gagged."
+
+"Good God!"
+
+"Fact. Look at my wrists. There are the marks, you see, yet. She had
+evidently thrown pails of water over me, I suppose to bring me to, for I
+was drenched from head to foot."
+
+"Go on."
+
+"It evidently did bring me to, for I found myself looking her in the
+face. She spoke. Told me what she intended to do with me."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Leave me there without food or drink till the rain came and made the
+stream powerful enough to revolve the wheel, and let me be whirled to
+glory."
+
+"Is--it possible?"
+
+"I don't know. I didn't wait to see."
+
+"Well, you certainly take it light-heartedly----"
+
+"I didn't at the time. I was the most heavy-hearted man in this country.
+But it is over, and the reaction is immense."
+
+"Did she not give her reason for this behavior?"
+
+"Well--she seemed to think that I had killed her husband, and that it
+was her duty to lay me out in consequence."
+
+"Killed her husband?"
+
+"That's what she said--killed him on a boat."
+
+"On a boat? What does she mean? Has she been thinking about the murder
+on the liner you came over by? She may have heard you talking about it."
+
+"I never thought of that! She said, 'Your life for that of the man you
+killed on the ship.' Had that man anything to do with her husband?"
+
+"Don't know. Wait till she comes round, we will see. She's moving a bit
+now."
+
+The woman did move. Opened her eyes, and then seemed to remember how she
+came on the floor.
+
+She started into a sitting position, and her eyes fell on Gerald. Once
+more she screamed out:
+
+"A ghost! A ghost! A ghost!"
+
+Then she fell back in a burst of frenzied hysterical laughter, and
+despite the fact that two men held her down, the tattoo made by the
+tapping of her feet could be heard all over the building.
+
+Ultimately, she was carried up to her room, quieted, and with the
+assistance of the farmer's wife and daughter undressed and put to bed.
+
+Danvers was rather struck by the change in positions. He had been afraid
+for his life of her, now she was afraid of him.
+
+It caused him to hang up the ax. He felt he would be able to get along
+without it now.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+A SICK BED CONFESSION
+
+
+One of the men built the fire, and assistance with the crockery by
+others meant breakfast being served ultimately.
+
+Gerald had an appetite which some of the farm hands paused to view with
+a kind of envy. In the rare intervals of the meal, when his mouth was
+not too full, he told the farmer the rest of the story.
+
+Susan came out of her fit, but it left her lying there as weak as a rat.
+
+It was explained to her that Gerald was really alive, and then she
+relapsed into sullen silence--she guessed that the sheriff or his men
+would be the next to interview her.
+
+Later in the day the farmer and Gerald went up to her room.
+
+Danvers was so buoyant over his release, so assured that the woman had a
+grievance, and above all so curious to get to the bottom of the affair,
+that he greeted her with a smile on his lips, and no visible anger.
+
+She answered him never a word.
+
+He sat on the bedside, and addressed her at some length, while the
+farmer seated himself near the head of the bed.
+
+"Susan, those born to be hanged can't be drowned, you know; so I am
+here. There's no need to bother you by telling you how I escaped--I'm
+here. That's good enough. Now, what I want to know is what the dickens
+made you put me on the wheel."
+
+Sullen silence.
+
+"Don't think I feel more than necessarily angry over it, because I
+don't. I know perfectly well that you, in your own mind, thought you had
+a good reason, or you would not have done it. What was it?"
+
+Sullen silence.
+
+"You said I had murdered your husband. I have never seen him, never even
+heard his name, and never hurt, killed, or wounded any man, woman, or
+child in the whole course of my life."
+
+She turned her head and looked at him.
+
+"Yes," he said smilingly, "I can look you straight in the face, Susan.
+And I should be scarcely likely to do that, should I, if I had killed
+your husband?"
+
+Still she looked at him.
+
+"On the steamer in which I crossed the Atlantic there certainly was a
+man found dead. But whether murdered or suicide, or what his name was, I
+don't know. Was that your husband, or was the other man?--who, no doubt
+had been murdered, judging by the way his body was found."
+
+That made her open her lips. She was startled into a speech. She said:
+
+"Other man?"
+
+"Yes; there were two bodies found in the one cabin."
+
+"I only saw one."
+
+That brought the farmer to his feet. He said:
+
+"You saw? How on earth could you see?"
+
+But the woman, annoyed at having been betrayed into speech, was silent.
+
+Gerald spoke again.
+
+"Susan, don't be a fool. If your husband is dead, I did not kill him.
+Your common sense ought to tell you that. But if he is dead, you ought
+to know how, and by what means.
+
+"I never saw either of the passengers who were found dead, and do not
+know their names--if I ever heard them. But it is surely a duty for you
+to find out the true story. Dead men tell no tales, but live ones do.
+
+"Find out the truth. Come, let me help you. I bear you no malice--not a
+scrap. Tell me all about it--tell me."
+
+She spoke at last.
+
+"I don't trust you."
+
+"I see that, Susan," he answered cheerfully; "and it is that distrust I
+want to wipe away. Why, do you know, over in England, I was in the
+office of a private detective agency, and there is no knowing how I
+might be able to help you."
+
+Again she said:
+
+"I don't trust you."
+
+"I know. But why? You have got in your mind some reason for this
+distrust. It's a wrong reason, absolutely wrong, Susan. Anyway, tell me
+what causes you to suspect me, and see if it cannot be explained away."
+
+"You are wearing my dear husband's clothes."
+
+"What!"
+
+He sprang to his feet in such genuine amazement, that even Susan's
+belief in his guilt was shaken.
+
+"Your husband's clothes!" he blurted out; "why, I bought this suit the
+very week I left England at Samuels', on Ludgate Hill."
+
+"I meant your underclothes," she said shortly.
+
+"Underclothes!" he answered. "Those I certainly did not buy. Friends got
+the outfit for me. It came on board in my portmanteau, save those
+things I wore on board. How on earth you can suppose that I am wearing
+another man's clothes, I can't think."
+
+"All the same, you have been wearing my husband's shirt."
+
+"Your husband who was on the boat? Stay, though. A light breaks in on
+me. I changed on board. I got wet through in jumping overboard after a
+child. I sent one of the men to the hold for my portmanteau. What is
+your husband's name?"
+
+The woman did not answer--the farmer did:
+
+"Josh Todd."
+
+"That's not it, then," said Danvers. "That is not the explanation. No
+sailor would be such an ass as to make a mistake like that. I told him
+to go to a long, brown portmanteau with the initials 'G. D.' on."
+
+"My initials," said the farmer.
+
+"So they are," said Danvers. "I did not notice it. But that does not
+affect the matter. No sailor would be fool enough when I told him to go
+to a bag labeled 'G. D.' to go to one bearing the initials 'J. T.' That
+throws no light on the thing."
+
+The woman turned uneasily on her bed. Danvers spoke again, earnestly
+now.
+
+"Susan, tell us everything. You have some knowledge. You know
+something. I can see you do. What is it? Lying here you will never find
+the man who murdered your husband, and you seem sure that he is dead."
+
+"Or he would have written me; I know it, I know it, I know it."
+
+"Yes, yes, I understand. You think he was on the steamer?"
+
+"I did. Then I didn't. I do now."
+
+"Why now?"
+
+"Because when I was there I heard nothing of two bodies."
+
+"Why were you there?"
+
+"I went to meet my husband."
+
+"He was on the boat, then?"
+
+"He cabled me from England that he was coming by it."
+
+"England?"
+
+"Yes; he has been over there."
+
+"You say you saw one body on the boat?"
+
+"Yes; the boat people showed it me, then I fainted from relief that it
+was not my husband."
+
+"Did they not tell you of the other?"
+
+"No, I did not wait. I came away, back home here as quickly as
+possible."
+
+"And," interposed the farmer, "that is all she would know. We are right
+off the map here. There is no one to carry the news. Some weeks we get
+a N'York paper, other weeks we don't, and I question if Susan ever
+picked one up."
+
+"Tell me," she said, "the description of the other dead man."
+
+"I can't, Susan, for I don't know it. I certainly, as a matter of
+curiosity, read it, but I don't remember."
+
+His humanity made him abstain from telling her how the second body was
+found. He said:
+
+"We can find all that out for you, Susan. Just trust us fully. It is
+right you should know, and you shall. Do you believe you can trust me?"
+
+"Now--yes, I do."
+
+"Why the change?"
+
+"Because I can understand your wearing my husband's shirt now."
+
+"You can?"
+
+"Yes, in the change on the boat."
+
+"No; I told you that my bag was marked 'G. D.'--your husband's was not."
+
+"Yes--it was!"
+
+"What!"
+
+"I had better make a full confession, and tell you everything. It is the
+better way."
+
+She was going to do so. It was no longer a case of rebellious Susan.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+A WIFE FOR REWARD
+
+
+"That time you asked for a day's holiday," said the farmer, "was when
+you went to meet the boat, I suppose?"
+
+"Yes. It is a hard thing to say of your husband, farmer, but there is no
+help for it now, if I am to tell all. My husband robbed you."
+
+"Robbed me!"
+
+"Yes. Of nineteen thousand pounds."
+
+The farmer did not speak. He simply looked at the woman.
+
+The story of the tying to the mill wheel had roused his suspicions as to
+her sanity--this last speech convinced him.
+
+Nineteen thousand pounds! He had never in his life possessed such a sum
+or anything like it.
+
+The little nest egg he added to year by year for those he might leave
+behind him did not count a nineteenth part of that sum.
+
+Nineteen thousand pounds! He smiled.
+
+"You think I am mad?" queried the woman, reading it in his face. "I am
+not. You had an aunt named Depew living in England?"
+
+The farmer started. The smile left his face. He said:
+
+"How do you know that?"
+
+"Through Josh. She is dead. She died worth a lot of property--nineteen
+thousand pounds."
+
+The farmer looked in amazement; he was too astonished to speak.
+
+The woman continued:
+
+"Josh used to open all your letters. One day one came from an English
+lawyer to say your aunt was dead, and had left you all her money."
+
+The farmer gasped. The woman continued:
+
+"The idea occurred to Josh to take your place."
+
+"Take my place!"
+
+"Yes. He did. He went over to England in your name. Said he was you.
+Took documents to prove it. He got the money and cabled me that he was
+coming back on the boat you came by."
+
+She looked at Danvers as she finished speaking, and he said suddenly:
+
+"Now, I see. On his portmanteau there would be the initials 'G. D.' for
+George Depew."
+
+"Yes. They were painted on before he left New York. He thought of
+that."
+
+"Well," said Gerald thoughtfully, "it is the most extraordinary
+coincidence----"
+
+"Coincidence be damned," interposed the farmer; "where's my nineteen
+thousand pounds?"
+
+He had got rid of the theory of insanity now. Had almost lost sight of
+the idea of Josh's supposed murder.
+
+His own loss was predominant.
+
+"My man has been robbed of it, I expect," said the woman; "that would be
+why he was murdered. Some one must have known he had the money, and
+killed him for it."
+
+"Have you the cable your husband sent you?" inquired Gerald.
+
+"Yes, and a letter, too. Open that top drawer and you'll see them
+between the leaves of the Bible under my handkerchiefs."
+
+Gerald opened the drawer and found the documents. He read them both.
+
+The letter commencing "Dear old Girl," and ending "Your loving husband,
+Josh," told the story.
+
+Gerald was by no means a fool, and he read between the lines of that
+letter--read the character of the writer; the rejoicing in the success
+of his villainy; the rogue meets rogue clause; the aching tooth and the
+fear of pain at the dentist's.
+
+Indeed, it did not require a very shrewd brain to read between the
+lines of that letter, and understand the nature of the man who penned
+it.
+
+"Your knowledge ends there, Susan?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"May I take these letters? They may prove a clue."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Will you accept my assurance that I will do all possible to have this
+matter out, and clear it up satisfactorily?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Very well, then; for the present, good-bye. Next time I see you I may
+have something to report."
+
+The two men left the room. Gerald seemed a changed man.
+
+His ability to look after other people's affairs in better fashion than
+his own has been mentioned. He proposed looking after the present
+business.
+
+"Farmer," he said, "you believe all you have just heard?"
+
+"Of course, and a damned nice----"
+
+"Let me take this matter in hand for you."
+
+"For me?"
+
+"Yes. There's nineteen thousand pounds hanging to it."
+
+"Stolen, if Susan's story is right."
+
+"Let me trace the money."
+
+"You?"
+
+"Yes. I was in a private detective's agency once, and I know how to set
+about an affair of this sort."
+
+"What would you do?"
+
+"Get to New York, ascertain all about the man who figured in your name.
+Get identification. See if the man who was 'packed' was Josh Todd."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then ascertain how he shipped. Go across the Atlantic, and find out who
+paid him the money, and how."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"It is not likely that any man would take nineteen thousand pounds in
+gold--it would be too weighty."
+
+"No."
+
+"If he took notes, the numbers are traceable."
+
+"True."
+
+"It is worth inquiring into. Being a murder case, the police will give
+every assistance. What do you say?"
+
+"I don't believe in throwing good money after bad. I fancy that money,
+if it has been stolen, will never be seen again."
+
+"And I think you are wrong. Fifty pounds wouldn't affect you. Spend
+that. Let me have it for passage over, and necessary expenses. It is not
+a great sum even if it is lost. It's a small stake to try to get
+nineteen thousand pounds with."
+
+"M' yes."
+
+"It shall not cost you more. There's much in that letter Todd wrote to
+Susan. It bristles with clues if they can only be followed. I believe I
+can follow them."
+
+"You seem confident."
+
+"Because I know what I am talking about. What do you say?"
+
+"I'll go to the fifty pounds--but, mind, not a cent more. I am not a
+wealthy man, and fifty pounds is fifty pounds to me."
+
+"I know that. By the same rule, nineteen thousand pounds would be
+acceptable."
+
+"Acceptable! When I think of that villain Josh, I----"
+
+"Don't get excited. Does no good. Just tell me all about your aunt who
+left you this money."
+
+"I have not seen her for years. I was with her when a little boy. I
+think I am the only relation she had."
+
+"Well, I can soon trace out the property, the name of her lawyers, and
+what her property was."
+
+"You can?"
+
+"Certainly. The will's been proved. I go to Somerset House and pay a
+search fee; reading the will over does the rest."
+
+"I see."
+
+"Now, give me a check on the Oakville branch of the New York Central
+Bank, and let me get to work at once."
+
+"How about your own payment?"
+
+"I don't ask for any now. Wait till I find the money. Payment shall be
+based on result."
+
+"What is the payment to be?"
+
+"Not money."
+
+"Not money!"
+
+"No. If I am successful--the hand of your daughter, Tessie."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+GERALD PUTS HIS NOSE TO THE TRAIL
+
+
+The intelligence of Gerald Danvers has been remarked on.
+
+He had a long interview with Tessie, and told her that her father had
+engaged him to do certain work, in which, if successful, his reward was
+her engagement to himself. Which was true.
+
+What the work was he did not say. The farmer, after giving his promise,
+was rather ashamed of having done so, and bound Danvers down to secrecy
+on the subject of his mission.
+
+He did not want his wife to laugh at him for throwing fifty pounds away.
+A wife's mirth under such circumstances is irritating. It is not a thing
+easy to get away from.
+
+Gerald cashed his fifty pound check, and, arrived in New York, sat down
+and thought.
+
+It was clear to him that Josh Todd--if he were one of the murdered
+men--could not have had about him any writing to lead to identification
+with the man whose name he had assumed; because no shadow of an inquiry
+had been made at the farm.
+
+The latter was some way from Oakville, and Oakville was a long way from
+New York. So although the papers after the time that the news reached
+them were full of the name of Depew, taken from the passenger list, not
+a copy of any journal had found its way to the farm.
+
+That made Gerald ponder.
+
+Was it wise in going to the New York police at all? He knew that a
+murderer had escaped at Queenstown--it had been common talk on the
+ship--and that the murder was done in English waters.
+
+Why then wake up the American police by giving them identification clues
+to Josh, and so possibly foul a trail in England?
+
+It was just possible that the murderer was lulled to an idea of security
+by the absence of discovery. That would make his own work easier.
+
+The news in the American papers would be copied by the English press,
+and Gerald's first work was to secure copies of the _New York Herald_
+and _World_ daily editions dating from the day of the arrival of the
+ship.
+
+He perused these papers with all their sensational hydra headed columns,
+from first to last.
+
+Nothing had been discovered more than he knew. Not the faintest trace of
+the identity of the man in the portmanteau could be found.
+
+It was known that two berths had been booked in the name of Depew, but
+who Depew was or where he had lived was still unascertained.
+
+The man who had been found lying dead in his berth had been
+photographed, and the picture was sent to England for the inspection of
+the passenger agent where the berth had been booked.
+
+He in no way recognized it--had never seen the face! That had deepened
+the mystery.
+
+It was plain that the New York police knew nothing.
+
+Gerald felt that no good purpose would be served by enlightening them,
+and that the sooner he got to England, the sooner he would be getting at
+the root of the matter.
+
+The newspapers gave portraits reproduced by the half tone process from
+the photograph taken, and Gerald cut one of these out and pasted it on a
+card.
+
+It went with him to England. He went there himself by the next outgoing
+steamer.
+
+A photograph of only one of the dead men had been taken--for reasons
+which will be readily understood. That photograph in no way resembled
+Josh Todd.
+
+Gerald knew that, because he had brought away from the farm a
+daguerreotype of the missing man. Comparison showed its unlikeness to
+the picture of the man with the cut throat.
+
+By personating a man with a missing friend--thereby receiving
+information and giving none--he obtained from the police a description
+of the head of the man found in the portmanteau.
+
+He told the police that it in no way resembled the person for whom he
+was looking. All the same he was convinced it was Josh.
+
+Josh packed dead in England and despatched to America, meant that the
+packers were in Europe with the nineteen thousand pounds.
+
+Danvers was keen on getting that money. The steamer on which the murder
+had been committed bore him in the direction of it.
+
+He was keen on it, because it meant the possession of Tessie. He wanted
+her badly.
+
+On board the boat he learned everything there was to be learned.
+
+He checked the evidence of the boat people as it had appeared in the
+papers by what they said now.
+
+From Liverpool to London. There he rented a cheap room.
+
+He did not communicate with his own friends in any way, but put his nose
+to the trail.
+
+His first visit was to Somerset House. He paid a fee, and read the will
+of Aunt Depew.
+
+From it he learned that the farmer was the sole legatee, and that Lawyer
+Loide was sole executor. The property left was described--certain east
+end houses.
+
+Should he go straight to the lawyer? No, he would go down and see the
+houses first.
+
+He did. Knocked at the doors and asked who, before the sale of the
+property, had managed it.
+
+"Lawyer Loide," was the answer.
+
+Managed the property, and was sole executor.
+
+Danvers chewed that over. The end was juicy.
+
+He wanted to see Loide--before Loide saw him. He believed in surprises,
+and he liked to be the surprise party.
+
+He went to Liverpool Street where the lawyer's offices were.
+Interviewed, and subsequently had a drink with the janitor there. From
+him obtained a description of Loide.
+
+Loide was no believer in Christmas boxes or tips of any description--how
+great events from little causes spring!
+
+The janitor did not reverence the lawyer for this want of belief. He was
+willing to say anything against him he could.
+
+Told Danvers--over the third glass--that he had never been in arrears
+with his rent before, that he had discharged his two clerks, and had
+only a junior working for him now, and that even he was under notice to
+leave.
+
+They parted. Danvers went home and wrote a letter to Loide. It ran:
+
+     DEAR SIR:
+
+     I happened to hear that your clerk is leaving you. At the
+     end of the year I am going to Germany to join (as junior
+     partner) a commercial house, where a knowledge of the
+     rudiments of English commercial law may be of much use to
+     me. May I offer my services as your clerk?
+
+     You can see I write well, and am quick at figures, and
+     willing to make myself useful. Of course I shall not expect
+     any salary.
+
+  Yours truly,
+  G. DANVERS.
+
+"If he is hard up," muttered the writer, "that last line may appeal to
+him. It may come off: it may not. If it does, a week will enable me to
+turn the place inside out for any clue there may be. Was the nineteen
+thousand pounds ever handed Josh Todd?"
+
+Therein lay the reason for the course Danvers was taking. It seemed to
+him a reasonable solution of the matter.
+
+Instead of handing Todd the money, the lawyer had killed him, bribed
+another man to help him, and to divert suspicion, had sent that man
+with Todd's body on the ship for America, telling him to return and
+share the spoil.
+
+But before the ship left English waters, Loide had managed to kill his
+accomplice, and so, as he thought, destroy all trace of his crime.
+
+But, thought the pursuer, he has Gerald Danvers to deal with!
+
+Gerald said this to himself, with a note of exclamation at the end of
+it. Most of us have a trace of melodrama in our natures. Gerald was not
+without it.
+
+He had a description of the perky, red haired, rough voiced, flashily
+dressed man who had left the boat at Queenstown, and he quite reckoned
+that when he saw Lawyer Loide he would--mentally--exclaim, "Thou art the
+man!"
+
+With that melodramatic trait aforesaid, he no doubt would.
+
+If he found it so, he would not betray the faintest sign of his
+knowledge. He must work quietly, and give his man no pretext for flight.
+
+He must find where that nineteen thousand pounds was deposited, and draw
+the meshes of his net so closely around that the bird could not
+escape--anyway, with the money.
+
+As a matter of fact, Gerald was more concerned about the money than the
+murder. Because it concerned Tessie more closely.
+
+Moreover, it was but human to expect that a nineteen thousand pound
+father-in-law would be generous in the way of wedding presents.
+
+He guessed that the housekeeper's story of Loide's poverty was a piece
+of acting on Loide's part to divert suspicion.
+
+Perhaps the discharge of the clerks meant only the gradual winding up of
+his business, and that presently he would sail away to another land.
+Danvers felt cold at the fear of this. If it were true, there was not
+the faintest chance of a reply to his application for a situation. His
+letter could only appeal to a poor man.
+
+And while he was thinking this again the next morning, an answer came.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+INSIDE THE LAWYER'S OFFICE
+
+
+Gerald opened the letter. The flap of the envelope bore the embossed
+name and address of the lawyer. The contents read:
+
+     I shall be pleased to see you if you will give me a call
+     to-morrow between ten and eleven o'clock, with reference to
+     your letter of yesterday's date.
+
+Gerald was pleased too. He just chuckled with glee. He did not fear
+obtaining the situation. And then the smile left his face.
+
+His theory that the lawyer had the nineteen thousand pounds had received
+rather a rude shock. A man with that money would not trouble about the
+mere saving of a clerk's salary.
+
+Anyway, he thought he would be in touch with the man who last dealt with
+Josh Todd.
+
+In Todd's letter to his wife, he had spoken of Loide as a "cute thief."
+Was there anything in that?
+
+There would be the letter books and office papers open to him. If he was
+unable to get an answer to that question, surely it would be his own
+fault.
+
+He was in Liverpool Street between ten and eleven o'clock next morning.
+Saw the lawyer and settled with him.
+
+He was to begin his duties on Monday--three days after. The lawyer was
+satisfied with his appearance, and did not ask for references.
+
+He could not very well do so, as the man was giving him his services.
+Moreover, things were fitting so tightly with Mr. Loide that anything a
+clerk could filch would not be worth looking at.
+
+When a man's income is suddenly reduced it hurts. Hurts badly.
+
+Loide was experiencing that. At present his little luxuries were knocked
+off, and in the future he foresaw a difficulty in the procuration of
+even necessaries.
+
+He had been wont to take home from the city fish shop a middle cut of
+salmon. Now he took the--perhaps as toothsome but certainly
+cheaper--fresh herring.
+
+As with the fish, so with all things. His economy was of the studied
+kind. It had to be.
+
+The cutting off of the twenty pounds a week did not unfortunately mean
+that sum only. Money breeds money, and Mr. Loide was an excellent
+breeder--sixty pet cent. breed.
+
+He liked to lend a man a five or ten pound note for a week, and charge
+him one or two guineas for the loan. If you work that out you will find
+it quite a big percentage.
+
+Mr. Loide did not need to do so. He knew. He had done it so often. It
+was a big source of revenue to him.
+
+Indeed money lending was the profitable part of his business. He had
+found it so much so, that he had neglected the more legitimate but less
+profitable legal work.
+
+The result was that that had slowly filtered away. It had not mattered a
+bit so long as the thousand pounds a year was coming in. In the course
+of the year his interest enabled him to double it.
+
+So it will be seen that honesty--strictly speaking--if the best was
+certainly not the most profitable policy with Mr. Loide.
+
+Wipe that nearly forty pounds a week away from his income, and--well,
+wipe the naught off the forty, and you get at about what his legal work
+brought him in now.
+
+Four pounds a week is not colossal wealth. It comes very, very hard on a
+man to have to live on it who has been living on ten times as much.
+
+Loide found it so. Cold, flinty, bed rock bottom hardness.
+
+On Monday morning Gerald took his first step on the trail, and his seat
+in Loide's office.
+
+There was not much work to do. Gerald saw that at a glance.
+
+There was no acting about the matter. His employer was poor. What did it
+mean?
+
+Round the walls of the outer office were black tin boxes, with--real and
+imaginary--names of clients printed on the flap doors thereof in white
+letters.
+
+You turned the key and the flap fell down, enabling you to get at the
+contents. One in particular had a great charm for the new clerk. He
+fixed his eyes on it with an eager I-wonder-what's-inside-you sort of
+glance.
+
+It bore the name of Depew.
+
+The locks were poor things. Evidenced by the fact that one key on the
+bunch seemed to open them all.
+
+Loide kept the bunch in his trousers pocket. If he wanted a paper from a
+particular box, he would ring his bell, give the keys and ask for the
+paper to be brought to him.
+
+That seemed to take the pebbles out of Gerald's part--smoothed his
+course a trifle.
+
+Why? Because he knew it would enable him to examine the Depew papers.
+
+The next time he was asked to get a paper, he first opened the Depew
+flap, and closed it again without turning the key.
+
+He kept the flap in position by a small wedge of paper. It was handy
+that way.
+
+Mr. Loide would go to lunch at one o'clock, and Gerald proposed devoting
+that hour to an examination of the Depew papers.
+
+He was not the kind of young man to let the grass grow to any extreme
+length under his feet.
+
+"If you are learning, you should commence at the beginning. Mount the
+ladder from the lowest rung, and you will know then what the work is
+like."
+
+So spake the lawyer to Gerald. It was in connection with the letter
+book.
+
+The indexing of it was in arrear, and Gerald's business was to bring
+that index up to date.
+
+The lawyer showed him how. He had a system of his own, had Loide. In
+addition to the name of the sender of the letter, the letter itself was
+indexed under the name of the action or matter.
+
+It was a good way, because when Loide made out his bills of costs, he
+did not miss a single letter he could charge for.
+
+There was perhaps no man in the City of London who could make out a
+better bill of costs than Loide.
+
+There were rivals in his profession who said that if you blew your nose
+in his office, he clapped down six and eightpence, while if you wiped
+your feet on his door-mat, it meant three and six.
+
+But then rivals will say anything, won't they? And again, if there is
+any reputation for truthfulness in the legal profession, it is not a
+world-wide one.
+
+Its patron saint is the father of lies.
+
+So it was that, with the letter book in his hand, at his own desk,
+Gerald turned up in the index "Depew."
+
+There were two entries; one he found applied to a letter sent to Depew
+in America, which had brought him over, and the other to a series of
+letters connected with the winding up of the affair.
+
+The letter to Depew he read, and was not a whit the wiser. Then he took
+on a perusal of the others.
+
+He started at the last, and proposed to work his way back.
+
+He was surprised to find the last letter of so recent a date. And when
+he saw it was to the governor of the Bank of England, and read in it
+that Loide was stopping the numbers of the notes for nineteen thousand
+pounds, he stopped himself.
+
+Stopped right there and did nothing but look out of the window
+blankly--he was so unutterably amazed.
+
+That he had struck a tangled web he knew quite well. That when he was in
+the lawyer's office he was in the meshes of that web, he guessed.
+
+But he had not expected the spider to give him such a facer as this. He
+knew--knew most certainly now that Loide did not possess the missing
+money.
+
+He was depressed, his heart sank a bit, he had been so sure--so sure.
+Chicken counting before hatchment is a poor game anyway. Gerald indorsed
+that.
+
+When lunch time came, he did not even open the tin box with "Depew" on
+it. It had ceased to interest him.
+
+He knew it would not help him along a bit. He sat there all the time
+thinking.
+
+His theory of Todd's disappearance shaped differently now.
+
+He somehow felt convinced that the lawyer had had a hand in the man's
+murder, and he tried to piece things together so that he could account
+for the notes being missing.
+
+His short acquaintance with the lawyer did not favor the idea that he
+was a man to lose things.
+
+Then ideas came to him. He thought he had struck the solution.
+
+There had been a quarrel about the division of the spoil--the nineteen
+thousand pounds--between Loide and the man who was lying with his
+throat cut on the boat. Or Loide had perhaps murdered him for possession
+of the whole sum.
+
+He had been disappointed to find that his victim had not the notes in
+his possession, had probably given them to a friend in London to mind
+till his return from America.
+
+The moment Loide got back to London he would stop the notes.
+
+He tallied the date of the murder and the date of the letter to the
+bank. They fitted his idea.
+
+Gerald was aware that where there had been a mere hill, there was a
+mountain for him to climb now; but he was not dismayed. There was Tessie
+for certain, and a possible _dot_ on the top of that mountain. Its
+summit was worth reaching.
+
+He meant getting there--he was full up to the brim with excelsior.
+
+He was debating now whether he should keep up the farce of clerkship any
+longer, or blossom forth--for surprise purposes--as a New York
+detective, and see what he could frighten out of Loide.
+
+Then he determined to wait a little longer, till he had seen the
+passenger agent at Eldon Street.
+
+That individual had been away ill, and would be at the office, it was
+thought, to-morrow or the day after. Gerald decided to wait till then.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S ART AND ARTFULNESS
+
+
+When the lawyer came back from lunch, the new clerk went out to his.
+
+His meal consisted--apart from a sandwich and glass of beer--of the
+absorption of the contents of a catalogue of photographic materials.
+
+He spent the greater part of his dinner hour on the second floor at
+Benetfink's in Cheapside. That firm's photographic department is there.
+
+He was purchasing a small snapshot hand camera, and the difficulty he
+had was in getting one which went off at short range.
+
+He wanted to photograph a picture at about two yards' distance. He
+succeeded finally in procuring what he wanted.
+
+Gerald knew nothing of photography, and the assistant very kindly
+"loaded" his camera for him.
+
+There is a dark room on the premises kept for the convenience of
+customers, and a few moments later, Gerald emerged--armed with the
+loaded camera.
+
+When he returned to the office, Mr. Loide went out to keep an
+appointment at the West End of London. That left the floor free for
+Gerald.
+
+He went into his employer's room, and stood opposite the fireplace. With
+the "view finder" on his camera, he brought the mantel within focus.
+
+He did that because hanging above the mantel was an oil painting of the
+lawyer.
+
+There was a little tablet let into the frame of the painting inscribed,
+"From a grateful client."
+
+Gerald rather wondered whether the artist--the client filled with
+gratitude--could have been quite sane; but his business just then was
+with the painting--not the painter.
+
+He had described the room to Benetfink's assistant, the light it faced,
+and so on; and had been told to pull down the lever, count seventy-five
+seconds by his watch, and then let go.
+
+These instructions he carried out.
+
+First he measured off two yards, and piling up tin boxes till he got the
+level he required, he snapped his first photograph for seventy-five
+seconds' exposure.
+
+He used all six plates, varying the distance of his tin boxes support an
+inch each time, to insure focus.
+
+Then he packed up his camera, replaced the tin boxes, and waited till
+closing time.
+
+He left the office at half-past five, mounted a tram-car in the City
+Road, and with his camera in a hand bag made for the regions of the
+Euston Road.
+
+For some reason the Euston Road is famous for the number of its
+photographers--the lower class of that art.
+
+The double description is used as it is a calling full of artfulness and
+craft. The this-style-in-a-frame-for-a-shilling sort seem to look on it
+as a happy hunting ground.
+
+The tout outside produces samples of the photographic art--created
+perhaps a dozen miles away--and lies with the freedom of a cyclometer.
+
+Night makes but little difference to these artists. They have an
+arrangement of what the outside man calls "magnesia," which he will
+assure you "results in as good a picter as if tiken in the brord
+dielight."
+
+Gerald entered one of these art studios. He found the man inside quite
+as full of art as the outside one.
+
+When Gerald stated his business and needs, the man shook his head, and
+spoke of terms which made Gerald put the camera back in his bag.
+
+The art of the photographer fell before that act, and his artfulness
+came into play--it looked like money walking away.
+
+When Gerald spoke of trying another photographer, the studio man thought
+he could manage it--became sure of it, and a bargain was struck.
+
+Benetfink's man had told Gerald something. Told him that after
+development, the negative could have a bath of spirits of wine, and be
+dry enough to print from in ten minutes.
+
+He had also sold Gerald a packet of special printing paper, which could
+easily be printed on by the light from an ordinary gas jet.
+
+Ultimately--things were a trifle tight in the neighborhood of Euston
+Road; to servant girls and their military admirers photography seemed to
+have lost its charm--the photographer agreed to develop the six plates,
+and print one copy of each for six and sixpence.
+
+Four of the plates turned out failures in the developing dish; the other
+two were all right. When, later on, the printing paper came out of the
+little printing frames, Gerald was quite satisfied.
+
+He cheerfully paid the six and sixpence, and walked away with two
+unmistakable pictures of Loide, the lawyer, in an envelope in his
+pocket.
+
+The next morning he went to Eldon Street before going to his office, and
+was cheered to hear that the steamboat agent was much better, and was
+coming to business that morning.
+
+Gerald asked if he would be in between two and three o'clock, and was
+answered affirmatively.
+
+So it came about that in his dinner hour he walked round to the agent's.
+The agent was in.
+
+"I have come to see you about the Europia murder case."
+
+"Have you?" replied the agent, somewhat wearily; "and what particular
+line is yours--newspaper? If so, I haven't a scrap of fresh news for
+you."
+
+"No," said Gerald, with a smile; "there's nothing journalistic about
+me."
+
+"Not the police then again, surely! I understood from Inspector Welch
+that they had dropped the matter."
+
+"Maybe the English police have," answered Gerald quietly; "but the
+American force hasn't. I'm from the other side--come over in the Europia
+last week."
+
+"Oh! Is that so? Anything fresh? I suppose so, by your coming across the
+pond."
+
+"Well, I think we are striking a trail. I want you to help me a little.
+I see by one of the newspaper interviews that you stated to a reporter
+that you would know the two men who booked the particular berth in which
+the murder took place."
+
+"That's so. One thing, my memory's keen on, is faces. If I see a man
+once, I know him again. I could locate him in a crowd."
+
+"That will perhaps help us."
+
+"I don't think so. They photographed one of the bodies found on the
+boat, and it was sent across here for identification. Inspector Welch
+brought it here, but bless your soul, it wasn't a tiny scrap like either
+of the men."
+
+"So I understand."
+
+"Inspector Welch didn't quite believe me. Thought I placed too much
+reliance on my memory. Almost said so. But I know right enough where my
+strong point lies. I didn't recognize that photograph simply because it
+wasn't the picture of either of the men. But the moment I get a
+photograph of either of the real men before me, you'll see I'll pick it
+out from fifty others."
+
+"You are sure you would know it?"
+
+"Know it! I'm dead certain--cock-sure."
+
+"Well," said Gerald, as he quietly drew the daguerreotype of Josh Todd
+from his pocket and put it on the agent's desk, "is that like either of
+them?"
+
+"That's one!--that one!" cried the agent excitedly, as he banged his
+fist on the desk. "I'd know him from a thousand. That's the man that
+spoke with a Yankee accent and came in first."
+
+"So," said Gerald quietly, although in his excitement his blood was
+racing through his veins, "and possibly this may be the portrait of the
+other one?"
+
+He placed the picture he had brought away from the Euston Road studio
+before the agent.
+
+"By God, sir, you're right! That's 'em--that's 'em both. You've got the
+right men, sir--you've got 'em. I always said if the American detectives
+took the case up over here, they'd strike the trail. No English 'tec can
+touch 'em for cuteness. If you know where to put your hands on these two
+men, you're able to solve the Europia mystery."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE HANDCUFFS PLAY AN IMPORTANT PART
+
+
+That was just what Gerald was unable to do.
+
+He knew Todd was dead. His suspicions about Loide were in a measure
+confirmed.
+
+He was convinced now that the lawyer was involved in this crime--but how
+far? To know that was what troubled him.
+
+The red haired man was the mystery--a mystery which looked clueless.
+
+Loide had booked a passage after Todd had done so. Todd was found in a
+parcel, and the other man in the berth with his throat cut, and yet the
+lawyer was alive!
+
+It was a problem which needed a deal of thought.
+
+Gerald gave it that. He thought all the time.
+
+So far, he still filled the role of clerk, but he got no nearer a
+solution. He waded through the evidence again and again in the hope of
+spotting a hole which the lawyer would fit.
+
+To run through the disguise shops of London in the hope of tracing a man
+who had bought a red wig, he knew would be as sensible a task as
+endeavoring to find the needle in the proverbial stack of hay.
+
+He read again and again the description of the spruce, smartly dressed,
+jaunty looking, raucous voiced, red haired missing man, and for the life
+of him, he could not make it fit in with the present appearance of the
+lawyer.
+
+He started rehearsing his bogus detective from New York idea. Thought
+how best he could so surprise the lawyer as to force the truth from him.
+
+He knew him to be a cute old fox, and that if he gleaned anything it
+would be at a time when the lawyer's shrewdness was overclouded by fear.
+
+His business was to bring on that cloud--to inspire that fear.
+
+It took him a long while to formulate his scheme. He knew that a false
+move in it would upset everything--that the lawyer would snap it up in a
+moment, and save himself.
+
+When he had got his idea as near perfection as he thought he could get,
+he walked into Loide's private room, ostentatiously turned the key in
+the door, and seated himself opposite the astonished lawyer.
+
+"What the devil does this mean, sir?"
+
+"It means, Mr. Loide, that the game is up."
+
+As he spoke, he drew from his pocket a pair of handcuffs he had hired
+for a shilling at a theatrical costumer's in the neighboring
+Houndsditch.
+
+Even yet, so surprised was he, the lawyer did not understand the
+situation. He spluttered out:
+
+"What does this play acting business mean in office hours?"
+
+"I'm afraid your office hours, Mr. Loide, are all over. I throw off the
+disguise of clerk, and appear as Detective Crayle of the New York
+police."
+
+"Detective!"
+
+"There is a warrant out for your arrest in connection with the murder on
+the Europia."
+
+The livid face of the lawyer told Gerald all he wanted to know--he had
+hit the right nail on the head, despite the red hair.
+
+He continued:
+
+"There's been a little trouble in trailing this scent, Mr. Loide, but
+we've got it all mapped out from the moment of your entrance of the
+Eldon Street agent's office, and your subsequent purchase of the other
+half of the berth, down to the present moment. You have been watched
+right through, Mr. Loide."
+
+The lawyer groaned.
+
+"The American system of police work is different from the English. Every
+man to his department. Now, mine is not to arrest you. There's a man on
+the Atlantic now, in response to my cable, on his way here to do
+that--no, don't look at the door; don't play at silly fools--you know I
+could put you in the custody of the first policeman we met."
+
+"If not to arrest me, what is your business, then?"
+
+The hoarse voice of the lawyer showed how deeply he was affected.
+
+"Well, I've been deputed to hunt up that missing nineteen thousand
+pounds."
+
+The lawyer looked up. Gerald continued:
+
+"Oh, I know you don't know where it is, but if I heard the whole story
+from your lips, I might be able to find a clue. Now, bargain for
+bargain--I've told you my business isn't to arrest you.
+
+"I don't personally care whether you go to eternity via our recently
+invented electrocution chair, or whether you scoot. See? Just tell me
+the whole story from beginning to end without missing a single
+detail--and remember, I know the facts, so if you lie or attempt to
+deceive me, I shall consider the bargain off--do this, and you'll get
+three days start. I'll leave you to do what you like--go where you
+like."
+
+"I can believe--rely--on that?"
+
+"I'm no liar in straight business, Mr. Loide. Follow my example, tell me
+the truth, and we'll say good-bye. If we meet again, it will be your
+own fault."
+
+"Very well, I will tell you, then."
+
+"Good. I've my note-book here containing an account of every movement of
+yours since----"
+
+"Oh, I'll tell the truth. On the day of the settlement with Depew, I
+handed him nineteen thousand pounds in notes. The numbers----"
+
+"I know them," interposed Gerald--he had got them from the lawyer's
+letter book--"get on with the story."
+
+"After that we went to the Great Eastern Hotel opposite and had lunch.
+He did not know where the passenger agent's was, so I showed him. It was
+the agent saying he had the other half berth which confirmed me in my
+idea of robbing him, which, as you know, I did not do."
+
+"I know all about it," said Gerald, "but all the same, you tell me the
+whole thing complete."
+
+"Well, after Depew had bought his ticket, we came outside, shook hands,
+and parted, and I never saw him again until I saw his cut up
+remains"--the lawyer shuddered at the recollection--"in the Europia's
+cabin."
+
+"After you parted, you went back to the agent's, and got the other
+berth. Where did Depew go; do you know that?"
+
+"No. I fancy to his hotel. He was staying during his visit to England at
+Armfield's."
+
+"Did he go in that direction?"
+
+"No. Now I come to think of it, I remember he spoke of an aching tooth,
+and said he was going to a dentist's in Finsbury Circus to have one--as
+he called it--'yanked out.'"
+
+The lawyer faithfully detailed every other incident which had occurred,
+and with which the reader who has followed this narrative will be
+acquainted.
+
+When he had finished, Gerald said:
+
+"Just write me a letter to the Bank of England, withdrawing that stop on
+the notes, will you?"
+
+"What?" inquired the lawyer eagerly. "Have you found the missing notes,
+then?"
+
+"I came over to Europe for that purpose," answered Gerald shortly. "Give
+me that letter. That'll do, and now good-bye. You deserve a shove into
+Kingdom Come, but it's not my business to push you."
+
+He put the handcuffs into his pockets and opened the door.
+
+"Now put your hat on and mizzle. I'll take charge of this office. Don't
+set foot near it again, or you'll have yourself to blame for the
+consequences."
+
+The lawyer gathered up a few letters, and cramming them into his
+pocket, walked to the hat rail.
+
+"This isn't a trap," he inquired; "they are not waiting for me at the
+bottom of the stairs?"
+
+"I've told you I'm not a liar. You can walk straight away and no soul
+will attempt to stop you."
+
+"Good-bye."
+
+"Good-bye."
+
+Left to himself, Gerald locked the outer door, and sat down to think.
+
+So far, he had arrived at very little. He knew now that Todd had stopped
+at Armfield's, that when he left the lawyer he had gone into a dentist's
+in Finsbury Circus, that when next seen he was unrolled from a newspaper
+parcel on the boat.
+
+He took down the post-office directory from the shelf and turned up
+Finsbury Circus.
+
+Surgeons and doctors abounded. That set Gerald thinking.
+
+At the inquest, medical evidence had been given that only a medical
+expert could have dismembered the body so neatly. He went down the names
+in the directory carefully.
+
+One thing struck him. There was a Mr. Charles Lennox, a dentist, and a
+door or two off a Mr. Arthur Lennox, surgeon. There might be nothing in
+it, but it was worth looking into. The combination was suggestive.
+
+Gerald made up his mind to have his teeth seen to at one place, and to
+attend at the other with some imaginary complaint.
+
+He then took the whole of the Depew papers from the tin box, and made
+them into a compact parcel. They might be useful to the farmer.
+
+Then he put on his hat, and with the parcel under his arm left the
+building.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DENTIST
+
+
+At Armfield's Gerald learned but little more.
+
+Nothing had been seen of Depew there after eleven o'clock on the morning
+of his leaving. His bags he had taken away to the station, paid his
+bill, and had said he was not sure whether he would sleep there or at
+Liverpool that night.
+
+There was a small hand bag still at the hotel, containing a shirt,
+collars, and handkerchiefs--nothing more.
+
+That left Finsbury Circus for Gerald to investigate.
+
+He remembered the names of Lennox, and looked at his short cuff whereon
+he had penciled the numbers of the houses from the directory.
+
+He saw the letters on the wire blind which had attracted Todd, "Painless
+Dentistry"; and he remembered what Todd had said in the letter to his
+wife about the extraction of his tooth.
+
+He went further and saw a brass plate--"Arthur Lennox, M.R.C.S." This
+determined him.
+
+He believed in his power of reading faces, and he was eager to try his
+hand at the doctor's.
+
+He entered the house, and went to the surgeon's door. Knocked and
+knocked again; and again.
+
+Then he pulled the housekeeper's bell.
+
+In reply to his inquiries he learned that Mr. Arthur Lennox was away
+abroad; had gone--he tallied the date--the day the Europia sailed with
+Todd's body aboard.
+
+Further information, the housekeeper told him, could be obtained of the
+surgeon's brother--a dentist, a few doors off.
+
+Gerald felt that at last he was nearing his goal.
+
+"Ah! I don't want to see the dentist," he said. "I don't know him. I was
+very friendly with the doctor, and I promised to see him when I came to
+England. I wasn't quite sure, though, that I had the address
+correct--indeed, I am not now sure that this Dr. Lennox is the one I
+want. What sort of a man is he?"
+
+The housekeeper described him. And at each detail of the description
+Gerald's hopes rose higher and higher.
+
+For she was describing the man who had been found with his throat cut,
+the man whose newspaper picture Gerald had then in his coat pocket.
+
+He withdrew that from his pocketbook, and handing it to the housekeeper,
+said:
+
+"Is that anything like him?"
+
+"Oh, yes," answered the housekeeper in a moment; "there is no mistaking
+it. That's he right enough."
+
+"Then I haven't made any mistake after all. Thank you for----"
+
+"There goes his brother if you want to see him," interposed the
+housekeeper hurriedly. "He goes home about this time--they used both to
+leave at five o'clock."
+
+"No, thank you," answered Gerald; "I am obliged to you. Good-day;" and
+he went down the steps.
+
+"The dentist has gone," he muttered. "I'll just look at his show now,
+and interview him to-morrow. A night's thought on this won't do any
+harm. There's such a thing as being in too great a hurry. More haste,
+less speed."
+
+He entered the house in which the dentist had rooms.
+
+As he stood looking at the door, it opened, and a boy started to come
+out.
+
+"Good-afternoon," said Gerald cheerfully, and walking in. "Is it too
+late to have a tooth seen to?"
+
+"Just too late, sir," replied the boy Sawyer; "Guv'nor's just gone.
+He'll be here at ten o'clock in the morning--if he's well enough."
+
+"I'm sorry. Do you mind my sitting down and resting for just a minute or
+two? I hurried here so fast for fear of missing him, that it set my
+heart beating dangerously fast."
+
+"Not at all, sir."
+
+"I was recommended here by an American gentleman, a friend of mine."
+
+"Oh, sir."
+
+"Yes. Some while ago he came here--one afternoon--and had a tooth out,
+and spoke so well of the job that I determined to come here myself."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"He had a tooth extracted painlessly."
+
+"Yes, sir, lots of people has 'em out that way."
+
+"How is it done--chloroform?"
+
+"Bless you, no sir! With the gas."
+
+"Is it dangerous at all?"
+
+"Lor no, sir. 'Sides, there's always a doctor present to help."
+
+"Really?"
+
+"Yes. The guv'nor used to have his brother in to do it before he went
+abroad."
+
+"Has rooms some doors off, hasn't he?"
+
+"Yes, that's him, sir."
+
+"Has he been abroad long?"
+
+"Been away just--well, that's curious, sir, as you mentioned an American
+gent. I haven't seen the doctor since the day the last American gent
+came here."
+
+"That is very funny. Very likely, too, it happened to be my friend. Do
+you remember him?"
+
+"Rather, sir. We don't have too many patients here"--with a grin--"as I
+can't remember em."
+
+"You would know him again if you saw him?"
+
+"Rather."
+
+"Is that like him?"
+
+Gerald handed the boy the daguerreotype of Todd as he spoke.
+
+"Like him!" said the boy; "it is him."
+
+"That certainly is a curious thing. My American friend was a bit of a
+coward, you know. I guess he made a big fuss about having his tooth
+pulled. Did he call out in any pain?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"I thought you said----"
+
+"You see I minded both places. When your American friend came in and
+said he wanted the gas, I was sent in for the doctor, and minded his
+place for him when he came in here."
+
+"I see."
+
+"When I came back, of course your friend had gone."
+
+"Hadn't, I suppose, fallen asleep on the couch or in the operating
+chair, had he?"
+
+"No. I said had gone."
+
+"So you did--I thought perhaps you might have overlooked him."
+
+"Not much. I have to put away the things tidily, and I shouldn't
+overlook much."
+
+"My American friend described to me the chair he sat in--operating
+chair, don't they call it?"
+
+"Yes, that's it."
+
+"As being a very curious one--is it?"
+
+"Nothing out of the common. This is it."
+
+He opened the inner door as he spoke, and Gerald entered.
+
+"You were right about not overlooking him. If he had been here you must
+have seen him."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"This cupboard would have held him, though."
+
+"Yes," replied the boy, with a grin. "It is big enough; but we don't
+stick patients into cupboards, you know."
+
+Gerald laughed heartily at the joke.
+
+"Well," he said, "my heart's quiet enough, now, thanks. I am much
+obliged to you for letting me rest. I'll come in and see the dentist
+to-morrow."
+
+"If he's well enough to come to business, he'll be pleased to see you."
+
+"Ill, is he?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Has been for some weeks, ever since his brother went away."
+
+"That's curious."
+
+"Yes, sir. Shall I make an appointment for you to-morrow, sir?"
+
+"Yes; you can say I'll be here at eleven o'clock sharp."
+
+"Right you are, sir; he'll keep the appointment right enough if he can.
+He won't fail."
+
+"Nor shall I."
+
+"Good-evening, sir."
+
+"Good-evening."
+
+Down the steps went Gerald, down into the Circus.
+
+He felt more pleased with himself than he had felt for a long while. He
+was on the right scent now, he was sure.
+
+To-morrow at eleven he must assume once more the guise of the New York
+detective. The appointment was eleven o'clock. Gerald would not fail to
+keep it.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+AN AMATEUR CARPENTER
+
+
+Loide left Liverpool Street with trembling limbs, and a heart full of
+bitterness.
+
+That nineteen thousand pounds he had so counted on getting at least a
+part of, was safe in the possession of the New York detective, who had
+been one too many for him--that was his dominant, irritating thought.
+
+It worried him.
+
+Gerald had played a bluff game, and with success. Loide quite believed
+all he had said about his three days' freedom from arrest.
+
+Either Gerald was an artistic liar, or the lawyer's impressions of the
+ways and doings of the American police were quaintly original.
+
+He had made up his mind to flee within three days, but the details of
+his flight were not worrying him just then; he was more easily engaged
+in taking a tight hold of the fact that he was a ruined man--practically
+a penniless fugitive from justice--unless----
+
+That "unless."
+
+He had killed one man with the idea of possessing that nineteen thousand
+pounds, and although the murder did not lie heavily on his conscience,
+the ill success attending his effort did--very heavily.
+
+As he walked through his office to the Mansion House station of the
+electric railway, he was debating in his mind whether he should have
+another shot for the nineteen thousand pounds the New York detective had
+in his possession.
+
+En route to Waterloo he made up his mind that he would. His mind did not
+need much making up--the fancied rustle of those crisp Bank of England
+notes helped a deal.
+
+He lived at a place called The Elms, on the outskirts of Wimbledon. His
+house stood in its own grounds, some distance away from the road, and
+from other houses.
+
+It was a property he had acquired by foreclosing a mortgage. It would be
+a quiet spot in which to carry out the scheme he was mentally sitting
+on.
+
+He hoped to hatch out a nineteen thousand pound egg.
+
+His big difficulty would lie in luring the detective to Wimbledon. And
+again, as an old man, he would be at a disadvantage in any struggle.
+
+To kill the officer would be an easy task, but that was not his
+intention. Not that he hesitated at the mere taking of a life--that was
+a detail--but he wanted to profit by his work.
+
+He was tired of profitless murder. One incident of that sort he felt was
+sufficient to last a long time.
+
+He guessed that the officer would not walk about all day with nineteen
+thousand pounds in his possession, that he had stored the notes away
+safely.
+
+That he had them he was convinced, and his conviction was confirmed by
+the request for the letter to the Bank of England withdrawing the
+stoppage.
+
+That letter had helped to form Loide's idea.
+
+He would imprison the detective, keep him without food or drink till he
+wrote a note to the custodian of the notes requesting the handing over
+of them to the bearer of the letter. Loide anticipated playing the part
+of the bearer.
+
+He reached Wimbledon station, alighted, and walked along the road.
+
+As he did so, he reflected that within three days he would have shaken
+the dust of that suburb from his feet for good and all.
+
+At a furniture dealer's he paused. Entering the shop, he said:
+
+"You know me?"
+
+"Yes, sir; Mr. Loide, the lawyer."
+
+"That's right. I am leaving the neighborhood--giving up possession of my
+house."
+
+"Sorry to hear that, sir."
+
+"I am going to live at Brighton. I have hesitated about the expense of
+moving my furniture, and now I am confirmed in my belief that it would
+be best to sell it. It is getting old, and would not fit my new
+house--larger rooms, you know."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I want you to come along with me now, and make me a cash offer for the
+houseful of furniture, just as it stands. If your offer is good enough I
+shall accept it, on condition that you clear the whole lot out before
+to-night."
+
+"To-night!"
+
+"Yes, to-night. There are only nine rooms--a couple of vans would move
+it all easily. However, if you don't think you can manage it, I'll try
+somewhere----"
+
+"Not at all, sir," said the man, taking off his apron, and rolling down
+his shirt-sleeves; "I'll be ready in two seconds."
+
+He scented a profitable job. Hasty matters of this kind often come in
+the way of furniture dealers and brokers--generally with much profit to
+the buyer.
+
+The buyers are wont to sing gladsomely of such transactions.
+Surrounding creditors usually sang in another key.
+
+The shopman put on his coat and hat, and went with Loide to The Elms.
+
+Loide let himself in with his key. His servants had been dismissed long
+since. His meals he had obtained in the city, visiting his home purely
+for sleeping purposes.
+
+A bargain was struck. The dealer guaranteed that before six o'clock the
+house should be absolutely clear of furniture--that within an hour the
+two vans should drive up and clear out all.
+
+They did. The furniture dealer was as good as his word.
+
+Everything was cleared save three feather beds which Loide kept back.
+
+The furniture dealer marveled at this, but he had done well over the
+deal, and said nothing.
+
+Loide placed those feather beds to his own credit--as an act of mercy.
+They were to save the detective pain.
+
+The furniture removers had completed their task and driven away. At
+their heels trod Loide--in the direction of the post-office.
+
+From there he sent a telegram to his late clerk's address. He thanked
+his memory that he had remembered the address in the letter applying
+for the situation.
+
+The telegram ran:
+
+     Leaving England to-night, strange and most important
+     information to give you in exchange for your kindness
+     to-day. Come at once, trains every few minutes from
+     Waterloo.
+
+  LOIDE, _The Elms, Maypole Road, Wimbledon_.
+
+He paid the one and eightpence cost of the telegram, and then sought in
+the high road an ironmonger's.
+
+There he bought two saws, a hammer, chisel, some nails, and some yards
+of webbing.
+
+At a lamp shop he purchased a pound of candles, a ready trimmed bicycle
+lamp, and then hurried home with his purchases to The Elms.
+
+Entering, he threw off his coat, and tucked up his shirt-sleeves.
+
+Manual labor was not in his way, but he guessed from having seen workmen
+prepare for their tasks in that way that it was the correct thing to
+work coatless--he had some hard work ahead of him.
+
+His bicycle lamp lighted, he set to work, drove four of his long French
+nails through the floor of the passage.
+
+The four nails formed a square--a square yard.
+
+With his bicycle lamp in hand, he went downstairs to the wine cellar. A
+stout old door yielded to the key.
+
+Loide in his palmy days had been a lover of wine, and the cellar had
+been built to his order. It was the most lofty apartment in the house.
+
+Air and light came to it through strong iron bars, which were on a level
+with the ground above. The roof was at least fourteen feet from the
+floor.
+
+On to that roof, formed--apart from the cobwebs--of the rafters
+supporting the floor boards above, Loide threw the rays of his lantern.
+
+Four bright, sharp points were sticking through the wood, dust, and
+cobwebs. He grunted with satisfaction as he noted the situation of the
+points of his nails.
+
+He hurried out of the cellar, up the steps to where the heads of the
+nails were, and there his real hard work began.
+
+He bored a hole with the aid of the chisel and hammer, then inserting
+the fret saw, worked through the width of one of the boards, working
+against the passage wall.
+
+This operation he repeated the other side, and in a few minutes had a
+length of floor board up--a yard long.
+
+With the larger saw he had bought, he was soon sawing through five other
+boards and their supports, and there presently gaped an opening more
+than a yard square.
+
+He hurriedly put the boards together again as he had taken them up.
+
+Going into a back room, he ripped some laths from the Venetian blinds.
+These he nailed to the floor boards, fastening them together as a lid
+for the hole he had made.
+
+He tried it--it fitted well. But for his holding it, the lid would have
+fallen through the hole.
+
+He cut the parcel of webbing open, and, leaning over the hole, nailed
+pieces along one side of the square beneath the floor boards.
+
+When he had nailed the other ends of these pieces to his lid, he had a
+crude but perfectly hinged flap.
+
+Rushing up-stairs, he dragged down two of the feather beds, one after
+the other, and dropped them through the hole.
+
+That was what he counted as his mercy. He did not want to break any of
+the detective's limbs.
+
+He just wanted information about the nineteen thousand pounds.
+
+Two pieces of lath slightly tacked under the opposite side of the hole
+to prevent the lid falling through till trodden on, and he lowered the
+flap on its hinges.
+
+Apart from the sawdust around, it looked a perfect floor. He swished
+away the dust, and stood up with a smile of satisfaction on his face.
+
+He was dog tired with the work, but he had done all he needed to do. The
+snare was set--the trap was waiting.
+
+Would the bird come to his call?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+A WOULD BE SUICIDE
+
+
+At Finsbury Circus next morning dentist Lennox was in attendance.
+
+He had been growing very ill lately, mentally and physically, and this
+morning he had turned over in his bed with the intention of remaining in
+it for the day.
+
+Dental patients were so few and far between that he did not fear losing
+much by his absence.
+
+But when his wife--as was her custom--brought up his cup of tea, and
+morning letters, there was a post-card from Sawyer--his boy. It was to
+tell him that a patient would call about his teeth at eleven o'clock.
+
+Despite his really ill condition, he bathed and dressed, and got to the
+city somehow.
+
+He was in time for his appointment, and waited long for the coming
+patient. But eleven o'clock struck and he came not.
+
+Calling Sawyer in, he questioned him minutely as to the person making
+the appointment, and the likelihood of his turning up later.
+
+"Oh, he meant coming right enough, sir. Had been recommended here by a
+friend who had been."
+
+"Oh, who was that?"
+
+"Dunno his name, sir. That American agent, sir, what came the day Mr.
+Arthur went away."
+
+The dentist controlled his emotion, checked an exhibition of it by
+gripping the arms of his chair, and inquired:
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"Said the American gent had spoken very 'ighly of the painless manner in
+which you treated him when he called here."
+
+The dead man, the cut up man, had spoken highly of his treatment!
+
+The dentist's lip was kept from trembling by the grip of his teeth on
+it. He wiped away the beads of perspiration from his brow, and inquired:
+
+"This gentleman who called was a friend of his?"
+
+"Yus, sir; was most interested about him. Arst a lot of questions, sir,
+and showed me his picture which he had in his pocket."
+
+Not a word from the dentist; he seemed frozen to his chair.
+
+His head was turned from the boy. Could Sawyer have seen it, he would
+have wondered at the stony look of fright in his master's face.
+
+For the dentist feared the worst. He guessed that the man coming was a
+detective. Conscience doth make cowards of us all.
+
+He sat there, waiting--a prey to indescribable fear. Useless, he knew,
+to attempt to escape--perhaps even now the place was being watched.
+
+Well! let them arrest him; it would be the end of all--of all the worry
+and trouble which he felt was hastening him to the grave.
+
+And then he thought of his wife, of his girl child, and groaned aloud.
+
+Was his widow to be shamed by his death; was he to cast a cloud over his
+child's life, to give people a chance of saying of her: "Her father was
+hanged for murder."
+
+He groaned again in his mental agony.
+
+Suicide! Ah! why had he not thought of that?
+
+It would save all--the exposure, the torture of the trial, the
+disgraceful death at the hangman's hand. What a fool that the idea had
+not occurred to him before!
+
+His brother died with his throat cut, why should he not do the same?
+Life with its overhanging fears and terrors was not worth the living to
+him. He would shuffle off this mortal coil.
+
+He walked quietly to the door, and gently turned the key in the lock.
+Then he unlocked a small safe in the corner of the room, and from the
+drawer thereof he took out the nineteen Bank of England notes he had
+always been afraid to attempt to cash.
+
+He looked at them and shuddered--blood money! Their rustle gave him no
+pleasure now.
+
+To his desk--then inserting the notes in an envelope, he directed it on
+the outside, "To the Police, Scotland Yard."
+
+His hand trembled so he could not write more. He had intended giving an
+explanation of the whole thing, but as he asked himself--who would
+believe so wildly improbable--so incredible--a story?
+
+He sat, pen in his trembling fingers, intending to write to his wife,
+and then it occurred to him that to do so would mean ruin to her--that
+were his death ascribed to suicide, the moneys payable under his
+insurance policies would be forfeited.
+
+The thought made him pause.
+
+No, he must run no risk. Those scraped together premiums on the policies
+must not be lost.
+
+He reflected that it was better to die. That then there would be an end
+to that grinding, scraping, pinching poverty at home--that looking at
+every sixpence before it was spent.
+
+He was insured for fifteen hundred pounds--a policy issued for the
+benefit of his wife, so that she would get the whole sum without his
+creditors being able to touch a penny of it, or any deduction for death
+dues.
+
+He thought how it would lighten the burden of the woman to whom he had
+been bound till death should them part.
+
+Death! He feared it--feared it horribly. He loathed himself for his
+cowardice all the while he feared. It was his duty to destroy himself.
+
+His daughter Edith, too--his little Edie--how different her future would
+be! She would be sent to a first-class school, where they turned out
+women, and not mechanical scholars, the result of the cramming process
+of the brass plated Seminary for Young Ladies.
+
+He thought of all this as he considered how he should compass the death
+which was to bring about these things.
+
+He must do it in such a way that no suspicion should arise; there must
+be no doubt about the death--it must be ascribed to an accident.
+
+He looked around. His eyes rested on his dead brother's case of surgical
+instruments.
+
+The case had remained in his rooms since--he shuddered at the
+recollection of their use. He walked to the side table and opened the
+box.
+
+The cold glitter of the polished steel made him shudder again, and from
+his lips came the whispered prayer:
+
+"Oh, God, give me courage to do this thing."
+
+How should he make assurance doubly sure? By Sawyer's aid.
+
+It was certain there would be an inquest, the boy's evidence would be
+essential--the last human being to see him alive. He must supply that
+witness with material.
+
+He took one of the knives in his hand, gently turned the key in the
+lock, and walked into the outer room.
+
+Sawyer hurriedly concealed the pages of "The Brass Bound Pirate of the
+Pacific, or the One Eyed Man in the Crimson Mask."
+
+It was the sort of mental food his taste ran to. Exciting and
+cheap--dirt cheap.
+
+"Do you know that fancy shop--bazar--just opposite the entrance to
+Liverpool Street Station, Sawyer?"
+
+"Two or three doors from the corner? Yussir."
+
+"They have some hones in the window."
+
+"Some which, sir?"
+
+"Sharpening stones. You will see them in the window at a shilling each."
+
+"Yussir."
+
+"Get me one. Here's a shilling. I want to sharpen this knife."
+
+"Yussir."
+
+"You understand what I want it for. To sharpen this knife."
+
+"Yussir."
+
+Sawyer went out, procured the required article, and returned with it to
+his employer.
+
+"You will be going to dinner in half an hour, Sawyer?"
+
+"Yussir."
+
+"When you do so, go into the post-office and register this letter--it is
+already stamped."
+
+"Yussir."
+
+"Now, I'll sharpen my knife."
+
+The dentist went into his room. His fingers rested on the key in the
+lock for a moment.
+
+"No," he muttered; "a locked door would create suspicion. Besides, there
+is no need."
+
+He unfastened his sleeve link, and rolled back the cuff of his shirt.
+
+He was surgeon enough to know which opened vein would drain his body the
+quickest, for he intended to bleed to death.
+
+It was an almost painless way--the drawback to it, its slowness.
+
+Thrice he poised the knife, thrice the hand holding it dropped to his
+side, thrice he groaned in his despair--at his own cowardice.
+
+"Oh, God," he prayed--and if ever heartfelt prayer ascended to the
+heavenly throne, one went up then--"give me strength and courage to do
+this thing. My life has been a useless one. Give me courage, God, to end
+it for my wife and child's sake."
+
+A loud rapping at the door broke in on his prayer.
+
+He had disregarded--had not heard the previous tapping. Relieved at the
+interruption, he opened the door.
+
+He started when he did so. Was he too late?
+
+For behind Sawyer, who had been knocking, there stood two men in the
+uniform of the police.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+GERALD WALKS INTO THE TRAP
+
+
+Gerald was enveloped in an atmosphere of tobacco smoke which nearly
+choked his landlady when she entered the room.
+
+A telegram had come for him, and it being, as she explained, "that
+dratted gal's night out," she had ascended the stairs with the message
+herself.
+
+Gerald was thick in smoke, because he had an idea that his brain liked
+it; he thought better with a pipe in his mouth.
+
+And he was as full of thought just then as a pomegranate is of pips.
+
+He took the telegram, opened it, and raised his eyebrows at the
+contents.
+
+"What's the meaning of it?" he muttered. "What can have happened since
+the morning? What more can he know?"
+
+He was in no way suspicious that it was part of a trap.
+
+He did not credit Loide with any revengeful feeling, because he had been
+dealt with leniently--let fly when his wings should have been clipped.
+
+Was it possible that there was such a thing as gratitude in that tough
+old legal breast? He half smiled as he wholly doubted it.
+
+And yet--well, he would go down and see what it was. Wimbledon was not
+far--he could soon get there and back.
+
+He turned down his lamp, and, putting on his coat and hat, went out,
+took train to, and reached Wimbledon.
+
+He had some difficulty in finding his way through the ill-lit streets,
+but at last he reached The Elms.
+
+Through the slats of the Venetian blinds he saw the house well lighted.
+There was nothing dark or mysterious about it.
+
+A faint suspicion which had been born en route subsided.
+
+Clever Loide had foreseen and disarmed such suspicion by means of his
+pound of candles, lighted and distributed on the floors of the front
+rooms.
+
+Gerald opened the gate and walked up the steps to the door. He knocked.
+
+Presently he heard footsteps, and then a voice--a voice he recognized as
+the lawyer's--saying:
+
+"That is all right, Mary; don't bother to open the door. I will. I know
+who it is--a gentleman I am expecting. Just put some coals on the
+dining-room fire, will you?"
+
+Then there was a rattling of the lock, and the hall door swung open. The
+lawyer stood there.
+
+"Come in," he said. "Excuse the condition of the hall; the white washers
+are at work."
+
+Gerald entered, and the lawyer closed the door behind him.
+
+"Straight on," he said. "My room is at the end of the passage, the door
+facing you."
+
+Gerald walked on. Then suddenly the floor gave way beneath him.
+
+With a cry he stretched out his hands, and gripped the edge of what he
+perceived to be a trap, saving himself from falling thereby. The lawyer
+saw this, and endeavored with his foot on Gerald's shoulder to thrust
+him down.
+
+In turn Gerald released one hand, and made a grab at the lawyer's leg.
+Just in time Loide withdrew his limb, and Gerald replaced his hand on
+the edge of the opening, striving to draw himself up.
+
+There was only one thing to be done, and the lawyer did it. He
+deliberately placed his feet, one on the fingers of each of the hands
+gripping the wood.
+
+With a cry of pain Gerald released his hold, and fell to the feather bed
+below.
+
+The lawyer knelt on the edge of the hole, and, throwing the rays of his
+lantern down, inquired:
+
+"All right? You aren't hurt, are you?"
+
+"What's the meaning of this devil's trick? Is this the gratitude you
+spoke of?"
+
+"A little bit of it--just a little bit of it. I'm sorry; really, truly
+sorry to put you in such a position, but business, you know, business
+must be attended to."
+
+"I've walked into your trap."
+
+"Just nicely and comfortably."
+
+"Like a fool."
+
+"No, no, don't say that," said the lawyer soothingly. "You couldn't
+possibly foresee."
+
+"What does it mean? What's your object? How long do you propose to keep
+me here?"
+
+"Depends entirely on yourself."
+
+"How?"
+
+"Let me handle those nineteen thousand pound notes, and you shall have
+your liberty within twenty four hours."
+
+"And if I don't do that?"
+
+The grim smile on the lawyer's face seemed to answer him.
+
+"Supposing I cannot?"
+
+Once more the lawyer smiled. He stroked his chin and said quietly:
+
+"You are not a fool. I don't think I am. Let's play this game, then,
+like men. You are here in my power. You've got to stop here till I
+handle those notes. I can't afford to let that time be a long one, so I
+must hurry things on a bit."
+
+"You mean to torture me?"
+
+"That's as you may choose to put it. You must remember that the torture
+will cease the moment you care to let it. You've got the check string in
+your hand."
+
+"What do you intend doing?"
+
+"Nothing, I hope, because I think you will see the game is mine, and
+hand over the pool."
+
+"You think I have the notes on me?"
+
+"No, I don't, or I should have adopted other means--rendered you
+unconscious while I despoiled you of them, and then perhaps popped you
+where you are for some hours while I cashed the notes and cleared out."
+
+"What is it you want me to do, then?"
+
+"Well, you made me sit down and write a note once, didn't you? I have a
+stylographic pen here, paper, and an envelope."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I want you to write a letter, authorizing the giving up to the bearer
+of it the packet containing the notes."
+
+"A letter--to whom?"
+
+The lawyer laughed as he answered:
+
+"To the custodian of them, of course."
+
+"And if I can't--if I don't do that?"
+
+"Then, my friend, you'll gain knowledge. You will know what it is to be
+hungry and thirsty. I don't know that the information will be of much
+service to you in the police force, but for all it's worth, it will be
+yours."
+
+"You will starve me!"
+
+"I shall keep you without bite or sup till you give me what I want, if
+it's for a day or a week, or--or as long as you can live. If you are
+obstinate enough, if ultimately your skeleton is found here--for I may
+tell you that rats abound in the cellar, and they are reputed to be
+excellent bone pickers--the fault will be yours, wholly yours, not
+mine."
+
+There was silence for a few moments.
+
+Gerald was in a cold sweat of fear and horror. He knew the lawyer well
+enough to know that an appeal to his mercy would be wasted.
+
+If he told the truth--that he did not know where the notes were--he
+would not be believed. If he did convince the lawyer, then what might
+happen?
+
+At the fellow's mercy he might be killed, just as the man on the boat
+had been. Human life, he knew, was no sacred thing to the man who held
+him prisoner.
+
+To lie or to tell the truth--which should he do?
+
+"How do you shape?" presently inquired the lawyer. "Will you make
+yourself as comfortable on those beds as you can for the night without
+bedclothes, and with rodent company, or will you give me the letter I
+ask for now?"
+
+"I can't give it."
+
+"Very well," said the lawyer, pretending to smile genially, although he
+was sick at heart at the answer. "Perhaps a night's reflection will make
+you change your mind;" he drew up the flap as he spoke.
+
+"Good-night."
+
+"God! Are you going to leave me here in the dark?"
+
+"I am afraid so. I am sleeping in the house, and if the loneliness--but
+you will have plenty of company--if you should change your mind in the
+night, call out. I shall hear you, and bring a light."
+
+"If I scream for help the neighbors----"
+
+"Will not hear you. Grip that fact, and it will be a breath saver. This
+house stands off the road in its own grounds. There is not a living
+being within earshot."
+
+"Leave me a light, man--it's inhuman."
+
+"I am sorry you think that. However, it's your own fault, you know. Give
+me the letter I want, and I'll lower this lamp to you, and before this
+time to-morrow night you shall be as free as air."
+
+He waited a minute, holding the flap in his hand. No answer.
+
+"I am sorry you don't see your way to it. You don't mind my shutting
+this flap, do you? You'll get plenty of ventilation from the barred
+window. By the by, don't waste strength trying the bars. I tried them
+before you dropped down, and you can take my word that they are firm
+enough; while as to the door, it's as solid a piece of oak as was ever
+carpentered. Accept my assurance that you are as secure as it is
+possible to make you, will you? Good-night."
+
+He put one of the pieces of lath across a corner of the opening as he
+spoke, and rested the flap on that.
+
+The square border of light, which those eager eyes in the cellar looked
+up to, the light of the lamp through the cracks, gradually grew fainter
+and fainter--the lantern had been lifted.
+
+The light faded, then all was darkness. The prisoner was alone.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+PECULIAR MESSENGERS
+
+
+Gerald was alone for some time; he remained in the same position.
+
+He was partly stunned by what had happened. It had all taken place so
+rapidly, and so unexpectedly, and he feared--greatly--the danger ahead.
+
+Man to man, he would have feared nothing. He was not a coward.
+
+But, as it was, he had a murderer to deal with, and his opponent had the
+keys.
+
+He considered Loide's character, and he calculated that his own life was
+a small thing in the lawyers estimation. It was an unwholesome thought.
+
+He turned his head slowly, and then very quickly, for he saw a glimmer
+of light. It was from the barred window.
+
+The moon was shining, and would soon o'ertop the trees he could see
+silhouetted on what was his horizon.
+
+He thought of escape--naturally. But it was a poor thought; he
+anticipated no success.
+
+A point in his favor was his early athletic training. With finger or
+foothold he would have been a factor to reckon with in an attempt to get
+out.
+
+Running the whole length of what was his roof were the supporting beams
+of the floor boards above. They afforded no grip if he got there--and he
+had to reach them.
+
+He looked at the window. If he ran and sprang high enough, he would be
+able to grip the bars.
+
+He essayed it--failed at first, but was clinging successfully the second
+time.
+
+The width between the bars was not great enough for him to put his head
+through, but he threw up his left leg and hooked the toe of his boot so
+that he could rest there, and look round without the heavy strain on his
+arms.
+
+In the semi-darkness he looked out on what appeared to be a long garden
+with high trees at the bottom.
+
+Behind those trees he knew the moon was coming up, and that presently
+that awful darkness would be ended.
+
+The rafters above him--they were his only hope of escape.
+
+By means of the window he could reach those beams, and possibly the
+trap-door, but he feared--horribly feared--that his fingers would slip
+from the pieces of square wood, which it seemed impossible to grip.
+
+He tried it, however. He got both legs up and through the rails till the
+thickness of his thighs prevented further protrusion.
+
+He sat there with his calves out of window, resting a moment, and
+getting ready for his test of strength.
+
+Then, his hands at the top of the bars, and his feet resting at their
+base, he stretched up first one hand and then the other.
+
+He gripped easily the long timbers--gripped them easily while his weight
+was supported by his feet, but the moment he hung--well, that same
+moment he dropped to the ground.
+
+In his fall he did not hurt himself at all--he was prepared for it.
+
+He had known, even while testing it, that the task was a hopeless one;
+there was nothing to grip in the strict sense of the word; all he could
+do was to pinch the wood with his fingers, and the difficulty of that
+operation with one hundred and forty pounds depending is apparent.
+
+He felt his way over to the beds, and lay down; his exertions had
+fatigued him a bit.
+
+He lay very quietly, thinking--thinking of the possibility of escape,
+and realizing more and more how hopeless the idea was, how secure was
+the trap he was in.
+
+He heard a sound and started up--the sound ceased. He called out:
+
+"Who's there?"
+
+And there was a scampering, scraping, scratching noise. What it was
+burst on him at once. He muttered:
+
+"Rats!"
+
+He was not afraid of them. His limbs were free.
+
+He had read accounts of those rodents attacking living men, but he had
+looked upon them as mere fiction. He was content to think that he could
+beat them off if his voice failed to frighten them.
+
+The moon o'ertopped the trees, and he was thankful. The light was a
+great comfort.
+
+It shone into the cellar, and he lay there on the beds as in a patch of
+lime-light, the shadow of the bars running as great dark lines across
+the floor.
+
+He put his hands under his head, and lay quite still, looking up at the
+moon. Presently a shadow was cast--there was something at the window!
+
+He did not move, and then he saw what it was--a cat--a common or garden
+cat!
+
+A well cared for, plump, collared member of the feline race--he could
+see the silver part of the leather collar in the moon's beams.
+
+The cat looked in between the bars and listened. Then she stealthily ran
+or dropped, after the manner of her kind, down the wall on to the floor.
+
+It was evident from her manner that this was not her first visit. The
+squeaking and scuttling of the rats had ceased as by magic.
+
+The fear they had not felt for the man, they instinctively felt for the
+cat--their natural enemy.
+
+Quite idly, without moving, Gerald said:
+
+"Puss, puss; poor pussie."
+
+The cat paused in her stealthy walk across the cellar floor. Gerald
+spoke again.
+
+Perhaps she was reassured by his voice, for she did not run away when he
+stretched out his hand and scratched her neck and head; indeed, she came
+closer. Evidently Gerald had found her soft spot.
+
+Another shadow! Another cat! Then another!
+
+They followed the example of the first and dropped down--it was
+evidently a happy hunting ground for the neighboring cats.
+
+Gerald was rather pleased than otherwise--they acted as a kind of
+police, so far as the rats were concerned.
+
+The moon, as it climbed its way along the heavens, lighted up different
+parts of the cellar, and presently in looking round a ray of hope
+entered Gerald's heart--for there, on a nail in the wall, was a coil of
+wire!
+
+There were possibilities in it.
+
+He walked to the coil and took it down, and his heart sank again.
+
+It was the thread-like wire used in bottling, and absolutely useless as
+a means of escape.
+
+Then suddenly a thought occurred to him, which sent the blood rushing to
+his head, and set his pulse and heart beating faster.
+
+"My God!" he said, "there's a chance yet."
+
+From his breast pocket he drew his note-book and tore three leaves out.
+In the light of the moon with a pencil he wrote:
+
+     "For God's sake, whoever finds this, take it to the nearest
+     police station. I am imprisoned without food or drink in the
+     back cellar of The Elms, Maypole Road, Wimbledon, by a man
+     who threatens to murder me. This is life or death. For God's
+     sake, help."
+
+"That ought to be strong enough," he muttered, as he reread it. "I don't
+know that I can add to it in any way."
+
+Then he made two copies of the document, and folded all three into flat,
+long-shaped tapers.
+
+He then broke off a couple of yards of the wire, and called a cat to
+him.
+
+Scratching the cat, and fastening the note to the collar with the wire,
+was not altogether an easy task, but he accomplished it. Then he
+effected the same thing round the necks of the other two.
+
+One had no collar at all, and Gerald had to make one with the wire. He
+succeeded, and then one by one he pitched the cats up to the window.
+
+They looked round with ruffled fur at this indignity after such soothing
+treatment as they had been experiencing, and probably in their hearts
+thought that Gerald was no gentleman.
+
+They evidenced this thought of him by walking away and leaving him.
+
+He climbed up to the window bars, and watched them as well as he could.
+
+They lingered, probably with a view to the formation of a choir; but
+Gerald said "Shoo!" and they fled. As they did so, he heard a clock
+striking.
+
+Counting the strokes, he found it was ten o'clock. He had been in the
+cellar an hour only, and it seemed days.
+
+He remembered the period of his residence in suburban lodgings. He
+remembered the care of the proprietors of cats then, how before going to
+bed they would patiently call "puss, puss, puss" at their back doors, in
+order to prevent their pets spending a night out.
+
+He prayed earnestly that the owners of the feline trinity he had just
+let loose were affectionately disposed towards their cats. He hoped
+great things from those messages.
+
+If not to-night, surely in the morning one of the three must bear fruit.
+He prayed so with all his heart and soul.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+A PISTOL AND AN OPEN GRAVE
+
+
+Eleven o'clock struck. In that upper room at The Elms, where he had left
+a feather bed, Loide lay smoking and thinking.
+
+He was disappointed at the ill success of his scheme.
+
+His talk of starving out the detective had been all bluff--starvation
+was a process which would fill too much time.
+
+It would be three days before the man with the warrant touched English
+shores. Before that time expired, Loide must be away.
+
+But he wanted to flit with the money--the nineteen thousand pounds.
+
+A hundred and one ideas floated through his mind.
+
+Would it be any use trying to bribe the man in the cellar? His life
+threatened, he would be justified in giving information as to the
+hiding-place of the notes.
+
+What if he promised to give him a share of the spoil in untraceable
+gold? But he had not much faith in that idea.
+
+He knocked the ashes from his pipe, and replaced the latter in its
+pistol-shaped case--and that very act gave him an idea.
+
+He had not been firm enough. He had not frightened the detective--that
+was evident from the man's silence.
+
+Despite the rats and the darkness, he was holding on. Loide felt that he
+should have played his cards with a firmer hand.
+
+He handled the pipe case--in the dimly lit room it looked remarkably
+like a pistol. He would play it for that.
+
+Another detail entered his brain, and the humor of it rather appealed to
+him.
+
+It was grim humor. It pertained to the digging of a grave in front of
+the barred window.
+
+With the smile on his lips, pipe in his pocket, and lantern in hand, he
+descended the stairs. He walked slowly along the passage, and stepped
+across the trap.
+
+Not a sound from the man below. The lawyer bit his lips in vexation.
+
+He turned back and lifted the trap. The light from his lantern showed
+Gerald lying on the beds.
+
+"Sleeping pretty comfortably?" queried the lawyer genially.
+
+"Sleep! What do you think I'm made of?"
+
+"Flesh and blood just at present. So you can't sleep, eh? We will alter
+that. You shall sleep soundly enough within the next hour, I promise
+you."
+
+He let the flap fall as he spoke, and walked away in the direction of
+the back door.
+
+Gerald heard the unfastening of the bolts, the descent of the stone
+steps into the garden, and presently a glimmer of light from the lantern
+showed through the window on to the cellar wall.
+
+Springing to his feet, he jumped up to the bars and clung to them.
+
+He could see Loide walking down the garden path, and saw him enter a
+sort of shed. Soon he came out, carrying a spade.
+
+With this he walked in the direction of the window, and then, putting
+down the lantern on the ground, with the edge of the spade marked out a
+space on the earth, about six feet long and two feet wide.
+
+The lawyer then started digging. He never turned his head to note if
+there was a face at the window, but from the corner of his eye he saw it
+and chuckled.
+
+Could he have seen Gerald's appearance, he would have been still better
+pleased, for the eyes in the face at the window were protruding, and
+the hair on the head was almost on end. The shape of that hole the
+lawyer was digging caused the fright--it was the shape of a grave.
+
+Steadily the lawyer went on with his task. He was really digging in the
+middle of a flower-bed, so that his work was not very difficult.
+
+The hole got deeper and deeper, the digger standing in it and shoveling
+out the earth, and all the while the white face remained glued to the
+bars of the window.
+
+As midnight struck, the task was finished. The lawyer stuck the spade
+into the earth, wiped his brow, put on his coat, and picked up his
+lantern.
+
+As he mounted the steps leading into the house, Gerald dropped to the
+floor of the cellar, and waited, dreading--he knew not what.
+
+The flap was flung up, and the lawyer bent over. In one hand Gerald
+could see a pistol!
+
+This was laid down beside the lantern, and coolly squatting on the floor
+with folded arms, the lawyer addressed his prisoner.
+
+"You have been down there some little time, policeman, and I dare say
+you have been thinking of the best way to get out--I guess that's what
+you would think."
+
+"Yes, I have thought a little of it."
+
+"Has anything struck you? I am asking you for information. I mean, how
+it would be possible for me to get you out through this hole."
+
+"If you mean to let me out"--his heart gave a great leap as he
+spoke--"surely it would be better to open the door."
+
+"No," said the lawyer, shaking his head. "I am not so young as I was.
+Age robs one of one's strength. Besides, you are a big, heavy fellow--by
+reason of that I have allowed a good two feet wide--I should never be
+able to drag you up the cellar stairs--I could drag you down all right."
+
+"I could walk," said Gerald hoarsely, full of horrible thoughts
+engendered of the lawyer's last speech; "you wouldn't need to assist
+me."
+
+Again the lawyer shook his head.
+
+"I am afraid you don't quite understand the position," he said. "You
+wouldn't be able to help me. When you leave this cellar you will be
+beyond help."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+It was a startled, hoarse voice which came up from the cellar.
+
+The lawyer picked up the pipe case, and then put it down again. It was
+an effective bit of byplay.
+
+"You see, my dear fellow, I'm as sorry as sorry can be--but necessity
+knows no law. I tried to arrange things comfortably. You'll admit I was
+thoughtful; I did not even want to hurt a limb. I even took the trouble
+to break your fall with feather beds."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But you didn't respond. I wanted those notes--now I have given up any
+idea of your telling me where they are. I thought I should cash them,
+and plant a couple of thousand pounds in gold where you would be able to
+find them later on. Your imprisonment here would have given you all the
+excuse you would have needed. But you did not clinch on to the idea."
+
+"It was--it is--impossible."
+
+"Just so, just so," replied the lawyer soothingly. "I admire that trait
+in any man's character; and seeing you're in the position you are,
+facing your own grave, why, damme, it positively borders on heroism."
+
+"Heroism?"
+
+"That's it, that's the word. I'm full of unqualified praise. But, as I
+said, necessity knows no law. As I said to myself when I loaded this
+pistol"--byplay again--"'it's a hundred pities to make holes in the
+man's head, and then plant him in the back garden,' but what would you
+do? There's no help for it."
+
+"No--help--for--it?"
+
+"Ah, it strikes you so, does it? You see you could have earned your
+freedom and a couple of thousand pounds, and you prefer going over to
+the great majority."
+
+"You don't mean to tell me that you are going to murder me in cold
+blood?"
+
+"Afraid so, dear boy, afraid so. What's troubling me is, how the devil I
+am to get you out into the garden. Frankly, I don't want to leave you
+here to be nibbled by the rats--skeletons are such horrible things, and
+I'm a sensitive sort of beast when you come to know me. I have dug a
+nice comfortable little grave outside, and you'll be as snug as can be
+in it."
+
+"You--murderer!"
+
+"Just so, just so. I confessed as much to you once when you had me in
+your power, didn't I? The positions are reversed now you are in my
+power, but you don't make any confession of the whereabouts of these
+notes."
+
+"I cannot."
+
+"Just so, just so. As I have said before, it's heroism--beautiful
+heroism. I'll have to take my chance of dragging you up the cellar
+stairs, I suppose. There's no last sort of wish or request you have to
+make, have you"--byplay again--"before I put a bullet in your brain?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+THE NEXT MOVE IN THE GAME
+
+
+Before Gerald could answer the very unpleasant question, there came a
+sound which caused both men's hearts to cease beating for a moment, the
+one with hope, the other with fear.
+
+For it was a loud hammering on the front door, and an authoritative
+voice crying:
+
+"Open instantly, or we break in."
+
+Looking at the door, the lawyer saw through the ground glass a round
+disk of light, such as a bull's-eye lantern throws, and then silhouetted
+a helmet--a policeman's helmet.
+
+Loide stood in the passageway with a blanched face--irresolute--for a
+moment. There was not time to be so longer.
+
+Then he rushed to the back door, and disappeared down the steps into the
+darkness.
+
+His movements were quickened by the sound of breaking glass. A truncheon
+had shattered one of the panels in the door, and a coat sleeve, with a
+striped band round it, was thrust through the hole in the glass.
+
+There was a hand in the sleeve, a hand feeling around for the catch, a
+policeman's hand.
+
+The hand caught the catch, and presently the door opened.
+
+Three men in uniform stood on the steps, a sergeant and two constables.
+They paused a moment listening, and then entered.
+
+"Be careful," said the sergeant. "Throw your light ahead of you. Hullo!
+What's this?"
+
+He was referring to the open trap which yawned at his feet.
+
+He cast the light of his lantern down the hole, and a voice came up,
+saying:
+
+"The police! Thank God!"
+
+"Wasn't a hoax then, after all," said the sergeant grimly. "Are you all
+right?"
+
+"Yes," came the voice; "all right now you have arrived. Had you been
+five minutes later you would have had a dead man to carry out."
+
+"Who's the would-be murderer?"
+
+"Escaped the back way as you entered the front. I heard him run down the
+steps."
+
+"Jim, Jack, quick; scour the back, and see what you can find."
+
+The men found nothing. They returned.
+
+"He knew the lay of the land better than we did," said the sergeant;
+and then stooping over the opening in the floor, he continued, "How are
+we going to get you out of this?"
+
+"That's the question which was put to me five minutes ago, only it was
+proposed to bring me out dead, not alive."
+
+"Shall I try and borrow a ladder, sergeant?" inquired one of the men.
+"Or a pair of steps would do."
+
+"Where the devil are you going to borrow such a thing at midnight? Slip
+off your belts. Here's mine; buckle them together. That's it."
+
+He leaned over the hole, and lowered the length of leather.
+
+"Just wrap the end round one wrist," he called out to the man below,
+"and hold on with the other hand. Got it? Now, Jim, Jack, grip this.
+Stand on the corner there and pull all together."
+
+The long, strong pull of the three men brought Gerald's head above the
+hole.
+
+"Catch hold of the side with your free hand," called out the sergeant;
+"that will relieve the weight. That's it. Stoop down, Jack, and catch
+his arms. There."
+
+In another moment Gerald formed one of the four panting men in the
+passage.
+
+"And now," inquired the sergeant, "what's the meaning of this little
+game? How did you come to get down there?"
+
+"First tell me," inquired Gerald, "how you came to arrive in the very
+nick of time?"
+
+"Well, your note--ingenious idea that--round the cat's neck, was noticed
+by the cat's owner. At first she thought it was a hoax, but ultimately
+she put on a bonnet and shawl, and came with it to the police station."
+
+"Good woman!"
+
+"It seemed a funny sort of story to find tied to a cat, and at first we
+shared in the belief that it was a hoax. We probably should have treated
+it so--for you don't find this kind of thing happening except in books,
+you know--but one of our men who was standing in the office had reported
+that two vans had cleared the furniture away from The Elms during the
+evening.
+
+"I think that decided us. If it had not been for the fact that it was an
+empty house--empty houses form the backgrounds of a lot of crimes, you
+know--I don't think we should have taken notice of it."
+
+"That would have been pleasant."
+
+"You can't conceive how the police are hoaxed, or you wouldn't wonder.
+We seem to be fair game for the practical joker. But now, tell us, how
+did you get down that hole?"
+
+"It's a long story," said Gerald, who for obvious reasons could not tell
+the true one. "I was lured here presumably by a madman, walked into that
+trap, and when you were knocking at the door, the fellow was standing
+over me with a pistol. He had dug a grave in the back garden--you can
+see it for yourself--and was intending to bury me in it."
+
+"Who was it?"
+
+"The man who lived here--Mr. Loide, the lawyer. I was his clerk. He sent
+for me to come here to-night, and I came down by train. When I got
+here--well, the man was mad; there can be no doubt of it."
+
+"Just give me his description," said the sergeant; "we don't want madmen
+rambling about a quiet little place like Wimbledon. The sooner we spot
+the old gentleman the better. He seems to be shaping himself for a
+strait jacket."
+
+"A quiet five minutes with him," replied Gerald viciously, as he
+clenched his fist, "would, I think, result in his being one of the
+sanest men in the country. I shouldn't forget in the interview that he
+tried to murder me."
+
+"You don't want to take the law into your own hands. That's what we are
+around for. Now, give me his description."
+
+Gerald gave it. Then the sergeant said:
+
+"Your own name and address."
+
+Gerald gave them.
+
+While the sergeant had been eliciting these particulars, and writing an
+account of the affair, his men had searched the house from top to
+bottom, and reported absolute emptiness.
+
+"Now I think we have done here. Better let us take the key," said the
+sergeant; "we'll go over the place again to-morrow. If he's as mad as
+you say he is, he's likely to come back. We may be able to clap hands on
+him if we keep watch."
+
+The street door was locked, and the four men made their way to the high
+road.
+
+"I would give something for a drink of brandy," said Gerald.
+
+"I fear you are not in such dire distress as to warrant my knocking up a
+licensed victualer," replied the sergeant. "How would a cup of hot cocoa
+fit you? There's a stall at the corner."
+
+Gerald sampled it, and found it grateful and comforting.
+
+"Now, about sleeping. Will you come on to the station? We can give you a
+pitch there on a rug till the morning."
+
+Gerald thanked them and walked to the police station. The next morning
+he was up betimes, and caught an early train back to London.
+
+His astonished landlady let him in, and opined with a shaking head that
+there was only one end for young men who stopped out all night.
+
+Gerald did not want to hear what the termination was, but made his way
+up-stairs.
+
+In his own room he lay on his bed and slept. He had not found the bench
+at the police station of a soporific kind.
+
+After the excitement of the preceding evening, he needed sleep, and he
+took his fill of it.
+
+He did not awake till eleven o'clock; then he had breakfast, and mapped
+out his plans for the day.
+
+He rehearsed his coming interview with the dentist--he did not suppose
+it would matter being an hour or so late--what he should say, what he
+should do, and then went out.
+
+His landlady sarcastically inquired as he passed whether he thought he
+should sleep at home that night, and he answered by banging the door.
+
+He made his way to Finsbury Circus, and entered the building in which
+the dentist had rooms. Sawyer opened the door.
+
+"Is Mr. Lennox in?"
+
+"Yessir; will you come inside? What name shall I say, sir?"
+
+"Brown--John Brown."
+
+Then Gerald sat down and waited while the boy took his name in to his
+employer.
+
+"Am I going to draw a prize or a blank," he muttered. "Am I coming out
+of this interview with the notes in sight, or failure?"
+
+His interview with the dentist told him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+AT THE DENTIST'S
+
+
+The dentist himself was left--the last time he was referred to in this
+chronicle--facing Sawyer and two policemen.
+
+The sight of the policemen caused him to clutch at the door frame for
+support. He thought the moment of his arrest had come, and his knees
+seemed to take on a desire to figure as castanets.
+
+The two men touched their caps and did not attempt to enter.
+
+That surprised the dentist. It dawned on him that a salute was not the
+usual preliminary to an arrest.
+
+One of the men had a note-book in his hand. He spoke:
+
+"Sorry to intrude, sir, but there's a fete on at the Crystal Palace for
+the police orphanage. Your name's down on the books as subscribing
+something last year, and we thought we'd just ask if you'd be so kind as
+to remember the poor orphans again."
+
+What a feeling, what an intense feeling of relief came over him!
+
+Relief! He almost laughed, the tension for a minute had been so great.
+
+"What did I give last year?" he inquired, in as natural a voice as he
+could assume.
+
+"Five shillings, sir."
+
+"Then here's the same again. That's all right."
+
+The men thanked him and withdrew. The dentist closed the door and almost
+sobbed.
+
+Then he changed his mind about the registered letter. Opening the door,
+he entered the outer room, and took it from Sawyer.
+
+"I'll see to this," he said.
+
+That police visit seemed to have roused some courage in him--it was an
+element in his nature that needed a lot of rousing.
+
+Why should he be afraid of every shadow? Where was the need for it?
+
+Unless he betrayed himself--and then he remembered the visit of the man
+yesterday, the man who had made an appointment for eleven o'clock that
+day.
+
+What could that mean? His inquiries, his reference to the American, all
+this seemed suspicious.
+
+He would wait another half hour and see. Perhaps after all there was no
+need for fright.
+
+During that half hour Sawyer tapped at and opened the door.
+
+"The gent that came yesterday, sir."
+
+"His name?"
+
+"Mr. Brown, sir."
+
+"Show him in."
+
+The dentist braced himself for the interview. He put the envelope
+containing the notes in his table drawer, and looked up as his visitor
+entered.
+
+"Mr. Brown?"
+
+"That's it."
+
+"You were recommended here, I think, by some one whose teeth I attended
+to."
+
+"Well, I don't think you attended to his teeth only."
+
+"No."
+
+"He was rather cut up by your treatment."
+
+Gerald had his eyes fixed on the dentist, and when he had uttered that
+double meaning remark, he saw the man's face grow pale as death.
+
+He knew then that his bolt had gone home; knew that he was on the right
+track at last.
+
+He adopted bold measures. The dentist's appearance warranted them.
+
+"Sit down, Mr. Lennox. You don't mind my turning the key in the door, so
+we shan't be disturbed, do you? That's it."
+
+He seated himself opposite the dentist, and pulled out his
+hired-for-a-shilling handcuffs.
+
+The effect of their production was electric. He was more than ever
+convinced that he was right.
+
+"Of course," he said quietly, "you guess the game's up. That little game
+you and your brother played with Mr. George Depew when he came to have a
+tooth out?"
+
+The dentist was incapable of an answer. He sat there as if turned to
+stone.
+
+Gerald went on:
+
+"I'm of the American detective force--you have perhaps heard of me,
+Detective Grabbem. I gave the name of Brown to your boy because I didn't
+want to give the show away."
+
+Still no answer. Then Gerald said suddenly:
+
+"Where are the nineteen thousand pound notes?"
+
+For answer the tongue-tied dentist with trembling hand opened his
+drawer, and handed Gerald the envelope he had recently given to and
+taken from Sawyer.
+
+"You intended them for the London police? I'm from New York."
+
+Gerald opened the envelope and his eyes sparkled as he handled the
+notes.
+
+As a measure of precaution he collated the numbers with the entries in
+his pocketbook--all were correct.
+
+"I'll take charge of these," he said, as he put the notes in his pocket.
+"Thanks for saving me trouble."
+
+Then Gerald's anxiety was to get away. He said:
+
+"Out of gratitude for saving me bother, is there anything you would like
+me to do for you? Want to write to your friends or anything?"
+
+He had got all he wanted, and he decided to leave with it as promptly as
+possible. The dentist found his tongue, and said:
+
+"I would be grateful for half an hour for--for the purpose of writing to
+my friends."
+
+"It's yours. There is no back way out of this house, I see. I'll just
+smoke a pipe outside. No tricks, mind. I'll be back in half an hour."
+
+Gerald went out slowly, lighted a pipe within sight of the dentist's
+window, sauntered with his hands behind him, after the manner of one
+waiting, and then when he reached the corner, turned it, and bolted in
+the direction of Moorgate Street.
+
+There he hailed a hansom and was rapidly driven to his lodgings. He was
+one of the happiest fares in a London cab that day.
+
+And the dentist? He completed the unfinished work of the morning.
+
+No need now for the subtleties of the sharpening stone--all was known.
+He might as well use the knife in the quickest possible way, and end it
+all speedily.
+
+His old cowardice came over him. He loathed himself for it, stamped his
+foot and strove to attain the courage needed to draw that sharp
+surgeon's knife under his chin.
+
+He knew its edge was razor-like, that one strong, firm draw and all
+would be over. But he lacked the nerve.
+
+He almost laughed when he remembered that he had heard it said that a
+suicide is a coward--he imagined that it required more courage to take
+one's own life than another's.
+
+He looked at the clock; he had fooled away five minutes. That braced him
+up--he must avoid the hangman's attention at any cost.
+
+It was not the loss of his life which had deterred him so much as the
+method of losing it.
+
+Then an idea occurred to him. He had the gas apparatus, why not--no
+sooner thought than he started to put the idea into execution.
+
+He had a little bench whereat he worked in and about the repairing and
+making of false teeth.
+
+At each end were small vises. He fastened the surgeon's long knife into
+it after the manner of a man who would sharpen a saw.
+
+It was firm and rigid.
+
+The gas apparatus he put on the bench itself, and leaned over to it, his
+neck almost touching the knife.
+
+As he lost consciousness and the power of standing, he knew what would
+happen; the weight of his whole body would drag his neck on to the keen
+edge. Long before he could recover consciousness, all would be over.
+
+Then he expelled a deep breath and inhaled the gas.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+When Gerald's copy of the _Star_ was brought up to him, a triple
+head-lined column caught his eye. It was captioned:
+
+STRANGE DEATH
+
+OF A WELL KNOWN
+
+CITY DENTIST
+
+and it went on to describe the ghastly details of the find in the
+dentist's room.
+
+It was put down as a pure accident. The boy's evidence about the
+sharpening of the knives, the extraordinary position in which the body
+was found, were chronicled; there was not the breath of a suspicion of
+suicide.
+
+Perhaps that soul which had taken its flight to another world knew
+naught of the happenings in this--would never know that the insurance
+office paid over the policy moneys, and that the wife and child the dead
+man had thought so much of benefited by the application of a golden
+salve in their time of grief.
+
+And yet--who knows?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+MOON BLINDNESS
+
+
+"No need to shave this off now."
+
+Gerald was standing next morning in front of his dressing-glass, and
+referred to his pointed beard.
+
+He had intended shaving as a disguise in case of any bother with the now
+dead dentist. He had not seen what could arise--what the dentist would
+dare to do--but the detective's failure to go back for his prisoner
+would naturally excite suspicion in the dentist's breast.
+
+Now--well, that breast was cold.
+
+"There is no doubt," thought Gerald, "the doctor and the dentist between
+them did for Josh Todd. Both are now done for. So far as Josh Todd's
+murder is concerned, that is avenged. A restoration of the money"--he
+had the bank notes in front of him as he spoke--"to its rightful owner
+will end the whole thing.
+
+"And," he thought, with a smile of pleasure playing round his mouth, "it
+will end up like a story too, with a marriage with Tessie--and, please
+God, a live happy ever after."
+
+He inserted the notes in an envelope. Then in another, and another, and
+ultimately in a piece of brown paper, which he tied round with twine.
+
+He went to the head of the stairs, and called out to the landlady, would
+she lend him a needle and cotton?
+
+The maid of all work came up with it, and Gerald set about using the
+same.
+
+He took off his coat and waistcoat, and ripped the lining of the latter
+from the cloth; pushing the envelope of money up, he sewed the lining
+down again.
+
+"That's on my left side," said Gerald, "over the heart. I put that
+waistcoat on now"--he did so--"and it shall never leave me till I hand
+the money over to old Depew. I'll sleep in that waistcoat, and never,
+night or day, shall it be out of my touch."
+
+He looked up the trains and boat sailings, booked his passage, and
+arranged to step on board a liner the next day on his way to America--on
+his way to the girl he loved.
+
+The next day he settled with his landlady. Then he took an omnibus to
+Euston, sitting on the top of it with his bag on his knees, for his
+exchequer was running low, and it did not admit of cab hire. By tram he
+went to the dock, and stepped aboard the vessel which was to bear him to
+the land of the free.
+
+He had gone to the expense in town of booking both berths in his second
+class cabin. It left him almost without a pound in his pocket, but he
+had too much in value about him to run any risk.
+
+He had provided against any tampering with the bolts or locks of his
+cabin door by purchasing one of the bell door alarms which fix into the
+floor, and at the slightest pressure of the door rings a loud alarm.
+
+He did not fear for a moment that any attempt to rob him would be made;
+he simply took no risks.
+
+Traveling second class, no one would suppose him in possession of
+nineteen thousand pounds, and as he had made up his mind that the
+package should never leave his breast, he felt quite safe.
+
+On board the boat, after she sailed, he kept very much to his cabin. He
+did not make many acquaintances. He occasionally chatted and smoked with
+a poor looking, club-footed old man, who was a fellow-passenger.
+
+He was moved to this by the extreme sensitiveness of the man; indeed, a
+veiled pity prompted him to take notice of the only creature on the ship
+who seemed to be without an acquaintance.
+
+He was surprised when he found from conversation what a mine of
+information he had struck; that his companion was a well-informed,
+educated, and apparently wealthy man.
+
+"Yes," the other said, "I suppose you are surprised to find me traveling
+second class. I am extremely sensitive. I know with this hideous
+deformity, a hump back and a club foot, that people talk of me in
+pitying tones behind my back.
+
+"I don't want their pity," he continued fiercely; "I only want to be let
+alone, unnoticed. With you, it is different. You are the only man on
+this ship who looks at me without conveying an impression that you would
+like to pat me on the back and say, 'Poor old fellow.' Damn their pity!"
+
+Gerald laughed heartily. The man was speaking the truth, he knew.
+
+His almost toothless gums caused chin and nose to come together in a
+manner strikingly suggestive of Punch, and he spoke with a squeak.
+
+His nose even was deformed, and a swelling on one side of it below the
+bridge added to the curious appearance of the face. A bald head, with a
+fringe round it of snow white hair, completed the grotesqueness.
+
+In the more crowded second class cabin, the man escaped notice better
+than he would have done in the saloon.
+
+So it came about that during the voyage Gerald and the club-footed
+hunchback passed many hours together.
+
+Gerald learned much, for there was scarcely a subject on which his
+companion was not well posted.
+
+The nights were particularly pleasant, for the moon was at the full,
+and, well wrapped up, they usually spent the after dinner time on deck,
+while the majority of the passengers were more sociably engaged in the
+way of games or music.
+
+At one meal the subject of moon blindness had cropped up, and many
+curious anecdotes were told anent it--anecdotes more or less truthful,
+after the manner of shipboard stories.
+
+Afterwards, on deck, Gerald's companion continued the conversation. At
+table he rarely spoke. He said:
+
+"It is quite true. Moon blindness is a terrible thing. The great relief
+about it is the knowledge that the sight comes back.
+
+"I remember, many years ago, abroad, being foolish enough to insist on
+sleeping on an open deck. It was, of course, terribly hot weather, or
+even I--young as I was then--should never have been so foolish. I lay on
+my back on the deck--on the back is the only comfortable way in which to
+lie on a hard couch, by the by--and when I woke I could not see my hand
+before me.
+
+"Fright! God bless me! I believe I went mad."
+
+"Enough to make you."
+
+"The captain reassured me by laughing at me. It seemed a cruel thing to
+do, but I have since thought it saved me from going mad. I have always
+feared blindness so--I have always had weak eyes."
+
+"I notice that you are never without colored glasses."
+
+"That is so. I cannot see a yard away without them.
+
+"Well, on this occasion of which I am speaking, there was no ship's
+doctor aboard. The captain gave me an ointment to use which he told me
+would restore my sight in five or six days."
+
+"Did it?"
+
+"In that time my sight became as good as ever it was. As to the
+ointment--well, the captain afterwards told me that was a mere trick.
+That nothing but time cured moon blindness, and that he had given me the
+fat as an ointment merely to keep me busy."
+
+"Smart."
+
+"Yes. There was another effect it had on a fellow-passenger--who slept
+as I had slept. He got up from the deck, felt his way to his berth, and
+lay there unconscious for nearly a day and a half.
+
+"When he recovered, he had not the faintest recollection of even lying
+down on the deck, and was amazed to find himself in his clothes in his
+bunk."
+
+"Curious."
+
+"So I thought. Don't light your pipe--try one of these cigars. They are
+from a box I have just opened. I want your opinion of them."
+
+"Thanks--want the light?"
+
+"No, I won't smoke any more to-night. I think"--a yawn--"I'll be getting
+to bed. Good-night."
+
+"Good-night. I shan't turn in just yet; as I've lighted this cigar, I'll
+smoke it out."
+
+"Give me your opinion of it in the morning. Good-night."
+
+"Good-night."
+
+Gerald sat on in the moonlight smoking, and when in the morning he found
+himself in his berth with his clothes on, he thought of the story of the
+moon struck man, thought he had been affected in the same way, and was
+thankful that he had awakened at his regular hour with nothing worse
+than a headache.
+
+He determined never to go to sleep on deck again while the moon was
+shining.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+THE LOVERS MEET
+
+
+New York. Gerald bade farewell to his companion, who pressed him, if
+ever he returned to England again, to pay him a visit, and they parted.
+
+Gerald's first act, after fixing on a train at the railway station, was
+to send a wire to Depew.
+
+     Have succeeded in every way. Coming by train, arriving
+     Oakville at six. Let Tessie meet me with trap.
+
+  GERALD DANVERS.
+
+And Tessie was there to meet him--Tessie, bright, bonnie, and expectant.
+
+Their eyes spoke, but they just shook hands quietly and then drove away.
+
+When they reached the country road, away from people, Gerald took hold
+of the reins, and pulled the horses up.
+
+"What's that for?"
+
+"Comfort, Tessie. You have just got to give me the biggest kisses you're
+capable of giving, and I don't like them in a jolting cart."
+
+"Gerald!"
+
+"That's it. Now another. I can do with another. Greedy, eh? Why, I
+haven't had a kiss all the time I have been away."
+
+"I should hope not!"
+
+"Little woman, I've come back so full of joy--and I may say of
+money--that I wonder my feelings aren't too much for me. I wonder I
+don't burst."
+
+"Is it true, Gerald--all of it? Dad told us when he got your wire."
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"Well, when he opened it and read it, he said, 'Hallelujah!'"
+
+"That's the old man right enough."
+
+"Then he told us that you had been over for nineteen thousand pounds,
+and that you said you were bringing them with you."
+
+"That was so."
+
+"And is it true, Gerald? True that you have nineteen thousand pounds
+about you now?"
+
+"Feel right here, lassie."
+
+"Your heart?"
+
+"No, you can't feel that--you've had it for weeks past."
+
+"Don't be foolish, Gerald."
+
+"Feel there--my vest."
+
+"Paper."
+
+"That's it--wrapped up in more paper--there's nineteen of them, each for
+a thousand pounds."
+
+"My!"
+
+"Wants some swallowing, doesn't it? That's what I went across the pond
+for, to get that money for your dad."
+
+"So he said."
+
+"And before I went I bargained how I was to be paid for my work. I made
+him promise to give me--you."
+
+"So he said."
+
+"'Pears to me he has told you 'most all there is to tell."
+
+"He had never said a word to mother or to me till your wire came. But he
+was full enough of talk then."
+
+"Trust the old man for that. When he pops the cork out you can hear
+him."
+
+"He says that if it had not been for you, he never would have seen a
+dollar of the money."
+
+"That's so. Sounds egotistical, but I don't sorter reckon he would."
+
+"He's mapped out what he's going to do with part of it."
+
+"Hasn't lost any time!"
+
+"He's not going to give you any of it."
+
+"Don't want it. I've got his word that he'll give you to me, and that's
+enough for me to handle. I am counting on finding you a handful."
+
+"I'm sure!"
+
+"Old man's a man of his word; he won't go away from it. Our two beating
+hearts are going to be made one, Tessie, just as soon as a parson can
+tie us up."
+
+"I don't see any reason for hurry!"
+
+"Your sight's bad! We'll have to see to it."
+
+"But you haven't asked what he's doing with the part of the money I
+referred to."
+
+"Don't want to know. Don't care a mosquito's wing what he does with it.
+I plank those notes into his hand, and I say, 'Farmer, there's your part
+of the bargain,' then I step across to you and I say, 'and I think this
+is mine?' Farmer he agrees, and you and I----"
+
+"But Gerald, darling----"
+
+"That's right; you keep on calling me 'darling.' It sounds real
+sweet--just like molasses--coming from your lips."
+
+"I wish you would be sensible for a minute."
+
+"Couldn't, Tessie, if I tried. I've earned you, my girl, and you're
+mine, mine, mine!"
+
+"Gerald, don't scream out like that!"
+
+"Don't care. There's only the dicky birds to hear, and it won't frighten
+them. Catch up the reins, lassie, steer for the farm, let me unload my
+cargo, and have the right to claim you for first mate on our voyage
+through life."
+
+"Gerald! I never saw you so silly."
+
+"Ain't I? I own up. I'm just oozing stupidity at every pore. Gimme a
+kiss, or I'll stop the horse again."
+
+"How rough you are, Gerald!"
+
+"Ain't I? Gimme another. And another. Hallo! What's the mare stopped
+for? Gee up! Don't you know you've got a bride and bridegroom behind
+you? Don't you know the wedding march? Gee up, anyway."
+
+"Gerald! Do be quiet. I want to tell you something."
+
+"Fire away."
+
+"About that money."
+
+"Yes?"
+
+"Dad's going to give me some."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"How much do you think?"
+
+"Dunno--don't care."
+
+"Nine thousand pounds."
+
+"Get away! What are you giving us?"
+
+"Fact. He's not going to give you a cent. He says he promised to give me
+to you, and he'll settle on me as a wedding portion the odd half."
+
+"He's a thorough, regular, kiln dried brick!"
+
+"Nine thousand pounds, Gerald!"
+
+"Don't seem as if there could be so much money in the world, Tessie,
+does it? There's a capital for us to start a life partnership on!"
+
+"As the capitalist partner, I shall keep you in order, my boy."
+
+"You will--you will--I feel it looming."
+
+"You may not be in such a hurry about our marriage after that threat."
+
+"Oh, yes. I am in a greater hurry. I want to get over it."
+
+"You wretch!"
+
+"Ain't I? Biggest wretch on the American continent at this moment.
+Hullo, Tessie! I didn't see the crape round your sleeve. Who's dead?"
+
+"Poor old Susan."
+
+"No!"
+
+"Yes; she died the second week you were away."
+
+"Poor old soul! She nearly sent me to glory, but I bear her no grudge."
+
+"Did you find out, Gerald, whether her husband was really murdered after
+all?"
+
+"Not only that, Tessie, but I found who were his two murderers."
+
+"Are they arrested?"
+
+"They were arrested by the hand of death. No earthly judge and jury will
+try them. They have to toe the mark before the Judge of All."
+
+"Dead?"
+
+"Yes, and that is all we will say about it. We don't want to talk of
+death now, Tessie, but of life, the life which is before us, the life
+which you and I are going to travel in double harness. The life----"
+
+"Take your arm away, Gerald. There's the farm, and mother and father are
+standing at the door."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Hip, hip, hooray, farmer!"
+
+"Come right in, lad, come right in. You, Jim, look after the mare."
+
+"Mother-in-law, give me a kiss."
+
+"I'm sure----"
+
+"It's right, farmer, isn't it? She can kiss her future son-in-law in
+safety, can't she? I bring you home nineteen thousand pounds, and Tessie
+and I enter into partnership till death doth us part. Isn't that the
+bond?"
+
+"Every word of it, sonny, every word. But that money, where is it?"
+
+"Here, right here, farmer; on my beating, palpitating, manly bosom.
+Mother-in-law that is to be, give me your scissors. No, take 'em
+yourself. Undo the stitches. There. That's it. 'Open sesame' and out she
+rolls.
+
+"Brown paper parcel tied with twine. Don't look worth nineteen thousand
+pounds, does it, farmer? Open the packet, and you will see a sight for
+sore eyes. Nineteen crisp, crackling, rustling Bank of England notes for
+a thousand pounds each!"
+
+The trembling fingers of the farmer gripped the scissors, and he cut the
+twine. Then he tore off the brown paper and revealed--a piece of folded
+newspaper!
+
+For a moment there was a silence, but in that moment a great change came
+over those present.
+
+All the hilarity left Gerald. He stood looking at the packet with surely
+the whitest face that ever living man bore. The farmer's clouded to the
+pitch of blackness, and, bringing his hand down on the table with a
+force which made the crockery on the dresser ring again, he blurted out:
+
+"What damned fool's game is this, anyhow?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+THIEF!
+
+
+Gerald never moved, never took his eyes off that packet, never answered.
+
+Then he walked closer to it, picked it up, dropped it, and sank into a
+chair, still a white faced, speechless man.
+
+The farmer watched him for a whole minute. Then he sneeringly remarked:
+
+"Been robbed of the money, eh?"
+
+Gerald had to moisten his lips before he could ejaculate the word:
+
+"Yes."
+
+Then the farmer laughed, but it was not a pleasant laugh.
+
+He rose to his feet and pointed to the door. He uttered but one word:
+
+"Go!"
+
+"Father!"
+
+"Silence, girl! and stand aside from that lying cheat."
+
+"Cheat!"
+
+Gerald spoke the last word. There was an air of unnatural calm about the
+farmer, as he answered:
+
+"Cheat! Fraud! Liar! Bunco-steerer; we're a long way from the sheriff,
+or, by the God that's in the heaven above, I'd lodge you in jail
+to-night."
+
+"Lodge--me--in--jail!"
+
+"For robbing me of fifty pounds."
+
+"Robbing!"
+
+"Do you think I don't see through your trickery? Do you take me for a
+hayseed because I'm a farmer? Do you think I believe a word of what you
+say?
+
+"Tell me--tell me again that you had nineteen thousand pounds in that
+vest of yours, and that you've been robbed of it."
+
+"I sewed--it--in--myself."
+
+Again the farmer laughed--that unpleasant laugh of his.
+
+Then he walked to the wall and took down a whip--a stock whip with a
+long thong. He drew the lash through his fingers and said:
+
+"This farmhouse has sheltered a thief long enough. I look on that fifty
+pounds as lost. I give you two minutes to get the other side of that
+door. If you're not gone then, I'll write a receipt on your back with
+this lash. So help me, God!"
+
+"Father!"
+
+"Stand back, girl!--this is no place for you."
+
+"Father----"
+
+"Stand back, I say. You're my flesh and blood--the flesh and blood of
+honest people; you want no truck with carrion like this."
+
+"Farmer, you think I have robbed you----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+"You think that I----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+"I, who wanted to----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+Gerald walked to the door. Tessie sprang to it, too, and said:
+
+"Gerald!"
+
+"Tessie, I--answer me, lassie; it looks black enough, God knows. Answer
+me! Do you think I lied when I told you----"
+
+"No, Gerald; I believe in you now as I did then."
+
+"Thank God!"
+
+"My own flesh and blood turnin' agin' me!"
+
+"Farmer, I----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+"Listen to----"
+
+"Thief!"
+
+"Father!"
+
+"Stand aside, child, and let that thief go out--out before I lash him
+like the dog he is."
+
+"No, father, you wrong him, you wrong me. He is my promised husband. If
+he is turned out, I go with him."
+
+And once more the farmer muttered:
+
+"My own flesh and blood turnin' agin' me!"
+
+"Tessie, my little girl."
+
+Gerald had his arms round her waist, and drew her to him as he spoke.
+
+"God bless you for those words. They put heart, life, and courage into
+me. But this is your home. Stay here, girlie, till I fetch you from
+it--till I have found the money of which I have been robbed."
+
+"Gerald!"
+
+"My girlie," there was a little tremble in his voice, "the sky looked so
+clear and bright as we came to the farm, and it looks all drear and
+black now I am leaving it. But the blackest cloud has a silver lining,
+and I know that money is in America.
+
+"I've got to find it, Tessie, and I'm going right away now to do it.
+Right away into New York, and you won't see me back here again until I
+come with the money; until I come to make your father apologize for
+calling an honest man a thief, and admit that it doesn't always do to
+judge by appearances."
+
+"Gerald!"
+
+"Oh, I don't blame him, lass; things look black, cruelly black; and if
+he knew all, he'd be more full of wonder than unjust rage. I sewed those
+notes into this vest myself, Tessie, and sleeping or waking, girlie, it
+has never left my body."
+
+"Where--where, Gerald, can the notes be?"
+
+"That, lass, I am going to New York to find out. A kiss, girlie; just
+one. You'll see me back; trust me."
+
+"I do, Gerald--trust you with all my heart and soul."
+
+"Mrs. Depew, you don't feel so strong about this matter as the farmer;
+you don't know quite so much. If he's inclined to be rough on this girl
+here, remember that I tell you that when she defends me, she defends an
+honest man.
+
+"You told me once that you knew by my eyes I could never tell a woman a
+lie. I'm looking you straight in the face now, Mrs. Depew, and I tell
+you that I sewed that money in my vest myself."
+
+"Why," blurted out the farmer, "why didn't----"
+
+"Hold on, there, farmer--you've said enough. I've taken such words from
+you to-night as no living man can say he has ever uttered to me before.
+I don't want to hear you talk now. Later on, I'll listen--listen when
+you beg my pardon for your injustice; as you shall, by God! Good-night."
+
+And he passed through the doorway, out on to the road, his face towards
+the capital.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+A THEATRICAL MAKE-UP
+
+
+We leave America for England, and turn back in our history a week or
+so--to Wimbledon and The Elms on the night of Gerald's adventure there.
+
+The police and Gerald are in the passage by the front door, and a
+haggard faced man is crouched below the steps listening.
+
+He hears all that Gerald says, and his fury rises to white heat as he
+realizes by his late clerk's reticence that he is not a detective at
+all!
+
+No policeman would speak as he speaks--concealing the facts from other
+officers.
+
+The police and Gerald go away. Indelibly printed on the lawyer's memory
+is his late clerk's address.
+
+Loide breaks into his own house, and sleeps that night on the bed he had
+left up-stairs.
+
+Early as Gerald leaves Wimbledon next morning, Loide has left it before
+him.
+
+The lawyer has profited in his former lesson in make up.
+
+He remembers that in the Waterloo Road there are two or three theatrical
+shops. He waits about till they are open, and then enters one.
+
+"You will be surprised at what I want," he says to the man in the shop,
+"and perhaps you will not be able to give it to me."
+
+"What is it, sir?"
+
+"I want such a complete disguise that my own son will not know me."
+
+"Your son!"
+
+"Yes. It's a ghastly thing for a father to have to confess, but I
+suspect my son of having robbed me. I want to find out if it is so. If
+so, I shall ship him abroad.
+
+"I dare not place the matter in the hands of the police, because, if my
+suspicions are confirmed, I should have to prosecute--that I cannot do,
+for his mother's sake alone."
+
+"But how will you manage to----"
+
+"I have thought it all out. We have just discharged our old caretaker at
+the warehouse. I have given out that I am going abroad, and I propose to
+be the new caretaker for a week or so."
+
+"For a week! You can't expect make up to last a week."
+
+"You think the disguise is impossible?"
+
+"Well, no----"
+
+"See here, I have false teeth. Now they are out you see what a
+difference it makes."
+
+"Yes, you're right; pinches in your cheeks, and brings your nose and
+chin nearer. A good wig----"
+
+"I wear one now. I propose not to wear one at all. I am quite bald at
+top. Can you color the fringe of hair round?"
+
+"Color wouldn't stand for a week; besides, in daylight it would be
+seen."
+
+"There is no way, then?"
+
+"Yes; if you don't mind it."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Bleach it--won't take five minutes--bleach what you have, and your
+bushy eyebrows whitened and trimmed will make all the difference in the
+world."
+
+"Good."
+
+"But, mind, you will have to dye it black again when you want to return
+to your own color."
+
+"That's all right. Can you suggest anything else?"
+
+"Yes. Your skin is white--'London tint' we call it--that can be stained
+a darker color--'country tint' our name for it. Complexion is a big
+factor in a make up."
+
+"I understand."
+
+"If you don't mind a little pain, we can alter your nose. This little
+thing put up the nostril distends one side, and contracts the other."
+
+"Good."
+
+"Bodily--you don't mind walking lame?"
+
+"Don't mind anything so long as the disguise is effective."
+
+"Elevators in your boots raise you three inches in height, and a club
+boot will cause you to walk altogether differently."
+
+"I see."
+
+"A hump on your back, and a pair of tinted glasses will complete the
+thing. It would need a very close observer to detect you."
+
+"The voice is the only thing----"
+
+"Need not trouble you. This little thing fixes like the plate of false
+teeth in the roof of the mouth. Stage dudes wear them. Speak slowly, and
+you'll find yourself--unconsciously--lisping and stammering. The nose
+distender adds a little twangy, nasal sound, and it's your own fault if
+your voice gives you away."
+
+"All sounds good. Can you take me in hand now?"
+
+"Walk in."
+
+Terms were discussed and settled, and for an hour Loide was under the
+shopkeeper's hands.
+
+At the expiration of that time he looked in the glass. He started back
+in amazement.
+
+Truly had he had a son, that son would scarcely have recognized him. He
+would have been a wise child to know his own father in that disguise.
+
+"The advantage of this, you see," said the make up man, "is that it is
+what we call a 'daylight get up.' You needn't be afraid of it rubbing
+off. It'll last. You'll look the same this day week as you look now. It
+will be more than a week before that stain begins to wear off. Now, try
+the coat."
+
+Several coats were tried before a fit to suit the shopman was arrived
+at, and then he gave it out to one of his men with directions.
+
+Meanwhile boots were tried on.
+
+"You will find the height and the club boot strange at first."
+
+"If I look as I feel with these elevators on, I must appear to be a
+giant."
+
+The shopman laughed.
+
+"It makes a big change. Walk round the shop for five minutes so as to
+get used to them. Coat ready? Now try this on. That will do, I think.
+Put on these tinted specs, and you're complete."
+
+Once more Loide looked in the mirror. His bent appearance altered his
+shape as much as the shopman's art had altered his face--he felt
+absolutely satisfied.
+
+Having paid the bill, he left the shop, and started walking towards the
+bridge; but he did not walk far--he would have been lame in reality--he
+hailed a hansom.
+
+The direction he gave the driver was the main road, in a street off
+which Gerald was lodging.
+
+Reaching the end of it he alighted, paid his fare, and boldly walked to
+No. 9--the number Gerald had given to the police.
+
+It was an ordinary lodging house, and the lawyer was pleased to see a
+bill in the window, bearing the legend, "Bed for Single Gentleman."
+
+He knocked at the door. He was after that bed.
+
+Yes, the landlady was in, said the girl; would he step inside and wait a
+minute?
+
+He stepped. The landlady came; she quoted her terms for a bedroom for a
+week.
+
+Would the gentleman like to see it? The gentleman would--and did.
+
+The second floor was devoted to bedrooms. Loide approved of the one
+shown him.
+
+He commented on the fact that the tenant of the next room slept late, as
+his boots were still outside his door; and with a darkened brow the
+landlady replied to the effect that those who stopped out all night
+usually slept late the next day.
+
+Loide's heart beat quicker--he guessed the boots were Gerald's.
+
+He was sleeping in the next room, sleeping there with nineteen thousand
+pounds in his possession.
+
+In the next room--there were possibilities. Loide smiled pleasantly, and
+his heart felt lightened.
+
+He paid a deposit, and said that if the landlady would get him a chop
+that would be all he would require till supper.
+
+He was left alone.
+
+Turning the key in the lock he carefully felt the walls separating him
+from the adjoining room--as he suspected, lath and plaster! Presently he
+heard some one moving in there, heard distinctly through the thin wall.
+Then the door was opened, and the boots taken in. Gerald was going out.
+
+He went. Ear to crack in the door, the lawyer heard the man he was so
+anxious about speak to the landlady on the next floor, saying he would
+return in about two hours' time, and would she get him a steak and
+potatoes for then.
+
+Two hours! There would be time.
+
+The lawyer stood on his bed and took down from its nail a framed and
+highly colored statement to the effect that The Way of the Transgressor
+is Hard.
+
+On that part of the wall the frame had covered he operated with his
+pocket-knife.
+
+Stripping the paper, he cut away plaster and laths till he could see the
+back of the paper of the adjoining chamber.
+
+He sighed with satisfaction. His task was over.
+
+He did not care how soon Gerald came back. He would have his eye on
+him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+NOT A MAN TO STICK AT TRIFLES
+
+
+The lawyer then rolled up a sheet of stiff note paper from his bag into
+funnel shape, pinned it so, and made a tiny hole in the wall paper of
+the other room.
+
+Fitting the small end of his funnel to the hole, he commanded a perfect
+view of the next room.
+
+He was surprised, too, to find how it improved the sight looking through
+the tube--it was like a telescope, it seemed to bring things so near.
+
+With the framed text hanging on its hook again, there was not the
+slightest suspicious thing about the room, and when his chop came up,
+everything was finished.
+
+Soon after his dinner things were cleared away, Gerald returned.
+
+The lawyer had not troubled to enter the adjoining chamber; the fact
+that it had been left unlocked convinced him that his man carried the
+notes on his person.
+
+And he did at that stage, for he had just returned from his interview
+with the dentist.
+
+With locked door, and eye to his funnel, Loide watched.
+
+He was seized with a frenzy as he saw Gerald take the notes from an
+envelope, and count them one by one--nineteen of them.
+
+Had the look on the lawyer's face been seen by Gerald, that gentleman
+would not have hummed so blithely and looked so happy.
+
+Gerald put the notes in his breast pocket, and pinned the top of it
+up--he was taking great care of them.
+
+Loide had made up his mind to get those notes. He rather fancied that he
+would get them that night.
+
+He generally got what he laid himself out to get. He was not a man to
+stick at trifles.
+
+Presently Gerald drew from his pocket and opened a little box.
+
+Loide knew what it was--he had seen them in a shop window.
+
+A small alarm with points to be pressed into the floor, so that when the
+door it lay against was pushed--the lawyer's hope of getting possession
+of the notes that night received a rude shock.
+
+The moment Gerald had swallowed his meal he went out again. He came back
+within an hour, and once more the lawyer's eye was busy.
+
+Gerald took a ticket from his pocket and put it on the mantelpiece. To
+the girl who was dusting the room he said:
+
+"Tell Mrs. Parkes I am leaving to-morrow morning; ask her to have my
+bill made out, including the morning's breakfast."
+
+The watcher strained his eyes, and ultimately read the ticket on the
+mantel board.
+
+It was a second class passage on the American liner _Cascaria_.
+
+Loide heard Gerald order tea for six o'clock, and then putting on his
+hat and breathing a prayer of thankfulness that it was raining--the
+devil helps his children--he went downstairs and out into the street.
+
+Had Gerald been looking out of the window he would only have seen an
+umbrella leaving the house--the man beneath was effectually concealed by
+it.
+
+Loide entered the nearest news agent's shop, and bought the morning
+paper. Looking down the shipping advertisements, he found to which line
+the _Cascaria_ belonged, and took a cab to the company's head office.
+
+The passenger list was open to inspection. Gerald had booked in his own
+name.
+
+To the lawyer's chagrin, the whole cabin had been booked. What had
+looked an easy road, now showed a stumbling block.
+
+He had counted on sharing that cabin. He had shared one once before, and
+the performance therein had been--in a measure--a success.
+
+He had looked to a repetition of it--it had been so easy.
+
+He booked--booked, too, a cabin to himself as Gerald had done. He
+reflected that there were contingencies likely to arise when his sole
+occupancy of the cabin might be advantageous.
+
+He hoped to secure the notes without risk. He quite recognized the
+danger attending the luring of Gerald into his own cabin, and
+then--besides, perhaps he wouldn't be lured; he might turn a deaf ear to
+the charmer, charm he never so wisely.
+
+Loide purchased a box of cigars to smoke on the steamer. Then he went
+into a chemist's and bought a tiny hypo syringe, and a certain drug, the
+potency of which was known to him.
+
+He rather prided himself on his general knowledge--he was a well read
+man. His reading was now serving him a good turn.
+
+With that syringe he would inject the drug into one of the cigars--there
+was no knowing when such a thing might prove useful.
+
+He entered the house at ten minutes past six.
+
+He reflected that Gerald would not be through with his tea in ten
+minutes, and that there was little likelihood of a meeting on the
+stairs--he was right; he reached his own room in safety.
+
+Nothing happened that night. The next morning he watched Gerald packing.
+
+He saw by the way he packed his portmanteau that the money was not to be
+placed in it.
+
+Presently Gerald called out to his landlady for a needle and thread.
+
+The watcher saw him put the notes in the envelopes, then wrap them in
+brown paper and tie the packet with a piece of white grocer's twine.
+
+The packet lay on the table, and the shape and size thereof were easily
+seen.
+
+Then the lining of the vest was ripped, the packet pushed in, and the
+lining sewn down again with the needle and black thread.
+
+Loide made a mental note of further things he needed for the voyage.
+
+Item: needle and black thread; item: brown paper and white twine.
+
+The articles went on board with him in the shape of a parcel--a
+duplicate of Gerald's.
+
+He guessed the train Gerald would go by, and resolved to travel by it
+himself.
+
+He did not want to let his man out of his sight more than was absolutely
+necessary.
+
+Within four minutes of Gerald's departure, Loide left, and a cab took
+him to the station.
+
+He was in the train first, and, unseen himself, watched Gerald enter. So
+on to the boat.
+
+He played his cards well, and during the voyage he and Gerald became
+close acquaintances.
+
+With his syringe and drug, Loide had doctored his cigars. They rested in
+his case for use when the occasion arose.
+
+One night on deck the conversation turned on moon blindness, and Loide
+testified to its effects. If the picture he drew of its results lacked
+truth, it was at least original, and he had a manner which was
+convincing.
+
+He concluded the conversation by handing Gerald a cigar and saying,
+"Good-night," and left him to smoke it.
+
+He came back within three minutes. He had watched from a shadowed
+portion of the boat, and seen the cigar drop from the smoker's mouth and
+roll on the deck.
+
+Loide picked it up and threw it overboard--it had served its purpose.
+
+He helped Gerald to his feet, and in a dazed, unseeing way, the drugged
+man was helped to his cabin. There he sank on his bunk unconscious.
+
+Loide turned on the electric light and fastened the door. He did
+nothing hurriedly; he knew just how long the effects of the drug would
+last--he had plenty of time.
+
+Undoing the coat and vest, he ripped out the stitches which held in the
+notes.
+
+He put the packet in his pocket, and replaced it by another similar in
+shape and size.
+
+Then very carefully he sewed up the vest again with a needle and thread
+he had about him, buttoned up the coat, turned off the light, and found
+his way to his own cabin.
+
+There he undid the parcel. His eyes glistened.
+
+Nineteen crackling pieces of paper worth a thousand pounds each!
+
+He rolled and pressed them together till they formed a very small ball,
+and then he took off his clubfoot boot. The thick clump was for
+lightness--hollow.
+
+By lifting the inner soles he had been able to put his finger into the
+hollow--now he put the notes.
+
+With the contents of a penny bottle of liquid glue he glued down the
+leathers he had raised, one by one, and then left the thing to be dry by
+the morning--which it was, solidly dry.
+
+Brown paper, envelopes, string, needle, thread, glue were all cast from
+a port-hole into the sea.
+
+From a bottle he had with him he took a deep drink of brandy--he thought
+he had earned it.
+
+Then he undressed, carefully fastened his door, turned off the light,
+and prepared for the earliest night's rest he had had for many a day.
+
+Next morning Gerald woke with a headache--he said nothing of what was
+not quite clear to him--his finding himself in his bunk with his clothes
+on.
+
+His first waking movement was to grip and look at his vest--all was
+secure.
+
+He had not feared anything otherwise, but it was the first night he had
+slept with his door unlocked.
+
+Still he had the vest on, and after all, he reflected--with a
+smile--that was the safest place. No one could possibly have tampered
+with it without his knowing the fact.
+
+And he smiled again.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+ONCE MORE ON THE TRACK
+
+
+When Gerald was turned out of the farm, it was too late to catch a train
+to New York. He slept in a roadside shed.
+
+Early next morning he was in the city, and he had made up his mind to go
+to police headquarters, and tell sufficient of his story to justify a
+stoppage of the notes.
+
+He passed a money changer's on the other side of the way, and looked at
+the shop.
+
+As he did so, he saw something which turned him rigid.
+
+Emerging from the money changer's was his close companion of the voyage.
+It was not so much that which came as a shock to him as the change in
+the fellow's appearance.
+
+The humpbacked man was no longer humpbacked. The club-footed man was no
+longer club-footed.
+
+The toothless gums were now filled with teeth, and where there had been
+a long drawn face, there was now a round one.
+
+The glasses off, revealed eyes, sharp, shrewd, keen, piercing eyes,
+which even with the road between them, Gerald recognized in a
+moment--Lawyer Loide's!
+
+In that moment there flashed on him the knowledge of how he had been
+robbed.
+
+Loide boarded a passing car, and was carried away.
+
+Gerald hesitated. Should he follow? No, he must first ascertain beyond a
+doubt that the notes were in the man's possession.
+
+He could follow the car in a hack, and catch it up if need be.
+
+He dashed across the road, and entered the money changer's.
+
+"You are the principal?"
+
+"Yes. Vat can I do for you?"
+
+"I am an English detective."
+
+"So."
+
+"I am shadowing a man who has just left you. Stolen notes, a thousand
+pounds each. Has he cashed one with you?"
+
+"No, no, mine frent. He not haf me so. I makes inquiries first."
+
+Gerald pulled out his note-book.
+
+"Was the note he presented one of these numbers?"
+
+"Dat von."
+
+The index finger of the banker's hand was at work.
+
+"What name did he give you?"
+
+"Loide."
+
+"Richard Loide, lawyer, of Liverpool Street, London?"
+
+"Dat vos so. Here vos his cart."
+
+"Has he left the note with you?"
+
+"I haf lock him in mine safe."
+
+"What to do with it?"
+
+"I am at his oxpense cabling to Englant. Dat is all rights, den I vos
+pay him--but not now."
+
+"What address has he given you here?"
+
+"Oriental Hall, Seventh Avenue."
+
+"You will not do anything with the note till you see me again? We shall
+probably arrest him to-night, or in the morning."
+
+"Dat vos so."
+
+"Good-bye for the present."
+
+"Goot-bye."
+
+"Seventh Avenue, Oriental Hotel, drive like fury."
+
+Such were Gerald's instructions to the hackman.
+
+He knew he would get there before Loide. As a matter of fact, he passed
+the car bearing that individual half way.
+
+When he had paid his fare, the number of dollars he had left he could
+have counted on his finger-tips.
+
+It was a third-rate hotel. While waiting for the hotel clerk, he looked
+through the visitors' or arrival book. Loide had signed his own name; it
+stood out boldly, "Richard Loide, London, Eng."
+
+"Is room No. 40 (the next one to Loide's) vacant?" he inquired.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I'll book it."
+
+He did so; signed a fictitious name in the visitors' book, received his
+key, and went up in the elevator to his room.
+
+He sat down and waited, waited till he heard the tenant of No. 41 come
+along the passage, and pass through the room bearing that number.
+
+Then Gerald flung off his coat, stepped into the passage, satisfied
+himself that no soul was in sight, turned the handle of the door of No.
+41, pushed it open, and sprang on its occupant--Loide.
+
+The surprise party generally has the advantage--Gerald had.
+
+Before Loide could utter a cry, or turn to gaze at his assailant, strong
+fingers were gripping his throat and half choking him.
+
+The lawyer was being garroted. Resistance ceased.
+
+He became limp. Gerald was holding an unconscious man in his arm.
+
+Gerald dropped his burden to the floor and sprang to the door, shot the
+bolt, and then turned to the man on the carpet.
+
+He felt his heart, it was beating--beating furiously. That was all
+right.
+
+Gerald knew his victim to be a murderer, but he did not want to become
+one himself.
+
+He went over the man. In the breast pocket, in an envelope, he found the
+notes. He counted them--eighteen.
+
+One glance at the man, one more feel of the heart, and he went into his
+own chamber.
+
+Getting into his coat, and putting on his hat, he went out of his room,
+and, key in hand, was carried by the lift to the ground floor.
+
+Leaving his key in the bureau, he walked away from the hotel, and
+inquiring of a policeman where the office of the New York Central Bank
+was, he made in its direction.
+
+At the bank counter he filled a form paying in to the credit of George
+Depew eighteen thousand pounds.
+
+"Will you wire through to your Oakville branch, telling them to let Mr.
+Depew know at once that this money has been paid to his account?"
+
+"Certainly, sir. It shall be done immediately."
+
+"Thank you. Give me the name of the most respectable lawyer near here,
+will you?"
+
+"Denison, Coomer & Wall--they rank highest around here."
+
+"Thanks."
+
+Gerald went to the lawyers. To the acting partner he said:
+
+"I was recommended here by the New York Central Bank. I was commissioned
+by Mr. George Depew, farmer, of Oakville, to go to England to collect
+nineteen thousand pounds, money left him under a will. I got it, and
+came over by the _Cascaria_. I was robbed on board. Eighteen thousand
+pounds of the money I have recovered and paid into the New York Central
+to Mr. Depew's credit; here is the bank's receipt."
+
+"Yes--that is an order."
+
+"One thousand pounds is missing--I traced it to Myer Wolff's--Exchange
+Bureau on Broadway. I went in. He has the note.
+
+"I told him not to part with the money for it. The man who left it with
+him was the thief. He is a shrewd, clever thief; prompt measures must be
+taken to prevent his getting that thousand pounds."
+
+"Where's Depew?"
+
+"At home in Oakville. I want you to fetch him here express."
+
+"Why don't you fetch him yourself?"
+
+"He thinks I am the thief. I only got hands on the eighteen thousand
+pounds an hour ago. The whole lot was missing yesterday."
+
+"He'll have to make a declaration and get bondsmen before that thousand
+pounds can be successfully claimed."
+
+"He can do that--most respectable man in the section."
+
+"I'll write him now to come along, and send the letter through special.
+How do the trains run? Can he get here to-night?"
+
+"Dead easy. If you catch the next out with your letter, he can be back
+here before half past four."
+
+"Good. I'll tell him to be here at five o'clock. There'll be justices
+around at that time. You'll come back?"
+
+"I will--you'll want me?"
+
+"To join in the declaration--that's so."
+
+"Good. I'll be here."
+
+"Till five o'clock then. Good-bye."
+
+"Good-bye."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+THE LAWYER LIFTED INTO ANOTHER SPHERE
+
+
+Loide lifted himself on his elbow and looked round. Then he
+remembered--he was in his room at the New York hotel.
+
+He had entered the room and then--of course, some one had sprung on him
+from behind.
+
+A horrible thought smote him. He plunged his hand into his breast pocket
+and screamed with rage--the pocket was empty!
+
+The notes were gone!
+
+He sprang to his feet and thought.
+
+What should he do? Give information to the police--would it be safe?
+
+He had--foreseeing possession again--written the Bank of England
+withdrawing the stop on the notes, saying they were now in his client's
+possession.
+
+How then was he to account for the holding of them himself? Would not
+unpleasant inquiries be made?
+
+Would he be able to answer them--without danger?
+
+Had all his labor been in vain? How had the robber possibly known that
+he had these notes in his possession?
+
+At the money changer's he had purposely only spoken of one.
+
+He knew it was not the work of a common hotel thief, for his studs,
+watch, and loose money had not been touched. It must have been some one
+who knew.
+
+He would, at that moment, have cheerfully given one of the missing notes
+to know who the thief was.
+
+He was afraid to go to the police, to say that he was an English lawyer
+bringing the money over to his client, Depew, and that he had been
+robbed, because if there was a real Depew, he would step forward and
+claim the money, and he--Loide--would be worse off than ever.
+
+Besides, what explanation of his attempt to cash the one note could he
+give?
+
+There was the thousand pounds fortunately saved from the robbery. This
+was safe in the money changer's hands. He looked at his watch. By the
+time he reached the banker's office, time would have elapsed, the reply
+cable would probably be back.
+
+He would secure the thousand pounds first, and consider what he should
+do about the others after.
+
+He took a car to Broadway and entered the banker's office.
+
+The money changer looked at him.
+
+"You haf come back--alone, eh?"
+
+"Alone?--yes. I told you I was a stranger in New York."
+
+"Dat vos so. But you haf frents here--frents anxious to meet wit you."
+
+"What do you mean? What nonsense are you talking? Have you got a cable
+back from England?"
+
+"No, mine frent, nor did I cable out there--I saves the oxpense."
+
+"You----"
+
+"You see, von of the peeples vat is so anxious to meet mit you, he comes
+in directly you leaf here."
+
+"My--friend?"
+
+"Oh, yes. He know you quite well. He say to me, 'Dat vos my very goot
+frent, Meestair Loide, the lawyer, of London, England, eh?'"
+
+"Said--that--to--you?"
+
+"Ogsactly. I say, 'Yes, dat vos so.' Den your frent he answers that he
+came after you about stolen notes. He say, 'Dat I change him.' I smile.
+He go out to seeks you. I am much surprised to see you alone here all
+by yourself."
+
+"Alone!"
+
+"Yes, because he say that he tink to-day he arrest you."
+
+"Arrest me!"
+
+"Dat is a way vid detectives; dey do dat wid peoples vot steals bank
+notes."
+
+"Steals!"
+
+"So."
+
+"This is a trick! Give me back my note."
+
+"Your note?"
+
+"Yes--damn you--give me back my money."
+
+"Shacob," the money changer called to his assistant sitting in the glass
+office behind, "will you oblige me by ring up the call for the police."
+
+"Police," said Loide.
+
+"So."
+
+"What the devil do you mean?"
+
+"Vait, mine frent. Do not get oxcited. It is big mistakes. Vait till the
+police come. They explain tings bettaire."
+
+"Curse you!"
+
+"So--if it please you, it pass the times."
+
+"I shall go to my lawyer," he was making for the door as he spoke, "you
+shall pay for this."
+
+"Ogsactly."
+
+Loide disappeared. He saw a couple of policemen coming along the
+sidewalk, and promptly jumped on a car going in the opposite direction.
+
+It took him the way of the hotel. There would be time to go in, get his
+bag, and leave before the police turned up there.
+
+There was a little money left in the bag; he must secure that.
+
+He got his key in the hotel office, and was carried in the elevator to
+his floor.
+
+Locking himself in his room, he tore open his bag, and threw the
+contents on the floor.
+
+Papers--he crammed them into the grate, and, applying a match, set them
+burning. He destroyed everything which would link him with the name of
+Loide.
+
+Then he started to resume the disguise which had been so successful on
+the boat. He would be safe in it, he thought.
+
+He would wait for the police, and give another name and--and then there
+flashed to his memory the recollection of the register! He had signed
+there his full name, Richard Loide. His signature would convict him.
+
+He sank with a groan on the bed. What should--what could he do?
+
+The police were on his track without doubt, or why the call at the
+money changer's? What a fool he had been to set foot in America--how
+could he set foot out of it?
+
+If he was to escape, there was no time to be lost. He took his bag in
+his hand and passed out into the passage.
+
+Looking over the staircase, he saw on the ground floor two policemen
+talking to the hotel clerk. Was he too late?
+
+One of the officers stepped into the ever moving elevator. Slowly he was
+being borne upwards.
+
+What should he do? The thought occurred to him that they would find his
+room empty, and think him gone.
+
+He would hide--on the floor above. They would not think of searching
+there.
+
+He sprang into the elevator--he should have waited for the next up
+coming car--the floor was nearly level with his knees when he jumped.
+The result was that he slipped, staggered, and fell prone on the floor
+of the lift, his head projecting.
+
+Before he could move, the floor of the compartment reached the next
+floor of the building.
+
+There was a scream of agony, a sudden wrenching jerk which shook the
+lift and halted the powerful machinery for half a moment, and then the
+cars went on in their old automatic way.
+
+But when the policeman alighted on the floor on which room No. 14 was
+situate, he was horrified to see a bleeding human head staring him in
+the face, and marked the trail of blood across the floor leading to it,
+while the policeman below was equally shocked when the lift reached the
+ground to see the headless trunk of a human body lying on the floor.
+
+The coroner's jury brought in the usual verdict.
+
+Loide had at one time feared death by hanging, English fashion; later by
+electrocution, American fashion; he had never feared a French
+performance--the guillotine--and yet, after all, decapitation was his
+end.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+MRS. DEPEW HOLDS THE REINS
+
+
+At the farm bells jangled. The usual harmony was not prevailing.
+
+No one struck the right key in conversation. After the manner of
+mothers, Mrs. Depew sympathized with her daughter, with a result that
+things were not running smoothly with the farmer.
+
+A wife has facilities for disturbing a husband's tranquillity.
+
+Apart from the displeasure of his wife and daughter, George Depew was
+not that pleased with himself.
+
+Gerald's behavior when leaving had certainly not been that of a guilty
+man. And when the farmer came to think things over quietly, he came to
+the conclusion that he had been a large sized fool to lose his temper as
+he had done.
+
+He realized Gerald's story must have been true--what would have been the
+sense of trying to pass off that folded piece of newspaper as bank
+notes? The trick would necessarily be found out at once.
+
+The midday meal was under way, and was being disposed of in unusual
+silence.
+
+Mrs. Depew did not like the red eyed appearance of her daughter, and her
+husband did not like the glances his wife occasionally favored him with
+as a result thereof.
+
+A messenger came to the door with a letter for the farmer. He took it
+and tried to read it, but could only make out a word here and there.
+
+"Here, Tess, just read this out, will you?"
+
+His daughter took it and read.
+
+The farmer said "Jerusalem!" His wife--after the manner of wives--said,
+"There! I told you so," and the daughter said tearfully, "And you called
+him a thief, father!"
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Depew, rubbing it in, after the manner of her sex, "an
+almost stranger goes out of his way to bring you more money than you
+have ever dreamed of, and you call him a thief! I've no patience with
+the man."
+
+"No, old woman, you haven't," replied the farmer. "Mebbe it would be
+better for all of us if you had. Give me my store coat and hat. I'm
+going right away to N'York by the next train."
+
+"And what good's that, I should like to know? Sakes alive! Can't the man
+understand that the money's to his credit here in Oakville?"
+
+"Yes, the man's got gumption enough for that," answered the farmer
+grimly. "Just now, it ain't the money that's agitating me--that's all
+right."
+
+"Then, what on earth do you want to go to N'York for?"
+
+"To make about the most humble apology lips ever vented. I'm going to
+find Gerald Danvers, and tell him that a bigger old fool don't prowl
+about this airth than I am; and I'm going to beg him--d'ye hear--beg him
+to forgive me for insulting him."
+
+"Dear father!"
+
+"That's it, Tess. Because your old dad's a bit of a fool, you don't want
+to rub it in, do you? You leave that to your mother. Come here, girlie,
+and gimme a kiss."
+
+"Lawd sakes, now! Just listen to the man! As if I'd said anything!"
+
+"No, mother," said the farmer, over Tessie's shoulder--he was holding
+her to him--"it wouldn't be you to say anything. Silence is the kind of
+thing you shine in. Now, Tessie, gimme your sweetheart's address, and
+I'll get there slick away."
+
+"Father, I don't know it."
+
+"You--don't--know--it?"
+
+"No, father. He will come back here now the money is found."
+
+"Not if I know him, he won't," interposed the farmer's wife. "People
+that are turned out of doors and called 'thief' and threatened with
+whips ain't likely to come groveling around."
+
+"Mother!"
+
+"Oh, yes, 'mother.' But 'mother' won't find that boy, will it? Lawd
+sakes! When I was a gal, sweethearts didn't behave like that. When your
+father was courting me, I should ha' liked to see him stalk away to
+N'York without telling me where he was going to put up. My--yes!"
+
+"Hullo!" said the farmer, "here's a special delivery letter!"
+
+"Perhaps it's from Gerald, father.
+
+"More likely," snorted Mrs. Depew, "from the county lunatic asylum, to
+say they've a vacancy for a permanency if your father likes to call."
+
+"Here, Tess, girlie, read this. See who it's from, and what it's about."
+
+The girl took the letter and read.
+
+"That makes the nineteen thousand pounds," said Tessie, as she finished
+reading the letter. "I wondered what eighteen meant."
+
+"There's time to catch the train;" he walked to the window as he spoke,
+and called out, "You, Sam, just hitch the mare on to the buggy----"
+
+"And what's the buggy for?" interrupted his wife.
+
+"To drive to the station, of course."
+
+"Well, the buggy won't hold four people, will it?"
+
+"Four?"
+
+"Yes. Sam'll have to go to bring it back. Do you expect me and Tessie to
+hang on to that axle?"
+
+"What? Are you going?"
+
+"Am I? I reckon. If you think, George Depew, that you are going to
+career around the streets of N'York, bulging money at every pocket, with
+nary a sensible soul to look after you, let me tell you, you make a
+mistake."
+
+"But, mother dear," said Tessie; "you will never be ready. The train
+goes in twenty minutes, and you will never have time to change your
+dress."
+
+"Won't I? Sakes alive! You've known me for nigh on nineteen years, and
+you don't know your mother yet."
+
+She had thrown off her apron and was rolling down her sleeves as she
+spoke. Then she called out to the hired girl:
+
+"You, Liz, my boots, the ones I wore last time I was in Oakville. Won't
+be ready, won't I?" she continued, as she bustled up-stairs to change
+her dress; "I guess I shall be ready before you are."
+
+Her husband changed the order, and the horse was harnessed to a four
+wheeled trap. By the time the farmer had changed into fresh boots and
+coat, Mrs. Depew was heard descending the stairs.
+
+"On time, I reckon, ain't I?" she inquired as she tied her bonnet
+strings. "Where's that gal? Now, you, Tessie, jump about; never mind
+your hair, clap your hat on, and come right down at once. We don't need
+to miss that train."
+
+She was outside getting into her seat, and had taken the reins in hand
+before she had finished speaking.
+
+Tessie ran down, jumped up, and presently they were driving rapidly in
+the direction of the station.
+
+The train was caught, and during the journey the situation was discussed
+with much spirit.
+
+The fact that the hero had appealed to Mrs. Depew, when her husband had
+turned him out, was not forgotten by that lady. Her "I told you so" song
+she sang for all it was worth, and kept her foot on the low pedal, too.
+
+"I know a man, I do hope, when I see one," she said, "and at five
+o'clock this afternoon I hope to put my arms round the neck of one, and
+give him a good sounding kiss. I'm just real anxious to fill a great
+gaping hole in our midst. I'm wanting to extend a welcoming hand to a
+son-in-law that'll fill it, and supply the common sense we're so hard up
+for with our men folk."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX
+
+MRS. DEPEW HAS THINGS HER OWN WAY
+
+
+Before five o'clock the three Depews--father, mother, and daughter--were
+in the New York lawyer's office, and punctually at the hour Gerald
+entered.
+
+The lawyer, who had guessed something of what had happened, judiciously
+left them together for a few minutes.
+
+Mrs. Depew carried out her threat; she walked straight over to Gerald,
+and gave him what she called a "smack."
+
+"You, Gerald," she said, "I'm as real pleased to see you as I am to see
+the snow go away in winter. I believed in you, my lad, from the first,
+and if I've got an old fool for a husband, remember that he is only an
+old fool, and there's no scrap of real bad in him--that he's as good a
+husband, and as good a father as ever stepped in shoes."
+
+"I want to say right here, Gerald," interposed the farmer, "that I'm as
+real sorry as any man can be for what I----"
+
+"There's no need for you to say anything to me just now, farmer,"
+interrupted Gerald stiffly; "you said enough last time we met to last me
+for many a day."
+
+"I know, lad, I know, lad--don't I know it? You're not going to play
+heavy on a man old enough to be your father?"
+
+"You were heavy enough on me--young enough to be your son! I have made
+up my mind"--he sat down with an air of determination as he spoke "to
+talk to you; to talk to you freely, when the whole of your nineteen
+thousand pounds is found.
+
+"I've got hold on the balance that's missing, and it only wants the
+lawyer to put things in trim for it to be recovered. When it is--when
+the whole nineteen thousand pounds is in your possession--I shall want
+you to eat the word 'thief' you applied to me."
+
+"Ain't I just eating it, Gerald?" said the old man humbly. "Is there a
+man here in N'York with as much humble pie in his mouth as I've got? I
+take back all I said----"
+
+"Maybe, but I----"
+
+And then Gerald paused.
+
+Two soft, warm hands passed over the back of his chair, passed his face,
+came round his neck; warm lips touched his ear, and a voice he loved
+better than any other whispered:
+
+"Gerald!--he is my father."
+
+That did it. Gerald jumped up and took the farmer by the hand.
+
+All his anger had evaporated under the touch of those soft, warm lips.
+
+"Well, farmer, let bygones be bygones. We'll forget all that's been said
+that ought not to have been said. Here comes the lawyer. Let's get along
+with the declaration."
+
+"I have it all ready," said the lawyer. "It is a joint declaration." He
+read it, and then said, "Come along with me to the justice's office; and
+it can be declared right off."
+
+The justice before whom they presented themselves glanced at the
+document he was signing.
+
+"Coincidence," he said, "or is it the same? Loide's--an English
+lawyer--death was reported at the police station this afternoon."
+
+Death! Gerald started. Had he then killed the man he had struggled with?
+He said:
+
+"You mean Richard Loide." And he mentioned the hotel.
+
+"That's where the accident occurred. Lift accident--there is the
+certificate just brought in."
+
+"Will you loan this to me?" inquired the lawyer, after perusing it; "I
+think it will save some trouble."
+
+"Yes," answered the justice; "if you return it within two hours. It has
+to go to the coroner by then."
+
+This was promised. Outside the office the lawyer hailed a hackman.
+
+"Get in," he said to his companions; "we will drive straight to the
+money changer's."
+
+They did. The hackman waited. They entered the office.
+
+"You remember me, Mr. Wolff?" queried the lawyer.
+
+It was evident the banker did--from his obsequious manner in receiving
+his visitor. Doubtless the lawyer knew something of him.
+
+"You have a thousand pound English note in your possession belonging to
+my client here."
+
+"I hope you not tink, Meestair Denison, dat I intends----"
+
+"Oh, I know you only want to give it up to the right owner. He's
+here--this gentleman. Mr. Loide left it with you--Loide's dead. Here's
+the police certificate of his death."
+
+"Det, eh?"
+
+"He was acting in England as a lawyer for this client of mine, and paid
+over eighteen out of nineteen thousand pounds. The other thousand pound
+note was missing. This declaration sworn to before Justice Colonel
+George F. Vanderwood to-day proves the ownership."
+
+"So."
+
+It was evident that the mention of the justice had impressed the banker.
+
+"You will give up the note, I suppose, without any trouble?"
+
+"Sairtenly, Meestair Denison, if you say so. I suppose I haf some
+eendemnity, eh?"
+
+"I have prepared one. Here it is. Mr. Depew, will you sign it?"
+
+Mr. Depew did so, and in exchange got the missing thousand pound note.
+
+"Now, back to my office," said the lawyer, "where the ladies are
+waiting."
+
+They returned there. The farmer flourished his note, and then threw it
+into his wife's lap.
+
+"All's well, old girl," he said; "got him. It's all settled."
+
+"And now you have only to settle with me," said the lawyer, with a
+smile, "and the whole thing will be ended."
+
+"Not much, it isn't," interposed Mrs. Depew. "There's a marriage
+settlement for you to draw up. My old man is settling nine thousand
+pounds on our daughter, Tessie, who is to be married to Mr. Gerald
+Danvers here."
+
+"No need for a settlement, madam. Give her the money now before they are
+married, and it's hers as firmly as any deed could make it so."
+
+"Is that so? Then, George, you'd better give it right away--here."
+
+"Plenty of time, old girl, when we get back----"
+
+"Get back! There's no putting back from here with a couple of single
+people around. Those two is going to be made one before we step out of
+N'York again."
+
+"Mother!"
+
+"That's me, Tess--you hear me say it.
+
+"You really mean that, Mrs. Depew," inquired Gerald, with sparkling
+eyes.
+
+"Young man," she answered, "you've evidently got to learn that when your
+mother-in-law that is to be says a thing, she means it."
+
+"Mrs. Depew, you're the finest mother-in-law the world holds! You're a
+brick! a regular brick!"
+
+"But, mother," said the blushing Tessie, "I haven't got anything
+ready----"
+
+"Lawd sakes! Listen to that now! And here are we in N'York with a bank
+full of money, too! Can't you buy what you want?"
+
+"Of course she can," interrupted Gerald eagerly. "Mrs. Depew, you're the
+most sensible woman I've ever met."
+
+"None of your soft soap now!"
+
+"It's a fact. It's a capital idea. Couldn't be better. Don't you think
+so, farmer?"
+
+Of course the farmer thought so. He valued his domestic peace, and
+assured it by acquiescence in most of his wife's ideas.
+
+He even went so far as to say that he had thought a similar idea out as
+they drove along.
+
+Tessie made another--must it be confessed, very faint-hearted?--protest.
+
+"Why should you be in such a hurry, mother?"
+
+"Because I don't believe in long engagements--that's why. Because this
+boy was promised his reward--that's why. Because you know perfectly well
+that you are just as anxious to get married as he is to marry
+you--that's why. Because I'm getting an old woman, and the sooner you
+get married, the longer I shall have on earth to play with my
+grandchildren--that's why."
+
+"Mother!"
+
+Of course it was settled that way. When they left New York shortly
+after, Gerald and Tessie were man and wife.
+
+Mrs. Depew usually contrived to get her own way. If, of that household
+it was true that the husband was the head, she was the neck--she was so
+capable of turning the head.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of 'L19,000', by Burford Delannoy
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 'L19,000' ***
+
+***** This file should be named 34934.txt or 34934.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/9/3/34934/
+
+Produced by Annie McGuire. This book was produced from
+scanned images of public domain material from the Google
+Print archive.
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/34934.zip b/34934.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9c4826c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/34934.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1dec8aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #34934 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34934)