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diff --git a/old/62824-0.txt b/old/62824-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b46a5fc..0000000 --- a/old/62824-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6929 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of When the Sea Gives Up Its Dead, by -Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett - -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/license - - -Title: When the Sea Gives Up Its Dead - A Thrilling Detective Story - -Author: Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett - -Release Date: August 2, 2020 [EBook #62824] -[Last updated: September 17, 2020] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN THE SEA GIVES UP ITS DEAD *** - - - - -Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, amsibert, University of -North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - -WHEN THE SEA GIVES UP ITS DEAD. - - A THRILLING DETECTIVE STORY. - - BY - MRS. GEORGE CORBETT, - - AUTHOR OF - “ADVENTURES OF A LADY DETECTIVE,” - “NEW AMAZONIA,” “PHARISEES UNVEILED,” - “THE ADVENTURES OF AN UGLY GIRL,” “MRS. GRUNDY’S VICTIMS,” - “SECRETS OF A PRIVATE ENQUIRY OFFICE,” - ETC., ETC. - - LONDON: - TOWER PUBLISHING COMPANY, LIMITED, - 95, MINORIES, E.C. - - 1894. - - - - -CONTENTS - - CHAPTER PAGE - - I. “THE DIAMOND ROBBERY” 1 - II. FIRM FAITH IS NOT IDLE 6 - III. “MISS ANNIE CORY IS CONFIDENTIAL” 18 - IV. A SUSPICIOUS DEATH 35 - V. AN OLD FRIEND IN A NEW GUISE 46 - VI. A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE 54 - VII. EVIL TIDINGS 66 - VIII. ON THE TRACK 73 - IX. A BALLOON ADVENTURE 91 - X. A BRIGHT PAIR 99 - XI. AN UNEXPECTED ALLY 107 - XII. BAITING THE TRAP 117 - XIII. MORE DISAPPOINTMENTS 126 - XIV. AN ACCOMMODATING POSTMAN 134 - XV. JUST IN TIME 142 - XVI. A DETERMINED PURSUIT 156 - XVII. RUNNING HIM DOWN 165 - XVIII. A WILY SYREN 174 - XIX. SERGEANT-MAJOR TWILEY HAS A SURPRISE 184 - XX. A CRITICAL GAME 192 - XXI. “WARE ASSASSIN” 201 - XXII. ANNIE’S RETURN 210 - XXIII. and Last JUBILATE 219 - - - - -WHEN THE SEA GIVES UP ITS DEAD. - -CHAPTER I. - -“THE DIAMOND ROBBERY.” - - -“Confound that upset! I shall be two minutes behind time--I wish I had -walked all the way, instead of trusting to the supposed extra speed of a -’bus, when the streets are so slippery that horses cannot keep their -feet.” - -Thus soliloquised Harley Riddell, ruefully, as he hurriedly picked his -way through the somewhat aggressive conglomeration of wagons, hansoms, -’buses and fourwheelers, which threatened to still further belate his -arrival at the establishment of his employers, Messrs. Stavanger, -Stavanger and Co., diamond merchants, of Hatton Garden. - -By dint of an extra spurt from the corner of Holborn Viaduct, he -managed to be less unpunctual than he had expected; but, somewhat to his -surprise, he fancied that the assistants whom he encountered betrayed -signs of suppressed excitement, which were not at all in keeping with -the usual decorous quietude of Messrs. Stavanger’s aristocratic -establishment. Still more astonished was he to notice that, whatever the -reason for the unusual excitement may have been, it became intensified -by his arrival. But there was just a tinge of alarm mingled with his -astonishment when he perceived that both the Brothers Stavanger and Mr. -Edward Lyon, who was the “Co.” in the business, were here before him. As -not one of these gentlemen had ever been known to come to business -before eleven o’clock in the forenoon, Harley may be excused for -thinking it odd that they should all be here on this particular morning -before the city clocks had boomed ten, and that, furthermore, they -should all stand gazing at him with expressions which suggested -suspicion and anathema. - -“Nothing wrong, I hope, sirs?” was Harley’s impulsive question. - -“You are no doubt the best judge of that,” said Mr. David Stavanger, -who, being a vicar’s churchwarden, systematically cultivated a dignified -bearing and an impressive mode of speech. “Probably the atrocious injury -to which we have been subjected has been exposed to the light of -detection sooner than you bargained for. You perceive, Mr. Detective,” -he continued, turning to a short, but very well-built man of middle age, -who was also contemplating our hero with unusual interest, “you perceive -the instantaneous working of an evil conscience! No sooner does this -ingrate see us here a few moments before our usual time than he jumps to -the very natural conclusion that he is at the end of his criminal -tether.” - -“I beg your pardon,” interrupted the detective, whose name was John -Gay. “Your deductions, Mr. Stavanger, are possibly more decided than -correct. We have yet to hear what this gentleman has to say for himself, -and you will perhaps let me remind you that it is dangerous to make -statements that we perhaps may be unable to prove.” - -“Gentleman, indeed!” exclaimed Mr. David. - -“Yes sir, with your permission, gentleman--until we have proved him -otherwise.” - -“That will be an easy matter,” put in Hugh Stavanger, the son of the -senior partner. “Everything points to him, and him alone, as the thief.” - -Harley had not noticed Hugh Stavanger’s presence until he thus -unpleasantly made it apparent. He had, in fact, been stupefied by the -extraordinary words and behaviour of those around him. But at the word -“thief” every fibre of his body thrilled with passion, and he strode -hastily forward to the side of Hugh Stavanger, exclaiming “Retract that -word! or, by Heaven----” - -“Ah! he would add violence to his other crimes,” said Mr. David, hastily -sheltering himself behind Mr. Samuel Stavanger’s more portly person. -“Take care, Hugh, my boy! There is never any knowing how far these -desperadoes will go when they are aroused. Mr. Gay, I insist upon your -duty being done at once.” - -By this time Harley was calm again outwardly, but his calm was as that -of the ocean which a deluge of rain is beating into a surface smoothness -which the still heaving waters below would fain convert into mountainous -breakers. - -Thief! Desperado! Was it possible that he was alluded to? He looked at -the faces of those around him, and read condemnation in them all. Nay, -there was at least one countenance which was impassive, one breast in -which a trace of fairplay seemed to linger. He would appeal to the -detective for an explanation of this horrible mystery. - -“Will you,” he began, in a voice whose steadiness and quietness -surprised even himself, “will you tell me what is the matter? and why I -am glared at as if I were a wild beast?” - -“Yes, pray go through the mockery of an explanation,” cried Mr. David. - -“Sir,” replied Mr. Gay, “it is by no means certain that an explanation -would be a mockery in this case.” - -“Why, you yourself said everything pointed to this man’s guilt,” -contended Mr. David. - -“Very likely,” was the dry reply. “I said that everything seemed to -point to your manager’s guilt. But I did not say that it proved it. That -is another thing, and slightly out of my province.” - -“And meanwhile,” said Harley, “I am still in the dark.” - -“There has been a robbery of a serious and extensive nature, and you are -suspected of being the thief,” said the detective, carefully watching -the face of the stricken Harley. “It is my duty to arrest you in the -name of the law, and I warn you against saying anything that may be -construed against you at the trial.” - -“Since when has this tremendous robbery taken place?” asked Harley. -“Everything was secure when I left the premises last night at seven -o’clock.” - -“Who was here when you left?” asked Mr. Lyon, taking part in the -conversation for the first time. - -“No one, sir. The members of the firm had all left early. Mr. Hugh, to -whom I usually hand the keys, being also gone, I locked all the cases -up, lighted the gas, padlocked the door, delivered the door-key to the -night-watchman, and took the keys of the safes to Mr. David Stavanger’s -house. I put them into his own hands.” - -“That is quite true, so far as the delivery of the keys goes,” said Mr. -David. “What I want to know is this--What have you done with the stones -you abstracted before you locked the safes?” - -“Excuse me once more,” interrupted the detective, “you will have all -necessary questions fully answered at the preliminary inquiry. Meanwhile -Mr. Harley Riddell must consider himself a prisoner.” - -“You will permit me to send a message to my brother?” - -“Certainly.” - -One of the shopmen, to whom Harley had always been kind, hurriedly -produced a piece of paper and a pencil, and Harley, in whom surprise at -his own calmness was still the dominant sensation, quickly wrote as -follows:--“Dear Lad, I believe I am under arrest for wholesale robbery. -It would be too absurd to protest my innocence to my twin soul. -Ascertain where I am taken to, and break the news gently to the dear -mother, before it reaches her in some other way. Tell her that the -mystery is bound to be cleared up soon. As for Annie--God help her and -me, for how can she ally herself to a man who has been under -arrest?--Harley.” - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -FIRM FAITH IS NOT IDLE. - - -Harley Riddell was duly charged before a magistrate with having -feloniously abstracted gems to the value of four thousand pounds from -the premises of Messrs. Stavanger, Stavanger, and Co., diamond -merchants. After hearing all the evidence obtainable, the legal luminary -thought it his duty to commit the prisoner to the Assizes, and during -that time Harley was condemned to undergo the miseries of confinement -and mental torture, without being able to do anything to help himself -out of the abyss of disgrace into which he had been plunged. - -But though he was powerless himself, others were working bravely for -him. At first they also worked hopefully, until it became evident that -whoever had concocted the plot of which he was the victim, had neglected -no precaution against the failure of their plans. Mr. David Stavanger, -the senior partner of the firm, deposed that, influenced by the -invariable steadiness, industry, and ability of the prisoner, he had -been induced to place more trust in him than he had ever placed in any -of the subordinates of the firm. He had been eight years in the -employment of Messrs. Stavanger, Stavanger, and Co., and had never given -the firm any cause to complain of his conduct until now. “In fact,” -continued Mr. David, “he has so wormed himself into our confidence that -it has been a very easy matter for him to steal those jewels, and there -is no knowing----” - -Considerably to Mr. David’s chagrin, however, he was not permitted to -continue his remarks, and his evident determination to take accused’s -guilt for granted was sharply reprimanded. Fellow employees gave similar -evidence to that of Mr. David, but were all so evidently convinced of -Harley’s innocence, that counsel for the prosecution no longer felt -quite sure of winning the case, until Mr. Gay produced the most damning -evidence that could be forthcoming against a man accused of theft. He -had, duly armed with a warrant, searched the belongings of Harley -Riddell at his own home, and, inside the lining of the light topcoat -that he had worn the day before the occurrence of the robbery, the -detective had found three of the missing jewels set as rings, which were -identified by Mr. Hugh Stavanger, who had seen them in their cases on -the 17th of May. - -Asked how, if Harley Riddell was the manager, and consequently of -considerable importance in the business, it came to pass that the full -extent of the robbery was discovered before the arrival of the latter on -the scene, Mr. Hugh Stavanger stated that it was usual for Riddell to -see to the safety of everything at the shop and to deliver the keys to -the senior partner. At nine in the morning these were fetched by the -leading shopman, whose duty it was to see that all was in readiness to -receive customers at ten o’clock. As Mr. David Stavanger wished to -present his eldest daughter with a birthday gift, Mr. Hugh had -volunteered to fetch several articles of jewellery for her to choose -from, and had, therefore, contrary to his usual custom, gone to the shop -at nine o’clock. He had himself unlocked the safes, and on comparing the -contents with the inventory which was with them, had at once seen that a -great number of valuable stones were missing, and had telegraphed to the -members of the firm to come at once. The detective, who was immediately -sent for, could find no evidence that any part of the premises had been -feloniously entered, or that the safes had been tampered with. - -There was much other evidence, some of it of not too relevant a nature, -but all of it conducive to the annihilation of any hope of acquittal for -the prisoner. His defence was considered feeble, his guilt indisputable, -and he was sentenced to five years’ penal servitude. - -Five years’ penal servitude! Is any pen powerful enough to picture all -that it means to a man like Harley Riddell? One day on the summit of -bliss, and the next in the abyss of degradation and despair! One day -revelling in love and happiness; the next loaded with misery, -desperation, and isolation from all his beloved ones! It is terrible for -those who are guilty of crime. But for those who are innocent--God help -them! - -There was a farewell scene between Harley and his mother, who was -passionately indignant at the monstrous injustice of which one of her -twin sons was the victim. The poor soul, mindful in her misery of -Harley’s solicitude on her behalf, bravely hid her agonising grief under -a show of mingled anger and hopefulness, while for the first time in all -her long years of widowhood she felt resigned to the fact that the -father of her boys no longer lived to witness the disgrace that had -fallen upon his name. What though the disgrace was unmerited! It was -none the less bitter, and Harley, who knew his mother’s indomitable -nature, felt cheered and hopeful in his turn when he heard her vow to -use every means, whether they were evidently possible or apparently -impossible, to vindicate his character, and bring the guilt of the -robbery home to the real perpetrators. Hilton Riddell, his twin brother, -cheered him much, too, by his faith in the chances of a speedy -unravelment of the plot of which he was evidently the victim. - -There was also another with whom a parting interview was permitted, -although Harley would almost have preferred to be spared the anguish of -mind which it cost him. For the presence of winsome Annie Cory, who was -to have been his bride ere long, only brought the more vividly to his -mind the picture of all that cruel fate had bereft him of. - -She, like the true girl she was, vowed to wait for his release, and to -wed none but him. He, being sensitive and refined, vowed just as -positively that nothing but the most incontrovertible proofs of his -innocence would ever permit him to take advantage of her love. - -Mr. Cory was very magnanimous, and he had cordially approved of the -engagement of his only child to a man whose combined resources only -amounted to £400 a year. For was not he himself wealthy enough to -provide very handsomely for his daughter, and were not the various -qualities of Harley Riddell far beyond riches alone? - -Still, although he liked the young fellow, and would, under happier -conditions, have gladly welcomed him as a son-in-law, he fully endorsed -Harley’s protestations to the effect that only as a man who could stand -before the world unshamed would he ever permit a woman to share his -life. For he would not like his daughter to marry an ex-convict, whom -folks would look askance at, even though the ex-convict’s friends were -all convinced of his innocence and of the injustice of his punishment. - -But he deemed it wise to offer no violent opposition to Annie’s -determination to be true to the man she loved. He trusted to time to -weaken her love, and show her the folly of allying herself to poverty -and disgrace. Meanwhile, as he really liked Harley, and fully believed -in his innocence, he meant to do all in his power to promote a certain -plan which Hilton had confided to him, whereby it was hoped to divert -the weight of punishment on to the shoulders that deserved it. - -The interview had proved trying to Annie as well as to Harley, and Mr. -Cory was very thankful when he arrived at his own house with his -daughter, who certainly looked as if she had borne as much as she could. - -“Margaret,” he said to his sister, who had been his housekeeper ever -since his wife died, eight years before the opening of our story, “I -believe the child is dead beat, and I don’t feel too clever myself. Have -you anything in the way of a pick-me-up ready?” - -“You shall have some hot milk, with a touch of brandy in it, in a few -minutes. That will do you both good, and serve to put you off until -dinner is ready, which will be another half hour yet. How did the child -bear it?” - -“Very bravely. Vowed eternal fidelity, and all that sort of thing. But -Riddell is too much of a man to take her at her word, and swears to be -nobody’s husband until he is proved innocent. And quite right, too. In -fact, I hope Annie will get over her infatuation in any case, for I have -no fancy for being pointed at as the father-in-law of a man who has been -in gaol. You see, although we never for a moment believe that the poor -lad had anything to do with the robbery, and are sure that he is the -victim of a vile plot, it will be difficult to get the world to think as -we do, and, to tell the truth, it’s a deucedly nasty business all -round.” - -While Mr. Cory had been speaking, Annie had gone up to her own room, and -Miss Cory had rung her bell in order to give some directions to a -servant before she followed her niece upstairs. - -“Williamson,” she said, “bring two glasses of hot milk here as quickly -as possible.” - -She delivered herself of this order very quietly. But no sooner was the -servant’s back turned than she emptied the vials of her wrath on to her -brother’s devoted head. - -“John Cory,” she said, drawing her really majestic figure up to its -full height, and speaking with a solemn deliberation which she only -affected on serious occasions. “I’m ashamed of you! I never expected to -see the day when my father’s son would deliberately contemplate the -desertion and permanent abandonment of a man whose sole sin is his -betrayal by some villain who has cunningly contrived to divert suspicion -from himself to an innocent man. John Cory, if I could believe that you -would do this vile thing, I would leave your roof for ever.” - -“But, my dear girl----” - -“Don’t ‘my dear girl’ me! You never do it except when you want to talk -me over, and at fifty-six I’m too old to swallow gross flattery. Just -tell me this--Do you mean to turn your back on young Riddell now that he -is powerless to help himself, or do you mean to act like a man?” - -“Of course, I mean to do all I can for him.” - -“I knew you did. All the same, the bare thought that you could dream of -revoking what you promised just before the poor lad’s calamity overtook -him, made me feel as if I could shake you. Oh, here’s your milk. Just -put your brandy in yourself and drink it, while I go upstairs to Annie. -Williamson, see that we have dinner punctually.” - -Williamson, having acknowledged her mistress’s order with due deference, -hurried away to expedite matters in the lower regions, and Miss Margaret -Cory lost no more time in visiting her niece, whom she found sobbing as -though her heart was breaking. At this sight, even Miss Margaret, stolid -though she usually was, found herself considerably upset. She made a -faint attempt to dissuade Annie from crying, but was convinced that her -efforts were woefully inadequate, and eventually administered the truest -consolation by breaking down herself and mingling her tears with those -of the girl whom she loved more than any other being on earth. - -“There, auntie, I won’t be so foolish again,” said Annie at last. “But -I could not help myself when I thought of all the horrors poor Harley is -doomed to endure.” - -“And no wonder, my dear. But, please God, we’ll put an end to his misery -by freeing him before long.” - -“But how can that be? Have you forgotten that he is sentenced to five -years’ imprisonment?” - -“No, I have not forgotten. Neither have I forgotten a speech that his -brother Hilton uttered last night. He said:--‘Heaven helping me, I will -leave no stone unturned to run the author of all this misery to earth. -He may be very cunning, but I defy him to elude my watchfulness, when -once I have set eyes upon him. The mystery is not so great as it perhaps -seems to some. The onus of criminality rests between very few people, -and I have good reasons for believing that my suspicions are centring -themselves round the right man. It is but a question of time, for, if -there is a God in Heaven, the guilty coward who really stole those -diamonds shall be brought to justice!’ Annie, when I heard the fervour -with which those words were uttered, and marked the deliberate -determination of Hilton Riddell’s mien, I shared his confidence in the -future, and resolved to afford him every facility for achieving his -purpose. He will need money, for without money very little can be done. -For your sake, my darling, I will give all I can to prove your lover’s -innocence.” - -“How good you are, auntie!” cried the girl, kissing her relative -affectionately. “You always make me feel better. This time, besides -comforting me, you have made me a little bit ashamed of myself. -Henceforth I will work, instead of giving way to useless repining. If -there is any part I can take in the unravelment of this mystery, I will -show myself a ready and capable helper.” - -“That’s right, dear girl. The police started with the conviction that -Harley Riddell was guilty, and hunted up no end of facts to prove -themselves in the right. We will start with equally positive convictions -in the other direction, and it will be odds if our labour of love does -not bear the fruit we desire.” - -“Oh, auntie! I am all anxiety to begin! Do let me run down and tell the -dad all about it.” - -“Not so fast, my dear. If Mrs. Riddell, who has been terribly prostrated -by this blow, is able to bear being left an hour or two this evening, -her son will call here, by appointment with me, to consult as to what -will be the best plans for us to adopt.” - -“You dear old thing! You have been actually working already!” - -“Certainly. The sooner we begin operating, the better chance we have of -being successful, and the sooner we may hope to see Harley justified and -at liberty. In fact, you need not be surprised if Hilton Riddell has -already made considerable progress. And now, dear, you must make -yourself a little presentable, and I expect you to partake of a -substantial meal, even as I mean to do, for we must make ourselves -strong if we mean to do anything useful.” - -The result of Miss Margaret’s tact and management was that Annie was not -nearly so downcast that evening as her father had feared she would be, -and when Hilton Riddell made his appearance at eight o’clock, he found -every member of the Cory family ready and willing to second all his -endeavours on Harley’s behalf. - -“And how did you leave your mother?” asked Miss Margaret. - -“Stronger and better than I could have believed possible,” was the -reply. “She is brave and hopeful, and firmly believes that I shall -succeed in tracing the real delinquent. One thing troubles me a good -deal about my mother. It may be necessary for me to travel, or some -other contingency may arise which will render it impossible to be with -her much, and I fear that, if left to herself, she may succumb to her -troubles.” - -“She shall not be left to herself,” cried Miss Margaret, emphasising her -remarks by a vigorous shake of the handsome lace lappets which adorned -her cap. “She must come and live here while you are away. That is just -what you would have proposed yourself, isn’t it, John?” - -“Certainly, just the very thing,” echoed John, warmly. “Sorry you got -the suggestion out before I did, though. And now, Mr. Riddell, about -your means and employment. Don’t think me impertinent or intrusive, -but----” - -“Pray don’t apologise,” said Hilton, hastily. “I will, as you so kindly -take such an interest in us, explain exactly how we stand. My mother, -who is an officer’s widow, has a life pension, which the vicissitudes in -the career of Harley or myself cannot touch. My employers, Messrs. -Treadonem and Co., have magnanimously given me my liberty, and have not -been afraid to mention their true reason for discarding the services of -the brother of a convict. My time, therefore, is my own, to use as I -please. Needless to say, it will be used in my brother’s service. -Fortunately, I have a couple of hundred pounds saved, and Harley, during -the last six years, has saved a few hundreds also. He has some inkling -of my intended course of procedure, and has arranged for me to draw his -money, if I require it. But I hope to run my quarry to earth without -encroaching upon Harley’s savings, for it will go hard with him at -first, especially if he has no money to fall back upon.” - -“His money shall not be touched,” put in Mr. Cory in a very decided -tone. “I have a nice sum available for unexpected contingencies like the -present.” - -“And so have I,” answered Miss Margaret. - -“You are very kind; I hardly know how to thank you,” said Hilton, very -much moved. - -“And how can I help?” inquired Annie, piteously. “I have no money of my -own, but I am anxious to do some real work, and I am sure you would find -me clever and capable.” - -“I should only be too glad of your help,” said Hilton, with animation in -his mien and entreaty in his voice, “but the only way in which you can -help seems too preposterous to suggest to you.” - -“Out with it, man,” cried Mr. Cory; “if it is something that cannot be -undertaken, no harm will be done.” - -“Then here you are, sir. It is necessary that I should gain a little -insight into the doings of the family of Mr. David Stavanger, for I am -convinced that either he or his son knows where the still missing -diamonds could be found. There is an advertisement in to-day’s paper for -a holiday governess to the youngest Miss Stavanger, a girl of twelve. -To-morrow morning I intended going to the office of Messrs. Bell and -White, private inquiry agents, to ask them to send their principal lady -detective, Miss Dora Bell, to try for the appointment, as a governess -has many means of gaining information concerning what is going on in a -household. Now, if you----” - -“Not another word, I will turn detective, and beard these lions in their -own den,” was Annie’s exclamation. - -“But how about references? Besides, they would know your name, perhaps,” -objected Mr. Cory. - -“You dear innocent,” remarked Miss Margaret, with the calmness born of -superior wisdom; “when one takes up detective work, one has not to be -too squeamish about ways and means, and you may trust us to devise some -scheme to circumvent these villains. If Annie can’t get the post, I’ll -try to make myself look more youthful, and make a bid for the -appointment.” - -Somehow, any lurking objections which Mr. Cory might have had were all -overcome, and when Hilton went home that night, many arrangements for -the future had been made. Subject to Mrs. Riddell’s own consent, it had -been decided that it would be best for her to live with Miss Margaret -for a while. Mr. Cory, very much to his own surprise, found himself -enrolled as an amateur detective, liable to be called upon for active -service at any time. Annie, instead of moping at home and giving way to -melancholy, was bent upon yielding efficient help as a lady detective, -and Hilton meant to be guided by the exigencies of the moment. - -The avowed end and aim of all these good people was to bring the man who -was responsible for Harley Riddell’s imprisonment to justice. - -The progress of our story will show how they went about their new -employment, and what were the results of their endeavours as amateur -detectives. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -“MISS ANNIE CORY IS CONFIDENTIAL.” - - -A few days after the events narrated in the last chapter, Miss Margaret -Cory was reading aloud from some manuscript which she had just received -by post. Her audience was small, being composed of two individuals with -whom we are already acquainted--to wit, her brother, Mr. Cory, and -Hilton Riddell, who both listened to her with curious interest. - -You and I too, dear readers, will take the liberty of hearing what Miss -Cory had to say. - -“My darling Auntie,” she read, “I am now fairly installed here, but, -would you believe it? there are signs already that it will be -unnecessary for me to remain here very long. I shall, however, do my -utmost to retard my exit until I have learned all I want to know. Short -as my time here has been, it has already revealed much to me. Perhaps I -had better begin my story at the beginning, and then you can form your -own opinion. I must also be as lucid and explicit as possible, since -upon what I learn and describe Hilton Riddell’s actions in the near -future are dependent. - -“On presenting myself here yesterday morning, according to arrangement, -I was admitted by a middle-aged servant, who regarded me with what I -considered pure effrontery. - -“‘I wish to see Mrs. Stavanger,’ I said. - -“‘Very likely,’ was the woman’s answer. ‘But you may prepare yourself -for a long wait first.’ - -“‘Why? Is she not in?’ - -“‘Oh yes, she’s in. But she thinks people wouldn’t believe her to be a -swell if she didn’t keep folks waiting a good bit.’ - -“‘Perhaps you will be good enough to tell her that I am here.’ - -“‘I suppose you are the new governess?’ - -“‘I am.’ - -“‘Oh well, you won’t be here long, if you’ve no more patience than the -others. But come inside; you can wait in the hall.’ - -“Saying this, the extraordinary specimen of a servant permitted me to -cross the threshold. The cabman had become impatient, and began to bring -my bit of luggage in at once. It was quite ten minutes before the woman, -who, I learned afterwards, is called Wear, made her reappearance, and -requested me to follow her to the drawing-room. By this time the cabman -had been paid and had gone away. - -“Still smarting under the peculiar treatment of the servant, it was -with some trepidation that I approached the mistress. She was sitting in -an easy chair, and did not rise to greet me, as I naturally expected she -would do. From this trifling circumstance I instantly deduced the -opinion that Mrs. Stavanger was totally devoid of those finer instincts -which go to make up the being described by the term ‘lady.’ Subsequent -observations have confirmed me in this opinion. Personal beauty of a -strong, showy type, must at one time have been Mrs. Stavanger’s to a -great degree. She would be handsome yet, but for the expression of -mingled ill-temper and arrogance which perpetually disfigures her -features. She is, I think, a woman who has, by means of her good looks, -secured a husband whose position in life is much higher than hers had -been, and she is one of those people of whom it is expressively said -that ‘they cannot carry corn’--in other words she is a ‘beggar on -horseback.’ - -“She treated me with scant courtesy, even as her waiting maid had led me -to expect. She apparently imagines that a woman who is compelled to earn -her living in any shape or form is no longer deserving of respect or -civility. Hers is a belief which, unfortunately, has many followers, but -which troubles me very little, and would trouble me just as little were -I really the poor governess I seem to be, for I do not hold the opinion -of unreasonable people to be important enough to worry about. By the -time this interview was over, I had been given to understand that my -duties would be slightly more onerous than I had anticipated when being -engaged by Mr. Stavanger, who had spoken of his wife being too nervous -to interview strangers, and of his twelve-year-old daughter as a child -who required very little discipline. - -“The latter is a very bright girl, but she is fearfully spoiled by -alternate over-indulgence and fault-finding. She has led her former -governess a pretty dance, by all accounts, and coolly told me that she -always did as she liked, and that it was no use telling tales of her, as -her mother never believed them, but invariably punished the governess -instead of the refractory pupil. - -“‘It’s no use your setting me any lessons,’ she remarked yesterday -afternoon. ‘I shall only work when I like, just as I have always done.’ - -“‘Very well,’ I replied coolly, ‘we’ll be idle together. It’s no use -killing oneself to keep oneself, is it?’ - -“You would have been highly amused if you had seen Miss Fanny -Stavanger’s stare of surprise. She is evidently not used to being -humoured. - -“‘I don’t know,’ was her dubious answer to my query. ‘If you take your -wages you ought to try to earn them. That is what mamma always tells the -other servants.’ - -“This wasn’t a palatable speech to hear. But the stake for which I am -playing is too big to allow me to be daunted by trifles, so I merely -told the girl it rested entirely with her whether I accepted my ‘wages’ -from her parents or not, and that if she refused to learn her lessons -there would be no alternative for me but to refuse. - -“‘Perhaps,’ I added, ‘you have been harassed over your lessons and have -not been permitted to learn in your own way. If you like we will alter -all that. You shall study when you please, and give over the minute you -are tired.’ - -“‘Well, I call you really jolly,’ was Miss Fanny’s rejoinder. ‘Maybe you -think me a fool, but if you’ll help me nicely, you’ll see what a lot I -can really do.’ - -“The little rebel was conquered. This morning she was quite eager to -begin studying with me, and I foresee little trouble with her in future. -Already she begins to be confidential with me, and has told me something -that will prove valuable. I am, I suppose, not yet quite inured to my -duties as detective, for I felt downright mean when listening to Fanny, -until a picture of my poor, innocent Harley rose before my mental -vision, and my heart hardened against the wicked people who have ruined -him. - -“There are several members of this household who would prove interesting -to a student of human nature. Mr. Stavanger is purse-proud, -ostentatiously religious, hard and uncharitable in his judgment of -others; fond of show, and yet mean in trifles. It needs no very keen -observer to discover that much. - -“Of Mrs. Stavanger you will already have formed your opinion. The -eldest daughter is a conglomeration of both parents, with some of their -defects slightly accentuated. The son I need not describe to you, you -saw him at the trial. But Fanny has told me that of late he has been -very unsteady, and that he and his father have quarrelled a good deal. -My pupil has also much to say about Wear, the parlour maid. - -“‘I never saw anybody change so,’ observed the child. ‘Wear used to be -so respectful, until those nasty thieves got into the shop, and nearly -ruined papa and his partners. Since then she is impertinent all day -long, and says such queer things. I can’t imagine why she isn’t packed -off about her business. But when Ada told her the other day that she -would put up with her impudence no longer, Wear just laughed in her -face, and said that it would take a cleverer body than Ada to turn her -out of this house now.’ - -“I made no comments to Fanny on this information. But I feel sure of -one thing. Wear has become possessed of some power over the Stavangers, -of which she is making a very injudicious use, since it would pay her in -the end much better to keep a civil tongue in her head, and merely to -insist upon more liberal wages, instead of showing others that there is -ground for suspicion. When once the source of her sudden accession of -power over the Stavangers is discovered that power will irrevocably -leave her. Coupling Fanny’s remarks about ‘those nasty thieves’ with our -own previously-formed opinion respecting the actual culprit in whose -place Harley has been condemned and Wear’s peculiar behaviour, the -inference that we are on the right track is obvious. With God’s help, we -shall yet be able to rescue Harley from his horrible fate. I wonder if -you will think me wicked when I confess that I long for the time when -his betrayers will be suffering the agony that has been meted out to -him. Tell Hilton to hold himself in readiness for action at any moment, -for I am sure that I am on the eve of further discoveries.” - -Three days later another budget from Annie was being discussed in Mr. -Cory’s drawing-room. This time Miss Cory had an additional listener. -Mrs. Riddell had been persuaded to take up her abode here for an -indefinite period. Her house had been let furnished until such time as -she was likely to require it again. Hilton was also visiting here at -present, and was ready to do anything or go anywhere to help to prove -his brother’s innocence. The fact that his mother was in such good -hands, instead of being left to mope and grieve in childless loneliness, -heartened him considerably for the work which he was convinced lay -before him. - -“Since writing to you last,” read Miss Cory, “I have made a wonderful -discovery. I am quite sure that Hugh Stavanger, whose evidence was the -principal means of ensuring Harley’s condemnation, is the thief we are -in search of. Last night at twelve o’clock, when all the household was -supposed to be asleep, Mr. Stavanger was fuming in the dining-room at -the belated return home of his hopeful son, who, I have gathered, has -got into the habit of staying out late at night. At eleven o’clock I had -heard the hall door open, and someone ran upstairs to Hugh Stavanger’s -room, shutting the bedroom door behind him. The servants, who had not -seen the entrance of Mr. Hugh, but had heard the noisy run up to his -room, concluded that it was he who had come in. Everybody else being at -home, they locked and barred the doors for the night, and then went to -bed. But I, who had resolved to let nothing escape my notice, if it -could be helped, knew that a little pantomime was being enacted for the -benefit of the unsuspicious servants, for it was Mr. Stavanger who had -come noiselessly downstairs, and had imitated his son’s manner of -entering the house and going upstairs. The latter was still away from -home. - -“From this behaviour I drew certain deductions. Mr. Stavanger wanted to -speak privately to his son; he did not want the servants to witness the -time of Hugh’s arrival, nor the condition in which he arrived; and the -matter about which he desired to speak must be of great importance, -since it required to be discussed unseasonably. - -“I determined to be present at the interview. - -“To do this, prompt action on my part was necessary, as I must be on -the scene before either of the principal actors. There are three -servants in the house. Wear was the last of these to go to bed, and the -moment she had passed the landing on to which my room door opened, I -slipped downstairs, and passed quietly into the dining room, without -being heard by anyone. Then I hid myself behind the window draperies, -and awaited events. - -“I had not long to wait. Scarcely two minutes had elapsed ere Mr. -Stavanger, slipperless and cautious, came creeping into the room. -Perhaps it was because he was nervous that he found it necessary to help -himself to a big drink of brandy. Having disposed of this, he stepped -softly into the hall, and, an instant later, I heard him carefully -unfastening the front door. I was very glad that he did not return to -the dining room immediately, as this enabled me to change my position -into a more comfortable one. I sat down on the floor, leaned my back -against one of the window frames, and readjusted the curtains. - -“If there was to be an interview between father and son, I might expect -them in this room, for they were not likely to be so indiscreet as to -carry on a conversation in the hall. Nor was I mistaken. In about a -quarter of an hour I heard someone ascend the front steps, and Mr. -Stavanger, who had been waiting in the hall until then, opened the door -before his son had time either to ring the bell or to insert a latch -key. - -“‘Keep yourself quiet,’ I heard him say in a low tone, ‘and go into the -dining room. Make no noise, for your liberty is in danger.’ - -“Do you believe that, in cases of emergency, some of our faculties are -strengthened to an enormous extent? I think that this must be so, and -that I, for one, have been the subject of this phenomenon. Otherwise, -how shall I account for being able to hear Mr. Stavanger’s words so -distinctly? No doubt, the midnight quiet of the house and neighbourhood -had something to do with it. Still, I shall always think that Providence -thus showed its approval of my endeavours to save Harley Riddell from an -unjust fate. - -“Hugh’s answer to his father’s injunction was an ejaculation of which I -did not catch the import. But he was evidently sufficiently impressed by -his manner to be obedient for once. I heard the door quietly fastened -again, and then the two men came into the room in which I was playing -the eavesdropper. Mr. Stavanger, after turning up the gas, which he had -previously lighted, seated himself, and requested his son to do the -same. - -“‘Now then,’ observed the latter, ‘I would like to know what all this -mystery is about, and what you mean by insinuating that my liberty is in -danger.’ - -“‘Have you no idea?’ questioned Mr. Stavanger. - -“‘Not the slightest.’ - -“‘Think again.’ - -“‘Why the deuce don’t you out with it? It isn’t likely that I know just -what you are driving at, and if I did, I am not fool enough to take the -initiative.’ - -“‘Well I will tell you. I have all along suspected that you yourself -were the thief for whom Riddell has been made the scapegoat. Perhaps it -will be as well for me to tell you that I have from the first been sure -of it. This was what made me so anxious to secure Riddell’s conviction. -I hoped thereby to save our own name from disgrace. But my efforts are -likely to prove futile, because, besides being a thief, a perjurer, and -a scoundrel, you are proving yourself a fool. You have been spending and -gambling recklessly of late, and people are talking about the amount of -money you are getting through. The gossip about you has come to Mr. -Lyon’s ears, and to-day I endured the greatest humiliation of my life, -for I was told to my face that I had deliberately sent an innocent man -to gaol, knowing the while that my son was guilty. It was in vain that I -denied this. Mr. Lyon vows that he has proofs of your guilt, and he has -given me his positive orders to refund the value of the theft and to -endorse some story which he is going to trump up to show that no theft -has been committed, or take the consequences.’ - -“‘Meaning that he would make me change places with Riddell! Good God! -what shall I do? I can’t give up the diamonds!’ - -“‘But you must give them up! Do you think I will allow you to ruin us -all? And simply because you want money to squander in drinking and -gambling hells? Tell me what you have done with your booty.’ - -“‘It’s all gone. I realised the diamonds for a quarter their value, and -paid my creditors with it.’ - -“‘What! you were heavily in debt?’ - -“‘Yes. I owed hundreds, and the money melted like wax.’ - -“‘What have you left?’ - -“‘About fifty pounds.’ - -“‘It’s a lie! You cannot have gone through the worth of all you took.’ - -“‘I tell you I have.’ - -“‘I wonder what I have done that I should be cursed by a son like you! -I won’t ruin myself to buy your freedom. You shall go to gaol like the -dog you are.’ - -“‘And what about the mater and the girls? If you won’t do it for me, you -will perhaps wish you had done it for their sakes.’ - -“‘Ah, you have me there! You are not worth stretching out a saving hand -to. But it would be hard to make them suffer for you.’ - -“‘Yes, I knew I should bring you to reason. What do you intend to do in -the matter?’ - -“‘Do you think your equal for shamelessness could be found anywhere?’ - -“‘Suppose you stick to business. What is going to be done?’ - -“‘Mr. Lyon sails for America to-morrow on very important business, as -you already know. He will not remain there above a week. In three weeks, -therefore, we may expect him back. Before that time arrives two things -must be done. I must place to the credit of Mr. Lyon and your uncle -Samuel an equivalent for their share of the stolen property. And you -must have left the country before then, for he has forbidden your -entering the shop again, and will not pledge himself not to denounce you -if he sees you.’ - -“‘But this is no reason why I should leave England?’ - -“‘There is another reason.’ - -“‘What is that?’ - -“‘Wear knows your secret. She saw the box of diamonds in your room on -the day of the robbery. At first she did not think about it, but, after -hearing of the robbery she put two and two together, and concluded that -the fine things that were missing were the same which her prying eyes -had seen hidden in the corner of one of your drawers. I can’t imagine -how a man in your position could be fool enough to leave his drawers -unlocked. Anyhow, Wear fathomed your secret, and tried to find the -things again, but they were gone. Then she came to me, and threatened -exposure unless I gave her fifty pounds to hold her tongue. This I did, -hoping to hear no more of the matter from her. But she is a woman of -such little sense that she is likely to ruin everything. Not content -with demanding more money from time to time, she is vilely impertinent -to us all, and behaves so very much like a person who holds us under her -thumb, that I shall find it necessary to make some provision for her -further away. But first, you must clear out of the country, for your -conduct is such as to awaken too much suspicion.’ - -“‘Does the mater know all?’ - -“‘No. She knows that Wear holds you in her power somehow, but doesn’t -know the actual facts. I was obliged to get up a plausible yarn as wide -of the real truth as I could, in order to induce her to keep Wear on, -now that she is so impertinent, until I could get rid of her -diplomatically.’ - -“‘And when must I go?’ - -“‘To-morrow night, at nine o’clock, a certain Captain Cochrane will call -to escort you to his ship. You must have everything in readiness to -leave with him. But you will not be able to take any luggage with you, -as Wear must not know you are going away.’ - -“‘Send Wear out of the way somewhere. Pack her off to the Crystal Palace -for the day.’ - -“‘It won’t do. Our servants are not used to treats, and Wear would -suspect something in a minute. Besides, I don’t want anybody except -Captain Cochrane to know that I am cognisant of your departure. It may -save a good deal of awkwardness for me in future.’ - -“This conversation, as you may easily believe, was listened to by me -with the greatest eagerness, and I was desperately afraid of missing a -word. Here was full proof to me, of Harley’s innocence. But my knowledge -was, I knew, useless as evidence, since I had no witness but myself to -bring forward. True, there is Wear. But she may be bought over by the -other side. And at present our task must be the frustration of Hugh -Stavanger’s attempt to escape with the diamonds. For, in spite of his -assertion to the contrary, I believe him to be still in possession of -the greater part of the stolen property. If he goes away with Captain -Cochrane, he will contrive to take his booty on board with him. - -“There is one thing that makes my discoveries incomplete. Otherwise I -would have come home to tell you all this, never to return here, instead -of sitting up all night to write this. The name of the ship in which -Hugh Stavanger is to sail did not transpire, so Hilton will not be able -to do anything to help until to-morrow night. He must then watch for the -arrival of this captain, and be prepared to follow him and his intended -companion wherever they may go. It may be necessary to try to obtain a -passage with them. Is there any office on board a ship that Hilton can -take? - -“To-morrow night, if I see an opportunity of hearing what these bad -people have to say to each other, I will try to gain some additional -information, for use in case Hilton fails to get on board with them, or -to intercept Hugh Stavanger’s attempt to escape. Perhaps I may learn -something more during the day. But this meeting is too early for me to -have any prospect of hiding unobserved, for the rest of the household -will all be up and stirring. Even if I could secrete myself again, I -might not be able to escape detection and reach my own room unobserved, -as I have been able to do this last night. - -“The fact is, I feel somewhat unnerved, and am afraid of betraying -myself. In a few hours I must go through the farce of teaching Fanny, -although I feel dead tired already. I shall not need to feign a -headache. Still, if needs were, I could spend many a night in the work -of love upon which I have entered, and the day will wear away as others -do. Then as soon as I feel that my further presence here is useless, I -will try to slip out unobserved and exchange experiences with Hilton, if -there is time before the two men leave the house. As you know, I brought -very little luggage with me, and I will put on as many clothes as -possible, leaving the few things I cannot use. They are not marked, and -I could not be traced through them, especially as I am dyed and painted -to look like somebody else for awhile.” - -This was all. Annie left off abruptly. Possibly she had feared -interruption; or had had only time enough to catch the early morning -post. Anyhow, she had done her part of the investigations well, and had -sent a very comprehensive report. - -“Isn’t she a splendid girl?” said Miss Cory, with enthusiasm. - -“She is just wonderful,” answered Hilton. “No wonder my brother loves -her so. I wish the world held more like her.” - -“There are heaps of brave and noble girls, my boy, if you only knew -where to look for them. I wish my poor child was nicely out of that nest -of scoundrels.” - -To which remark of Mr. Cory’s Mrs. Riddell, wiping first her eyes and -then her spectacles, gave answer--“Mr. Cory, that girl is too plucky and -sensible to get into trouble through being indiscreet. And as nothing -else is likely to betray her identity, we may rest assured that she will -get away all right. She will have no great distance to travel, but of -course, some one must be on the lookout for her.” - -“I will go with Hilton,” said Mr. Cory; “and we will be within watching -distance of Mr. Stavanger’s house before half-past eight. Then, -everything being arranged that requires to be arranged beforehand, -Hilton will follow the two men, and find out what ship they are bound -for, while I wait for Annie, and bring her home with me.” - -“Her suggestion that, if Hugh Stavanger gets to sea before the diamonds -can be found, as proof of what she says, I should try to embark on board -the same ship, with the object of recovering the things, or indicating -their whereabouts to the authorities, is a good one. But I have no -experience of sea-life, beyond an occasional excursion for an hour or -two from a sea-side holiday resort. And I have not the slightest idea of -anything I could do to excuse my presence on board a ship of any sort. -The sailors work above, and the firemen below. But even if I knew their -duties, and could get a job on board, my chances of finding the diamonds -would be small. But I would take care to keep my man in sight after he -left the ship, and it will take him all his time to baffle me then.” - -So said Hilton, and this time it was Miss Cory who made the suggestions -which were ultimately followed. - -“You couldn’t go on board directly after the captain to ask for work. -The time would be so unseasonable as to cause suspicion. But you might -perhaps ascertain casually whether the ship is leaving at once or not. -If it is, then you will have to risk trying to get on board, in spite of -the lateness of the hour. If not, wait till morning, but keep watch lest -there should be an attempt to slip away earlier than the time mentioned -to you. You have several hours yet before you, and you have more than -one disguise ready. Use one of these, and pack the others in your box -for use in emergencies. Go boldly on board, and offer to pay for your -passage. Comport yourself as one who has plenty of money, but who has -some reason for preferring to sail in a vessel that is not known as a -passenger ship. The captain will at once jump to the conclusion that you -are in some trouble, and you must humour his fancy. Hint something about -a breach of promise action, and he will think you quite a hero.” - -The last sentence was uttered with a scornful accent which plainly -indicated Miss Cory’s opinion of man’s peculiar notions of what is -honourable in his dealings with the other sex. But her suggestion -“caught on,” and formed the basis of the tale with which Hilton Riddell -was to hide his real motive in attempting to obtain a passage with -Captain Cochrane. There was of course the possibility that his -application would be refused. In this case, he would proceed by the -quickest route to whichever place the merchant ship was bound for, and -would be on the spot, ready to meet the diamond thief, and to do his -best to convict him of the possession of some of the stolen property. - -When, at the time agreed upon, Mr. Cory and Hilton Riddell set off on -their mission of love and vengeance, every detail of their plans had -been arranged, Hilton, not sure when or under what circumstances he -would see his mother again, had bidden her a fond good-bye, and had left -her praying for God’s help in the enterprise which she hoped would -restore her banished son to her. - -Meanwhile the Stavangers, father and son, were also maturing their -plans, feeling pretty confident now of success, and little dreaming that -the avenger was already on their track. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -A SUSPICIOUS DEATH. - - -Nearly opposite the residence of Mr. Stavanger there was an untenanted -house. The front area was well planted with trees and shrubs, which -afforded capital shelter to two men who had loitered there for some -time. The men were known to us, being none other than Mr. Cory and -Hilton Riddell. They were getting somewhat fidgety lest a mistake had -been made somewhere. For it was long past the time appointed for Hugh -Stavanger’s departure with Captain Cochrane, and yet they had seen -neither the one nor the other, although the house had been strictly -watched for two hours. - -“He can’t have eluded us by going away earlier than the time named?” -said Hilton, anxiously. - -“Oh no,” was the confident reply. “Annie would have been sure to let us -know somehow or other.” - -“Unless she is suspected, and is prevented from doing anything further -just now.” - -“That is possible. But I doubt it, for she would have no need or -opportunity to watch Mr. Stavanger in any suspicious way during the day. -And even if she had found it desirable to do so, and had been detected, -what could these people do to her? They could not say: You shall not go -out, because we have been stealing, and don’t want to be caught. As for -locking her up in her room, that would be hardly practicable. No, since -she has not come out to us I fancy that events are still multiplying -indoors, and that we shall hear all about it soon. Ah--there is somebody -coming out! It is Annie, I expect.” - -“No; it is a woman, but it is not Miss Cory.” - -“It is a servant, and on an urgent message, for she is actually -running.” - -“Hush! she might hear us. Now she has passed us. Shall I follow her, do -you think?” - -“No, no, stay here. Look how the lights are flashing about those upper -rooms. The whole house seems to be in an uproar--and now I can hear a -woman screaming. Good God! they are murdering Annie.” - -As he almost shouted this, in his sudden alarm, Mr. Cory, followed by -Hilton, rushed across the road and up the steps leading to Mr. -Stavanger’s house. Someone was evidently expected, for the door was -opened as soon as they reached it, and a young girl, the housemaid -probably, stood before them with clasped hands and streaming eyes. - -“Oh, sir, are you the doctor?” she exclaimed. “It’s just awful! Wear -has been taken ill all of a sudden, and she is rolling on the floor and -screaming dreadful, with the agony she’s in. The missis is too -frightened to be beside her. But the governess is with her, and oh dear, -doctor, do be quick!” - -“I’m not the doctor,” answered Mr. Cory quickly, “but I’ll fetch one -directly. I was passing and heard the screams. Come along.” - -A moment later both men were hastening for a certain Doctor Mayne, whom -they knew. He lived not far away, and from him they hoped to be able to -hear a few after-details of the case. Fortunately he was at home, and -set off at once. The doctor whom the servant had gone to seek had not -been in when she arrived at his house, so Doctor Mayne was admitted to -the patient at once. But the moment he looked at her he judged her case -to be hopeless. - -Nor was he mistaken. Poor Wear was, as the housemaid had said, in mortal -agony. An hour later she was dead. Annie, though she was tired and -heartsick, was with her to the last, rendering what help she could, and -wondering all the while if this terrible event could be the accident it -was supposed to be. For the woman’s death at this juncture, with Hugh -Stavanger’s secret still unbetrayed by her, was so strangely opportune -an occurrence that less suspicious natures than Annie’s might easily -suspect some of the Stavangers to have had a hand in it. - -Wear was known to be rather fond of an occasional drink of Hollands. On -her box in her room was found a gin bottle, from which she had evidently -been drinking. But the bottle contained no gin, but a deadly poison -sometimes used for disinfecting purposes. How this happened to be in an -unlabelled bottle, and how Wear happened to mistake it for gin, are -mysteries which have never been elucidated, and never will be now. The -dead woman can reveal neither of these secrets, nor that other one which -was so important to the people in whose house she died. - -It was about eleven o’clock when this event occurred. - -Meanwhile our two watchers were in a great state of anxiety and -suspense, which was not lessened when Doctor Mayne, surprised to see -them there still when he left the house, told them that all was over. - -“Some time, Doctor Mayne, I will explain everything to you. At present -my great anxiety is about my daughter.” - -“Why, is she ill?” - -“No, she is in that house. The woman who had just died an awful death -knew a secret likely to cost young Stavanger his liberty and to liberate -young Riddell, and the Stavangers were aware that she had them in her -power. My daughter is there. She also knows their secret. Her life is no -safer than Wear’s was. She shall stay no longer, lest she also be -poisoned.” - -“You are saying terrible things, Mr. Cory,” said the doctor, “but your -excitement must prove your excuse. The unfortunate woman certainly died -from poison. But there is nothing in the event to lead to the -supposition that anyone but herself was to blame for the accident. In -any case, it is of a kind to which your daughter could hardly fall a -victim. Even if Wear had been deliberately poisoned--and I do not for a -moment think that is so--a repetition of the same kind of tragedy would -not be ventured upon by even the most reckless criminals. The young lady -whom I take to be your daughter looked so ill and upset that I advised -her to go to bed at once, and I know that she agreed to follow my -advice.” - -“Where is Mr. Stavanger?” - -“I do not know. There are no men in the house, I think, at present, and -the women are all considerably cut up by to-night’s scene. And now, as I -have had several broken nights lately, and am very tired, I will say -good-bye. To-morrow I will talk things over.” - -“Now, what do you think it behoves us to do?” asked Hilton, who was as -greatly perplexed and alarmed as Mr. Cory was. “I cannot understand how -it happens that the Stavangers, senior and junior, and this Captain -Cochrane, of whom Annie spoke, have not turned up.” - -“I have it,” said Mr. Cory, after some deliberation. “There has been -some alteration of plans. We left home perhaps earlier than Annie -expected, and there may even now be a message waiting for us. But here -comes a woman. See how she loiters. One would think she was as much -interested in this house as we are.” - -“Why, so she is! It is Miss Cory, I am sure.” - -And so it proved. It was Miss Cory indeed, looking for her brother and -friend. - -“Whatever brings you here, Margaret?” asked Mr. Cory, in considerable -surprise. - -“Come here and you shall know,” she answered. “You can do nothing more -here, and I have much to tell you. Annie is not coming out to-night. She -is all right. Now listen.” - -And as the trio walked homewards, Miss Cory gave them the following -particulars: - -“You had not been gone many minutes,” she said, “when a letter from -Annie arrived, saying that she would come home to-morrow, as her work -would then, she thought, be quite done. She also said that Mrs. -Stavanger had received a telegraphic message during the morning. It was -addressed to her husband, but she had opened it, as was her usual custom -with messages which came to the house. It simply said ‘Can’t come. Bring -H. S. at 8.30 to Millwall Dock. Sail to-morrow.’ Annie understood the -message, which Mrs. Stavanger indiscreetly read aloud. To the mistress -of the house it was not so intelligible. But she comprehended that it -might be important, and sent the boy who does odd jobs about the house -during the day to the shop with it. It seems to me that it would take a -very clever individual to throw dust into Annie’s eyes. ‘I am not sure,’ -she writes, ‘that it is safe to neglect watching the house, and yet -Hilton at least should try to keep Hugh Stavanger in sight. What we want -to prove is that he has the diamonds. It is no use, as we know, to -attempt to have him arrested until we have proof in our possession that -will convict him. Of course we know that he is guilty, and certain other -people know it also. But we may not be able to induce them to give -evidence on our side. Mr. Lyon has the honour of the firm to support. -Mr. Stavanger’s family credit and prosperity would be entirely ruined by -the proof of his son’s guilt. Wear will stick to the Stavangers if they -make a sufficiently high bid for her silence. We must therefore place -our reliance on the diamonds, which Hugh Stavanger must have hidden -somewhere or other. They will be our salvation if we can show that they -have been seen in the scoundrel’s possession. I am afraid it is a -dangerous thing to do, but there seems to be nothing for it but to -follow the man to sea. If he does not come home before eight o’clock, it -is hardly likely that the stolen property is here. If he does come home -it might almost be safe to arrest him on the chance of finding the -things on him. But I dread ruining all by premature action, so implore -you to be cautious. Let father watch here with a detective if he likes, -but let Hilton go at once to Millwall Dock and keep a sharp look out -there. He might perhaps discover the name of the ship Captain Cochrane -is commanding, and get a passage in her. If he cannot go as a passenger, -he can try, after changing his disguise, to go as cook or steward. Of -course he does not know the work, but that is a detail that cannot be -taken into consideration when such great issues are at stake.’ - -“Now what do you think of that?” said Miss Cory, folding up the letter, -which she had stopped to read by the light of a street lamp. - -“I think Annie is a wonderful girl. She seems to think of everything,” -was Hilton’s reply, given in a tone of great disappointment. “But her -excellent advice comes too late. Our bird has flown, and it will be -almost impossible to discover him to-morrow, since he is sure to keep -dark, and we do not even know the name of the ship to which he has been -taken.” - -“Yes, men generally have an idea that women are of no use,” Miss Cory -said, and her voice had such a triumphant inflection in it that her -hearers at once found themselves heartened again. “But in this case they -may thank their stars that they have got women to help them.” - -“We shall only be too glad to thank our stars--the women themselves,” -quoth Hilton. Whereupon Miss Cory rejoined: “Very prettily said, Mr. -Riddell, but you don’t know yet what you have to thank me for. I know -where young Stavanger is to be found this minute.” - -“Really?” - -“Yes, really and truly.” - -“But how in the world have you managed it?” - -“Well, you see, when Annie’s letter arrived, you had already left home, -and for a while I was more than a little puzzled as to what was best to -be done. But there was no time to spare, and I soon had to come to a -decision. Had I come to fetch either of you to go to Millwall, we should -have been too late, and had I thought of intercepting either of the -Stavangers on the way, my efforts would have been futile. There was but -one course open to me, and I adopted it without delay. You and I, John, -are about the same size. It being already nightfall, and it being, -moreover, very essential that I should not be noticed much myself, I -took a liberty with your wardrobe that you must excuse. I haven’t seen -much of dock life, as you know, but I have an idea, which has proved to -be correct, that women, at least respectable women, don’t hang about the -dock gates at night unless they are on the look out for some particular -ship. I am not one to stick at trifles, but I did not want to be -mistaken for somebody who wasn’t respectable, and I did want to be as -unnoticed as possible. So I just got dressed in one of your suits, put -my hair out of the way--there isn’t much of it--donned a long top-coat -and took an old hat, and set off for Millwall. I took the Underground, -and changed at Mark Lane. At Fenchurch Street I just caught a train -starting for the docks. If I had had to wait there I should have had a -fruitless errand, for I lost a little time at the other end hunting -about the dock gates, and I was afraid to attract attention to myself by -asking my way. Perhaps you think that I ought to have known it, as I was -down there with you last summer to look over one of the ships in which -you are a shareholder. But things look very different in the bright -sunshine, when you have a lot of friends with you, all bent upon -pleasure, from what they do at night, when you are alone and nervous, -and fearful alike of being seen yourself or of failing to see those of -whom you are in search. - -“I am thankful, however, to say that I overcame all obstacles, and I was -luckier in my mission than I could have dreamed of, for I had barely got -up to the dock gates, when a cab stopped for a moment to put down two -men, whom I had little difficulty in recognising as Mr. David Stavanger -and his son Hugh. I almost betrayed myself by trying to get too near -them, as they questioned the watchman, but I suppose they thought -themselves quite safe in that out-of-the-way region, and did not even -trouble themselves to speak low, or to notice who stood near them. - -“‘Do you know where the “Merry Maid” is lying?’ asked Mr. Stavanger. - -“‘Yes, sir, she’s lying over there, sir, in that basin; but she’s not -easy to get at. She’s been shifted into the middle of the dock, sir. She -was to have sailed this tide, but the bo’sun was telling my mate, a bit -since, that none of her stores have come aboard, through the steward not -ordering them, and telling the skipper that he had. There’s been a jolly -row, and the steward had to clear in a hurry to-night, although he had -signed articles.’ - -“‘Then I suppose everybody all around is in a tear about it?’ put in -Hugh Stavanger. - -“‘Not a bit of it, sir,’ was the watchman’s reply. ‘Why should anybody -be vexed except the owners? They are the only losers, having to pay a -day’s expenses for nothing. The men are nearly all ashore, enjoying -themselves a bit longer.’ - -“‘But how are we to get on board, if the ship is in the middle of the -dock?’ - -“‘Oh, that’s easily managed, sir, when you know how to go about it. -Hallo, Jim, just show the gents the way on board the “Merry Maid.”’ - -“‘Right you are,’ said the individual addressed as Jim. ‘Come along, -sirs.’ - -“The next minute the Stavangers were on their way to the ship, and I -was trudging back to the station, quite satisfied with the results of my -mission, except for one thing. I had kept a sharp look-out on both -father and son, but could see that they had no luggage whatever with -them. Hugh Stavanger may have the diamonds concealed about him, or, as -he is sure to have some luggage of some sort to follow him on board in -the morning, the property we want to trace may be sent to him to-morrow. -Anyhow, Hilton here, if he can get on board, will make it his business -to seek it. He knows where to go, and he ought to start early, as the -ship sails about noon. Just to finish my story--I got home as quickly as -I could, and changed my clothes. Then I thought that, as you had missed -Annie’s letter, you would perhaps hang about here all night, on the -look-out for Captain Cochrane and his passenger. So I took a cab, and -got out in the next street to the one I expected to find you in--and -here I am, dead-tired, if I may own the truth.” - -While Miss Cory had been talking, the trio had been walking homewards. -They hoped to have come across a belated cab or hansom by the way, but -were not fortunate enough to do so. They were all, therefore, very glad -when they reached home, where warmth, food, and rest awaited them. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -AN OLD FRIEND IN A NEW GUISE. - - -The ss. “Merry Maid” was making capital progress. She was well-engined, -well-manned, her disc was well in evidence, and wind and weather were -all that could be desired. The captain was in an unusually good humour, -for, in addition to his regular means of making money over and above his -salary, he had an extra good speculation on hand, in the shape of a -young passenger whose supposed name was Paul Torrens, but whom we have -known as Hugh Stavanger. - -Mr. Torrens, as we will also call him for a time, hardly looked like the -typical fugitive from justice, for his face, as he sat talking to -Captain Cochrane, was that of a man who feels exceedingly well pleased -with himself. The two men were sitting in the cabin of the steamer. -Before them stood bottles and glasses, and the clouded atmosphere of the -apartment gave testimony to the supposition that both men were ardent -votaries of the goddess Nicotine. - -“After all, it’s quite jolly to be at sea,” observed Mr. Torrens. “I -expected to feel no end of squeamish.” - -To which elegant remark Captain Cochrane replied in kind: “And you -haven’t turned a hair! I am glad of it too, for I hate to have to do -with folk who get sea-sick. They are such an awful nuisance while ill, -and are limp and unsociable for days sometimes, even after they are -supposed to be over the worst of the visitation. A fellow who can take -his share at the whisky bottle is more to my taste.” - -“Then I ought to suit you?” - -“Yes, you do. Perhaps better than you imagine.” - -“Indeed? I should like to know what you mean. It’s something new to be -so well appreciated.” - -“It doesn’t take much to please me. Kindred tastes and a well-lined -pocket go a long way towards it.” - -“But if the owner of the well-lined pocket declines to part with the -rhino?” - -“In this case there is something more at stake than mere rhino, and I -think that the present possessor of it will not dare refuse to go shares -with me.” - -As Captain Cochrane said this he emphasised his meaning by such an -unmistakably menacing look that Mr. Torrens shrank together as if -struck, and grew pale to the very lips. - -“Of whom and of what are you speaking?” he stammered. But his whole -manner showed that he entertained no doubt on the subject, and his -companion was so sure of his position that he did not trouble himself to -enter into explanations, but smiled coolly and remarked: “Suppose we go -into my berth to discuss matters more fully? It may save future trouble -if we come to an understanding at once, and this place is perhaps not -quite private enough.” - -Without a word of remonstrance or comment, Mr. Torrens rose and -followed the captain into his private berth. The latter closed the door -behind his visitor, and pointed out a comfortable chair to him. - -“Now then, we will talk business, Mr. ---- Torrens. I happen to know -that the individual who got potted for a certain diamond robbery had no -more to do with the job than I had.” - -“How do you happen to know that?” - -“Well, during the time that elapsed between receiving a visit from a -certain Mr. Stavanger, and the reception of his son as a passenger on -board the “Merry Maid,” I made a good many inquiries which enlightened -me considerably. I based my inquiries on the circumstance that it was -found desirable to send Mr. Hugh Stavanger out of the -country--presumably for his health, which happens to be very good. That -little yarn about his declining health turning out to be fiction, I -looked around for another reason, since it is evident that a reason -there must be. It was not difficult to discover that Mr. Hugh Stavanger -had of late been leading a very fast life, and that he had been much -more flush of money since the robbery than was the case before that -event took place. I am not given to being foolishly charitable in my -opinions of others, and I did not think myself to be far wrong in -believing that I knew the source of his increased income. There was -another thing that convinced me that I was right. There had been no -hesitation in fixing the guilt of the robbery upon a man against whom -there had never been a breath of suspicion, and who had proved himself a -valued servant. The rancour with which such a man was pursued to his -doom ought to have set blear-eyed Justice on the right track. But she -has such a curious knack of toading to wealth and position that a poor -devil in the dock stands no chance at all, but may thank his stars that -no more lies are raked up against him. No doubt Messrs. Stavanger felt -it to be necessary to secure a conviction, since, the affair being -apparently settled, the law’s sagacious bloodhounds could turn their -attention to a less simple case on the face of it. Perhaps they have not -remembered that this Riddell whom they have sent to penal servitude has -friends and relations who may even now be trying to find evidence -against the real thief.” - -“And if they are seeking evidence, what has that to do with me?” - -“Everything, my dear sir, since it may result in a reversal of your -positions. But we have beaten about the bush long enough. It’s time we -spoke plainly. You are, I am quite sure, the man who stole the diamonds, -and swore away another man’s liberty to save your own skin. There must -be a good share of the stolen property in your possession. In fact, it -is in that little leather bag that you take such care of, that it goes -to bed with you at night. Too much valuable property is good for no man. -You will therefore fetch that bag out of your berth at once. You will -then open it, and spread its contents upon this table, the door being -securely fastened against intruders. I shall then choose my share of the -plunder as a solatium to my conscience for consenting to associate with -a thief.” - -“And what if I refuse?” - -“Then I shall have you fastened in the remaining spare berth, without -giving you a chance to overhaul your baggage. I shall then have you -taken ashore at Malta, and formally charged with being an absconded -thief; your baggage will be searched, and you know best whether you can -afford to refuse my offer of complete protection, on condition that we -go shares in the plunder.” - -For a few seconds Mr. Torrens did not reply. Then he resigned himself to -the inevitable, and, cursing his ill-luck, which left him no peace; -cursing his father, who had chosen a scoundrel to convey him out of -harm’s way; cursing the captain because he was an avaricious brute; -cursing anything and everybody but his own vile self, he proceeded to -the berth he had occupied during the time he had been at sea. Thence he -soon after emerged, carrying the small bag to which Captain Cochrane had -referred. - -Meanwhile the latter was smiling with satisfaction, and chuckling at the -astuteness which was helping him to enrich himself so easily. When Mr. -Torrens left him for a moment he felt no uneasiness concerning the -diamonds, for he considered that that worldly-wise young man would not -throw the proof of his guilt through the window in preference to sharing -it with another. - -“He is not fool enough to chuck it away, and if he were so inclined, I -am keeping a sharp eye on his berth, and can stop him if he even tries -to open the bag before he brings it here.” - -So murmured the captain, quite unconscious of the fact that his -low-spoken words found an eager listener. Yet so it was, and to explain -how this happened a slight description of the cabin of the “Merry Maid” -is necessary. - -It was a square apartment, lighted from a large skylight in the centre. -On either side it was flanked by berths. To the right, at the foot of -the companion, was the steward’s pantry. Then came the berth allotted to -Mr. Torrens, and those which the officers occupied. Immediately opposite -the passenger’s berth was the captain’s room. On either side of the -latter were built respectively a small berth for the steward and a -bathroom. Another spare berth on this side completed the accommodation. - -The steward was evidently a man with an inquisitive turn of mind, for -during the conversation just recorded he was kneeling on the top of his -bunk, with his ear pressed close to a small orifice in the partition -wall. It was an odd coincidence that the steward, who had shipped under -the name of “William Trace,” should have a hole at the front of his -berth through which he could survey the cabin when desirous of doing so. -Still more odd was it that the pantry should also be similarly furnished -with means of observation. To prevent undue notice of his own movements, -Mr. Trace had furnished his peepholes with small discs of cardboard, -with which he covered them when he required a light in his room. The -orifices were so small and so cleverly placed as to be almost certain to -escape detection, provided the steward was careful. - -When we first observe him watching the captain, and listening to his -conversation with Mr. Torrens, his face is lighted up with joy, and his -limbs are shaking with excitement. - -“He cannot escape me,” he thinks. “I have run him to earth, and within -ten days he will be denounced. Heaven grant me patience to keep my -counsel until we reach Malta. Ha! now he returns with his ill-gotten -gains, and that other scoundrel little imagines how he will be punished -for his greed.” - -For the next ten minutes Mr. Trace finds connected thought impossible, -but, with his eye put close to the peephole, is taking a necessarily -circumscribed view of the scene being enacted in the captain’s berth. -There is a tempting display of very beautiful jewellery, and there is -considerable haggling anent its distribution. But the latter is -accomplished at last, and the captain places his share in his private -desk, which he locks very carefully. Mr. Torrens, wearing a very savage -look on his face, crosses the cabin to his own berth, and fastens the -door after him. As it is still early in the afternoon, he is perhaps -thinking of taking a nap. - -The steward is apparently satisfied with his observations for the -present, for he gets down from his post of vantage, and prepares himself -for his afternoon duties. Tea has to be ready at five o’clock, and, from -a purely stewardly point of view, much time has been wasted, so that it -behoves him to hurry himself now. His beard, which is brown and bushy, -requires some little readjustment, and Captain Cochrane would be -considerably surprised if he could see how easily removable both beard -and wig are. - -But we, who already recognise in William Trace our friend Hilton -Riddell, feel no surprise whatever, unless it be at his temerity in -offering himself for a post concerning the duties of which he knew -positively nothing. When, on attempting to engage a berth as passenger -in the “Merry Maid,” he found his application rejected, he straightway -resolved to change his disguise; and having found that the ship had not -her full complement of men, and could not sail until morning, he -resolved to apply to the mate to be taken on as steward. The mate, -without much inquiry, gave him the post, and had already repented of his -indiscretion, for a man may have a great deal of natural aptitude, and -yet fail utterly at a post that is quite strange to him. It was so with -William Trace, and he had already learnt the savour of a seaman’s -invective. - -It may have hurt his pride a little to hear himself called a fraud and a -duffer, and to have a number of burning adjectives hurled at his head -every day. But, in view of his recent discoveries, he is inclined to -condone these offences against his self-respect. - -Unfortunately for him, he has forgotten to lower the piece of cardboard -with which he is wont to cover the peephole which overlooks the -captain’s berth. - -From such simple oversights do tragedies spring. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -A MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE. - - -Late that evening the steward of the “Merry Maid” was sitting in his -berth, writing. - -The accommodation at his disposal was of the most meagre kind. It -included neither desk nor table, for which, by-the-bye, the tiny place -would not have had room if they had been available. By way of a -substitute, however, his washstand, which was of the sort commonly -considered quite luxurious enough for a seafarer, was fitted with a deal -top, and upon this he had spread the wherewithal to write a long letter. -He sat upon his campstool and applied himself very diligently to his -work, covering sheet after sheet with minute writing. Actually, he was -writing a very detailed account of all that had transpired after he left -home to enter upon the duties of an amateur detective. Having made his -budget of news as complete and circumstantial as possible, he folded the -papers upon which he had written into a long, thin roll. Then he reached -out of the drawer under his bunk an empty wine bottle. He had evidently -prepared it for the occasion, for it was quite clean and dry. Into this -receptacle he thrust his roll of paper. Then he corked the bottle, and -wired the cork firmly down, tying over all a piece of washleather, in -order to prevent the possibility of the entrance of sea-water into the -bottle. His next proceeding was to open the port, and to lower the -bottle through it into the water, through which the “Merry Maid” was -running at the rate of ten knots an hour--not at all bad for an ordinary -ocean tramp, as the class of vessels to which the “Merry Maid” belonged -is often called. - -“There,” he thought, “I feel easier after taking that precaution. One -never knows what may happen, and there is too much at stake to permit it -to depend entirely on my safety. I wonder what makes me feel so uneasy. -I don’t think I have done anything to betray myself. And yet I have a -strange foreboding of coming ill. Shall I ever see old England again? -Just now I have my doubts. Throwing that bottle into the sea was the -first outcome of the new feeling of dread which has come over me, and -even if ill comes to me before we reach Malta, there is the chance of -Harley being rescued after all, for the first person who picks the -bottle up will examine and report upon its contents. I once read of a -castaway bottle floating about two years--sent hither and thither, -caught first by one current, and then by another--before it was finally -washed ashore. God grant that Harley may not have to wait two years for -his deliverance.” - -While he was thus musing in a depressed mood that struck him as uncanny -and unaccountable, considering the information that he had gained, the -steward of the “Merry Maid” prepared himself for bed, for he had to rise -early next morning. Had he but cast his tired eyes up to the little -peephole which overlooked the next berth, he would have noticed -something which would have alarmed him. The hole being unprotected, the -light from his oil lamp had betrayed him. - -The captain had retired for the night, but found sleep to be in too -fitful and fleetsome a mood to benefit him. The fact that he was richer -by at least a thousand pounds than he was a day or two ago had set his -imagination going, and he was in fancy entering into all sorts of plans -for doubling his capital. Towards one o’clock, he was dozing off, when a -slight noise awoke him. Some people are easily aroused by any unexpected -sound. Captain Cochrane was one of these people. There is hardly any -time so quiet at sea in a merchant ship as one o’clock in the morning. -All hands not on watch are in bed, and those who are on watch content -themselves with doing their duty. Supplementary caperings or -promenadings are deferred until a more seasonable time. - -This being the case, we can understand how it was that Captain Cochrane -was on the alert at once when the sound of a splash in the water close -to his port fell on his startled ears. For a moment he lay wondering -whether someone had fallen overboard or not. Then, just as he came to -the conclusion that the splash was hardly loud enough to account for a -cat falling into the water, he noticed something else that surprised -him. - -Just opposite his face, as he sat up in his bunk, there was a small -round patch of light. He had no light burning in his berth. Whence came -this illumination of a spot to which no light for which he could account -could penetrate? He must find out. With Captain Cochrane, to resolve was -usually to do. It did not take him long to discover William Trace’s -secret. - -A hole had been deliberately cut in the partition. Such an act would not -be done without a purpose. What was that purpose? A very cursory -inspection, conducted in the quietest possible manner, convinced the -captain that he had come upon a means of espionage. He himself had been -the object of supervision. It was time to reverse the situation, and -this was accordingly done. The blood of William Trace would, of a -surety, have run cold if he could have seen the baleful look in the eye -which was now peering down at him as he unconsciously betrayed his dual -identity by divesting himself of the thick wig and beard, which he found -hot and uncomfortable. - -Chancing, as he vaulted into his bunk, to glance at his means of -inspecting the next berth, he noticed, to his horror, that the -card-board disc was not in its place. To repair the omission was the -work of a moment. But he could not so soon recover from the shock which -his blunder had caused him. The sense of foreboding which had visited -him in the earlier part of the night attacked him with redoubled force, -but amid all his doubts of his own personal safety, inspired by his -conviction of the villainous character of the two men with whom he had -to deal, there rose a sense of thankfulness that Harley’s rescue no -longer depended entirely upon his brother’s personal safety. - -The replacing of the card-board disc prevented Captain Cochrane from -seeing into the steward’s berth. But this fact did not trouble him. The -hole had served his purpose, and he had seen enough to convince him that -he had brought to sea as ship’s steward a man who was neither more nor -less than a spy. A spy, moreover, who had found it necessary to cloak -his identity by an elaborate disguise. - -What could be his special motive, and who was the object of his -attentions? The captain felt quite easy as regarded himself, for he had -always been very careful to avoid adding to his perquisites in so clumsy -a manner as to lead to unpleasant inquiries. His transaction with Mr. -Torrens was the first for which he felt the law might have a legitimate -grip upon him. But as the steward had evidently been officiating as spy, -or detective, whichever he might like to call himself, before the -occurrence of the little scene just alluded to, it was clear that this -was not the cause of the stranger’s presence on board. His motive must -be anterior to the division of the spoil. Yet that it had something to -do with the flight of Mr. Torrens, and the abduction of the said spoil, -Captain Cochrane felt morally convinced. - -Now, had the pursuit and discovery of a diamond thief involved no loss -or danger to himself, the skipper of the “Merry Maid” would not have -felt very much concern. But the events of the last few days had -materially altered his notions on the subject. For, whereas he would -formerly have felt it incumbent upon him to lend his aid in the cause of -right and justice, he now felt his own safety involved in the -maintenance of Mr. Torrens’s desire to do what he liked with what was -left of the proceeds of his venture. - -For was he not an accessory after the fact? And had he not in his own -possession a very handsome share of the plunder? Detection and exposure -of Torrens meant loss, disgrace, and imprisonment for Captain Cochrane. - -“Having gone so far,” he said, clenching his teeth, and looking very -grim about the eyes, “I will go on to the bitter end. I won’t allow any -man to foil me, if I can help it. This William Trace, as he calls -himself, came here at his own risk, and on his head be it if he does not -find his way home again.” - -The next morning, or, rather, at eight o’clock the same morning, there -was considerable speculation in the minds of two of the individuals in -the cabin of the “Merry Maid.” One of them was the steward, who was, to -the best of his ability, attending to the wants of those at the -breakfast table. But though he was keenly observant of the captain’s -manner, there was nothing in it that could lead him to suppose his -secret to have been betrayed. Nay, the captain was even more forbearing -than usual, and had nothing to say anent the sloppy nature of the dry -hash, or the extraordinary mixture dignified by the name of curried -lobster. - -Altogether, breakfast passed over pretty quietly, and Hilton Riddell, -alias William Trace, began to feel more comfortable in his mind. Further -espionage he did not think necessary to go in for, as he had already -learned enough to prove his case. If only the ship could be made to -accelerate her speed, and arrive quicker at Malta. He could then -disburthen himself of the immense responsibility which weighed upon him. -Meanwhile, the best thing he could do was to endeavour to give -satisfaction as steward, in order to lead as peaceful a life as possible -while on board. - -After breakfast, the captain requested Mr. Torrens to accompany him to -the chart-room, as he had something he wanted to show him there. - -“Certainly; any blessed thing for a change,” said the passenger. “I -should feel inclined to blow my brains out if I had to put up with this -stagnation long. How on earth you fellows stand the monotony, I don’t -know.” - -“Well, you see,” was the captain’s reply, as the two were crossing the -poop deck together, “we are used to the life, and, what’s more, we like -it. But that is not what I want to talk to you about just now. I have -something to tell you that will astonish you. Ah! there he goes. Do you -know that fellow? I mean the one who has just gone along to the galley.” - -“Of course I know him. He is the steward.” - -“So I thought, until last night, when I witnessed a performance not -intended for my eyes. That fellow, who has shipped with us as steward, -and calls himself William Trace, is a detective, and he is after you.” - -“Good God! how do you know that?” - -“He has got a very good outfit in the way of disguise. That bushy beard -of his is false. So is his wig. And I happen to know that he saw you -bring the diamonds out of your berth into mine. And that reminds me. I -want to have a look into that same berth of yours.” - -“For God’s sake, don’t trifle with me. Is what you say about the steward -true?” - -“Yes, it’s true enough, curse him.” - -“Then I’m lost.” - -“I don’t know about that. Anyhow, I don’t mean to give in, and lose what -I got last night, without a struggle.” - -“But what can we do if the thing is found out already?” - -“There are a good many things which desperate men can do. But, before we -decide anything further, we’ll go below again, while our enemy is in the -galley.” - -Suiting the action to the word, the confederates proceeded to Mr. -Torrens’s berth. - -“I thought so,” observed the captain; “look here.” - -“At what? At that little hole into which you have thrust your finger?” - -“That little hole is one of the traps that has betrayed you. There is -one just like it overlooking my berth.” - -“But nobody can see through it.” - -“At present, no. Because it is covered on the other side. Remove the -cover, and put an enemy’s eye to the hole, and where are your secrets? -There is no doubt about it. This fellow has followed you here, and he -has now discovered all he came for. It’s lucky for you that we went -shares last night, for you would have small chance of getting out of the -mess by yourself.” - -“Who will this be? Have you any idea?” - -“A detective from Scotland Yard, most likely. Employed by the friends of -the man who is in gaol.” - -“Riddell has a brother who, in my hearing, swore not to let the matter -drop. My God, what a fool I am! This is the very man. I wondered what -his voice and figure reminded me of. Now I know. This is Harley -Riddell’s brother himself. He will tell everything when we get to -Malta.” - -“We mustn’t let him.” - -“How are we to prevent him?” - -“He must never reach Malta. I tell you, I won’t be baulked of my share -of the diamonds, and you have far more at stake than I have. It often -happens that a man falls overboard.” - -For a moment the two villains looked into each other’s eyes. Then they -understood each other, and Hilton Riddell’s fate was mapped out before -that interview ended. - -Somehow, the steward’s duties seemed interminable that day, for the -captain had taken it into his head that the chart-room required a -thorough cleaning and overhauling. - -“Steward,” he said, “I want you to try what sort of a job you can make -of this place. Our last steward didn’t half look after things. You can -get the engineer’s steward to help you for an hour. It won’t take you -longer than that.” - -The work might be uncongenial to a man of Hilton Riddell’s tastes and -temperament. But it had to be done, and he was not one to shirk his -responsibilities because they happened to be distasteful. So he occupied -himself up in the chart-room, unconscious of the fact that his berth was -being searched all over. The searchers found enough to convince them of -his real identity. They also made the discovery that it must have been -he who wished to sail as passenger in the “Merry Maid,” but whom Captain -Cochrane, in obedience to Mr. Stavanger’s request that he would carry no -passenger but Hugh, had declined to take. There was the long red -moustache, and there was the checked tweed suit worn by the would-be -passenger, whose career was to be so soon ended. - -It was singular that the lock of the steward’s door should have gone -wrong, and that when he went to bed that night he could not turn the -key, as was his wont on retiring. “I must put that right to-morrow,” he -thought. Then, believing himself to be unsuspected, and therefore in no -danger, he went to bed, and, being very tired, soon dropped into a sound -slumber. - -At 12 p.m. the chief mate was waiting impatiently for the second mate to -come and relieve him, for he felt as if he could keep his eyes open no -longer. The longest spell off watch that the mates of a merchant cargo -steamer ever have is four hours. From this four hours must be deducted -half an hour for a wash and a meal, leaving three and a half hours as -the utmost length of time they have for sleep. As a rule, they no sooner -lay their heads upon their pillows than they fall asleep, and the two -men who were scheming against the steward’s safety meant to take -advantage of this fact. To all appearance they had gone to bed. In -reality, they were never more keenly on the alert, and, in the absence -of both mates, they were tolerably safe, as they knew how to choose -their moment for action. They waited until they heard the second mate -ascend the companion to relieve his superior. Then they swiftly and -noiselessly entered the steward’s berth, closing the door after them. - -But, careful as their movements had been, they startled the sleeper, who -attempted to spring up in his bunk. There was a sudden blow, a stifled -cry, and a short but sharp struggle, at the end of which Hilton Riddell -lay passive and lifeless in the hands of his assassins, who had deemed -strangulation the safest way to silence their victim. - -When, about two minutes later, the mate came off watch, all was quiet -in the steward’s berth. But the two men stood gazing at each other with -horror-stricken eyes, and instinctively turned their backs upon the -awful object which but a few moments ago had been full of life and -strength. - -For fully an hour they hardly dared to breathe. Then, feeling sure that -the mate must be sound asleep now, they set about removing the evidence -of their crime. The captain, who, like his companion, was shoeless for -the occasion, slipped up the companion, to reconnoitre. - -“All is safe,” he presently whispered to his fellow-murderer, who had -not dared to remain alone with the body, but had come out into the -cabin. “There is not a soul about. The folk on the bridge will be -looking in any direction except behind them, where we are. And even if -they tried to look this way, the night is too dark for them to see -anything.” - -Soon after this there was lowered, over the side furthest from the -mate’s berth, the remains of what had been the steward of the “Merry -Maid.” The body was lowered so carefully, too, that not the slightest -splash was caused that could have attracted the attention of an -unsuspicious person. - -A while later the “Merry Maid” arrived in Malta. Here the captain duly -reported the sudden and unaccountable disappearance, of his steward. -“The poor fellow was eccentric,” he said soberly, and with a great show -of sympathy. “He did not drink, but told me that he had once been in a -lunatic asylum. The weather was quite clear and calm. He must have had -an attack of insanity and jumped overboard. Enemies? Certainly not; he -was a general favourite on board.” - -And so it came to pass that a verdict of suicide while temporarily -insane was made to account for the disappearance of William Trace, and -his murderers, poor fools, imagined themselves safe from detection. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -EVIL TIDINGS. - - -Mrs. Riddell and Miss Cory were sitting in the drawing-room. Both ladies -were occupied less fancifully than ladies of fiction generally are. They -were darning stockings, and Mrs. Riddell’s spectacles were dimmed with -tears, as she held up a neatly finished piece of work, and sighed -wistfully, “I wonder if poor Harley will live to wear it again.” - -“Live to wear it!” was the optimistic rejoinder. “Of course he will. -He’s not particularly ill, though he’s naturally low-spirited. But he -will soon be all right, when we are able to infuse a little more hope -into his mind than is advisable at present.” - -“Do you know, I was sorely tempted to tell him yesterday of all that is -being done for him. It seems so cruel to leave the poor fellow in -misery.” - -“But think how much more dreadful his disappointment will be, if things -do not go off so well as we have reason to expect. Far better wait until -we hear from Hilton. Then we shall, I trust, have something definite to -promise him. Meantime, as you are aware, every effort is being made to -trace Hugh Stavanger’s doings from the time of the robbery until the -time of his flight. Our chain of evidence, with God’s help, will soon be -complete, and when we have effected his deliverance, we will all do our -best to make up to your poor lad for some of his sufferings.” - -“I wish I could feel as you do. But, somehow, as each day passes, I -begin to lose heart more and more, and yesterday, when I saw my dear -boy, looking so ill and miserable, I thought my heart would have -broken.” - -“Yes, I knew you would feel it keenly, and wanted you to stay at home. -Perhaps it is as well that you will not be permitted to see him -again--until honour and freedom are restored to him. Picture how happy -we shall all be then!” - -“I will try, dear kind friends, I will try. And what do I not owe you -already! Without you to hearten me up, when I am tempted to doubt -Providence, I should have fretted myself into my grave before this time. -But don’t you think we should have the telegram which Hilton promised to -send from Malta soon? Shouldn’t it be here to-day or to-morrow?” - -“I suppose it should. Only we must, of course, make allowances for -possible bad weather and other causes of detention.” - -“Yes, yes, I won’t be impatient again.” - -Mrs. Riddell, utterly crushed by the suddenness and severity of her -recent troubles, was prone to despondency and melancholy. It was -fortunate for her that she had found such a firm, cheerful, and hopeful -friend as Miss Cory to cheer her now childless loneliness. Annie, too, -though she took her lover’s fate sadly to heart, was fain to do her -utmost to keep up the health and spirits of both herself and others. - -“There may be important work before me,” she was apt to say, “and I -should feel ashamed of myself if I were to allow myself to become -incapable of doing it.” - -So she kept herself fully occupied with healthy employment, took her -food regularly, and held herself in readiness for action at any moment. -On the afternoon during which the above conversation took place between -Mrs. Riddell and Miss Cory, Annie had been with her father to see a -private detective whom they were employing to make inquiries concerning -Hugh Stavanger. But although the man gleaned proofs that the individual -whose past he was trying to investigate had spent a great deal of money -lately, he could discover nothing to connect him with the diamond -robbery. - -“Never mind,” said Annie bravely, as they were walking homewards again. -“We shall hear from Hilton soon, and he is not likely to lose sight of -Hugh Stavanger, so that he can be arrested as soon as we are ready with -our proofs. When Mr. Lyon comes home, we will have him subpœnaed as a -witness, whether he likes it or not.” - -“I don’t think we can rely upon him,” said Mr. Cory. - -“And I do think that we can. I have given him a good deal of -consideration, and have come to the conclusion that he is a gentleman. -From the inquiries we have made of him, we have learnt nothing that -could lead us to believe him anything but honourable. A few days ago I -thought as you do. Mr. Lyon has no doubt every desire to shield the -honour of his firm. But when he comes back, I mean to interview him and -implore him to help us to save an innocent man from worse than death.” - -“And surely he cannot refuse so reasonable a prayer.” - -“I wonder how he came to suspect Hugh Stavanger, and how much he really -knows.” - -“We shall, I hope, discover everything in time--at any rate, enough to -reverse the positions of Harley and young Stavanger.” - -“Poor Harley. How dreadfully ill he looked yesterday! And yet how brave -he tried to be! But hurry up, father, you know that it is just possible -for the ‘Merry Maid’ to have reached Malta to-day, and a message may -even now be waiting for us.” - -There was no cablegram waiting for them, but the quartette spent the -rest of the day without augmented anxiety, little dreaming of the -terrible tidings in store for them. Late in the evening they were all -sitting round the drawing-room fire, the ladies working while Mr. Cory -read extracts from the “Echo.” - -“Great Heavens!” he exclaimed suddenly, as his eye lighted on a passage -which filled him with consternation. “Surely God himself is working for -our enemies.” - -His words so startled his companions that at least two of them were -incapable of inquiring the nature of the new calamity which had -evidently befallen them. - -“What has happened now?” gasped Miss Cory, her face pale with -consternation. - -“Read for yourself,” was the reply, as her brother handed the paper to -her. She took it with trembling fingers, but gained courage, when she -saw, at a glance, that the news was not what she had feared. - -“Don’t be so alarmed, Mrs. Riddell,” she said reassuringly. “This -paragraph does not concern your son.” Then she read aloud as follows:-- - - “TERRIBLE COLLISION AT SEA. - “GREAT LOSS OF LIFE. - -“The news of a painful disaster has reached us from New York. The -Pioneer liner ‘Cartouche’ reports a collision between that vessel and -the British steamer ‘Gazelle’ on the 31st ultimo. The weather was thick -at the time of the collision, and the foghorn of the ‘Cartouche’ was -blowing. Suddenly a vessel emerged from the fog, and was seen to be -crossing the starboard bow of the ‘Cartouche.’ The latter was -immediately ported, and her engines set full speed astern. But these -efforts could not prevent a collision, and in a few seconds the -‘Gazelle’ was struck amidships, going down immediately, with every soul -on board. Some of these were afterwards picked up by the boats of the -‘Cartouche.’ But 28 persons are known to have perished, among these -being three first-class passengers--Mr. Thomas Ackland, the Lancashire -cotton spinner; Mr. Henry Teasdale, son of the Member for Sheffington; -and Mr. Edward Lyon, junior member of the firm of Stavanger, Stavanger -and Co., diamond merchants, Hatton Garden.” - -For awhile there reigned an awestruck silence in the room. - -“There seems no doubt about it,” at last said Mr. Cory. - -“No, the information is positive enough,” was his sister’s response. - -“It seems dreadful,” said Annie, with quivering lips and streaming eyes, -“to think of oneself when reading of such awful catastrophes. The news -is sad enough for anyone to read, but how can we help thinking also how -strangely it affects us? Wear is dead; and now death has overtaken the -only other witness, apart from ourselves, upon whom we could hope to -place any reliance. Surely God must have forsaken us altogether.” - -“Not that, my dear child,” was Mrs. Riddell’s trembling protest. “We are -sorely tried. But I cannot bring myself to think that He has wholly -deserted us. He is just trying us to the utmost of our strength.” - -With this, Mrs. Riddell stooped to kiss Annie. Then, wishing the others -“good-night,” she left them, for she feared to break down, and thus -increase the sorrow of the others. She also hoped that her Bible, a -never-failing source of comfort, would lend her its tranquillising aid. -Alas, she was soon to experience a trial great enough to make even her -faith falter. - -The next morning all four were seated at breakfast, when a servant -brought the morning paper in. - -“Quick, father,” said Annie. “Look at the shipping news and see if there -is any account of the ‘Merry Maid’.” - -Mr. Cory turned obediently to the part of the paper named. But he was so -long in making any remark that Annie looked up in surprise, which -deepened into terror when she saw the expression of her father’s face. -It was white and drawn, and big drops of perspiration stood upon his -forehead. - -Mutely she asked to see for herself what was the new trouble sent them. -And mutely he handed her the paper. The reader already knows what she -was likely to read there, and will not care to witness the grief with -which the news of Hilton Riddell’s death was received. - -But, great though the grief was, there came a time when other passions -gave it battle. - -“My boy has been murdered,” said the heartbroken mother. “I may lie -down, and die. Hilton is dead, and Harley’s last hope is gone.” - -“Hilton has been murdered,” said Annie. “But Harley’s last hope has not -gone. I still count for something, and I will never rest until I have -tracked and denounced the man to whom we owe all our misery.” - -“Hilton has been murdered,” said Mr. Cory. “But the world is not so very -big after all, and I swear that his murder shall not go unavenged.” - -“Yes, there has been murder,” said Miss Cory; “and everything must be -done to punish the fiend who is guilty of it. I cannot go with you, my -place is with our unhappy friend here. But I can do this much--I can -place my fortune at your disposal. Spend it freely in tracking our -enemy. I will give every penny I have for such a purpose. Go, and my -blessing go with you.” - -So far, everything had seemed to work in Hugh Stavanger’s favour. All -those whom he had to fear were swept from his path. But, if he had heard -and seen what passed at the Corys, he would perhaps have trembled. - -And he would have had good cause for trembling. For Nemesis is not an -agreeable foe to follow in one’s wake. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ON THE TRACK. - - -A splendid mail steamer, bound for the Orient, was ploughing its way -through the notoriously treacherous waters of the Bay of Biscay, whose -surface to-day was of the brightest and calmest. There was little to -indicate the horrors of which “The Bay,” as it is called by sailors, is -so often the witness, and most of the passengers were congregated about -the deck, chatting, reading, smoking, or otherwise doing their best to -enjoy the leisure hours at their disposal. - -“So this is the dreaded Bay of Biscay again,” said Mrs. Colbrook, a -stout, good-humoured-looking lady. “I suppose I am exceptionally lucky, -for it has always been smooth when I crossed it.” - -The persons she addressed were Mr. Cory and Miss Annie Cory, who, -however, had thought it advisable to take their passage under the names -of Mr. and Miss Waine. They were bound upon an important errand, and did -not intend to risk failure by proclaiming their identity too widely. -True, the chances that anyone knowing their motive in voyaging to Malta -would come across them by the way were so remote as to be almost beyond -the need of consideration. But Mr. Cory was so far cut out for detective -work that he was not likely to fail through lack of carefulness, and -preferred to neglect not the smallest precaution. - -“Yes, Mrs. Colbrook,” he smiled, in reply to that lady’s remark. “There -is little to indicate the mischief that goes on here sometimes. We may -be thankful that we are favoured with such beautiful weather.” - -“That we may! I cannot picture anything more awful than to be in a ship -at sea in a storm so bad that destruction is almost certain,” said -Annie. “It seems to me to be like no other danger. On land there is -always some loophole of escape if the peril is of a protracted nature. -But on the wide, trackless ocean, with not another ship in sight, things -look almost hopeless from the first. I have more than once tried to -picture the terror and distress that must reign on board a doomed -vessel, but my mind faints before the awful picture.” - -“There I think you are entirely wrong,” remarked Mrs. Colbrook. “I -believe that awful panics on board sinking ships are of much less -frequent occurrence than is generally imagined.” - -“And your reason for that belief?” asked Annie. - -“A little experience of my own. I was, a year or two ago, on board a -small steamer bound from the Tyne to Antwerp. There were only five -first-class passengers, all of them ladies. We had but been at sea about -three hours when a terrific storm arose, which speedily threatened to -sink our ship. The wind howled, the rain poured in torrents, the -lightning flashed, the thunder rolled, the ship played such a fine game -at pitch and toss, that everything breakable was smashed to atoms, and -we seemed to be oftener standing on our heads than on our heels, or -would have been, if we had been able to stand at all. Soon after the -storm began the steamer’s wooden deck groaned and creaked awfully, and -the timbers, as if afraid that we were not fully realising the dangers -of our position, considerately gaped in a score of places, so that -whether we were in our bunks, or whether we were in the saloon, it was -all the same--we were so copiously supplied with the elemental fluid -that our clothes and bedding were saturated. Three of the ladies sat, -shivering and miserable, holding on to the cabin table, and hoping for -the advent of the steward with news of a probable improvement in the -weather. Near them sat the stewardess, in as helpless a condition as -they were. Even if she had cared to risk an attempt to go on deck, she -could not have done so, as we were battened down, there being some fear -lest the little ship, in her crazy pitchings and rollings, would ship -the cabin full of water and swamp us all. Cooking and attendance were -all postponed for the time being, ‘for,’ as the stewardess coolly -remarked, ‘what was the use of trying to prepare a meal if you were to -be drowned directly afterwards?’ - -“Three of the passengers, including myself, were lying in bunks, so -sick and ill that we could do nothing whatever. I do not know whether I -was worse than the others or not, but it is certain that I was too -helpless to lift the eau-de-Cologne bottle that was lying by my side, -although I longed for the use of some of its contents, thinking that it -might, perhaps, help to remove the deadly faintness by which I was -overpowered. After several hours of this misery the steward came to us -for a minute, but did not render us any service. Asked by the stewardess -what was thought of the chances of survival by those on deck, he replied -that pretty nearly everybody on deck looked for the end every minute. -Then we were left to our own reflections again. - -“Now this was the time when a panic would have been the most likely to -arise, since it was the moment when we practically lost all hope. But, -strange as it may seem, the four women at the table sat as quietly as -before, and two of them, who were sisters, calmly wondered how the news -of their death would be received at home. The other two were crying -quietly, and spoke very little. The three sick ones, beyond an -occasional moan of misery, gave no outward token of having realised -their apparently speedily approaching end, and the only thing that I now -longed for was that the steamer, if she was going to sink, would be -quick about it, so that my misery would be at an end.” - -“And you were not drowned after all?” queried Annie, with a spice of -mischief in her voice. - -“No, we were not drowned after all--but, look there, how excited all -those people seem to be.” - -Mr. Cory and his daughter followed the direction of Mrs. Colbrook’s -eyes, and saw that quite a crowd of people were gathering on the -starboard bow, whence some object of interest ahead seemed to be -engaging their attention. Our friends soon became members of the curious -crowd, and were saddened by the spectacle pointed out to them. It was -the battered and mastless hull of a derelict ship, floating on the now -smooth waters, and presenting mute evidence of their whilom relentless -fury.[A] - - [A] It may be argued by seafarers that the Bay of Biscay is out - of the track of derelicts. This supposition is, upon the - whole, correct. But there are exceptions to every rule, and - at the time of writing there is marked in charts a derelict - off Lisbon.--THE AUTHOR. - -Glasses were hurriedly brought into use, and countless conjectures as to -the name, nationality, and experiences of the wreck were hazarded. Not a -sign of life was perceptible on its deck, and it was all too evident -that the crew no longer found a home in it. As to their fate, who could -say what it had been? Perhaps they had been saved by some passing -vessel. Perhaps they had been swept into the seething and roaring -waters, their last shrieks rendered inaudible by the war of the -elements. Perhaps, imagining their battered ship to be sinking, they had -succeeded in taking to the boats, and might be even now floating on this -billowy waste, with the pangs of hunger and thirst gnawing at their -vitals, and with “water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.” -Perhaps--but why lose oneself in endless painful conjectures, since a -solution of the questions that puzzle us is out of our power to arrive -at? - -To Mr. Cory and Annie the sight was especially painful, for it brought -vividly to their minds poor Hilton’s fate, and they could not help -picturing the last scene of his life as an awful one. This only -strengthened their determination to avenge his untimely end, and the sad -conjectures with which the fast approaching wreck was greeted were -mingled with a feeling of bitterness at the misery and suffering which -were permitted to run riot upon the earth. - -“No,” said Annie, after a lengthened pause in the conversation, during -which she seemed to have divined her father’s thoughts; “we mustn’t lose -faith, after all. Please God, all will come right yet. Those scoundrels -will be brought to book, and Harley will be proved innocent. Then we -shall all be happy again.” - -“Meanwhile, though, Harley is suffering untold misery; Mrs. Riddell -seems to be fretting herself into her grave; Hilton has met with a -violent end; and Providence seems to be doing its best to help the cause -of villainy.” - -“Yes, it is difficult to understand. But the cause of the wicked cannot -always prosper, and the tangled skein of our destiny will unravel itself -in time.” - -“So I suppose. We can only hope that the thread of our life doesn’t snap -before then. One doesn’t like to feel as if one were so much the sport -of fate, as to be like a mere cork on the ocean of life, tossed about -with as little ceremony as--as--as that bottle.” - -Mr. Cory had found himself somewhat at a loss for a suitable simile, -when his eyes fell on a bottle lightly tossing on the rippling water. - -“I suppose that bottle is carefully corked, or it would fill with water -and sink,” observed Annie, contemplatively. - -“Yes, I should imagine it has papers in it,” said her father, “unless -somebody has corked and sealed an empty bottle for a freak.” - -Both speakers knew of the practice of confiding news concerning sinking -or endangered ships to papers sealed in bottles, and felt a subdued -interest in the black little object bobbing about the water. How their -interest would have been quickened could they have known how Hilton had -employed his last night on board the “Merry Maid,” and could they have -dreamed that this was perhaps the very bottle whose contents were -intended to be instrumental in proving who was really guilty of the -great diamond robbery, for the perpetration of which Harley was enduring -penal servitude. But so it is. We often strive for the unattainable, and -pass our greatest blessings by with indifference. - -The derelict ship was by this time quite near, and scores of eager eyes -were scanning it, to see if perchance there was not after all someone -left on board. But all looked as quiet and deserted as when the wreck -had been first sighted, and it was with many a sigh of pity that the -hope of still saving some of the crew was abandoned. There had been many -suggestions from passengers that the mail boat should slow down, and -send some men to board the derelict. But this proposal was negatived by -the captain, as he did not believe anybody was on board, and was not -justified in losing time for mere curiosity’s sake. - -So the great steamer forged ahead, leaving the stranger in its wake, and -it was already well astern, when suddenly a long, mournful howl was -heard, thrilling every soul on board with a feeling of horror. Once more -eyes and glasses were brought into requisition, and then it was seen -that a large dog, or, rather, the emaciated skeleton of one, was -tottering to and fro on the poop of the dismasted wreck, and howling -forth a pitiful appeal for succour to the possible saviours whom, in the -semi-obliviousness of exhaustion and starvation, he had failed to see -when nearer. - -“You will stop the ship now, won’t you?” cried out a dozen people at -once. But the captain declined to do any such thing. - -“I have my reputation for speed and efficiency to keep up,” he said. “I -have no end of competition to fight against, and I cannot afford to lose -time for a dog’s sake.” - -“Oh, how can you be so cruel?” exclaimed a bright, fair girl, of about -Annie’s age. “It will be as bad as murder if you refuse to save the poor -beast. Oh! listen.” - -Again that long-drawn howl of despair escaped the distracted and -suffering animal, as he saw that the distance between himself and an ark -of safety was rapidly widening, and there were others who joined their -entreaties once more to those of Miss Bywater. - -But the captain’s resolve was adamantine, and loud murmurs of -disapproval were heard on all sides, while many of the ladies could not -refrain from crying, so powerfully was their pity and excitement -aroused. Mr. Cory’s face was also twitching with sympathy, and his hands -were clenched angrily, until the conduct of the dog put an idea into his -head upon which he at once based his action. - -Seeing that the steamer was leaving him to certain death, the brave -beast flung himself into the water, determined upon making an effort to -reach the vanishing asylum. Of course, the feat was hopeless, for, -though he might have been a good swimmer, starvation had reduced him to -such straits, that it was problematical if he would be able to swim -twenty yards. - -“Annie, I cannot stand this,” said Mr. Cory, hurriedly. “You mustn’t be -alarmed at what I’m going to do. You know that few swimmers can beat me, -and if I can save that dog, I mean to do it.” - -The next moment he had thrown off his coat and waistcoat, and before -anyone quite realised what he was about to do, he had dived into the -water, and, with swift and powerful strokes, was making for the -struggling dog. Instantly there was a tremendous commotion, and the cry -of “Man overboard!” resounded from end to end of the mighty vessel, -while orders to reverse the engines and to lower a boat were issued -immediately. What was refused for the sake of a mere dog, dared not be -denied to a man, and every effort was at once made to overtake the -plucky swimmer, who was swiftly nearing the object he was striking for. -A boat was manned and lowered with astonishing quickness, and amid the -suppressed cries of some, and the encouraging shouts of others, the -rowers bent to their work, and gave speedy promise of succour. What a -race for life that was! And what a shout went up from the deck of the -ocean racer when Mr. Cory was seen to reach the dog, which must have -been at its last gasp when he seized it, for it was limp and motionless -now. This was deemed a very fortunate thing by the spectators, some of -whom had feared that the drowning animal’s struggles might impede the -rescuer’s movements. A few minutes more, and the boat reached the plucky -swimmer, who, together with the dog, was hauled in, amid the -enthusiastic plaudits of the excited onlookers, many of whom, however, -thought that help for the starving animal had come too late. - -But Mr. Cory had no notion of giving up hope, and clung tenaciously to -his prize, although assured that it was dead. And so it seemed for a -time, but there were plenty of people willing to aid in completing the -good work, and as much pains was bestowed upon the resuscitation of the -insensible brute as if it had been a human being. When at last the poor -thing opened its eyes, the joy on board the steamer was almost -unanimous, and if the ship’s surgeon had not asserted his rights, it -would have been forthwith killed with kindness, inasmuch as it would -have been plied with food which its stomach was too weak to take. - -Meanwhile, the vessel proceeded on her way, as soon as the boat was -hoisted up, and Mr. Cory went to change his wet clothes for dry ones. -When he came on deck again some time later he was rejoiced to find that -the dog, which he forthwith christened “Briny,” was making steady -progress towards recovery, and that he was already, after his own -fashion, giving grateful acknowledgment of the attentions lavished upon -him by Annie and the surgeon. He proved to be a large Newfoundland, and -would, no doubt, soon recover his wonted size, strength, and beauty. - -The only person who looked coldly on Mr. Cory after this exploit was the -captain, who could not forgive the trick that had been played upon him, -and who would not have deemed the lives of twenty dogs a sufficient -equivalent for the loss of time spent in saving them. - -Mrs. Colbrook was a middle-aged lady, the wife of an officer stationed -at Malta. She had been in England to visit a daughter, and to see after -a legacy which she had unexpectedly succeeded to. She and the Corys had -fraternised from the beginning of the voyage, and as time passed she -learned to respect them more and more. - -“You are only bound for Malta, at present,” she said one day. “And you -tell me that the business which takes you there may compel you to leave -the place directly. My husband will be delighted to know you, and if you -will stay with us while you are in Malta you will confer a favour on us -both.” - -“You are very kind,” said Mr. Cory, “and it would certainly be much -pleasanter for us than staying in an hotel. But I could not think of -trespassing upon your hospitality to such an extent without making you -acquainted with the object of our visit to the place.” - -“I do not think that at all necessary.” - -“But I do, in justice to you. And as I am sure we can trust you -thoroughly, I will at once tell our story to you. You will be interested -in it, and will the better realise how it is that Annie is at times so -sad and preoccupied. She has had some painful experiences, poor child.” - -And forthwith Mr. Cory confided to Mrs. Colbrook the whole history of -the diamond robbery and its disastrous consequences, and found her -henceforth all that he had expected--sympathetic, kind, discreet, and -helpful. To Annie she was as one of the kindest of mothers, and the girl -found it a great comfort to be able to talk of her troubles to one who -took such a friendly interest in her, and had such firm faith in the -truth of all her statements. - -At Malta Major Colbrook met his wife on board the steamer, and his -attention was speedily directed to the new friends she had made. As soon -as he learned Annie’s story and object he was all eagerness to help her, -and promised to make some inquiries on Mr. Cory’s behalf respecting the -man of whom he was in search. - -The day after Malta was reached there was quite a merry party gathered -at the house of Major Colbrook, for various friends had dropped in to -hear Mrs. Colbrook’s English news, and to congratulate her on her return -home. The Corys, on second thoughts, had preferred to put up at an -hotel, but readily promised to spend all their spare time with the -Colbrooks. They were both feeling somewhat preoccupied, but did their -best to present as cheerful a front to strangers as possible. - -Inquiries promptly made had resulted in the following information:--The -“Merry Maid” had discharged her cargo of Government stores, and had -proceeded to Sicily, leaving behind a gentleman who had come out from -England as a passenger. This gentleman’s name was Paul Torrens, and it -was believed that he was now in Spain. Being aware of the facility -offered to criminals by the lack of an extradition treaty between -England and Spain, Mr. Cory was inclined to think the supposition -correct, but felt reluctant to leave Malta without feeling sure that the -man he was tracking had really left the island. Annie hardly knew what -to think. At one time she was all anxiety to be gone, and the next -moment she was oppressed by an uneasy feeling that to quit Malta at once -would be to diverge from the trail. It will, therefore, be readily -supposed that their thoughts refused to concentrate themselves on the -topics of conversation current in Mrs. Colbrook’s drawing-room. Annie, -at last, considering that she had done enough homage to conventionality, -rose to leave, asking Mrs. Colbrook to excuse her, as she really did not -feel equal to remaining inactive. - -“You won’t be offended if I leave you now?” she pleaded in a low voice. -“I seem to be wasting my time unless I am making some progress in -Harley’s cause, and I am sure my father, for my sake, is just as eager -for progress as I am.” - -“To be sure, dear child,” said Mrs. Colbrook caressingly. “I can quite -enter into your feelings, and would rather help you than hinder you. So -don’t consider me at all, but go at once if you really feel that you can -employ your time to more purpose.” - -Mr. Cory was just as anxious to forego the pleasures of polite society -as Annie was, so the pair took their leave unobtrusively, and walked -towards their hotel. Oddly enough, however, their thoughts now reverted -to a conversation to which they had but listened inattentively awhile -ago. - -“I suppose the Colbrooks and some of their afternoon callers will be -going to see this balloon ascent they were talking of,” said Mr. Cory, -after walking some distance in apparent deep contemplation of a more -serious subject. - -“Really father,” was Annie’s rejoinder, “I should have been surprised -to hear you talking about balloons and kindred subjects just now, were -it not that something else surprises me still more. While Captain -Drummond was talking so enthusiastically about this wonderful aeronaut, -I did not feel the slightest interest in the subject. In fact, I didn’t -consciously listen to the conversation. And yet, when you spoke just -now, I was actually feeling a desire to witness the forthcoming ascent. -I am not quite sure that there isn’t something uncanny about it, for I -have often had opportunities of witnessing similar displays, and haven’t -cared to go to them. To-day, when it would seem to be sheer waste of -time, I feel irresistibly impelled to go and watch the performance of -this much-talked-of balloonist. An absurd fancy, isn’t it?” - -“I am not so sure of that, Annie. I can recall many instances in which -I have been unaccountably induced to act contrary to my original -intention, and have been glad afterwards that I yielded to an apparently -freakish impulse of the moment. Here is a case in point: About twelve -months ago certain shares were being boomed sky-high, and so much -percentage was being derived from them that I, in common with many other -people, decided to share in the general prosperity. As, perhaps, you -know, both your aunt and I lost a great deal of money through buying -some shares in a big brewery company, which, though about two millions -were foolishly paid for it by the dupes who formed the limited liability -company which took it over, turned out to be simply an unlimited fraud. -The original proprietors had, by dint of advertisements and paragraphs, -increased the public confidence in their concern at the very time when -it was tottering for support. It was by way of retrieving our losses in -connection with the brewery shares that I wanted to profit by buying -rising mining shares, and I proceeded to the office of a well-known -stockbroker, in order to negotiate without delay. I found Mr. ---- -engaged six deep, and sat down to await my turn to go into his inner -sanctum, but had not been seated there three minutes when a strange -thing happened. It was as if someone had suddenly whispered to me, -saying, ‘Get out of this office while you are still well off. Don’t -trust to this boom.’ I gave myself no time to think, either one way or -the other, but at once took my departure, saying to the clerk that I -would call another time. I have so far not called to see Mr. ----, and -the much-boomed shares are just worth so much waste paper.” - -“Then you don’t think my fancy to see the balloon ascent an absurd one?” - -“By no means. There may be something in it. Anyhow, we will go. But -there is plenty of time to spare.” - -“Then what do you say to going first to such shops as there are, and -trying to find out if Hugh Stavanger has been raising money on any of -his plunder?” - -“A capital idea! I should not have thought of it. I’m afraid you will -have to depend more upon yourself than upon me for inspiration. What do -you say, Briny?” - -Briny was fast getting into condition now, and a great affection had -sprung up between him and his new owners, who were bent upon always -taking him out with them whenever it was practicable, as he was likely -to prove a good protector. An hour was now devoted to doing as Annie had -suggested, but without getting any idea of Hugh Stavanger’s present -whereabouts. One thing, however, they did learn. There was one man to -whom two men had offered some diamonds for sale a week ago. The dealer, -not being in a large way of business, had not come to terms with the -strangers. - -“To tell the truth,” he said, “they were too avaricious. One of the men -was, I think, a ship’s captain. The other was a landsman, and I think he -must be in the trade, for he knows as much about precious stones as I -do. He knew the exact value of the things he had to offer me, and he -wouldn’t take the highest offer I was prepared to make. But he promised -to call back again, and as I think he was very anxious in reality to -turn his stones into cash, I have been expecting him to come and close -with my offer. If, as I gather from your inquiries, the diamonds have -been stolen, I am very glad I did not buy them, for the affair might -have ruined me.” - -“And I am very sorry you did not get them,” said Annie, eagerly. “If he -comes back, secure the diamonds at his price. We will buy them from you, -and will give you a liberal commission for your trouble. The man who has -been here was the principal witness against an innocent man, who is now -in prison. It is our mission to bring the guilt home to the right party, -in the person of the son of the diamond merchant, who professed to have -been robbed by a Mr. Riddell. If we can prove him to be possessed of the -property, we can prove the innocence of Mr. Riddell. You will help us, -will you not?” - -“I will do my best, madam. You will find me discreet and silent, and I -hope to be able to help in the good work.” - -“And, meanwhile, here is a banker’s reference,” said Mr. Cory. “And you -may rely upon finding us profoundly grateful if you help us to solve -this painful mystery.” - -“Is the accused gentleman a relative of yours?” asked the jeweller, -hesitatingly, as if afraid that he was taking too much liberty. - -“He is my daughter’s fiancé.” - -“Ah, now I understand your earnestness in the matter. But how about the -seafaring man?” - -“I expect it is the captain of the ‘Merry Maid,’ the steamer in which -Hugh Stavanger sailed. If he also had diamonds to dispose of, we may -conclude that they are part of the stolen property, and that it is as -important to find him as it is to find the original thief.” - -“He said the ship was sailing next day, so you won’t find him in Malta.” - -“No; but we can follow. But, in any case, don’t let Stavanger slip -through your fingers if he turns up here again.” - -A few more preliminaries were settled with the friendly jeweller, and -then, prior to going to their hotel for dinner, our amateur detectives -went to see the balloon ascent, which was to take place at six o’clock. -There was a tolerable muster in the enclosure, and considerable local -interest seemed to be shown in the event. The aeronaut was a man of -great experience, and had an assistant in whom he had every confidence. -The conversation with the jeweller had taken up so much time that our -two friends only arrived a few minutes before the order to “leave go” -was given, and had not seen many of the preparations. Besides the -aeronaut and his assistants, the car was to contain two passengers, both -of whom had paid ten pounds for the privilege, and neither of whom had -ever been up in a balloon before. Some of the onlookers were betting -upon the results, and there was considerable diversity of opinion as to -where the descent would take place. - -Presently the ropes were let loose, and the ponderous machine rose -rapidly into the air, amid the plaudits of the assembled crowd. Mr. Cory -was looking on quietly, when his interest became suddenly excited by one -of the objects which bobbed over the edge of the car. He looked at Annie -in astonishment, to note that she also was gazing breathlessly at the -now fast rising balloon. - -“We have him at last!” whispered Mr. Cory, joyfully. - -“God be thanked, Harley will soon be free!” said Annie, the tears of joy -running down her cheeks. - -Perhaps their confidence was rather premature, but it was easy to -comprehend. For they had both recognised one of the faces looking down -at them as that of Hugh Stavanger. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -A BALLOON ADVENTURE. - - -Mr. Blume, the chief mate of the ss. “Centurion,” was pacing the bridge -in anything but an angelic mood, which evidenced itself in perpetual -growls at everybody with whom he came into contact. The objects of his -displeasure, seeing no adequate reason for it, were not disposed to take -his fault-finding too meekly, the result being that the atmosphere on -board the “Centurion” was decidedly unpleasant. - -“I’ll bet my bottom dollar that the mate got jilted last time he was in -port,” remarked the second mate to the third engineer, both being off -watch together. - -“What makes you think that?” - -“Oh, lots of things. He was as jolly as any of us when we first got in, -and was perfectly killing when he went ashore to see Lottie, as he -always has done whenever we have been in Cardiff. He came back much -sooner than usual, in a vile temper, and hardly ever went ashore again. -Since we left he has been awfully ill-natured, and I am sure Lottie is -at the bottom of it.” - -“Perhaps she’s ill.” - -“Perhaps she’s fiddlesticks. Much more likely is it that she’s found -another admirer. Lightly come, lightly go, you know. He’s a very nice -fellow when he likes. But he’s only a mate. And if Lottie can see her -way clear to pick up a skipper as easily as she picked up our mate, I -reckon the poorest man has the least chance.” - -“Well, if that’s what’s the matter with him, I’m sorry for him. I’ve -been jilted a time or two myself, and I know what it feels like. I don’t -think I’ll ever look at a woman again with a view to matrimony.” - -“I say, how old are you?” - -“Twenty-two. But I’ve had experience enough for forty-two, and----” - -“Now don’t try to kid me any more. What about that photograph that hangs -over your bunk?” - -“Oh, that’s my sister Nellie.” - -“Does your sister Nellie write on all her photographs--‘To my darling -Jim, from his faithful Dora?’” - -“Look here. You have been poking your nose where you had no business to -poke it. What about yourself?” - -“My dear fellow, I never saw the woman yet that I would tie myself to.” - -“You pretend you don’t like them?” - -“Nothing of the sort; I worship them. But I believe in variety, and -prefer to carry a light heart from one port to another.” - -“How does variety affect your pocket?” - -“Very conveniently. I admire only respectable girls, and they never -know me long enough to prove expensive. Hello, what’s up now?” - -As the second mate made this exclamation, he turned his eyes to what -seemed to be an object of speculation to many on board. It was trailing -along the water a considerable distance ahead, and was as yet somewhat -difficult to distinguish. On the bridge the mate was also exercising his -mind about it. - -“I can’t make the thing out,” he said to the man at the wheel. “It can’t -be a boat of any sort; and yet, what else would you expect to see -scudding on the water before the wind like that? Here, have a look, -Greenaway; your eyes can see further than mine.” - -Greenaway did as he was bid, and, after careful observation, remarked -quietly, “It’s a dismasted balloon, sir, and there are some fellows -hanging on to the rigging.” - -“A dismasted balloon! What the deuce do you mean?” - -“Well, sir, I mean what I say. She’s dismasted. Leastways, her sail’s -flopping about anyhow, and doesn’t help her a bit. I reckon it’s about -time them fellows took to their boats. If they don’t they’ll soon be -exploring Davy Jones’s locker.” - -“I always knew you to be a blamed fool, Greenaway; but, hang me, if you -don’t get worse. What makes you call the thing a balloon?” - -“Why, I reckon I call it a balloon because it is a balloon. I don’t see -that you can have a better reason, sir. Hello! One of the fellows has -tumbled overboard. I fancy there isn’t much chance for him. By Jove! one -of ’em’s jumped down on deck, and hauled him in again. Are we likely to -overtake them? I would like to cheat old Davy.” - -By this time Mr. Blume had seized the glasses, and, being now much -nearer, could see for himself that the battered and wave-tossed object -before him was a balloon in reality, though how its occupants came to be -in such a plight he could but faintly conjecture. - -“Run and tell the skipper,” he cried eagerly. Then, knowing beforehand -what the captain would do, he ordered the man at the wheel to steer for -the distressed aeronauts. In another minute the captain was on deck, -having been just about ready to sit down to his breakfast. He fully -endorsed the mate’s action, for he was not one to refuse succour to -victims of the elements. - -“Stand by to lower a boat,” he shouted, his order being promptly carried -out. When sufficiently near for the purpose the boat was lowered, and -her crew soon had the satisfaction of rescuing four exhausted men from -the aerial vessel, which, relieved of their weight, slowly rose into the -air, and floated southwards in the direction of the African coast. - -The condition of the rescued men was truly pitiable, and they were saved -none too soon. They had a painful story of peril to relate as soon as -warmth, food, and rest had done their beneficent work. - -“When we made our ascent from Valetta,” said the captain of the -balloon, “the wind was just as I had hoped for it to be, and the people -who saw us ascend had little conception of what was before us. Some -seemed to imagine that the descent would take place within a few score -yards of the place whence we ascended. But I knew better, although I -little dreamed of the experience really in store for us. There was not -much chance of landing on shore, and I expected to travel a short -distance out to sea, and to be picked up, after a simple ducking, by a -steamer which I had chartered to follow the balloon. But shortly after -leaving the coast-line we noticed that the wind had gained strength, and -was carrying us southwards at a rapid rate. Our water anchor was useful -for a time, but unfortunately the rope broke; we lost our anchor; and -the balloon rose several hundred yards. - -“Soon, however, a terrific downpour of rain caused us to descend again, -and the balloon was dragged along the surface of the sea. We were now in -a very sorry plight, for the car was frequently under water, and we had -to cling desperately to the ropes to save ourselves from drowning. We -must all have perished hours ago, but for the courage of Mr. Calderon, -my assistant, who made frequent dives into the car, and brought up the -ballast, one bag at a time, an expedient which only raised the balloon -by occasional fits and starts. We next threw away the greater part of -our clothing, which was sodden and heavy with rain and sea-water. Even -our money and the only bottle of spirits we had went overboard, for life -itself depended on our being lightened to the utmost. In this connection -I cannot refrain from animadverting on the conduct of Mr. Torrens, one -of our passengers. He threw his coat overboard, but declined to part -with any more of his clothes, even though very strongly urged to do so. -Once, numbed with cold and fatigue, he lost his hold of the rope to -which he was clinging, and fell into the sea. He will never be nearer -death than he was at that moment, for, lightened of his weight, the -balloon began to right itself, and we firmly believe that it would have -risen and carried us to a place of safety, if we could have reconciled -ourselves to abandoning him to his fate. - -“The temptation to do so was a terrible one, I assure you. - -“‘If we leave him to drown we shall be saved.’ - -“‘If we rescue him for the present we shall probably all be drowned.’ - -“‘His life is worth less than all ours. Why should we die to save him?’ - -“These were the thoughts that assailed us, and of the three left hanging -on to the balloon I am sure that none but Mr. Calderon would have -mustered courage and self-denial sufficient to go to the rescue of -Torrens, who was drowning fast, he not being able to swim at all. - -“We had sighted a great many ships during the night, but were unable to -attract the attention of any of them, as we had no light. When day -dawned things looked more hopeful, but your help came none too soon, for -we were all about dead beat.” - -Such was the story of the captain of the balloon, related to the captain -of the ss. “Centurion,” and afterwards published in all the principal -newspapers of Europe. I may add that these published accounts were -supplemented by the grateful acknowledgments of the aeronauts for the -kindness and attention shown them by those on board the “Centurion.” At -Alexandria the steamer, which was en route for Madras, discharged its -passengers, who at once proceeded to arrange for passages elsewhere. - -The two professional aeronauts and their Maltese passenger returned to -Valetta, but the gentleman unfavourably known as Mr. Torrens preferred -to disport himself in fresh fields and pastures new. One of his -principal reasons for not returning to Malta was due to a fright he got -when leaving that place. As he rose in the car, feeling perfectly secure -against pursuit and detection, and elated by the enjoyment of his novel -position, he looked down at the sea of faces below him, and was startled -to recognise Miss Cory, whom he knew again as the young lady who was -figuring as his sister’s governess when he left home. - -Like a flash the truth struck him. “She is shadowing me,” he thought. “I -believe it is the girl whom I heard was engaged to Riddell. If so, her -presence, first in my father’s house, and then here, bodes me no good, -and the sooner I clear out the better. I hope the machine won’t be in -too big a hurry to drop, so that I shall have a chance of getting away. -It’s lucky I got that belt to carry my property in. It’s much better -than either pockets or a bag, and I have left nothing at my lodgings -that I need worry about. Hang it, why can’t I be left to enjoy myself -without a lot of meddling fools coming after me?” - -“You don’t feel upset, do you?” inquired his fellow-passenger, noticing -that Mr. Torrens had grown somewhat pale and frightened looking. - -“Well, you know, it’s a queer sensation, mounting up here. Still, I -shall be all right in a minute.” - -So said he, feeling glad that so natural an explanation of his -confusion was at hand. But he had no intention of being seen at Valetta -again, and when, his balloon adventure over, he was cast upon his own -resources in Alexandria, he deemed it desirable to think of some other -place to which to proceed. There were certain difficulties in the way. -But these must be promptly overcome. For if, as he feared, the face he -had seen at Valetta was that of an enemy and pursuer, it behoved him to -quit Alexandria before the landing place of the rescued aeronauts became -too widely known. Unfortunately, all the money he had with him had been -in the pocket of the coat he was compelled to throw into the sea. His -refusal to doff his waistcoat when urged to do so arose from the fact -that it as well as the belt had some valuable diamonds stitched into its -lining, and he preferred the risk of drowning to the certainty of -poverty. - -It was with some reluctance that he found it necessary to try and -negotiate the sale of some of his incriminatory property. For anything -he knew telegrams might have been exchanged already, and the myrmidons -of the law might even now be on his track. Still he could not manage -without money, so the risk must be run. - -He did run the risk, and though his identity was quite unsuspected by -the dealer, he found himself compelled to accept half the value of the -stone he offered for sale, or go without money. He was naturally a good -bargainer, and it stung him to the quick to feel himself outdone. “But -what can’t be cured must be endured” is an axiom which sometimes -impresses itself painfully upon us all, and as Mr. Hugh Stavanger, alias -Paul Torrens, was no exception to the general rule, he found -animadversion useless. - -That evening, after writing a long letter to his father apprising him -of both his present and his intended whereabouts, he became a passenger -on a steamer bound for Bombay, having booked his passage under the name -of Harry Staley, as he considered “Paul Torrens” to be no longer a safe -appellation. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -A BRIGHT PAIR. - - -_Letter from MR. STAVANGER to his SON._ - -(_Written in Cypher._) - -“My Dear Boy,--For you are my dear boy still, although you have of late -caused me a great deal of anxiety. You hardly know how much I endured -until I received your letter from Malta, and even then I was tormented -by a dread of what it might have been found necessary to do. I allude to -the death of the steward, which, to say the least, was very lucky for -us. You wonder how I know this? I will tell you later on. There is so -much to relate that I must start at the beginning, or I shall get mixed -up. First and foremost, the business is steadily recovering from the -shock given to it by the abstraction of so much portable property. -Secondly, my brother has not the slightest suspicion that there is any -reason why Harley Riddell should not stay where he is, and I am -beginning to be of his opinion. This belief is inspired in me by a -strange sequence of circumstances, all of which seem to point to one -conclusion. He must really be a very wicked man, or Providence would not -work so persistently against him as it seems to do. Everything that -could help him and hurt you is almost miraculously rendered powerless, -and everybody whom we had cause to dread has been promptly removed. How, -therefore, can anyone doubt that Divine vengeance is exacting atonement -for some fearful crime which has not yet been brought to light? This -being so, we are nothing less than the instruments used by Providence -for its own ends, and I regard what you have done as the involuntary -outcome of an inexplicable and unconscious cerebral influence. - -“But now that the aims of Providence are achieved, I beseech you to -assert your own identity and to fight against any impulse to repeat any -one of the dangerous proceedings of the past few months. - -“And now for such news as I have. Perhaps I ought to have mentioned -sooner that your mother and sisters are quite well. Also that I am in -like case both mentally and bodily, now that I know you to be rid of -your enemies. It would have been an awful Damoclean sword hanging over -us if that inquisitive Wear had not been providentially removed from our -path. Then there was my poor old friend Mr. Edward Lyon. Did you see in -the papers anything about his sudden death while away on his business -mission to America? I had nothing but esteem for him. But I must say -that I felt immensely relieved when the news of his death reached us. He -had turned unpleasantly suspicious just before he sailed, and would most -assuredly have begun to make undesirable inquiries on his return. But -heaven has seen fit to remove him to a better world. That it has at the -same time removed one who might have been the means of proving Riddell -not guilty of the crime for which he suffers is only another proof to me -that he is, as I said before, being made to expiate some former sin. - -“Nor is this by any means all the proof of my theory. You know Clement -Corney? And perhaps you feel uneasy at the mention of his name. If so, -you may set your fears at rest, for he also is numbered among those who -might have been a witness against you, but is not. A week ago he came to -me with a long tale about what he knew and about what he suspected. You -seem to have been imprudently confidential with him, and to have allowed -him to pry into your affairs far too much. From what he told me I judged -him to be a very formidable witness against you and deemed it advisable -to accede to his demands for money, but looked with anything but -equanimity upon the prospect of having to continue supplying him with -money as long as he chose to blackmail me. I should have been left no -choice in the matter, as exposure, after having gone so far, would mean -ruin. But here Providence once more interposed most strangely. Last -night, on opening my evening paper, I came upon the account of the -inquest on Clement Corney’s body. He had been jerked from the top step -of a ’bus and had broken his neck. - -“This is all very strange and wonderful. But the strangest thing of all -has to be related yet. As you will see by the postmark of this letter, -we have come to St. Ives for our holiday. We arrived here on Monday, and -on Tuesday I was walking on the beach and wondering how you were going -on when I saw a group of children become considerably excited. Going up -to them I found that one of them was holding a bottle which had been -washed up by the tide. Seeing that the bottle was carefully sealed, and -appeared to contain papers, I offered the children a shilling for it. -They ran off with the shilling in high glee, while I secreted the bottle -in my dustcoat, and walked rapidly towards our lodgings with it. I -cannot account for the impulse which prompted these apparently -irrelevant actions, except upon the hypothesis of Providential -interference already mentioned. I do not usually take much interest in -the doings of children, and I am not naturally of a prying, inquisitive -disposition, and yet I was anxious to open that bottle in the privacy of -my own bedroom. And now mark the result. - -“That bottle contained papers giving a detailed account of all that -Hilton Riddell, alias William Trace, had done, and was doing, to ruin -you and liberate his brother. What a sneak the fellow has been to -deceive people, and to do the tricky things he was doing. No wonder he -came to a bad end. And how vindictive he must have been to write down -all he wrote on the papers that have so wonderfully been put in my -possession. Why, only one half the details would have reversed the -relative positions of his brother and yourself, if anyone but me had -secured that bottle. It seems miraculous, doesn’t it, that, after -tossing about on the waters of the broad Atlantic, the fragile -receptacle of a deadly secret should have been guided to the only person -who knew how to make a proper use of it? I broke the bottle, and after -reading them destroyed the papers. And what do you to say to the strange -fact that I, who had never been in St. Ives before, should chance to be -there just when that bottle was washed ashore? Only picture what a -calamity it would have been had anyone but myself stumbled upon it. - -“The whole thing has only served to strengthen the belief expressed -nearer the beginning of this letter, and I no longer feel the slightest -qualms of conscience on his behalf. Nor do I feel much further -uneasiness about you. Wear is dead. Mr. Lyon is dead. Clement Corney is -dead. The carefully-prepared proofs against you which Hilton Riddell -consigned to the waves have perished in a more deadly element, and he -himself is powerless to do you further injury unless the sea gives up -its dead. All things taken together, therefore, you may consider -yourself perfectly safe, and I do not think there would be the slightest -risk in your returning to England, and resuming your duties at the shop. -Let me know as soon as possible whether you intend to do so or not. You -will have had sufficient holiday, and ought to try to make up for all -the worry you have caused me lately. - -“One thing puzzles me a little. How did Hilton Riddell get to know that -you were sailing in the ‘Merry Maid,’ and what led him to pitch his -suspicions on you? It couldn’t be all chance, and, but for his timely -extinction things might have been very awkward for you by this time. - -“But enough of this subject. You know all there is to know, and I know -as much as I want to know. Nor do I desire ever to open the subject -again. - -“You will be interested to hear that Mr. Leonard Claridge is violently -in love with Ada, and is very anxious to marry her off-hand. I am just -as anxious that the marriage should take place as he is, for it would be -a great thing to have Ada so advantageously settled. She pretends to -turn her nose up at an offer from a grocer. But she is a very sensible -girl, after all, and will reflect that if Mr. Claridge is a grocer he is -not in the retail line, and will be able to provide her with an -establishment quite equal to her mother’s. - -“Fanny is likely to be much more troublesome to us. She is very -passionate and intractable, and nobody seems able to manage her since -the night you left home. That night was also the one on which Wear came -to such a sudden and tragic end. It was also the night on which that -governess disappeared, who seemed to have such a genius for managing -Fanny. When I returned home, after seeing you safe on board the ‘Merry -Maid,’ the governess had gone out. It was odd that she never came back, -wasn’t it?” - -Yes, it was certainly odd. Indeed, it was the one fly in Mr. Stavanger’s -ointment. Just now the fact did not trouble him, because he was not -aware of it. - -At one of the principal hotels in Bombay a young man sat reading the -letter from which the above long extract is given. He would have been -fairly good-looking but for the unpleasant expression which his reckless -indulgence in vicious pleasures and his aggressively selfish temperament -had given him. In height and breadth he somewhat exceeded the average, -but his gait was seen to be clumsy when he walked, although his -proportions were regular enough. His hands and feet were small and well -shaped, his complexion of a clear, but healthy enough paleness when he -condescended to lead an abstemious life. Just now it was full of -tell-tale pimples. His features were regular; his teeth well-shaped, but -slightly discoloured; his hair, eyes, and expression all as black as -they can be found anywhere. - -Such was Hugh Stavanger, known on the hotel books as Harry Staley. He -had been to the “poste restante” for his letter, and as his eyes -wandered from one page to another, rapidly deciphering the contents that -would have proved so baffling to anyone not initiated in the business of -Stavanger, Stavanger, and Co., the heavy scowl on his face gave way to a -look of evil triumph, not unmingled with astonishment. - -“Well, of all the lucky accidents, these beat everything,” he murmured. -“To think of all those people being bowled over like that. But what a -caution the governor is, to be sure, with his talk about wickedness and -Providence. And he really writes as if he believes what he preaches. -There is one thing, though, in which he is quite right. The sea can’t -give up its dead, at any rate not in such a condition as to be able to -speak against me. Hullo! What’s this? Curse that girl. There is no -mistake about her now. She was a spy when pretending to be governess. -She disappeared from our house the night I sailed. This means that she -found out where I was going to, and set that scoundrel of a Riddell on -my trail. Her next manœuvre was to follow me out to Malta. These people -evidently know who really took the diamonds. And they are moving heaven -and earth to bring me to book. Ah! well! They mean to win. So do I, and -all the odds are now in my favour. They may suspect what they like, but -they haven’t a proof left. As the governor says, Providence is dead -against them. We all know that it’s no use flying in the face of -Providence, so my enemies are foredoomed to disappointment. - -“So the governor thinks I had better go home again, and that I should be -quite safe. I don’t exactly agree with him, and I have an idea that I -can work a trick worth two of that. This interesting young lady, whom I -imagine to be Miss Cory, wants to discover my whereabouts. I have, very -foolishly, been running away from her. I think I will reverse my -tactics. It would be completing the good offices of Providence if I were -to permit my enemies to overtake me. Nay, I will go further than that. I -will give them indirect information of my whereabouts. Then, just when -they imagine the hour of their triumph has arrived, I will remove them -from my path with even less compunction than I felt over Hilton Riddell. - -“Yes, the hunted shall turn hunter, and whether it is God or devil that -is helping me, I mean to win.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -AN UNEXPECTED ALLY. - - -Annie trembled violently when she saw Hugh Stavanger disappearing with -the balloon, and for a moment seemed almost fainting with excitement. - -“Courage, my darling,” said her father. “He can hardly escape us now, -for I will at once take steps to have him arrested as soon as the -balloon descends. Now your desire to see this balloon ascent is -partially accounted for. Oh, here is Major Colbrook. Do you know, sir, -the man of whom we are in search is actually in that balloon?” - -“Are you sure?” - -“Quite sure. We have taken note of his appearance too closely to mistake -any other man for him. We have also heard some news about him this -afternoon, and have secured a witness who saw him with the stolen -diamonds in his possession.” - -“By jove, you are getting on. I suppose there had better be no time -lost in seeing after his capture as soon as the balloon descends. But -where, in the name of fortune, is it going to? Why--it’s going right out -to sea!” - -Others had noticed also that a catastrophe seemed to be impending, and -intense excitement prevailed, which became augmented when the balloon -was lost sight of altogether. As we know, darkness came on while the -aeronauts were still being whirled away from the steamer which was to -have overtaken them, and they would have perished but for the opportune -arrival of the ss. “Centurion.” - -The Corys were dreadfully disappointed at this fresh freak of fate. To -lose their prize when it seemed so nearly within their grasp was a blow -sufficient to shake their hope of ever being able to help Harley, for -everything worked against them. - -“I am afraid your chances of laying your hands on Stavanger, junior, are -gone,” said Major Colbrook, when he called to see our friends the next -morning. - -“How so?” inquired Mr. Cory. - -“Well, none of the ships that have come in this morning have sighted the -balloon. The probability is that it has come to grief, and that the men -are all drowned or killed. I am sorry for the other fellows, but -sympathy would be wasted on a scoundrel who would swear another man’s -liberty away for a crime he has committed himself.” - -“Perhaps so. But, if Stavanger has perished, the proofs of his guilt -will have been lost with him, and that will be a very serious thing for -us.” - -“But you have a witness in the shape of the jeweller, who can prove that -the diamonds were offered to him for sale.” - -“There you are wrong. Unless we can secure some of them, we cannot show -reasonable proof that these are the identical diamonds that were -stolen.” - -“I think, father, that the sooner we look after that ship-captain the -better. You know we were told that he also had some jewels for sale. As -he was in Hugh Stavanger’s company, I expect he had exacted them as the -price of his silence or his help. If we can find him, it may turn out -that we can do without the diamond merchant’s son. Our present object -must be to expedite Harley’s liberation. The punishment of the -wrong-doers can follow after.” - -“Bravo, Miss Cory. You have hit the nail on the head,” exclaimed the -major. “Look here, we know the name of the ship, and that she has left -Malta. Let’s go to the harbour-master, and find out where she cleared -for. You may be able to catch her at the next discharging port. Before -you could overtake the ‘Merry Maid’ now she will be loaded and away. So -you must find out somehow where she is bound for.” - -As Major Colbrook’s advice was considered good, it was acted upon at -once, but the result of the inquiries made was somewhat disappointing. -The “Merry Maid” had gone to Barcelona, and from there to Gibraltar for -orders, and what those orders were would take some little time to -discover. - -“Have you the ‘Shipping Gazette’?” inquired the major. - -“No, sir; we don’t go in for that much, and I have no recent copies by -me. I’ll tell you what, though; if it is very important that you should -know where the ‘Merry Maid’ is, why don’t you cable to the owners?” - -“A very good idea, if I knew where to cable to,” said Mr. Cory. “But I -have not the slightest notion who the owners are.” - -“There I am better informed than you,” put in Annie, eagerly. “Hilton -gave me the name and address of the owners, and I have them here in my -note-book.” - -“Capital!” cried the major. “We shall manage it yet. Now for the -address.” - -“Messrs. Rose and Gibney, agents, Great Water Street, London.” - -“Good. The next thing is to decide what to say. You don’t want your own -name to figure, I suppose? No? I thought not. Then you had better cable -in my name, and direct the reply to come to my house.” - -After a little delay, the following message was sent to Messrs. Rose and -Gibney:--“At what port, and when, is ‘Merry Maid’ due?” - -The answer to this, which had been prepaid, was--“Due at Cardiff, 4th -proximo, from Antwerp, to load for Port Said.” - -“Splendid. That will suit you to a T,” exclaimed the major. “You can -stay here two or three weeks, to give yourself time to hunt up as much -information as possible about Stavanger. Then, failing success, you can -proceed from here direct to Port Said, and board the ‘Merry Maid’ in the -canal. By the time you get to Cardiff, the vessel might have started on -her voyage, so your surest chance of success lies in waiting for this -Captain Cochrane at his port of destination. And I think you had better -take the authorities into your confidence. They might help you to find -Stavanger.” - -It was agreed to follow Major Colbrook’s advice in the main, but our -friends preferred to go on to Port Said without much more delay. - -“Hugh Stavanger probably saw us,” said Annie. “If so, he will not come -back to Malta.” - -“Perhaps not, but you have no guarantee that your supposition as to his -having seen you is correct. And you will surely not leave here till news -of some sort respecting the balloonists arrives.” - -“No; it will be better to wait a little while.” - -That a little patience was advisable, was proved when the particulars of -the rescue of the balloonists came to hand. When, however, the Corys -learned that Hugh Stavanger was not returning to Malta, they left the -island for Port Said as soon as it could be managed. But here they were -baffled again, as by the time they landed, the man whom they sought was -already on his way to Bombay, and no efforts of theirs could discover a -trace of him. - -“We must remain here now until the ‘Merry Maid’ arrives,” said Annie. -“Meanwhile, it strikes me that we have been acting very clumsily. To -give a different name to ship captains and hotel proprietors is not -enough. We must disguise ourselves effectually. It is quite possible -that Hugh Stavanger recognised me at Valetta, and that but for that -misfortune he would have been brought to book by this time. Such a -blunder must not be made again. We have a great stake to play for, and -we intend to win.” - -“You are right, Annie. If the fellow suspects us, he will look out for -us, so we must circumvent him by losing ourselves, as it were.” - -The result of the conversation that now ensued between father and -daughter was a complete change in the appearance of both of them, and -those who could recognise Mr. Cory or his daughter in the elderly -clergyman who was supposed to be the tutor and travelling guide of the -rather delicate-looking young Englishman who accompanied him would have -to be extremely wide-awake. There was no cessation of watchfulness on -the part of the so-called Rev. Alexander Bootle and Mr. Ernest Fraser. -But very little that was of special interest to them occurred during -their stay in Port Said, and they were very glad when at last the “Merry -Maid” appeared in the port. Duly armed with the necessary authority, the -Rev. Mr. Bootle, accompanied by an officer of the law, went on board the -steamer the moment it was possible to do so, his object being the arrest -of Captain Cochrane, on the charge of being accessory after the fact to -the great diamond robbery in Hatton Garden. - -Picture his dismay on discovering that Captain Cochrane had not come out -with his ship this time. According to the account of Mr. Gerard, the new -master of the “Merry Maid,” Mr. Cochrane had had a legacy of a thousand -pounds left him lately, and he had resolved to take a holiday for the -space of a voyage. On the return of the ship to England, he meant to -join it, and Captain Gerard would then have to subside into his former -position of chief mate. - -That evening, conceiving that nothing was to be done there towards the -object they had at heart, Mr. Fraser and his companion were arranging -their luggage, preparatory to returning to England on the morrow. Both -were downcast--the former particularly so. - -“It’s of no use trying to do anything for Harley,” was Mr. Fraser’s -remark. “The way in which we are foiled at every turn is driving me mad. -Surely fate cannot always work so determinedly against people who are -fighting on the side of right and justice.” - -“I don’t know. It’s a queerly mixed-up world. But I don’t see any cause -for being so terribly disheartened. We may come across Cochrane in -England without much trouble. And it is just possible that Stavanger has -gone back to England, too. He may think himself safe there now, and -events may develop rapidly in our favour while there.” - -At this juncture, a knock was heard at the door, and a servant entered -the room with a note on a salver. The note was brief, but puzzling. - -“The present captain of the ‘Merry Maid’ would like an interview with -the Rev. Mr. Bootle. He thinks that Mr. Bootle will be greatly benefited -thereby.” - -“Show the gentleman in,” was the order given as soon as the note was -read, and a moment afterwards a tall, well-made man entered the room. He -was about thirty years old, originally possessed of fair hair and a -concomitant complexion. Already, however, his hair was of the sparsest, -and of nondescript tint, while exposure to the weather had invested his -face and neck with the ruddiest of hues. As if to atone for the lack of -hair on the top of his head, he was endowed with a moustache of which -nine men out of ten would have envied him the possession. The extremely -punctilious neatness of his attire would have led many to set him down -as foppishly inclined. But one look at the keen, piercing grey eyes -would have negatived the supposition that he was of a weak nature. - -“Pray be seated, Captain Gerard,” said Mr. Bootle. “You have business -with us, I believe.” - -“Well, I think so. To begin with, you don’t seem to be friendly towards -Captain Cochrane.” - -“One isn’t usually good chums with the people one wants to arrest.” - -“Precisely so. Now, I am not particularly anxious, either to do -Cochrane an ill turn, or to do you a good turn without sufficient -reason. A short explanation of my position will show you that I have a -strong personal motive in seeking your further acquaintance. I have been -ten years in the employment of the owners of the ‘Merry Maid,’ and when -two years ago I passed my final exam., and got a master’s ticket, I was -promised the first vacancy as captain that offered in the company. Soon -after this the former skipper of the ‘Merry Maid’ died, and I expected -to be appointed to her, but was disgusted to find myself passed over in -favour of a cousin of one of the owners--Cochrane, forsooth. Now, he is -a man with not half my experience, and is popular with nobody that has -to sail with him; so you may readily believe that I have not found it -easy to swallow humble pie as his subordinate. At present he is taking a -holiday. He says that he has had a legacy left him. You boarded the ship -this morning with a warrant to arrest him on a charge of being concerned -in a diamond robbery. I have put two and two together, and have come to -the conclusion that the legacy is a hoax invented to cover his -possession of money he could not otherwise give a good account of. If -your suspicions, and my suspicions, I may add, are proved correct, -Captain Cochrane won’t tread the ‘Merry Maid’s’ deck again. Failing his -return, I am sure to be given permanent command, and as I consider -myself to have a right to the position, I shall be very glad to give any -information I can that will remove my rival from my path. I have, you -see, been perfectly straightforward and honest with you. I don’t pretend -to disinterested motives, or any rot about only being anxious to serve -the ends of justice. I want Cochrane out of my way, and for that reason -alone I am ready to co-operate with you against him. If you care to give -me your confidence, we may be able to help each other.” - -Both his hearers had listened eagerly to what Captain Gerard had to say. -Then they nodded to each other, after mutually questioning the -advisability of trusting this stranger, who might, after all, be a -friend of Captain Cochrane, and might have come to pump them in order to -put the villain on his guard. But, somehow, they were both inclined to -believe what had just been told them, and renewed hope coursed through -their veins at the prospect of making important discoveries after all. - -“I believe what you say,” remarked the Rev. Mr. Bootle, after a short -pause; “and after you have heard all there is to say on our side, you -will, I am sure, be even more ready than at present to help us.” - -Then followed a recapitulation of all the details already familiar to -the reader, and it was as Mr. Bootle had surmised. Captain Gerard became -greatly excited, and vowed that he would do all he could in the cause of -justice, even if it became imperative to work openly, and thus lose the -favour of his employers, who were Cochrane’s relations. - -“And you say that Riddell’s brother sailed as steward in the ‘Merry -Maid’ last voyage? Depend upon it, he must have betrayed his identity in -some way or other. And I will tell you why I think so. There has been -some whispering aboard the ship about the late steward’s disappearance. -If this steward was the man you say, his disappearance is no longer -mysterious. He was murdered. And, what’s more, I will try to prove it.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -BAITING THE TRAP. - - -“You would like to know my reasons for believing that your friend has -met with foul play,” said Captain Gerard, after the first horror and -surprise of his hearers was over. “Well, here they are. It was only -yesterday that our second mate, who is new to the ship, related a -conversation he had had with the bo’sun. The latter asserts that on the -night that saw the last of the man supposed to be William Trace, it was -so unbearably stuffy down below that he coiled himself up beside the -winch, between the third and after hatch, and went to sleep there. He -says that it must have been approaching morning, when he suddenly awoke -with a sensation of danger, such as we all experience at times when our -sleep is disturbed. With his senses all on the alert, he looked about -him, without at first noting anything. Then it struck him that the sound -he had heard was a splash, and a moment after he saw Messrs. Cochrane -and Torrens creeping stealthily towards the companion, down which they -vanished. Shortly afterwards he fell asleep again, and did not connect -the steward’s disappearance with the splash he had heard, or with the -skipper’s stealthy movements, until he heard different members of the -crew whispering their suspicions of foul play. Had the weather been bad, -or had the steward been an unsteady man, it might have been supposed -that he had fallen overboard while drunk, as the ship was not rolling. -But the man was as steady as the weather was fine, and he could not have -fallen overboard without deliberately trying to do so. The inference, -therefore, is in favour of his having been pitched over. You may not -think this much proof of my belief that he was murdered. But our Chippy -stumbled upon a motive, or what would have struck a keen observer as a -good equivalent for one. He was ordered by the captain to repair sundry -holes which had been made in the wainscoting by the steward. Since I -know who the steward was, I am sure these holes had been made for -purposes of espionage; that he discovered collusion between Cochrane and -the passenger; that they, in their turn, discovered who he was, and -deliberately negatived his evidence against them by murdering him. There -are also many other corroborative little incidents to be unearthed, I am -sure, and I promise you that by the time the ‘Merry Maid’ has finished -this voyage, there will have been gathered by me all the information -possible concerning this suspected murder. Meanwhile, your best course -will be to return to England, and try to secure Cochrane. He lives in -Disraeli Road, Forest Gate, London. Before we separate I will give you -his complete address.” - -“Is he married?” - -“He has been, but his wife is dead. Since her death he has placed his -son under the care of a sister, and he makes her house his home also -when in port. Only secure him, and you will learn enough to liberate -your friend from gaol. Cochrane will tell all he can about Stavanger to -screen himself. He is notoriously of a sneakish disposition. If money is -no object, I would suggest that you cable to somebody in England to see -that the fellow does not give you the slip. And now I guess I had better -be moving, as soon as you have given me an address that will always find -you. We are going on to Bombay from here. Should I come across -Stavanger, you may bet your bottom dollar that I will ensure his -arrest.” - -A few weeks after the above conversation, an elderly gentleman in -clerical garb was having a somewhat heated discussion with a private -detective. - -“How in the world could you bungle so seriously as to let the man slip -through your fingers? I telegraphed the importance of his capture to -you, warning you always to keep him in sight. And yet I find, on -arriving here myself, that you have lost all trace of him.” - -So said the irate clergyman, to whom the detective replied-- - -“My dear sir, when you have lived a little longer, you will perhaps have -a better understanding of the difficulties of my profession. The man -whom I did watch tallied exactly with the description of the man I was -instructed to watch, and it is not my fault that it turns out to be the -brother-in-law whom I have shadowed. I do not believe Cochrane has been -near the house.” - -“Perhaps you are right. But my vexation is none the less, for, somehow, -every effort I have made, so far, has resulted in nothing but -disappointment.” - -“Well, it’s a long lane that never has a turning, and Cochrane is -evidently dubious as to his safety and has chosen to obliterate himself -for a while. We may take it for granted that he won’t join the ‘Merry -Maid’ again. Nor will the share of the stolen diamonds which he was seen -with at Valetta be enough to support him permanently. I should imagine -he will change his name and set up in some other line of business in -London or its vicinity. If you care to empower me to do so, I will -employ one of my men to investigate, and report the appearance of the -proprietors of new enterprises, preferably those of a quiet, shady -nature.” - -“London is such a big place, that we are as likely to stumble across our -man in the street, as to discover him in the way you suggest. But I -suppose it will be as well to be watchful.” - -It was only too true. Once more, when apparently on the eve of success, -our friends had been most bitterly disappointed by the discovery that -their quarry had escaped them. For a week his whilom home was carefully -watched, but he did not put in an appearance there, and, after awhile, -it was discovered that his relatives were greatly distressed about him, -as he had neither visited them nor acquainted them with his place of -abode for some time past. - -All things considered, Harley’s prospects of release seemed no better -than they were at the time of his conviction. But it was at least a -little satisfactory to learn that his health had so far not suffered -quite so much as had been feared. His mother, too, bore up wonderfully -under all her trials, and expressed her firm faith in the ultimate -restoration of her son’s liberty and reputation. Hilton’s fate had been -a great blow to her at first. Then, much to the surprise of friends, she -declined to believe that he was really dead, in spite of the evidence -that was forthcoming to that effect. - -“Depend upon it,” she said, “God wouldn’t be so cruel as to deprive me -of both my boys. I shall yet see them happy and well.” - -After a time nobody tried to argue her out of this belief, for it -comforted her, and kept her from sinking into the despondency that would -otherwise have overwhelmed her. Miss Margaret Cory was, as usual, a -comfort and a consolation to everybody. Mr. Cory was glad to be at home -again, but was as determined as ever to pursue his investigations -further. Annie--quiet, subdued, and sad--was yet unremittent in her -efforts to gain information likely to be useful. As time wore on, she -became more brave, nay, positively daring, and showed such skill in -safely following up clues that her father no longer felt any uneasiness -about her, even though her absences from home were often unexpectedly -lengthened. - -The family had removed to a new house in a neighbourhood to which they -were strange, and none but themselves knew that she was a daughter of -the house, since, for prudential reasons, she had retained her masculine -clothing, without which it would not have been so easy for her to -penetrate unobserved into all sorts of places. Of course the case had -been put into the hands of an official detective, who, however, was as -much at a standstill as they were. - -One day Annie, whom the servants and neighbours supposed to be Mr. -Edgar Bootle, son of the Rev. Alexander Bootle, found among the letters -on the breakfast table one bearing the Bombay postmark. She concluded at -once that it was from Captain Gerard, as he had promised to write on his -arrival at Bombay. - -“Look here, father,” she said eagerly, as the “Rev. Mr. Bootle” entered -the breakfast room, “here is Captain Gerard’s letter. Open it at once -and see what he says.” - -The request was promptly obeyed, and what was in the letter is here -transcribed:-- - -“SS. ‘Merry Maid,’ Bombay. - -“Dear Sir,--As per promise, I am losing no time in affording you such -information as is in my power. I find that the look-out man who was on -duty on the night, and at the time of Mr. Hilton Riddell’s -disappearance, is also convinced that he heard a suspicious splash, but -it is doubtful if either he or the carpenter would care to appear as -witnesses in the event of a new trial, since they are afraid of being -detained, without recompense sufficient, long enough to cause them to -lose their ship. Perhaps, however, you may be able to make them an offer -good enough to overcome hesitation in this direction. But I have, -nevertheless, some very valuable information for you. Yesterday, having -only been in port an hour or two, and having finished all business for -the day, I was having a turn on the Apollo Bunda, when whom should I -meet face to face but our late passenger. He recognised me at once as -the former mate of the ‘Merry Maid,’ but would have passed by without -apparent recognition if I had not buttonholed him, and made this course -impossible. He acknowledged my salutation very stiffly, and would still -have passed on had I not remarked, ‘Look here, old man, it’s lucky for -you we have met; otherwise you would most certainly be in gaol -to-morrow.’ - -“You should have seen his face. It went as white as a scared man’s face -ever can, and for a moment he looked as if he was going into a fit. Then -he pulled himself together, and tried to make light of his emotion. - -“‘What a queer way you have of talking, Mr. Gerard,’ he said, and I was -viciously glad to see what a feeble show he made of the self-possession -he tried to muster. ‘How on earth could I be entitled to lodgings in -gaol?’ - -“‘Well, thereby hangs a tale,’ I said. ‘Suppose you come down with me to -a quiet house I know of, where we can talk unobserved. You have some -deadly enemies in Bombay at this minute, and the sooner you take -yourself away from a public place like this the better.’ - -“Fifteen minutes later we were sitting, each armed with a whisky and -soda, in the public room of a house which I, in common with other -sea-faring officers, had often frequented during my numerous voyages to -Bombay. Stavanger was desperately nervous, and was careful to sit with -his back to the general company, while I, having a good view of all who -came in, was able to assure him that, so far, none of his enemies were -present. And then I exercised a stroke of diplomacy, for which I am sure -you will commend me. - -“I have induced him to set off for England, where you will have no -difficulty of capturing him. I set a trap for him, and he has walked -into it beautifully. Briefly, this is what I did. I told him that at -Port Said a middle-aged gentleman and his daughter, accompanied by an -officer of the law, came on board the ‘Merry Maid’ with a warrant for -the arrest of one Hugh Stavanger, alias Paul Torrens, on a charge of -being the principal person implicated in a diamond robbery that had -taken place some time ago at Hatton Garden. ‘The young lady,’ I -continued, ‘was engaged to be married to a man who has been convicted of -the crime, and she has vowed to unearth you and haul you up, if she has -to follow you all over the world. She has tracked you from one place to -another, and is quite confident of catching you some time. I suggested -that you were probably in England again. But neither she nor her father -thought this possible.’ ‘Depend upon it,’ Miss Cory said, ‘the scoundrel -will never dare come to England again, and it would be folly to look for -him there. If he had felt safe there, he would not have come away, that -is true.’ I told Stavanger much more than this, all tending to make him -believe that, after all, England was the only safe place for him. I -enlarged on the wealth at your disposal, and said that you had several -detectives trying to find him somewhere abroad. Also that you had found -out somehow that he had sailed for Bombay, that you had immediately -decided to follow him in one of the mail boats, and that you must have -reached Bombay a few days before the ‘Merry Maid’ arrived. I also -professed to have no sympathy with you, and remarked that if I could lay -my hands on a few diamonds I would only be too glad of the chance. The -fellow did not condescend to chum with me at all when I was only a mate. -Now he seems to repent his error of judgment; is convinced that I am -quite in harmony and sympathy with him; and is ready to swallow any -advice that I may offer. Here is the result of my advice and manœuvring. -He went back to his hotel with his hat over his eyes, and his light coat -huddled about his neck as much as possible, I being kind enough to -accompany him. Then he put a few things into his pockets, packed a -portmanteau, paid his hotel bill, and went with me to the skipper of a -boat leaving for England that tide. He is now a passenger in that boat, -which is called the ‘Hornby Cross,’ and is due in London a month from -date. Before parting from him, I, partially by wheedling, partially by -insistence, got a diamond ring out of him. This ring I will bring home -with me, and, should it prove to be a part of the stolen property, you -will have proof enough to saddle the robbery on Stavanger, even if he -were not walking right into your clutches. This letter will reach you a -week before the ‘Hornby Cross’ is due, and will give you time to make -the necessary arrangements for capture. The ‘Hornby Cross’ is owned by -Messrs. Ward, Willow, and Co., Fenchurch Street, and Stavanger’s present -alias is John Morton. A word or two more. The scoundrel had half a -notion for a few minutes of remaining here, on the chance of being able -to ‘stop your gallop,’ as he called it. In other words, if he can ever -get half a chance he will murder you, as he considers that if the world -were rid of Miss Cory and her father he would be perfectly safe. I -persuaded him that it would be foolish for him to linger here, and vowed -that I could find a safe method of disposing of you. I am actually to -have a hundred pounds as soon as I can prove Stavanger’s enemies to be -no longer in the land of the living. Nice for you, isn’t it? But there -is no fear of my ever earning that hundred pounds, nor of him ever -employing anyone else to earn it, since he is sure to be in your power -soon.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -MORE DISAPPOINTMENTS. - - -The “Hornby Cross,” having accomplished its voyage in safety, was viewed -with considerable interest as it was being manœuvred into Millwall Dock, -whither it had brought a cargo of grain from India. Among the onlookers -were a few whose attention was the result of curiosity alone; but the -greater part of the small crowd assembled at the dock gates had business -of some sort on board. There were relatives and friends of the returning -seafarers, eagerly looking out for their own folk, and anxious to see -them again after their long voyage. And there were numbers of touters -for nearly every trade that can be patronised by seafarers. There was -also Mr. Gay, a detective whom we have met before, talking to an elderly -clergyman and a slim young man, whose clear blue eyes keenly watched the -operations on board the incoming vessel. - -Presently she was near enough to be boarded by the most venturous -spirits in the crowd, and these were soon clambering about in what -seemed a very reckless fashion to those unused to the sight. Among the -first to touch the “Hornby Cross’s” deck was Mr. Gay, and he at once -made for the captain, who was standing on the bridge, contentedly -watching the operations of the dock pilot, into whose charge the vessel -had been put. - -“Good morning, sir,” said Mr. Gay, touching his hat in greeting. “I am -glad to see you safe in port. My name is Gay. You will have received the -note I sent you by the pilot this morning.” - -“Your name is Gay, is it? Well, I guess you won’t feel like your name -for a bit. Your note came too late, sir.” - -“The deuce! Do you mean to say that Morton, as he calls himself, has -given us the slip?” - -“I do. You see, I would have done my best to help you if I had had only -half a notion who my passenger was. As I hadn’t, you can’t be surprised -at being done.” - -“But the man really started from Bombay with you?” - -“Yes, he really did. But he didn’t choose to come all the way with us, -and I had no reason for supposing that he was wanted here. We had to -call at Gibraltar for bunker coals, and Mr. Morton expressed a fancy to -remain behind and explore Spain. I reckon he had funked about coming to -England, and thought the Spaniards would be better chums with a rogue.” - -“My clients will be dreadfully disappointed. Everything seems to go -against them.” - -“It seems to me that in this case it is your own stupidity that has gone -against them. You must excuse the remark, but it expresses what I -think.” - -“And in what way have I been stupid, may I ask?” - -“Well, you might have found out where we were likely to bunker. The -owners would have given you the information. Then you could have come -out to intercept your man before he had a chance to clear, instead of -waiting here expecting him to walk into the trap set for him. Or you -could have cabled to me to detain him. But, of course, these little -items are things a detective wouldn’t be likely to think of.” - -“I feel quite grateful for your sympathy in my disappointment, Captain -Criddle, but feel it necessary to correct you in a few particulars. Even -though only a detective, I was struck with the idea that it would be -wise to consult the owners. Their information left only the course -adopted open to me. I was told that you had probably already taken in -bunker coals at Malta, and that you would not be calling at any other -place before your arrival in England. It is only six days since we -learned that Morton, or, more correctly speaking, Stavanger, was on -board your ship, and either meeting him, or cabling to have him detained -was out of the question. You received instructions through the pilot at -Gravesend, and I fail to see what further steps could have been taken -for the man’s capture, unless we had been more accurately informed of -your proceedings by your owners.” - -“Oh, well, it isn’t their fault, as they knew no different. But I -haven’t time to talk any more, as I have a swarm of people to see. Good -afternoon.” - -Thus peremptorily dismissed, Mr. Gay found it necessary to return to -shore without the prize he had hoped to land with him, and his -professional chagrin was mingled with real sorrow for the bitter -disappointment of his clients. He was not a little angry with Captain -Criddle for his want of sympathy and his unflattering insinuations. -These were, no doubt, prompted by the reluctance felt by most people to -have anything to do with a criminal case in any shape or form, and -Detective Gay was not far wrong when he suspected Captain Criddle of -being rather pleased than otherwise that the expected arrest had not -taken place on board his ship. - -That the Corys were deeply dismayed is a foregone conclusion, and that -Mr. Cory thought it useless to make further investigations for a while -is not surprising. - -“The man won’t have stayed in Gibraltar, that is certain,” he said. “And -if we were to go there, and follow up the trail, it is doubtful if we -could ever track him and secure his return to England. So long as he -chooses to remain in Spain, so long is he safe. Even if he leaves there -I’m afraid his pursuit would be but a wild goose chase. His predilection -for aliases will make identification difficult, and he seems to possess -some abnormal instinct that cautions him against coming danger.” - -“I think myself, sir,” observed Mr. Gay, “that he won’t come back to -England, at all events, until he has run through his plunder. Even then -he may be quietly supplied with money by his father, whom we believe to -to be in league with him. If I were you I would not move in the matter -for a while, in order to lull all suspicion of pursuit. If we can -stumble on Captain Cochrane in the meantime, so much the better. We may -be able to prove Mr. Riddell’s innocence through him.” - -“And if we do not stumble on Captain Cochrane?” inquired Annie, whose -assumption of masculine garb made it more imperative upon her to keep -her composure than would have been the case had she been figuring simply -as Annie Cory. - -“In that case it will be difficult to bring conviction to the minds of -judge and jury, if you decide to move for a fresh inquiry.” - -“But the ring which the present captain of the ‘Merry Maid’ is bringing -home with him?” - -“That may prove valuable evidence, or it may not, just as it happens.” - -“It is bound to be valuable evidence when it is identified as part of -the stolen property, as it is sure to be.” - -“By whom?” - -“By whom? Why, by the Stavanger Bros., or by Mr. Riddell, who -inventoried the goods the night they disappeared.” - -“Well, I don’t want to dishearten you too much; but I feel it my duty to -show you how difficult the case really is. No doubt Mr. Riddell could -recognise this diamond ring. But would his word be accepted? He was -convicted of the robbery by overwhelming evidence, which it is now to -his interest to negative by every means in his power. It is, therefore, -natural that he should try to remove the onus of guilt from his own -shoulders to that of another, by swearing to property traced to that -other’s possession. Pray, don’t be angry! I am not stating a private -conviction that Mr. Riddell would swear falsely, but that a -chuckle-headed judge or jury would be likely to think so. When a man is -once down, the world likes to keep him down.” - -“But,” put in Mr. Cory, “there are the Brothers Stavanger, who would -know the ring as well as Mr. Riddell, presumably better.” - -“And how are we to guarantee that they will aid the ends of justice by -identifying that which will help to prove the son of the one and the -nephew of the other to be a thief, a perjurer, and an absconding -vagabond? The reputation of both the firm and the family depends upon -Hugh Stavanger’s safety. I firmly believe that they have already done -some false swearing in the matter. Is it likely that they will reverse -their former tactics and play into our hands now?” - -“I’m afraid you are right. Still, we have several things to fall back -upon that will help us, even if the evidence of the ring proves -valueless.” - -“It cannot prove valueless,” said Annie now, with considerable -decision. “Captain Gerard will relate how he became possessed of it, and -there is his letter to us by way of corroboration of his evidence. The -Maltese jeweller will also help us, if necessary. So, even if we cannot -bring the real culprits up for judgment, we can move for a new trial, -and even if judge and jurors are as addlepated and obstinate as you -would have us to believe, they must see that the case is much deeper and -more complicated than they supposed. And if it is their natural -propensity to doubt the word of people accused of crime, they will be as -likely to exercise it upon the man now accused. Mr. Peary, our -solicitor, must push things on without delay, and we will rely upon such -evidence as we can produce, if we can secure a new trial. Meanwhile, -there is still time to do some active work, and a plan I have in my head -may result in the discovery of a clue to Hugh Stavanger’s whereabouts.” - -What that plan was Annie would not disclose, though pressed upon the -point both by her father and the detective. The latter was very much -annoyed at the turn events had taken, and was by no means sanguine as to -the ultimate results of the investigations that were being pursued on -Harley Riddell’s behalf. But he went away with a higher admiration of -Annie Cory’s pluck than he had ever felt for that of any woman in his -life. - -“She is game to the core,” he thought, “and if anybody can help the poor -fellow in gaol, it is his sweetheart, who, it seems to me, cannot be -daunted. She is one in a million. Most girls would have sat down and -fretted, instead of trying to remedy the evil. Well, good luck to her, -say I. If a girl like that doesn’t deserve to succeed, nobody does.” - -From which remarks it may be gathered that Mr. Gay was not one of those -who, to cover their discomfiture, would begrudge success to another, -because he or she did not happen to be in the profession. - -A few weeks later the “Merry Maid” was safely docked again, and Annie, -accompanied by her father, and still figuring as Mr. Ernest Fraser, was -sitting in the cabin of the steamer talking to Captain Gerard. They had -awaited his arrival at the dock, being too impatient to stay at home -until he had time to visit them. - -His face lengthened considerably as he listened to the long account of -disappointment and failure they had to give him. - -“Well, I’m hanged if ever I knew anything like it,” he said at last, in -a tone of great vexation. “I thought everything was plain sailing, and -never dreamt that Stavanger would alter his mind about coming on to -England. You can’t touch him in Spain, and for anything we know he may -stick there. I wonder where Cochrane is. He must have taken the alarm, -too.” - -“We hope to be able to help the case considerably by means of the ring -you wrote to us about,” observed Mr. Cory. - -“Well, the imp of mischief seems to be at work,” said the captain, -emphasising his vexation by an oath. “Even the ring will be no use as -evidence now. At Malta we coaled, coming home. There I met an old chum, -who, like myself, was on his first voyage as master. I’m afraid we both -jubilated till we were half seas over. I was cutting a dash with the -diamond ring at the time. My friend offered to go on board my ship with -me. As we were being rowed to the ship he noticed my ring, and made some -remark about it. I pulled it off to show it to him. Whether it was his -fault or mine I hardly know, but between us we let the ring drop into -the water, with the result that it is lost beyond recovery.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -AN ACCOMMODATING POSTMAN. - - -“Annie, my child, don’t you think you had better give up this vain -chase? You are looking ill and worried. The case makes no real progress, -in spite of all our exertions, and you are wearing your life away for -nothing.” - -“For nothing, auntie? Is Harley’s rescue nothing? I’m ashamed to hear -you speak like that. It’s a good thing Mrs. Riddell has not come -downstairs yet. She would be astonished to find you turning traitor.” - -“I have heard some people say, my dear, that you have a real nasty -temper when you like, and I am bound to admit that they are not far -wrong, for your last sentence was thoroughly ill-natured. As you know, -however, I am quite ready to make allowances, and I repeat that you are -not reaping an equivalent success for all your exertions.” - -“And what would you have me do? Leave Harley to his fate, without -another effort to save him?” - -“By no means. I am as anxious as ever that he should be helped. But I -think you will work more efficiently if you take things quietly for a -while, and resume operations after your inactivity has lulled all -suspicion.” - -“You mean well, auntie; but I should die if I didn’t work in some way or -other for Harley’s benefit. So far all my efforts have failed, but I -don’t mean to give up hope, for Fate cannot always set her signals dead -against us.” - -The above conversation between Miss Cory and her niece will serve to -show that poor Harley Riddell, while possessing friends who were as -firmly convinced of his innocence as ever, was in danger of having his -prospects jeopardised by the paralysing influence of baffled efforts. -Annie was the only one whom disappointment did not seem to daunt, and, -with her, failure was but a stimulus to renewed effort. The -long-drawn-out agony of her lover’s unjustified incarceration was ever -before her eyes, and she would have deemed herself guilty of a crime had -she resigned herself to the passive inactivity which to others seemed -the only course left her. - -“Are you going out this morning?” questioned Miss Margaret, as she -carefully examined a hole in the damask tablecloth she was about to -darn. - -“Yes. I have a little business to transact. Tell father I won’t be long, -for, if I am, I shall have been unexpectedly detained.” - -Presently our heroine, who to the ordinary passer-by looked a rather -handsome young fellow, with short, dark hair, bright dark blue eyes, and -a dark moustache, of a shape which suited his light form and clearly-cut -features to perfection, was walking down the street in a westerly -direction at a rapid pace. - -Half an hour later this same young gentleman was to be seen talking to -an elderly postman, in a neighbourhood which, for the sake of the -aforementioned postman I had better not indicate too closely. Suffice it -to say that his round embraced the residence of Mr. David Stavanger, -who, with his family, was now back in London. - -“Have you anything yet for me?” was the first inquiry addressed to the -postman, an inquiry, moreover, which pointed to a little previous -collusion between the two innocent-looking individuals. - -“I believe I have, at last, sir,” was the answer, “I had an extra lot of -letters this morning, and very near forgot all about you. In fact, I was -just putting three letters in the letter-box of Number Thirty-nine when -I caught sight of a foreign stamp, and stuck to the letter it was on, -just in time. Is this anything in your line, sir?” - -Saying this, the postman handed a letter to “Mr. Bootle,” which the -latter seized with avidity, and examined eagerly. The scrutiny appeared -to more than satisfy him. He was positively jubilant, for the missive -bore a Spanish postmark, and was in the handwriting which had become -quite familiar to the pseudo governess of Fanny Stavanger. - -“I believe this is the very thing I want. Wait a moment until I open it, -so that I may know whether I need your services any more for the present -or not. There! you see there is no cheque or valuable paper of any -description in this envelope. It is, as I told you, a letter only that I -wished to intercept, and there will be no inquiry about it, I assure -you, as the writer is a fugitive from justice, who is only too anxious -to keep dark. Yes, this tells me all I want to know. This very night I -set off to catch my man, and here is the ten-pound note I promised you.” - -“If you have gold about you it would suit me better, sir. Ten pounds is -a lot for a poor chap like me to have, and folks might get suspicious if -I showed a note for that amount.” - -“Perhaps you don’t feel sure that the note is genuine. I have no gold -with me. But if you object to the bank note, I will give you a cheque on -the National and Provincial Bank.” - -“Oh, it’s all right, sir. I’ll take your word for it. All the same, if -you don’t mind, I’ll follow you till we get to the bank. Then you can go -inside with me, and change it.” - -It was evident that the postman distrusted him. But Mr. Bootle was too -delighted with the prize he had obtained to be very thin-skinned about -this stranger’s opinion. In due time the postman received £10 in gold as -payment for his breach of confidence, and went on his way rejoicing, -wishing for a speedy opportunity of doing another such profitable day’s -work. - -As for Mr. Ernest Bootle, he went on his way rejoicing, too, and feeling -not the slightest qualm of conscience at what he had done, since it was -all in the cause of right and justice. The precious letter was hugged -very closely during the journey home, and then, in the privacy of Mr. -Bootle’s own room, it was re-read. - -For the benefit of the reader we will transcribe its contents here:-- - -“Lina, Spain. - -“My Dear Father,--I am still inclined to stop in this place for a -while. Nobody has the slightest suspicion that I am not a _bonâ fide_ -English agent and that my name is not Gregory Staines. You still urge me -to come home. I think your advice unwise, for I am sure that girl will -leave no stone unturned to find me, and arrest would be very distasteful -to me. I am very much better as I am. I live in comfort, have no -tiresome business restrictions, and, so far, have won so much in an -English gaming-house here that it has not been necessary to encroach on -the money I have realised. You need not imagine that I am careless, or -that I am courting recognition. Even if anyone who knew me was to come -here, I am too well disguised to be identified, and even if -identification were possible, it would be useless, as I am quite safe in -Spanish territory. And I am not staying at an hotel either, but have -taken lodgings in a quiet, respectable neighbourhood, with a -good-looking young English widow, who seems inclined to be sweet on me. -If I find that she has any money put by I may perhaps marry her, and -settle down here. I don’t care much for swell society, so, if I can be -made comfortable when at home, and I do not run out of spending money -abroad, I shan’t need to grumble. In any case, I mean to give England a -wide berth while that confounded woman is knocking around. I wish she -would break her neck.” - -“No, I won’t break my neck,” said the individual to whom this pious -wish applied. “But I’m hoping, after all, to stop your gallop, Mr. -Stavanger, since you have so kindly put your new address in this letter; -and the good-looking widow must be cured of her folly, too. I daresay -you do feel yourself tolerably safe, and you are evidently free from -qualms of conscience also. The latter, no doubt, will make themselves -felt when you are brought to book for your crimes. Then you will, no -doubt, be a pattern of pious repentance, since the gist of repentance, -in convicted criminals, is to be measured by the poignancy of their -regret at being found out. The exceptions to this rule are the very, -very few who voluntarily own their culpability and surrender themselves -to justice. As you are not likely to prove a voluntary repentant, I must -force your hand. And now for my immediate plans.” - -The result of the deliberations in which Mr. Bootle now indulged will be -apparent in a letter which the Rev. Alexander Bootle, otherwise Mr. -Cory, read up to his sister, and to Mrs. Riddell the same evening. Said -letter merely informed them that Annie was now gone to carry out the -plan at which she had hinted some days ago; that she was sanguine of -success; that she wished her departure from home kept as quiet as -possible; that she had, according to an understanding between them, -drawn as much money as she thought might be needed for the enterprise -she had in hand; and that they must not feel uneasy if they did not hear -from her for some time, as she did not wish to risk the failure of her -enterprise by allowing even her nearest and dearest to know of her -whereabouts. - -“I hope Annie will not plunge into any foolish risks,” said Miss -Margaret, anxiously. - -“She is too sensible to do that,” Mrs. Riddell remarked. “Still, she has -courage surpassing that of 99 out of every 100 women, and would think -little of what would scare others.” - -“And her very pluck will carry her safely through dangers that another -woman would succumb to. I think Harley is lucky in having won so devoted -a girl. For she will never relax her efforts, and I begin to be imbued -with her faith in ultimate success.” - -“So do I,” added Mr. Cory. “All the same, I wish she had taken us into -her confidence. The child is only twenty, and has never been entirely -thrown on her own resources before. Suppose she were to fall into the -hands of swindlers, and be robbed of the money she has with her? All -sorts of evils might happen before she could communicate with us.” - -“John, I’m surprised at you. Annie is too much in earnest, and at the -same time too wary, to play into the hands of the enemy. You don’t like -the notion of her pursuing her investigations alone. After all, it is -the best thing she can do; for you must admit that neither you nor the -detective have been much use in the case.” - -“That was due to adverse circumstances, not to our want of penetration.” - -“I am willing to grant that; but I have no doubt that Annie is actuated -by an idea that she is less likely to put Stavanger on his guard if -alone than if accompanied by anyone else. For my part I have resolved -not to be uneasy about her. Have you heard anything of what the -Stavangers are doing just now?” - -“Jogtrotting, as per usual, I suppose, except that the elder daughter is -to be married soon. I am not sure that it is not to-day.” - -“I’m sorry for the man who marries into that family. But, of course, we -have no grounds for warning him. And now about Harley. It is wonderful -how he keeps his health. Oh, are you going to bed, Mrs. Riddell? Well, -good night. Perhaps all is going to be cleared up soon, and you must -keep your spirits up, for your son’s sake.” - -“For the sake of my sons, yes,” said the old lady tremulously. “And for -the sake of the dear girl who has done so much for them and for me.” - -“Strange how the dear old soul clings to that belief in Hilton’s -ultimate recovery,” said Miss Margaret, when she and her brother were -once alone. “Nothing seems to convince her that he is really dead.” - -“We have plenty of proof that he is dead. There is the word of all the -people who voyaged with him in the ‘Merry Maid’ that he disappeared in -mid-ocean. And the length of time that has now elapsed precludes all -possibility of his being alive still.” - -“Of course, he must be dead. And our poor friend will be bound to awaken -in time to the bitter truth that the sea will not give up its dead.” - -“If you please,” announced a servant, whose knock had not been heard by -the brother and sister, “a gentleman, whose name is Captain Gerard, -wishes to speak to you.” - -“Gerard! Show him in at once. Perhaps he has some important news for us, -Margaret.” - -“We’ll hope so. And we shall soon know.” - -“Good evening, Mr. Bootle,” said Captain Gerard, advancing into the -room. “You will, perhaps, be surprised to receive a visit from me so -late in the day. But the truth is I have a bit of news for you that may -interest you--I have seen Captain Cochrane.” - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -JUST IN TIME. - - -We will now, with the reader’s permission, retrace our history to the -night on which the captain and passenger of the “Merry Maid” consigned -to the waves the body of the man whom they firmly believed to have -murdered. - -The barque “Halcyon,” bound from Lisbon for Callao, was proceeding -quietly on her course and had, up to now, encountered nothing out of her -usual experience. The captain, contentedly smoking a big cigar, was -leaning idly over the rail and scanning the horizon, on the faint chance -of seeing something that would relieve the monotony of the scene. It was -a fine moonlight night, but now and again a cloud, carried along a -higher strata than that by which the movements of the “Halcyon” were -dominated, obscured the radiance of the orb of night, and enveloped sea -and sky in a temporary mantle of darkness, rendering invisible -everything but the distant lights of some vessel crossing the track -pursued by the “Halcyon.” Captain Quaco Pereiro, being of an adventurous -disposition, would have preferred more variety in the scenery. But he -was withal of a philosophical turn of mind, and never fretted for that -which was unobtainable. Being content, therefore, to accept his somewhat -isolated position uncomplainingly, he was nevertheless prepared to -welcome relief in any form, and followed with considerable interest the -course of a steamer, of which he obtained an occasional feeble glimpse, -and which he concluded, from the track pursued, to be bound for the -Mediterranean. Not that there was anything special about the steamer to -attract his attention. But it chanced to be the nearest object in sight, -therefore possibly the most profitable to observe. - -But nothing occurred on board that he was near enough to distinguish, -and Captain Pereiro, having finished his cigar, and having bethought -himself that it would be as well to go below for a drink of wine, was -raising himself up from the rail against which he had been leaning, when -his eyes caught sight of a dark object bobbing quietly about on the -waters, offering no resistance beyond that inert resistance which is -inherent in any solid substance. - -“H’m! what is that?” he questioned himself. “A log of wood? Yes--no--ah! -Sancta Maria! it is the body of a man! Holy Mother, preserve us!” - -Such a sight always saddened Captain Pereiro, for it reminded him of -what might possibly be his own fate, and made him pray the more -fervently that the beloved wife and children whom he had left at home -might be long ere they were deprived of their bread winner. Imagining -that it was the body of some shipwrecked sailor that was now within a -boat’s length of him, he was about to turn away from the painful sight, -when his heart gave a startled bound on hearing a weird cry, as of some -human being in the depths of agony and despair. - -“Mother of God!” he cried, crossing himself vigorously, “what was that?” - -Convinced that the cry he had heard did not originate on board, Captain -Pereiro turned his gaze over the side again in the direction of the -weird object which had already impressed him painfully. With ears and -eyes strained to their utmost tension, he waited for he scarcely knew -what. Would the body float quietly past, with not a sign of life or -vitality about it? Or would his impressions be realised, and would it -turn out that the awful scream he had heard proceeded from that which he -had shudderingly looked upon as a corpse? - -He was not left many seconds to conjecture, for once more the moonlit -air was rent with the desponding shriek of the dying, and this time all -doubt and superstitious fear were simultaneously removed from his mind. -For not only was it evident whence the cry proceeded, but the hands of -the supposed corpse were thrown up imploringly, yet feebly, as though by -one from whom the vital spark had nearly fled. - -Others had now also both seen and heard what was going on, and it -scarcely needed Captain Pereiro’s sharp command to back the mainyard in -order to induce his sailors to bring about the end he desired. In an -incredibly short space of time the course of the “Halcyon” was arrested, -a boat was lowered, the drowning man secured, and preparations for -starting again made. As soon as rescuers and rescued were safely on -board, Captain Pereiro gave the order to brace the mainyard, and -speedily, with well-filled sails, the barque was being steered on her -course once more. - -It seemed, however, that the fine fellows had wasted their energies in a -vain cause, for the stranger had relapsed into total unconsciousness, -which was so profound that for a long time it resisted every benevolent -effort to dispel it. - -“The fates are against the poor fellow,” murmured the captain, -sorrowfully. “I fear we were too late to help him. And yet it is a shame -to be so cheated after all the trouble. Pedro, we will have another try, -and by the Virgin, I will renounce--I mean I will be angry with--my -patron saint if he does not help us to succeed in keeping this man’s -soul out of purgatory a while longer.” - -Pedro, who, by the way, was the steward of the “Halcyon,” was already -fatigued by the vigorous exertions he had made. He was, moreover, -convinced that the thing upon which he had been operating no longer -contained a soul, and he felt a horror at the idea of pulling and -twisting a dead body about. But he dared not refuse to do as he was -told, so, invoking the aid of St. Peter as a corollary to the help St. -George had been asked to extend to the captain, he set bravely to work -once more, and soon became as full of faith and energy as Pereiro -himself. - -Fortunately for St. George, the captain had no need to be angry with -him, for after a prolonged and fatiguing spell of rubbing, fomenting, -dosing, and artificial respiration, the stranger’s eyelids began to -quiver, and short, gasping sighs escaped his labouring breast. Thanks to -Pereiro’s clever treatment, he was already partially relieved of the -brine which he had perforce swallowed, but no sooner did the latter -realise that his efforts were being rewarded by success, than he -promptly administered another emetic, which proved thoroughly effectual, -and left the patient gasping with exhaustion, but on the high road to -recovery. - -As the reader no doubt guesses, it was Hilton Riddell who was thus -miraculously saved from what appeared to be certain death. His would-be -murderers were so anxious to avoid observation on their own ship that -they had not noticed the proximity of the barque at right angles with -them, and felt as sure that they had compassed their desired end, as -that they themselves were alive and well. - -Thus they sped on their course, hugging the belief that they had taken -the most effectual means of silencing an enemy, and feeling secure in -the reflection that, as the sea was not likely to give up its dead, they -were not likely to be confronted with Hilton Riddell again. - -Meanwhile the latter was receiving every care and attention on board -the “Halcyon.” Captain Pereiro was greatly delighted to observe the -gradual recovery of the prey he had rescued from the ocean, all the more -so as he had already convinced himself that Hilton had been the victim -of foul play. The blow on the head had been a terrible one--so terrible, -indeed, that it threatened to kill him, many symptoms of concussion of -the brain showing themselves. Thus it was weeks before poor Hilton -recovered his wonted vigour, and, under God, it was due to the -unremitting care and attention with which Captain Pereiro nursed him -that he was enabled to evade death. Pedro, too, being of a generous -disposition, grudged no pains in the preparation of dainties likely to -stimulate the invalid’s for some time languishing appetite. Had Hilton -been their patron saint himself, he could not have been treated with -more care and tenderness, and his returning consciousness of what he had -been saved from invested them, in turn, with every saint-like attribute. - -Short, stout, of stolid feature; black-haired, rough-bearded, and -carelessly shaven; with dark eyes, whose kindly light was almost -obscured by bushy, overhanging eyebrows; of the swarthiest complexion; -with big, coarse hands, and a rough gait, and with all the -eccentricities of his appearance accentuated by a sublime indifference -to the advantages of becoming attire, Captain Pereiro was not one to -strike the casual observer with enthusiastic admiration. The steward, -Pedro, did not come in a bad second as far as personal appearance went, -except that he was taller, thinner, and more pronouncedly ungainly. But -ask Hilton Riddell to this day to name the two finest fellows on earth, -and he will at once utter a verdict in favour of the captain and steward -of the Portuguese barque “Halcyon.” - -It was at first a source of wonderment to his rescuers how he had kept -afloat so long, until they discovered that much of his apparent bulk was -caused by a life-saving waistcoat with which he had had the forethought -to provide himself. - -“This man is English, and he comes from London. So much I can make out -from his speech, but no more,” said the captain, when talking things -over with the mate of his ship, who, though not taking an active part in -the nursing of the foundling, yet felt a considerable interest in his -progress towards recovery. “He is a beautiful man, as beautiful as the -fabled gods must have been; but I burn with curiosity to know how he has -been thrown on to our hands. He has met with foul play, that is sure, -and he has been among people whom he knew to be his enemies. That is -also sure. It is also evident that he was to some extent prepared for -the risk he ran, and that his enemies were ignorant of the fact. -Otherwise he would not have worn this waistcoat, ready for inflation, -under his shirt, or his enemies, after thinking they had killed him by -the blows on the head, would have removed the wonderful garment which -ensured his floating on the surface of the water.” - -“But,” objected the mate, “he may have been wrecked, and the wound on -his head may have been caused by a blow from floating wreckage.” - -“No, that is not so, for when I took a marlingspike, and pretended to -hit my own head with it, at the same time pointing to his, he nodded -vigorously, as much as to say that his wound was inflicted purposely. I -am sure he has a strange history, and, for the first time in my life, I -wish I knew how to talk English.” - -“If he could talk Portuguese it would do just as well.” - -“Yes; but he doesn’t talk Portuguese, so there’s an end of it. I will go -below again now, and see how he is getting on.” - -Captain Pereiro found his patient very much better, and anxious to know -where he was, how he came there, and whither he was being taken. But his -eager questions, and the captain’s willing answers, only resulted in -their becoming more hopelessly befogged with each other. Neither could -elicit or communicate anything satisfactory. At last the captain was -seized with a bright idea, which induced him to rush to the chart-room -as quickly as his unwieldy body would let him, leaving Hilton wondering -what was the matter with him. Presently he returned with a triumphant -look on his face, bearing in his hands a large roll, which he laid -carefully on the locker for a while. Then he assisted Hilton into a -sitting position, piling behind him a pair of sea boots, some oilskins, -a camp stool, and sundry other things, upon which substantial foundation -he arranged various pillows in the dexterous manner which had become -habitual to him. Having thus made the patient as comfortable as -possible, he produced the roll from the top of the locker and unfolded -what proved to be a large chart. - -Hilton smiled his sudden comprehension, and eagerly bent his eyes upon -the chart. The captain, seeing that his purpose was likely to be -understood, pointed first to Hilton, then to the chart, in effect asking -him to give as much information as he could. Very soon Hilton put his -finger on London and looked at the captain, who nodded comprehension. -Then he slowly traced the course of the “Merry Maid” on the chart until -nearly abreast Lisbon, when he stopped, feigned to go to sleep; to -strike his head with his eyes shut; to awake struggling in the water; to -withdraw a tube from his waistcoat pocket; and to inflate by its means a -concealed life-saving garment. The captain thoroughly understood this -pantomime, and clenched his fist in anger at those who had perpetrated -so dastardly a deed. Then, once more pointing questioningly to the -chart, he gave Hilton to understand that he wished to know whither the -“Merry Maid” was bound, whereupon the remainder of the route to Malta -was traced out for him. After this, being mutely questioned in his turn, -Pereiro made a start at Lisbon, Hilton following his movements with -breathless attention. Stopping near the spot indicated by the latter, he -gave a sharp cry, tossed his arms as if struggling in the water, made a -pantomimic rescue, and then began to rub himself vigorously, and to pump -his arms up and down to show that artificial respiration had been -resorted to. Hilton squeezed his hands gratefully, and murmured words of -thanks, of which Pereiro had no difficulty in grasping the import, -although they were uttered in a tongue of which he knew nothing but that -it was English. After this, anxiously watched, he slowly traced a course -which filled Hilton’s heart with dismay, for he never stopped until he -had rounded Cape Horn, and followed what seemed to his companion to be -an interminable coastline. - -Finally, he stopped at Callao, and was astounded to see that his -information was received with every symptom of distress. For a time, -Hilton knew not what to do, for he felt stunned. To go all that -distance, and in a sailing vessel, too, was equivalent to being dead to -friends and foes alike for many months. Moreover, he was rendered -utterly useless, and could do nothing but fret and worry at the trouble -which would be felt at home on his own account. - -“My mother will wonder why she does not hear from me. Those scoundrels -will forge some plausible tale to account for my disappearance, and poor -Harley will be doomed to undergo the whole of his horrible sentence in -prison, if, indeed, he lives so long. Between grief for Harley, and -grief for me, my poor mother will fret herself into the grave. And poor -Annie! My God! how everything is playing into the hands of those -villains! It seems unbelievable--and there is that bottle of papers I -threw overboard, too. Perhaps that will soon disclose the true state of -affairs, and Harley’s liberation may be effected without any further -help from me.” - -Could he have foreseen the fate of the papers he had prepared so -carefully, his distress of mind would have been much greater than it -was. Fortunately, this knowledge was denied him, but he already suffered -enough to cause him to have a relapse, and for some time his condition -gave great anxiety to his nurses. - -After many days he was sufficiently convalescent to come on deck, and -after that his physical progress was rapid. As he recovered his wonted -strength and vigour, the admiration of those around him increased -considerably. Some of them--indeed, all--used as they were to swarthy -skins, and dusky locks, looked upon his smart, upright physique, his -clear, fair skin, just relieved from effeminacy by being slightly -tanned, his finely-cut features, his wavy, flaxen hair, his expressive -grey eyes, and his small hands and feet, as the perfection of all that -was gallant and beautiful in man. By-and-bye they also began to admire -him for other than his physical qualities. For he was not disposed to be -the idle and ungrateful recipient of bounty, but lost no opportunity of -doing a service to his deliverers. - -Ships are never overmanned. There is always room for the help of -another hand or two. And even then, in squally weather, it taxes -everybody’s energies to keep pace with the exigencies of the hour. Thus, -it often happened that Hilton proved himself invaluable, and though -Captain Pereiro, with whom he was fast learning to converse in broken -Portuguese, remonstrated with him for working so hard, he could not -renounce any part of the active life he was now leading. For it served -to save him from the despondency which he could not otherwise have -resisted. - -Nevertheless, he counted the months, the weeks, the days that must -elapse ere he could obtain any news of what was transpiring at home, and -every spell of adverse weather caused him acute anguish, since it -lengthened the time during which he would have to remain inactive. But -as all things come to those that wait, even so did the last day of his -voyage dawn on Hilton Riddell, and it was with curiously mingled -emotions that he once more found himself ashore. True, it was in a -strange country, among a strange people, and thousands of miles away -from the place in which he was anxious to find himself. - -But it was, at any rate, a civilised country, to which English news -might penetrate, and he was not without a faint hope that he might come -across an English paper containing some account of progress made on -Harley’s behalf. How fallacious this hope was will be apparent to the -reader, but one has to picture oneself in his destitute, lonely, and -desperate condition, to realise to what mere straws of comfort one can -cling for consolation. The “Halcyon” would be some weeks before it would -be ready to leave Callao, and Captain Pereiro, who by this time knew a -great deal of the Englishman’s story, very generously urged him to make -it his home until he could get himself transported back to England. - -Being without money, and possessing no credit with anyone here, Hilton -took the only course open to him under the circumstances, unless he had -been willing to seek work, and remain here long enough to save money for -his passage. This he could not do, as he deemed his speedy presence in -England imperative, in Harley’s interests. He therefore went to the -British Consul, and represented himself as a seafarer, who had been -washed overboard in a squall. His reason for being thus uncommunicative -concerning what really occurred was that he feared that any report -should reach England through the Consulate, and find its way into the -English papers before he could arrive himself. He was fully alive to the -fact that news of his safety would be gladly welcomed by his mother and -friends. But he also knew that if his enemies were to suspect him to be -in the land of the living, they would be on their guard, and would, -perhaps, succeed once more in baulking him of the prey he meant to run -to earth, in spite of what appeared to be a malignantly adverse fate. - -“The bitterness of my loss is past,” he said. “My people already mourn -me dead, and my enemies triumph over my removal from their path. I will -awaken neither the hopes of the one nor the fears of the other until the -right moment for striking arrives. My blow will then be more deadly and -sure, and I shall be able to work with much more freedom if my continued -existence is unsuspected.” - -It was in conformity with this resolution that he gave fictitious names -to the consul, both of himself and the ship from which he was supposed -to have been washed overboard. Had there been much doubt expressed -concerning the matter, there was the evidence of Captain Pereiro and his -crew to show how he had come aboard the “Halcyon.” Asked what he wished -the consul to do for him, he replied that he was anxious to reach -England as soon as possible; that, if chance afforded, he would gladly -work his passage home; otherwise, he wished to be shipped free of charge -to himself, on board a London-bound steamer, this request being in -strict accordance with English usage and custom. - -His request was looked upon as reasonable enough, and, upon the whole, -he was well treated. But there was no vessel in the port that was likely -to proceed to England immediately, and he was forced to submit to a -heart-breaking delay. By this time Pereiro was very much attached to -him, and would fain have persuaded him to wait until the “Halcyon” had -discharged her cargo and reloaded, in order to return in the barque to -Lisbon, thence to proceed by the quickest route to London. - -“One of my sailors has asked me to let him off articles. He has come -across a chance of making money more quickly than would be the case at -sea. You can ship in his place, earn his pay, and have money to buy some -clothes, and take you home to London. You will also be more at home with -us than on another strange ship. Say the word, my friend, and make me -happy.” - -But to this plan Hilton did not feel himself able to consent. The idea -of another long voyage in a sailing vessel filled him with horror. Yet, -as the weeks sped by, and no better opportunity offered itself, his -hopes sank to zero. At last, when he was feeling thoroughly weary and -despondent, another steamer bearing the English flag steamed into the -harbour. This was the “Lorna Doone.” Both officers and crew bore -evidence of having undergone great privations, and the story they had to -tell was enough to make anybody’s heart ache. Head winds and heavy seas -had delayed their outward passage, and sickness, in the shape of yellow -fever, had overtaken them at their discharging port. All in turn had -been seriously ill. Some of their shipmates had never recovered from the -grip of Yellow Jack. Water, provisions, and men were alike scarce, and -the captain, being in dire straits, had found it necessary to run into -Callao for relief, before proceeding on the return voyage to Liverpool. - -In all this Hilton hailed his opportunity. No sooner was the quarantine -flag hauled down, than he boarded the “Lorna Doone,” and asked to be -shipped as an able seaman. Too sorely pushed to insist upon discharges -or references, the captain gladly engaged him, and in another day or two -the Blue Peter was flying on the foremast head of his new home. - -It was with some regret, and many manifestations of sorrow, that the -parting between Hilton and his demonstrative benefactors took place. But -at last the painful scene was over; he was fairly installed on board the -“Lorna Doone,” and in a few hours more was being borne to the goal he -was so anxious to reach--England. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -A DETERMINED PURSUIT. - - -In a certain house, in a certain street, in the town of Lina, Mrs. -Dollman, a very pretty widow, of small attainments as far as time goes, -for she was but 22, was talking to her sister, who had come to take tea -with her. Said sister’s name was Mrs. Twiley, and she lived at Gibraltar -when at home, her husband being a sergeant-major there. The late Mr. -Dollman had been a lieutenant stationed at the fortress. He had risen -from the ranks by merit alone, and had nothing to live upon but his pay. -When he died, with startling suddenness, his young wife found herself -rather badly off, her widow’s pension not leaving much margin for -luxuries, after a certain number of necessities had been purchased. - -Of relatives she had none left but the sister who lived in Gibraltar, -and to whom she was much attached. She, therefore, resolved upon -remaining in the vicinity, instead of going to England, where she knew -very few people. A little kindly co-operation on the part of her late -husband’s friends enabled her to start a boarding-house on a small -scale, with a view to supplementing her meagre income, and she was -considered to be doing very well. Among her boarders was Hugh Stavanger, -who was known here as Gregory Staines, and who was supposed to be a -commission agent of some sort. Mr. Staines had been rather profuse in -his attentions to his pretty landlady, and Mrs. Twiley, having heard -something about a whispered possible engagement, deemed it compatible -with her position as sole and serious relative to warn her sister -against want of caution. - -“You see, Phœbe,” she said gravely, “you really know next to nothing -about this Mr. Staines. Certainly, he seems to have plenty of money to -go on with, and pays you regularly. But you want more than that. You -want to feel that his past life will bear investigation, and that he is -really actuated by no mercenary motives in seeking to marry you.” - -“Why, good gracious, Millie! I haven’t a penny saved up, as you know; -and, as for my pension, I shall forfeit that if I marry again. So how -can anybody possibly want to marry me through mercenary motives?” - -“Will often says that with all your native shrewdness, there are some -points on which you are awfully slow, and I am inclined to agree with -him. Do you forget that you have a very well-furnished house, with every -article in it paid for; that you have a comfortable little business -nicely established; and that you are such a capital little manager that -many an adventurer would jump at the chance of being kept by you? Now, -don’t lose yourself in a temper, for I don’t mean to insinuate that you -couldn’t be loved for yourself, apart from the material advantages you -have to offer. In fact, I know different, for Archer Pallister thinks -and dreams of nothing but your looks and ways, and I am sure that if he -isn’t downright genuine, there isn’t a genuine man on earth. Indeed, the -woman who marries him may thank her lucky stars. But there are all sorts -of people knocking around, and Will says that we ought to be on our -guard against Englishmen dodging about in Spain, unless they can give a -very satisfactory account of themselves. For anything we know, this -Gregory Staines is either an absconding building society secretary, or a -fraudulent poor-rate collector.” - -“I think it’s real mean of you to talk like that, Millie. You ought to -know me better than to think I would take up with an adventurer.” - -“I am glad to hear you say so, my dear. Will, too, will be highly -pleased to be told that you are going to give Mr. Staines the cold -shoulder.” - -“You are rather premature. I never said so.” - -“Not in so many words, perhaps. But you implied it. You said that you -wouldn’t take up with an adventurer.” - -“Your conclusion does not follow.” - -“Indeed it does, dear, for I firmly believe the man to be a worthless -adventurer.” - -“He is a jeweller’s agent, doing a good business.” - -“So he says. But haven’t you noticed that he transacts his business at -very unbusiness-like times? He’s out to-day, but the circumstance is -exceptional. He generally goes to bed about two o’clock, rises late, -loafs about the house for hours, and goes out upon this ostensible -business of his towards evening, when work of his sort is, or ought to -be, over. Besides, how could an agent live by doing business in Lina -alone? Will and I are not the only two people who have talked him over, -and the consensus of opinion is that he is not to be trusted, and is a -man against whom you ought to be warned.” - -“It is very kind of you to talk about my private affairs to all sorts of -people. Be good enough to tell Will that I’m exceedingly obliged to -him.” - -“Now, don’t be rusty! You know that Will is as fond of you as I am, and -that nothing would grieve him more than to think you were unhappy. Oh, -look what a pretty girl is getting out of that conveyance! Why, she is -coming here. I wonder what she wants.” - -Phœbe Dollman also forgot her slight illhumour, and looked with interest -upon the tall golden-haired beauty approaching the door. Presently a -card was brought in to Mrs. Dollman, and the Spanish servant informed -her that a lady wished to speak to her. The name on the card was Una -Stratton, and very speedily Mrs. Dollman was conversing with the owner -of it. - -Miss Stratton, it appeared, was a lady artist, who wished to enrich her -portfolio by sketching some Spanish scenes and people. She had been -recommended to Mrs. Dollman’s boarding-house by a Mr. Smith, who had -obtained the address for her from a friend who had spent a few weeks at -Lina in the early summer. - -Mrs. Dollman did not know who could be the especial gentleman who had -been good enough to recommend her lodgings. But she had had several -boarders who were little more than birds of passage, being en route for -other places, and the gentleman through whom Miss Stratton had obtained -her address might be one of those. Anyhow, things seemed to be -straightforward enough. The young lady offered to pay for her board in -advance, and Mrs. Dollman, who was quite charmed with the new arrival, -promptly closed with her. Nor did she raise any objections when Miss -Stratton announced that she wished to bring another boarder with her in -the shape of a big Newfoundland dog, who was even now waiting outside -for her. - -In a very short time everything was satisfactorily arranged, and the new -boarder installed in comfortable quarters. - -“This is my sister, Mrs. Twiley,” said Mrs. Dollman some time later. -“She and her husband are my only relatives, and whoever knows me, -speedily knows them, for they are good enough to spend a great deal of -time with me.” - -“Your sister! You make me feel quite envious. I have neither sister nor -brother, and have often felt rather lonely in consequence.” - -“But you have other relatives?” - -“Oh, yes! I have the best father in the world. And my aunt--God bless -her!--has been the most tender and affectionate of mothers to me.” - -“Then, after all, you ought to be happy, in our opinion, for it has -always seemed to us that young people without a parental home are the -most to be commiserated.” - -“And yet, with every possible advantage of home and family, one may be -overtaken by troubles beside which the mere death of a loved one is -comparative happiness.” - -As the beautiful stranger uttered the last words, her eyes darkened -with grief, and her whole appearance betokened the most bitter sorrow. -Both Millie and Phœbe were stricken with sudden awe before this brief -glimpse of an anguish which evidently surpassed anything they had ever -dreamed of, and their hearts went out tenderly towards Miss Stratton. -Very quickly, however, the latter regained control of herself, and five -minutes later the sisters were ready to doubt whether she was not one of -the happiest of mortals. - -“Have you any boarders in the house, Mrs. Dollman?” she inquired -presently, while occupied in despatching the refreshing meal which had -been promptly ordered for her. As she waited for a reply she toyed with -her teaspoon, patted her big dog on the head, and altogether looked so -carelessly unconcerned, that much more suspicious people than those she -had to deal with would have been slow to fancy that her question was one -of vital import to her, or that she was listening for the reply with -every nerve tingling with anxiety. - -“Only four,” was Phœbe’s answer. “We have a Mr. Everton and his wife. -They have been here six months, and are likely to remain here. Then -there are two single gentlemen, Mr. Grice and Mr. Staines.” - -Miss Stratton’s heart leapt at this answer, yet she received it with -apparent indifference, although it relieved her of a great anxiety. -Suppose Mr. Gregory Staines, whose presence here was really her sole -reason for coming to Lina, had suddenly taken it into his head to seek -fresh quarters! She did not doubt her ability to trace him again. But -each delay that occurred before running the man to earth prolonged the -sufferings of the man whose liberty she had sworn to secure, and she was -thankful to have found him at last. - -Contrary to Phœbe’s expectation, she betrayed not the slightest further -interest in the other lodgers, but conversed for awhile pleasantly on -other topics, inquiring carefully about the neighbouring scenery under -the pretence of being anxious to take some local views. - -“My artistic work is not necessarily bread and butter to me,” she -observed. “But I naturally wish to do as well as possible while I am -here, as they may not be willing to spare me from home long.” - -“I would like to see your sketches, if you don’t mind showing them to -us,” said Millie. - -“And you shall see them,” was the answer. “But not this evening. I -suppose my box will be here soon, but by the time I have unpacked what -is necessary, I shall be ready to go to bed, for I am very tired with -travelling.” - -And this excuse, although not quite in accordance with Una Stratton’s -ultimate intentions, served to secure her the privacy she desired for -the rest of the evening. She had casually learned that the other -boarders were out, and that they were not likely to put in an appearance -until sometime later. - -“Mr. and Mrs. Everton are spending the day with some friends in -Gibraltar. Mr. Grice never comes in until eight o’clock, and Mr. -Staines’ movements are so uncertain that we never know whether he will -be in to supper or not. We generally have it soon after eight, and spend -the rest of the evening at cards or music. We shall be very glad of your -company. But are you quite sure that you will like the room you have -chosen? As a rule, ladies do not feel so safe in a bedroom on the ground -floor, and I have a chamber on the third floor, quite as pretty, if you -would prefer it.” - -But to this suggestion Una, as we will at present call the girl in whom -the reader has already recognised Annie Cory, returned a negative -answer, saying that she preferred not to take her dog up and down the -stairs. “He always sleeps in my room,” she added, “and is such a -splendid protector that I could not possibly feel nervous with him near -me. I could not answer for his carefulness with the stair carpets, and -always prefer to keep him to the ground floor.” - -This sounded plausible enough, and Millie remarked with a laugh that it -would be a bold burglar who would dare to invade a room guarded by so -powerful an animal. - -“I think so too,” said Una. “But he is as gentle as a lamb, unless -bidden to be otherwise, and I am sure you will like him. Eh, Briny? You -are a dear old thing, aren’t you?” - -Briny acknowledged the compliment by a stately wave of his tail, and by -gently inserting his nose in the hand of his mistress, knowing that she -always had a caress to spare for him. - -Soon after Miss Stratton had retired with her dog to her own room, -Millie’s husband came to see his sister-in-law, and to escort his wife -home to their quarters. The new arrival was liberally discussed and -enthusiastically praised. But Sergeant-Major Twiley was disposed to -receive all praises of the beautiful stranger _cum grano salis_, and -rather hurt the feelings of his women-folks by offering to go round to a -certain English hotelkeeper to have a look at the London directory, -which served as a sort of guarantee to the _bona fides_ of would-be -creditors. He found nothing, however, but a substantiation of the new -lodger’s statements. The name and address she had given both tallied -with those in the directory. So Sergeant-Major Twiley was reassured, and -the ladies found their convictions confirmed. - -But what would the three of them have thought if they could have seen -what was now going on in the room to which the supposed Miss Stratton -had retired, avowedly with the object of securing a good night’s rest? - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -RUNNING HIM DOWN. - - -“Now, Briny,” said Miss Stratton, having assured herself that there was -no possibility of her either being overseen or overheard, “we shall have -to be smart lest we startle our game too soon again. I think that with -all his attempts at disguise it will take him all his time to deceive -me. I wonder what he will think of me when he comes under the spell of -the fascinations I mean to exercise over him? H’m! Perhaps he is not -very susceptible, and won’t be fascinated. In that case, I mean to work -upon another tack. I only hope that I have studied the art of make-up -sufficiently to prevent me from committing a hopeless blunder. Madame -D’Alterre charged plenty for her instructions, and, so far, I am doing -credit to them.” - -As Miss Stratton talked to her dog, she patted and caressed him, and -altogether treated him as if he could understand every word she said. -For his part, he made no noisy demonstrations of approval, but showed -his sympathy and appreciation in his own dignified way. Then he laid -himself beside the door and watched the transformation which his -mistress soon began to make in her appearance. Truth to say, the change -effected was sufficiently startling to deceive even the keenest -observer, and perhaps Briny himself would have been at fault if he had -not been already initiated into some of his owner’s curious habits. - -In about an hour Miss Stratton was nowhere to be seen, and in her place -stood the young gentleman who has been introduced to the reader as Mr. -Bootle. Enjoining the dog to remain at his post, Mr. Bootle put the -light out, after placing some matches ready for use. Then he raised the -blind and looked out of the window. Greatly to his delight, it proved to -be a French window, opening into the garden, which was now dark and -deserted, but from which it was easy to emerge unobserved into a lane -which communicated with the main street. Before leaving the garden, -however, after closing the window, Mr. Bootle reconnoitred a little, for -he had an idea that Mrs. Dollman’s dining-room had a window which -overlooked this part of the premises. The supposition proved quite -correct, and what was equally important was the fact that the window was -not too closely blinded. As it did not present any points of observation -for the ordinary passer-by, particular care was not deemed necessary. - -Regulating his movements with all possible care, Mr. Bootle contrived -to obtain a good view of the persons seated round the table, occupied in -partaking of supper. Sergt.-Major Twiley and his wife were there, and -there were two other gentlemen present. The sergeant-major was easy to -distinguish, and it took Mr. Bootle but a very short time to decide -which of the other two men was the one posing as Mr. Gregory Staines, -for one of them was a podgy, red-faced man, with clear, honest blue -eyes, that would certainly have been very much out of place on his -vis-à-vis’s face. - -“There now, Mr. S., I have got a good look at you unobserved,” was the -inward comment of the unseen watcher. “I must now take measures for -keeping you under my notice without being suspected by you.” - -Five minutes later our friend, cigarette in hand, was promenading -carelessly up and down the front street, and keeping a sharp look-out -upon Mrs. Dollman’s door. It was half-past nine when at last his vigil -was rewarded by the sight he hoped for. Mr. Gregory Staines was bent -upon either business or amusement, and was hurrying ahead of Mr. Bootle, -perfectly unsuspicious of the fact that he was being followed. Lina is -not a very large place, and it did not take long for either individual -to reach the goal aimed at. - -Mr. Bootle, otherwise Annie Cory, felt a slight accession of -nervousness on entering the hotel to which Mr. Staines hurried as if he -were afraid of missing some of the fun going on inside. But, although -Annie found herself entering upon a totally new phase of life, she -sauntered through the vestibule, and into a large saloon behind Staines, -as if she were quite used to the habits of the society to which she was -now being introduced. Following the example of her unconscious guide, -she seated herself at a small table, and ordered a drink of brandy. Her -reason for ordering brandy was soon apparent. While keenly taking note -of all that transpired around her, she only feigned to drink, and after -a while, watching her opportunity, she deftly substituted an empty glass -for the one she was supposed to be using. In this way she fairly -accounted for her presence in the place without appearing to be an -unprofitable customer. Her next proceeding was to follow Mr. Staines -into a side-room, in the centre of which stood a table, round which were -seated some men playing at cards. The game was being watched by about a -score of onlookers, and it was easy to stand among them and elude -special observation. After about twenty minutes spent impatiently by Mr. -Staines, that gentleman found someone to play with him, and was -forthwith transformed into a happy man, for his adversary, though not an -inexperienced player, was too excitable to stand the smallest chance of -beating such a combination of skill, coolness, and knavery as now -confronted him. Mr. Staines, although his luck was almost miraculous, -seemed to have as yet aroused no suspicions of unfair play. Now and -again he lost a trifle, but Mr. Bootle concluded that these occasional -losses were deliberately effected solely for the purpose of preserving -the confidence and stimulating the gambling propensities of the people -whose money the unscrupulous fellow meant to win. - -“I think I will drop it,” said Mr. Staines at last, putting his winnings -into his pocket. “Luck seems all my way to-night, and I don’t think it -fair to go on playing, for I have no wish to skin anybody out.” - -But this show of consideration for others had precisely the effect -anticipated by the speaker. The majority of his hearers were English, -and they did not relish the imputation of unskilfulness thus adroitly -thrown upon them. - -“No, sir,” said a tall, military-looking man, whose eyes were already -bright between the excitement of play and the worship of Bacchus. “It is -not good enough to excuse yourself in that way just when luck is on the -point of turning. I demand my revenge, and these gentlemen will all -agree that I am right, eh?” - -There was an immediate chorus of approval from the onlookers to whom the -speaker appealed. - -“Yes, yes; give him his revenge,” was the cry. “For my part,” added a -fast young subaltern, “I think it deuced mean to want to leave off at -such a critical time.” - -“Nothing of the sort,” shouted a half-tipsy individual, whose outward -appearance gave very little indication of the nature of his profession -or pursuits. “I consider that Mr. Staines has behaved like a man, and if -anybody dares to say otherwise I’ll knock him down.” - -The speaker looked big enough and brawny enough to imbue his hearers -with the belief that he was quite able to carry out his threat. His -utterances were therefore received with something like the respect they -merited by all but the fast young sub. already mentioned. - -“The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” sneered he; “it will be -easy for your friend to prove his fairness by accepting Captain Gale’s -challenge to continue playing, and if it comes to knocking people down, -why, then, two can play at that game.” - -The altercation, although a mere interchange of empty boasts, struck Mr. -Bootle as a very violent scene indeed, and it was a great relief when -Mr. Staines soothingly spoke to the antagonists, thanking one for his -straightforward championship, and assuring the other that he was ready -either to play or to go home, just as seemed best to those whose money -he had won. - -“And,” he added, “if the gentleman who has challenged me for his -revenge doubts my fairness, I am ready to return him the money I have -won, and to forego the pleasure of a friendly game with him in future.” - -“No, no,” was the immediate verdict. “The money was won in fair play, -and Captain Gale only wants his revenge.” - -So, presently, the game was resumed with increased zest, and small bets -as to the results were indulged in, while glasses were emptied and -replenished with a beautiful disregard of the probable effects of their -contents upon the system. Mr. Bootle had made occasional feints of -drinking, but could not help being amused to see how easy it was to -substitute an empty glass for his own, without arousing the suspicions -of those who profited by the change. The babel of voices, the frequent -oaths, the tobacco-laden atmosphere, were all antagonistic to Mr. -Bootle’s ideas of comfort. But he, or rather she, would have braved much -greater inconveniences than these, rather than forego the slightest -chance of benefiting Harley. - -So far, however, she had not made much progress. Her object was to -scrape a casual acquaintance with Mr. Staines, from which she hoped to -evolve events that would work in her favour. But the early morning hours -arrived before the opportunity she sought was hers. Gregory Staines -played steadily on--first with one player, and then with another; first -losing, then winning a game, with apparently commendable impartiality. -Perhaps he did not keep careful note of the money that changed hands -with startling frequency. But there was no lack of keen observers -present, who, perhaps stimulated by the insinuations of the antagonistic -sub., noted the fact that Gregory Staines’ winning games had almost -invariably a greater amount at stake than the games at which he was the -loser. - -The latter, slightly carried away by his success, was losing his -habitual caution, and was inclined to play as long as he could find -anyone to play with him. Nor did he observe the angry scowls with which -his triumphs were now being greeted by two or three of the men whom he -had despoiled of their pocket money, until a warning hand was laid for a -moment on his shoulder, and a voice whispered in his ear:--“Take care; -you have enemies in the room.” - -Glancing swiftly round, he saw a slightly-built young fellow of medium -height looking at him meaningly. His own glance betrayed some -nervousness, for he never lost sight of the possibility of being tracked -by the friends of Harley Riddell. But he was speedily reassured on that -score, and looked upon this young stranger as a new arrival, who might, -possibly, prove profitable to him. - -“Enemies?” he inquired, in the same low tone used by the stranger. “What -reason have you for supposing that I have enemies, either here or -elsewhere?” - -“Success always provokes enmity. You have been extraordinarily -successful to-night. Losers generally imagine their losses due to -anything but bad play, and I just now accidentally overheard something -that is of importance to you.” - -“Another moment. Wait for me outside, if I am not asking too great a -favour. I will follow you presently. Then we can discuss this matter -more fully.” - -Annie was only too thankful to escape from the rank atmosphere, in -which she felt almost choked, although she successfully managed to hide -her discomfort from others. She was soon pacing about the front of the -hotel, which was a frequent resort of Englishmen, and conducted very -much upon the lines of an English institution of like status. - -“Good heavens!” she muttered, “what am I made of that I can look at this -man, and speak to him, without denouncing him to his face, and tearing -from him the pitiful mask of respectability he still makes a show of -wearing? Had I dreamt of all this a year ago, I could not have believed -myself strong enough to show self-control like this. Ah! here he comes. -I hope it will be easy to cultivate just the necessary amount of -acquaintanceship with him. It will make my task easier, perhaps.” - -Shortly after this, Gregory Staines joined the individual who sauntered -in the same direction, which chanced to be homewards for both of them, -although the former little dreamed how closely his fate was linked with -that of his companion. An earnest conversation now ensued, during which -Mr. Staines was persuaded that certain words had been exchanged in the -cardroom of the hotel, which promised anything but safety to him, in the -event of his being caught out alone. - -“And why should you interest yourself particularly in me?” he queried -suspiciously, and received for answer, “Thereby hangs a tale, my dear -sir. I have an idea that you are, like myself, not too squeamish about -trifles. Pray excuse me if I am mistaken. Perhaps I am not such a good -judge of character as I fancy myself.” - -“That remains to be seen, Mr. Stranger. Anyhow, I’ll see you at the same -place to-morrow night again.” - -“Well, don’t forget to be careful. Those scoundrels may have lost some -of their animosity by to-morrow. Still, I have had an awkward scrape or -two myself, and have no patience with thin-skinned fools, who have no -business to play unless they can notch a point or two.” - -“But that wouldn’t suit us.” - -“Perhaps not. Still, a certain gudgeon who is putting up at Gibraltar -just now would be just in our line. I’ll tell you all about him -to-morrow. How far do you go in this direction?” - -They were just opposite Mrs. Dollman’s establishment as he spoke. But -Mr. Bootle did not wish to appear too familiar with the ways of Mr. -Staines at present. So he duly expressed his surprise on hearing that -Mr. Staines was already at home. Then he bade him good-bye for the -nonce, went round to the garden, and soon reached the room allotted to -Miss Una Stratton, where he received a warm, but silent welcome from -Briny, who had kept faithful vigil. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -A WILY SYREN. - - -When Una Stratton made her appearance next morning at breakfast she bore -no evidence of having been up half the night, and her brilliant hair, -radiant complexion, and entire get-up provoked the admiration of all who -saw her. Nor did they dream that the lady ever presented herself in any -other guise, or that she had recourse to art in order to enhance and -transform her naturally charming appearance. Contrary to his usual -custom, Gregory Staines was also present at breakfast, and Miss -Stratton’s eyes gleamed so triumphantly when she observed his amazed -admiration of herself that she deemed it advisable to veil their -brightness by looking down at Briny, who, as was his usual custom when -permitted to do so, was sitting beside his mistress in his dual capacity -of guardian and beloved protégé. She had had considerable fear lest -Gregory Staines should see something about her appearance that would -lead him to couple her with either Miss Annie Cory or the pseudo -governess. But as she caught his badly-veiled glances of approval her -heart glowed with satisfaction. - -“If one of my plans fails,” she thought, “the other must succeed. I -came here with the deliberate intention of personating a modified -Delilah, and I seem to have hit upon the type of feminine attractiveness -most pleasing in his eyes. I feel sure now that I can fascinate him. But -I am not quite so sure that I can veil my natural repulsion to him -successfully. It will be just dreadful to feign the captive syren with a -man who possesses my deadly hatred. But I would do even more than that -for Harley.” - -As she concluded this reflection Miss Stratton raised her eyes, as if -furtively, to Mr. Staines’s face, and then glanced down again, -apparently in sudden confusion. Her embarrassment was so well feigned -that Mr. Staines experienced a sudden thrill of satisfaction and -flattered vanity. - -“Why, I do believe she is struck with me,” he thought, complacently. -“She is a rattling beauty, too, by Jove! I wonder if she has got any -money? If appearances go for anything, she has. She might prove quite a -good catch. But I must be careful, or the little Dollman may get rusty, -and I don’t want to cook my goose in that quarter yet.” - -Mr. and Mrs. Everton had written to say that they would not come back -for another week. Mr. Grice had had an early breakfast, and was already -off to the office in which he spent most of his days. Mrs. Dollman had -some housekeeping duties to attend to after breakfast was over, and -there was, therefore, a capital opportunity for a tête-à-tête. Of this -opportunity, nothing loth, Mr. Staines availed himself. Miss Stratton -had seated herself on a chair at a small table standing at the window. -This window, as we already know, overlooked the garden at the back of -the house, and as the young lady, leaning her arms upon the table, asked -his opinion concerning the identity of first one flower and then -another, to all of which she professed herself a stranger, it seemed the -most natural thing in the world for Gregory Staines to take the chair -facing Miss Stratton, on the other side of the table, in order to -converse with her more naturally and pleasantly. - -“Do you love flowers?” he asked, greedily gazing at the exquisite -contour of the face within so short a distance of him. - -“I love everything nice,” was the reply. - -“You make me feel envious,” he said. - -“Envious? Why, how can that be?” inquired Una, with a wonderful -assumption of ingenuousness. - -“Say rather, how can it be otherwise. Perhaps you do not know what it -feels like to be loved by such a being as yourself. Your very presence -is intoxicating.” - -“Mr. Staines! Do you forget that we have not known each other an hour, -and you are already paying me compliments?” - -“An hour! Is it only an hour since? I suppose it is. And yet I feel as -if I had known you all my life. It seems almost unaccountable, doesn’t -it? There must be some natural affinity between you and me.” - -And Miss Stratton permitted the man to talk on in this strain of -offensive familiarity! Nay more, she encouraged it, for not only did she -smile, apparently well pleased, at his vapid compliments, but she -allowed herself to cast upon him such a languishing glance as fully -excused his belief that he was exceedingly well pleasing in her sight. - -“By Jove! she must be awfully struck!” he thought, gleefully. “I do -believe she is actually making love to me. I am not particularly -inclined to matrimony, but a subrosa liaison with a beauty like this -would vary my life very pleasantly. I mean to go in for a little fun, -and if this young lady is fool enough to throw herself into my arms, -why--it’s her look out, not mine. I can easily clear, whenever I want to -back out of it.” - -After this Mr. Staines would fain have continued talking to Una. But -she, apparently of an impulsive nature, suddenly announced that she had -work to do in her own room, and would not remain with him any longer. -He, emboldened by her complaisant behaviour, eagerly sought to detain -her awhile longer, and even grasped her right hand between both his own, -as he pleaded for a little more time with her. As soon as she felt him -touch her, Una turned her face from him, shuddering violently in an -agony of repulsion, and Briny sprang to his feet, growling in a -threatening manner. - -“Be quiet, Briny,” said Una; “don’t you know a friend when you see one?” - -Of course, Mr. Staines took the reproof administered to Briny as a -direct compliment to himself. He also mistook Una’s shudder for a thrill -of delight invoked by the contact between his hand and hers, and -congratulated himself triumphantly upon the easy conquest he had made. -Indeed, so sure of his ground did he feel that he resisted the girl’s -attempt to withdraw her hand, squeezed it tenderly, and whispered -confidentially, “We can have a chat this afternoon, cannot we, Miss -Stratton?” - -Miss Stratton’s reply was such a languishing and apparently -love-stricken look that, but for the threatening attitude of Briny, who -evidently did not like him, he would there and then have attempted to -kiss her. - -“Will you come out for a walk this afternoon?” he asked. “It will not do -to let these people see too much, I suppose. I can meet you at the end -of the street, and will show you the sights of the neighbourhood. Say, -will you come?” - -“At what time?” - -“Will three o’clock suit you?” - -“There, I hear the landlady coming. She mustn’t see you squeezing my -hand.” - -“By Jove, no. She might be jealous, eh! At three o’clock, then?” - -“Come, Briny, I want you to go out with me. We have some work to do this -morning, and I have an appointment for three o’clock this afternoon.” - -This was all the answer vouchsafed to Mr. Staines, beyond another -bewildering glance as Miss Stratton hurriedly quitted the room, followed -by the faithful Briny. But he understood its meaning perfectly, and knew -that he might rely upon getting the pleasant walk he had proposed. - -“Rather quick work,” he mused, stroking his well-waxed moustache, and -indulging in a smirk of gratified vanity. “I’ve never gone in for -lady-killing much. But it seems to me that I can have things pretty much -my own way with women, if I like to lay myself out to please them. First -the pretty young widow, and then the beautiful artist. And I had half a -notion of marrying the widow! What a fool I should have been to-day if I -had been already booked! Good Lord! this girl isn’t fit to leave home by -herself. She’ll be like wax in my hands, and I can clear out when I get -tired of her, unless she proves to have plenty of money, in which case I -shall make it my business to get hold of it, sooner or later.” - -Meanwhile, the subject of his complaisant musings was in her own room, -with the door locked, and was walking backwards and forwards in an agony -of passion such as would have surprised him, if he could have seen it. -She rubbed her right hand violently with her pocket handkerchief, and -gave vent to short inarticulate cries of fury. - -“I thought I could bear it,” she panted, hoarsely, “I believed I could -endure anything for Harley’s sake, and to bring this perjured thief and -murderer to justice. I have overrated my strength, for the contamination -of his touch has nearly driven me mad. And yet I acted so well that I -really believe that he imagines me to have fallen hopelessly in love -with him! I am sure he also thinks me infatuated and pliant enough to be -a willing tool in his hands. Upon my word, it doesn’t take much -manœuvring to throw dust in the eyes of a vain man.” - -Miss Stratton muttered a good deal more to the same purpose, and then, -having calmed down a little, began to wash her hands, for she was not -satisfied with merely rubbing off Mr. Staines’ touch. Then, having made -sure that her toilet and disguise were all perfect, she ascertained from -Mrs. Dollman the time at which she would be expected in to lunch, and, -carrying a portfolio with her, went out, ostensibly to sketch. Her real -purpose, however, was to hunt about until she found a shop in which she -could buy or order a few local sketches, as nearly in the same style as -some English sketches that she had brought with her as possible. She was -fortunate enough to secure just what she wanted, and at a price, too, -which made her wonder how the artist could possibly make a living at -that sort of work. - -Returning to the house, she found that it was near lunch time, and that -Mr. Staines, contrary to his usual custom, intended to grace the board -with his presence. But he was very cautious in his behaviour, and Mrs. -Dollman’s sharp eyes could not detect more admiration on his part for -the beautiful stranger than was consistent with the fact that she was a -previously unknown new arrival. On her side Miss Stratton was a pattern -of discreetness, and bestowed nearly all her attention upon the pretty -little mistress of the house. - -After lunch was over Mrs. Dollman begged to see Miss Stratton’s -sketches. The portfolio, therefore, was fetched out, and the little -drawings it contained were duly admired. The local views were not shown -yet. They were intended to account for time that Miss Stratton expected -to devote to other pursuits than sketching, and would not be shown at -all if events developed themselves as quickly as she hoped. Truth to -tell, she was not very clever with pencil or brush, and such artistic -achievements as she was able to show were due to the “amour propre” of -her drawing master. He, knowing that in nineteen cases out of twenty it -is usual for young ladies to discard their school pursuits as soon as -their education is pronounced complete, thought it a pity that they -should not have something to show their fond parents for all the money -spent upon them, and made a point of doing their work himself if he -found that his pupils showed no special aptitude for it. In this way he -built himself a fine reputation as an art teacher, for the vanity of the -majority of his pupils forbade them to betray the fact that they had -really had very little to do with the production of the pictures bearing -their signature. Miss Stratton had not started upon her present -enterprise without having first matured her plans, and she had even -taken the precaution to change the initials of the little pictures with -which she meant to support her assumption of the role of an artist. But, -all used as she was becoming to the necessity for a certain amount of -deception, she felt very uncomfortable when listening to the praises -lavished upon work to which she could lay very little claim. - -When this little farce was over there was a general adjournment, and -Miss Stratton betook herself to her own room to prepare for the intended -excursion, in the rôle of a complaisant inamorata, with her mortal -enemy. The latter, after meeting her outside, as per arrangement, did -all in his power to amuse his companion, and was highly pleased with his -afternoon’s entertainment. When he was once more left alone, at the end -of the street leading to Mrs. Dollman’s house, he was vainer than he had -ever been in his life before, and anticipated not the slightest drawback -to the success of the love affair upon which he had just entered. - -But Miss Stratton’s feelings ran in a different groove. While -apparently quite happy in the company of Mr. Staines, she was careful -not to agree to any scheme of enjoyment that involved retirement from -the public thoroughfares. While there she felt herself safe, and did not -hesitate to befool Mr. Staines so egregiously that he already regarded -her as his willing prey. She was, however, by no means quite satisfied -with her day’s work so far. During the course of her conversation she -had casually mentioned her desire to inspect Gibraltar under pleasant -guardianship. But the gentleman showed such a decided aversion to the -idea of visiting that place that the prospect of luring him there seemed -as yet but a remote one. - -Now, as her sole object in thus cultivating his society was to find an -opportunity of persuading him to visit the fortress, in order that she -might have his arrest effected upon English ground, it is not surprising -that the prospect of failure in this direction should cause her some -disquietude. A prolonged flirtation with the scoundrel would be -unendurable. Still, she was determined to give the game a fair trial, -and if it failed, she could but hope that as “Mr. Bootle” she would be -more successful. Briny had been taken out with her, but could not be -persuaded to show any liking for Mr. Staines. - -“I am sorry to be unable to give you my company this evening, but hope -to spend several hours with you to-morrow. Had I known of your arrival, -I would not have made the appointment to which I am bound to attend -to-night. But we mean to have a jolly big day together to-morrow, eh?” - -Mr. Staines went his way, very well satisfied with the answer he got, -though Miss Stratton’s comment upon his curious way of preferring his -request might not have pleased him. - -“He is sorry to be unable to give me a share of his company this -evening! Rather cool, forsooth, even for a vain fool like that. I doubt -I have acted only too well. I should have coquetted and played with him, -and made him think that, to please me, it would be necessary to accede -to all my requests. Yet no! The man is too coarse to be captivated by -modesty, and I do not despair by any means. Poor Harley! It is well for -his peace of mind that he does not know how far I have to stoop to help -him.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -SERGEANT-MAJOR TWILEY HAS A SURPRISE. - - -“So you are not playing to-night?” - -“No; I have been thinking over something you said to me last night, and -fancy that a confidential conversation might prove profitable to both of -us. Suppose we slip out and compare notes?” - -“I don’t mind. We can easily come back if we wish to do so.” - -The speakers were Gregory Staines and Mr. Bootle, the latter being the -first to open the conversation. As they walked briskly onwards, he -gradually betrayed his real character to his companion, or, rather, he -would have done so had Mr. Bootle not thoroughly gauged it beforehand. - -“How long have you lived in this part of the world, Mr. Bootle?” - -“Only a few weeks. I am not in the habit of staying too long in places -likely to prove unprofitable. I’m a bird of passage, fond of migrating, -in season or out of season.” - -“And in what way do you expect to make this place profitable?” - -“H’m! That’s a bit of a secret yet. I don’t believe in being -indiscreet.” - -“In other words, you distrust me?” - -“You put your question in a somewhat abrupt style. Still, as you are no -doubt aware, there are some ways of earning a living of which the -authorities have a nasty knack of disapproving. You strike me as just -the sort of man whom I want to get hold of. Yet I have no guarantee that -such is really the case, and I have too much at stake to risk failure by -being unduly confidential.” - -“Look here, Mr. Bootle. Say right out what you want to say. I don’t -think you have any real doubts as to my likelihood of proving just the -sort of man you want. If there is money in the job, and I am to have my -share in it, I’m in with you, provided there isn’t too much risk to be -run; but you need not imagine that I’ll be a mere tool for anybody. -Acting partner on equal terms, if you like, and I am your man. Now, what -do you want me to do?” - -“Not much. You are lucky at cards. I would like to share your luck.” - -“I see. You have something in immediate view. Who is the pigeon to be -plucked?” - -“A young fellow who is visiting at Gibraltar just now. He lately -succeeded to a fortune that he did not expect, and is now doing his -level best to make ducks and drakes of it. He is outrageously fond of -cards, and loses with the best grace imaginable. It hurts me to see the -way in which he is enriching all sorts of cads, and I have often -wondered how I could divert a share of this stream of wealth in my -direction. Last night I arrived at a possible solution of my -perplexities. I saw you play. Without hinting that your methods of -playing are not all square and above board, I must say that I could not -help noticing the wonderful facility with which you were always able to -produce winning cards. Do you think you can be as successful with -anyone?” - -“If it is worth my while.” - -“Then will you honestly turn over half your winnings to me, if I -introduce this stranger to you?” - -“With all my heart! All I stipulate is that you lose no time over it. -How are you going to manage it?” - -“Well, the matter does not strike me as very difficult. I have had a few -games with your pigeon. But I am such a duffer at play that I need never -hope to make my fortune in that line. Suppose I try to persuade him to -come to Lina? You could be on the look out; I would introduce you; and -your own cleverness could do the rest.” - -“When shall it be? To-morrow night?” - -“That I cannot say. If I were Mr. Danvers’ bosom friend it might be -straightforward sailing. As it is, I am only a new acquaintance, -although I have done my best to ingratiate myself with him. If I invite -him over here it must be with some special excuse. A little supper party -would do it. You could invite the gentleman who seemed so partial to you -last night to make a fourth, and I’ll stand exes.” - -Mr. Staines seized this plan with avidity, and almost overwhelmed his -informant with questions, all of which related in some way or other to -the supposed habits and circumstances of the myth which had been invoked -solely in Harley Riddell’s interests. Satisfied eventually that a very -good haul was probably in store for him, he went on his way rejoicing. -Mr. Bootle would not return with him to the hotel, but pleaded that his -only sensible course was to return to Gibraltar, whence he professed to -have come, in order to endeavour to make an appointment with Mr. -Danvers. - -But the reader hardly needs to be told that Gibraltar saw nothing of Mr. -Bootle that evening. On the contrary, he went straight to the lodgings -that he found so comfortable and convenient. Briny was waiting for him -with his usual watchfulness, and was very glad to find that he was not -doomed to spend the whole evening alone. Instead of going to bed Mr. -Bootle carefully changed his apparel, and emerged presently from the -room attired as Miss Una Stratton. - -“You are in nice time for supper, Miss Stratton,” said Mrs. Dollman. “I -hope your headache has left you.” - -“Thank you,” was the reply. “I feel much better now. Do you mind my -bringing Briny into the room with me? He has had to be very quiet since -tea-time.” - -“Certainly not. He’s a jolly dog, whom to know is to like. Eh, Briny? -Miss Stratton, let me introduce my brother-in-law to you. This is Mr. -Twiley.” - -“Yes, I have already heard of you, Mr. Twiley, and am pleased to make -your acquaintance.” - -So said the young lady upon whom the sergeant-major’s eyes were fixed -with unaffected admiration. And when she said she was pleased to see him -she meant it, too. For she had already been revolving a plot in her mind -in which the sergeant-major played a prominent part, and her first -glance at him convinced her that he was a man whom she could trust. He -was in the very position to afford her certain aid which she desired, -and it was a great relief to her to find that he was just the sort of -man she had imagined Mrs. Twiley’s husband to be. So she resolved to -lose no time in taking him into her confidence, as she needed an able -coadjutor at once. But even urgent confidences must be repressed until a -seasonable opportunity for their disclosure occurs, and Miss Stratton -began to fear that her designs were fated to be baulked for the time -being. - -At last, however, she saw a fair chance of speaking, for, supper being -over, the dining-room was left to the occupation of Miss Stratton, Mrs. -Dollman, and Sergeant-Major Twiley. The latter had come over -unexpectedly, having had some commission in the town to execute, and -still had a little time to spare ere he need return to quarters. - -“Have you time to sit down here a little while, Mrs. Dollman?” asked -Miss Stratton, not without a slight touch of nervousness in her voice. -“I have something very important to tell you, and I am anxious that your -brother-in-law should listen to me also. But the door must be carefully -closed, lest we be overheard. You will appreciate my anxiety on this -score when I tell you that life itself may depend upon our caution. Nay, -do not look so dubious. I have much to confess to you, but my -confessions are not discreditable to myself. At least, I do not believe -it likely that you will think so when I have told you my story. I am -here, not in the character of a fugitive, but of a pursuer.” - -“And whom are you pursuing?” asked the sergeant-major, his curiosity -considerably aroused. - -“You know the man very well. He lives in this house.” - -“Impossible!” - -“Not a bit of it. I have known the man as Hugh Stavanger, as Paul -Torrens, and as Harry Morton, and have at last, I hope, run him to earth -as Gregory Staines.” - -“Why, Miss Stratton,” said Mrs. Dollman, with some excitement, although -she obeyed the warning finger held up, and modulated her voice to a low -pitch, “you and he were the best of friends yesterday, and to-day, also, -anyone seeing you together would have thought you were old friends.” - -“Poor girl! I imagined I had been too careful to have betrayed any -apparent familiarity with Staines,” thought Miss Stratton; “but ‘to the -jealous, trifles light as air are proofs as strong as Holy Writ.’ It is -well I came here before this poor child’s heart was wounded too sorely. -She is a brave girl, I am sure, and her farcical admiration for this -scoundrel will turn to disgust as soon as she learns his real -character.” - -It will be noticed that our heroine spoke of the young widow as if she -herself were the senior of the two. But wisdom and self-reliance are not -always dependant upon age, and the younger girl’s experience and courage -had given her sounder judgment than is possessed by the average woman of -forty. Aloud she said:-- - -“Yes, I flatter myself that I have acted my part well this time. He -hates me, fears me, and flees from me as if I were grim death. And yet -he is ready to fall in love with me.” - -“I don’t understand,” said Phœbe Dollman, with a troubled look in her -eyes. “How can he both hate you and love you?” - -“That is easily explained. My real name is Annie Cory, and my sole -objects in life at present are to bring this scoundrel to book for a -series of crimes which he has committed, and to liberate an innocent man -from penal servitude. Hugh Stavanger--or shall we call him Gregory -Staines for the nonce?--would know me very well if my disguise were not -so perfect. But my natural appearance falls very short of what you see -now, as I will soon show you, if you will cover that window more -securely. I was watching you through it last night, and he might follow -my example to-night.” - -Annie’s hearers were too astonished and mystified to say much. But they -did as she asked them, and attentively watched the transformation -wrought in her appearance. By-and-bye they saw the girl as we first knew -her--dark-haired, and of brunette complexion. - -“You see what a wig can do,” she smiled, “and a little knowledge in the -art of making up. Even my figure, gait, and voice have been altered in -the service of justice. But you would be most astonished if you saw me -conversing in a familiar manner with Mr. Staines in still another -character--that of a moderately tall, slim young man, with a lovely dark -moustache. Patent cork elevators are a fine aid to height. But I see you -are dreadfully mystified, so will tell you everything, feeling sure that -I can depend upon you to help me. One word more. I am not an artist, nor -ever will be. But I have plenty of money at command, and any plan that -you may suggest will not fail through lack of finances.” - -For fully half an hour not a sound was heard in the room, except Annie -rapidly relating her history, and describing the true character of -Gregory Staines, and for fully ten minutes longer the sergeant-major sat -with compressed lips and fiercely-knitted brows, intent upon inventing a -scheme to circumvent the villain. - -“I have it,” he exclaimed, at last, bringing his fist fiercely down upon -the table. “You will never succeed in decoying him into Gibraltar. But -we won’t waste time over him. If he won’t go willingly into the arms of -the English authorities, he must be made to go.” - -“And how can that be managed?” - -“Easily. He will be rather a big child to deal with, but I guess he is -nearly at the end of his tether--we will kidnap him.” - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -A CRITICAL GAME. - - -The day after the one in which so many confidences had been bestowed -upon Mrs. Dollman and her friends by Miss Stratton was one of -considerable anxiety to the latter. Poor little Phœbe, although one of -the brightest and nicest women in the world, was a very bad actress, and -she could not for the life of her treat Mr. Staines with the same -cordiality as before, although warned of the immense importance of -self-restraint. Personally, she did not feel as aggrieved as might have -been expected, for her heart had never been touched, although she had -been led to admire a man who knew very well how to be fascinating when -he pleased. Now she felt extremely disgusted with herself for having -been pleased with the flattery her lodger had bestowed upon her, and the -young fellow of whom her brother-in-law had spoken as an honest admirer -now stood a good chance of getting his innings. - -But, try as she might, she could not help showing something of the -detestation which a knowledge of Gregory Staines’ real character had -awakened in her. As he sat at her breakfast-table, she pictured poor -Harley Riddell languishing for his crime in prison. And when, after -being out for a few hours, he faced her at the dinner-table, she -conjured Hilton’s spectre behind him, and was seized with such a -trembling that she let the soup-ladle fall back into the soup-tureen -with a crash that cracked the latter, and a splash that covered the -tablecloth and her dress with the hot liquid. Suspecting the real cause -of her emotion, Miss Stratton, who was sitting near her, pressed her -foot warningly upon hers, and exclaimed solicitously-- - -“You seem quite shaky to-day, Mrs. Dollman. Are you not well?” - -“Oh, yes, I am quite well, thank you,” replied the little widow. “But -I’m all in a tremble with something or other. It’s the heat, I think.” - -The heat! And it had been found necessary to have a good fire in the -dining-room, as everybody was complaining of the cold. Miss Stratton -felt the moment to be a critical one. But she did not lose her -self-possession, although she saw the sudden suspicion which leaped into -the eyes of Gregory Staines, who, with knife and fork slightly raised -from his plate, was sitting immovable, mutely questioning the faces of -the blundering Phœbe and herself. - -“Really,” she laughed, “if you go on like this, I shall swear that you -are in love, and that your inamorato has had the bad taste to transfer -his affections elsewhere. Fancy complaining of the cold one minute, and -being all of a tremble with the heat the next! Those are genuine love -symptoms--I’ve felt them myself.” - -As Miss Stratton spoke, with such apparent disregard of Phœbe’s -feelings, she darted an admiring and meaning look at Gregory Staines, -which at once put that gentleman at his ease again for a little while. - -“The little fool has seen that the artist is more in my line, and is -jealous,” he mused. “But what of that? She can’t harm me, though she may -make things deucedly uncomfortable for me here. Query, will it really -pay me to break with her? That remains to be seen. I’m by no means sure -that Miss Stratton has money that I can secure, or that it would be as -good a prospect to take up with her as to settle down here, with Phœbe -to keep me. I think I must retain both irons in the fire for a few days -longer. Stratton is so awfully infatuated that she will be only too glad -to condone a flirtation with Phœbe.” - -In pursuance of this train of thought, Mr. Staines became very -solicitous about Mrs. Dollman’s state of health, smiled quite tenderly -at her, suggested that she should lie down to compose her nerves, and -offered to take all the labours of carving off her hands. But it was not -in Phœbe’s nature to restrain her feelings, and when he accidentally -touched her hand in taking the carving-knife from her, she sprang away -from him with such an agony of horror and repulsion in her face, that he -could no longer doubt her real sentiments towards him, and everyone at -the table could see that there was more beneath the surface than met the -eye. As for Gregory Staines, he was thunderstruck, although he was able -to keep both his actions and his facial expression under admirable -control. - -“She has been told something about me,” was his savage inward comment. -“Somebody has betrayed me, and the little idiot has been made the sharer -of a secret that she cannot keep. Betrayal means enmity, and the -presence of a betrayal argues the near proximity of an enemy. I have but -one enemy whom I need fear, and she has been cleverly put off the scent. -And, yet, who knows? The devil himself must be in her, for she has -followed and traced me to all sorts of places, and why not here? Good -God! I never thought of it! Surely it can’t be this woman who has flung -herself at my head as if I were the God of Love in the flesh? But, after -all, even if it were, what can she do to me? She dare not move openly, -for no plans for my arrest can be made effectual on Spanish territory. -If she has really traced me, I am safe for to-day, at all events. I must -meet her with her own weapons, and if I find that Miss Stratton and my -arch-enemy are one and the same, may the Lord have mercy on her soul!” - -The object of his meditations was not slow to observe that Mr. Staines -had suddenly received food for thought, and was not deceived, even -though he kept his countenance so cleverly. - -“I must be careful not to place myself for any length of time in his -power,” she thought. “He is quite capable of murdering me, if his -suspicions of my true identity are assured, and with me all hope of -Harley’s salvation would die.” - -And yet all this bye-play was unnoticed by the other boarders sitting -at the table. Mrs. Dollman was a little nervous, and Mr. Staines was -good-naturedly solicitous on her behalf. That was all. An hour later the -room was empty of all but Miss Stratton and Mr. Staines, and the two -were outwardly as enamoured of each other as yesterday. She wished to -amuse him, lull his suspicions, and engage his attention until it was -time to meet her in the evening, in her assumed character of Mr. Bootle. -He was bent upon watching every gesture and movement of hers, and upon -comparing her personality with that of the girl he suspected her to be. - -Thus the afternoon wore away, and tea-time arrived. Miss Stratton had -declined an invitation to have a walk with Mr. Staines, saying that she -preferred a tête-à-tête by the fireside, and she had found an -opportunity to warn Mrs. Dollman against saying or doing anything that -could ruin the plans which were being matured with a view to capturing -Mr. Staines. He was apparently as complaisant and love-stricken as ever, -and both played at exchanging confidences which bore very little -relation to their actual experiences. When, shortly before tea-time, -Miss Stratton adjourned to her own room, she imagined that her influence -over the man whom she was befooling was almost as strong as it was -yesterday. - -But he was deeper than she gave him credit for being, and had made an -important discovery. While toying with her hair, and enthusiastically -admiring its golden brilliance, he had satisfied himself that it was an -artificial covering which hid the darker glory which was her natural -heritage. For one brief period our heroine’s life was in immediate -danger, and the reason it was spared then was because her enemy had -promptly resolved to seek an opportunity likely to be fraught with less -danger to himself. - -They saw each other at the tea-table awhile later, and Miss Stratton -was looking lovelier than ever--so lovely that, though he hated her, -Gregory Staines felt himself moved by the wildest admiration of her -outward charms, for her eyes sparkled and her cheeks glowed with the -excitement of her conviction that at last the hour of her triumph was -near at hand. Mrs. Twiley was here again. She had brought a message from -her husband, and fully understood the importance of the step he -contemplated taking that night. The adventure he proposed was a somewhat -risky one. But she had every confidence in his courage and discretion, -and was, moreover, much more capable of keeping a secret than her -sister. Gregory Staines watched her narrowly, but could not detect any -embarrassment in her intercourse with him, or any covert collusion -between her and Miss Stratton. - -“She knows nothing about me,” he thought, “and she does not seem to get -on very well with the girl who is masquerading here as an artist. But -that sort of thing is only natural with women. They are always jealous -of anyone prettier than themselves. By heaven, I wish I had really the -chance I fancied I had of winning this superb creature. Fancy having a -gambling-house, with a wife like that at the head of affairs! Why, there -would be no end of a fortune to be made. But it is useless to think of -it, if she is really Annie Cory. If! Why, there is a doubt yet, in spite -of appearances. I can’t see what her motive in making love to me can be, -after all. What could she gain by it, so long as I stayed in Spain? It -strikes me that I had better not be too rash. I will watch and wait. If -my suspicions are unfounded, so much the better. If not, so much the -worse--for her!” - -Meanwhile, Miss Stratton excused herself to Mrs. Dollman, and announced -her intention of spending the evening in her room, as she had a great -many letters to write. Arrived there, she found plenty to occupy her for -half an hour. At the end of that time Mrs. Twiley came to her by -prearrangement, and was utterly astonished to watch the metamorphosis -effected in her appearance while she was there. - -“Why, you make me feel inclined to run away again,” she laughed. “It’s -dreadfully compromising to be here alone with you. Suppose a servant, or -one of the other boarders saw me, the consequences would be awful! My -reputation would be gone, and poor, dear Twiley’s only consolation would -be a divorce. But, seriously, it is wonderful to think of all you have -done and are doing for the sake of your lover. I hope you will be -successful in all your plans, and some day I expect the pleasure of -seeing Mr. Riddell enjoying liberty and happiness once more.” - -“Thank you so much,” said the lady addressed, who was, to all -appearances, a man again, to wit, Mr. Bootle, “Whenever that happy day -arrives, believe me, I shall esteem it a sacred duty to bring him to see -all who have helped us in our dark days.” - -“In fact, you will come here for your honeymoon.” - -“Honeymoon! I dare not think of such happiness while he is languishing -in prison. See, would you like to judge how he looked only a year ago?” - -As she spoke, the girl handed a photograph of a handsome, smiling young -fellow to her visitor, at which the latter gazed with a mist gathering -in her eyes. - -“And this,” she was next told, “is the brother who has been foully -murdered.” - -It struck Mrs. Twiley that the brother was even a nobler type of -manhood than the unfortunate lover, but she had too much tact to betray -that opinion, though she looked long and earnestly at the lineaments of -one who was supposed to have come to so sad an end. - -Then the whole of the evening’s intended work was gone over again in -detail, not an item being overlooked that could conduce to either -success or failure. Everything being at length arranged, Mrs. Twiley -rejoined her sister, and “Mr. Bootle” prepared to sally forth on her -evening’s adventures, of which she by no means underestimated the -possible peril. But the courage engendered by devotion to others -transcends all other courage in its nobility and strength, and not the -faintest twinge of fear assailed our heroine, as, feeling added security -in her capital disguise, she told Briny to remain on guard, and stepped -out of the window into the garden, whence she presently emerged into the -lane, and thence into the open street. - -But what was that dark object creeping in her footsteps, and dodging -nearer and nearer to her? It was no friend, that is certain, as he would -not have slunk out of sight so promptly every time that there was any -likelihood of his being observed. Had “Mr. Bootle” looked round, he, or -she, if the reader prefers, might possibly have seen a mortal enemy, -armed with a knife, and carefully watching his opportunity for removing -the one whom he feared. - -And had Mr. Staines looked round, he would have noticed a pursuer in -his turn, one who disliked him already, and who would not hesitate to -protect “Mr. Bootle” at the cost of his life. This was the faithful -Briny, who, for once, had disobeyed his owner by following her when -forbidden to do so. His consciousness of wrong-doing made him linger in -the background. But he was none the less a valuable protector, even -though his presence was unsuspected. - -Yet neither of the beings whom he was following looked round, and -neither one nor the other dreamed of danger behind, so anxious were they -to reach the goal that lay before them. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -“WARE ASSASSIN!” - - -There was a somewhat obscure and badly-lighted stretch of road to -traverse ere Mr. Bootle could reach his destination, which was the hotel -so much frequented by Gregory Staines. Very often, especially at certain -times of the day, the place was tolerably well frequented. But it -chanced sometimes that it was comparatively deserted, and upon this fact -Gregory Staines counted for his opportunity to get rid of his enemy. -That that enemy was a woman was not a deterrent circumstance with him. -She was more dangerous to him than ten ordinary men, by virtue of her -extraordinary perseverance, her devotion to her lover, her unflinching -courage, and the keenness with which she pursued her self-imposed -mission. Therefore, she must be rendered harmless, and there was but one -way of effecting this desirable result. - -“It’s her own fault,” he muttered. “If she will throw herself into the -lion’s jaws, she has none but herself to blame if he closes his teeth -upon her. By Jove, what a schemer she is! She hesitates at nothing. -Fancy making love to me, in order to bewitch me into acceding to any -request she might make of me. I know now why she hinted her desire to -see Gibraltar in my company. She wanted to inveigle me into English -territory; but that game’s off, my dear. And then how extraordinarily -well she is got up now! I should never have suspected ‘Mr. Bootle’s’ -_bona fides_ if that little fool of a Dollman had not roused my -suspicions about ‘Miss Stratton.’ Being suspicious, it was natural that -I should watch her, and that I should listen at her window. But I shall -never forget my amazement at discovering how completely I had been -hoodwinked. Yet I am sure that my previous failure to penetrate her dual -disguise must be attributed to her superior cleverness, not to my -denseness. This makes it all the more imperative to remove her--and now -I see my chance.” - -The next moment he had stealthily sprung forward, and with arm upraised, -was about to plunge a knife into Mr. Bootle’s back, when there was a -sudden rush, and he felt himself borne to the ground by a heavy mass -which threw itself against him. With a startled cry he flung out his -arms, and made a frantic effort to save himself from falling, the knife -which he meant to have used to such deadly purpose dropping from his -nerveless grasp. But his struggle was useless, and he lay gasping with -terror, while Briny (for he it was who had thus opportunely come to the -rescue) held him down, and growled murderous things. Mr. Bootle had -turned round as soon as he heard the commotion behind him, and, -recognising Briny, guessed at once what was the matter. - -“The dastard has intended to kill me, or to stun me, thinking me a fit -subject for robbery,” was his first thought. But presently, on -approaching nearer, he recognised his foe, and realised that his -disguise was penetrated. Like lightning, however, the idea flashed -through his brain that even yet it would be good policy to appear to be -unaware of Gregory Staines’ discovery, and to pretend to be ignorant of -the motive of Briny’s attack upon him. - -“Briny! Briny!” he called hurriedly. “Mind what you are doing. Off! I -say. Off at once! This is a friend!” - -Briny, in obedience to the voice which he knew and loved through every -attempt at disguising it, drew himself off the recumbent figure of the -man, who was dreading lest he should use his fangs, and whom terror was -rendering passive under his weight. But that he relinquished his prey -with great reluctance was quite evident, and he growled menacingly as -Gregory Staines rose to his feet, with a sickly attempt to endorse his -foe’s assumption of the unreasonableness of Briny’s attack upon him. - -“That is a nasty brute to fall foul of,” he said angrily. “There is no -telling what mischief he might have done me, if you had not been handy. -I noticed who was in front of me, and hurried forward to overtake you, -when I was hurled to the ground without any ceremony. But how do you -happen to be acquainted with this dog? And how is it that he seems to -know you so well?” - -“My dear sir, I can easily explain away your mystification on that -score. Briny belongs to a very dear friend of mine, a Miss Stratton, -whose arrival in Lina I have been expecting for a week. The presence of -Briny shows that my friend is here now, and I shall probably see her -to-morrow.” - -Such was Mr. Bootle’s remark, given in a calm and composed voice, which -certainly surprised Staines by the astonishing nerve it evinced. That -the composure of the voice was somewhat belied by an irrepressible -trembling of the limbs for a few moments was not apparent to the latter, -and he felt all the more savage at his failure to secure the -extermination of so implacable an enemy. - -“I wonder what the game is now,” he thought. “It can’t be that I’m -expected to swallow this pretence of being friendly. There is still some -further plotting going on, and it is deemed necessary to keep me -befooled a little while longer. I think I will play the unsuspecting -chicken. But I’m too clever to be caught.” - -Anyone noticing the further progress of this antagonistic couple towards -the hotel would hardly have imagined them to be either great friends or -great enemies. For they walked, conversing together, fully a yard apart, -and each kept a wary eye upon the other, the dog carefully watching Mr. -Staines’ every movement. Arrived at the hotel, the pair appeared to be -on the same terms as they had been yesterday, and soon began to discuss -the business which ostensibly brought them both here. - -“How about your gambling friend at Gibraltar, Mr. Bootle?” was the query -addressed to him. - -“Just as rackety as ever,” he replied. “The money being squandered like -water, and any amount of hawks hovering round in search of prey.” - -“Ourselves included, eh?” - -“Yes, ourselves included.” - -“And how is the prey to be got at?” - -“By following out the plan suggested yesterday evening. I have seen Mr. -Danvers to-day, and he has accepted my invitation to supper. I had some -difficulty in inducing him to agree to come here. He wanted me to hold -the affair at my rooms in Gibraltar, but I told him that I had invited a -fellow who did not care to show himself on English territory, and with -whose company he would be delighted.” - -“And how do you know that I would not care to go to Gibraltar?” - -“Natural inference, my dear sir. Perhaps I shouldn’t be too fond of the -place myself if my real name was known there.” - -“So you masquerade under an alias?” - -“Certainly. Just as you do.” - -“Precisely. But I would like to set your mind at rest on one point. I -have not the slightest objection to go to Gibraltar. So if Mr. Danvers -objects to coming here I will meet him on his own ground. Did you hold -out any other inducement to Mr. Danvers to tempt his presence at our -proposed supper?” - -“Yes; I told him that my friend Miss Stratton would be present, and -promised him a great treat, for she is both clever and handsome.” - -“Exceedingly so, Mr. Bootle. Cleverer than most people would be inclined -to believe; but even such abnormal cleverness as hers over-reaches -itself sometimes.” - -“Possibly. She isn’t infallible. But after next Friday her mission in -Spain will be ended, and she can then return to safer quarters.” - -For some time after this remark very little was said. Then Mr. Staines, -seeing an acquaintance of his at the other end of the saloon, asked Mr. -Bootle to excuse him for five minutes, and left him to meditate the -progress of affairs by himself. - -“I wonder how much and how little he knows,” the latter mused. “And I -also wonder whether he really swallows my yarn about the supper. He has -discovered who I really am. Of that I am convinced. But does he also -know that Mr. Bootle and Miss Stratton are one and the same individual, -and that it is a serious strain on my vocal organs to talk so much in an -assumed voice? His professed willingness to go to Gibraltar does not -deceive me. He knows that the whole story about Mr. Danvers is pure -fiction. Knowing this, he is also convinced that I have an ulterior -motive behind my apparent friendliness. I have hinted that Miss Stratton -has no further business here after Friday. He imagines me to have some -plot on foot, which will take until Friday to mature, although this is -only Monday. If I am not mistaken, he is now plotting with that -villainous-looking fellow who is with him to get rid of me before that -time, and, were I remaining here, I might expect another attack upon my -life. But after to-night, my friend, you will be harmless.” - -Meanwhile Mr. Staines was rapidly explaining as much of the situation as -suited him to the individual before-mentioned. - -“Don’t look round,” he said. “You saw me come in with the young fellow -I have just left. Do you think that he would prove difficult to tackle -from behind?” - -“Not if to tackle him were worth one’s while, mister. Is he in your -way?” - -“Very much so.” - -“What would his removal be worth to you?” - -“Twenty pounds. Ten now, and ten on completion of the job.” - -“I think you may depend upon me to conduct the business satisfactorily. -But twenty quid is too little. Double it and put half down, and I’m your -man.” - -“Indeed I won’t. The affair wouldn’t be worth all that to me. The -youngster is in my way, but his removal is not necessary. Twenty pounds -it is, or nothing.” - -“Very well, then. Nothing it shall be. I want to cut this and go to -America, but I may as well be hard up here a bit longer as reach America -without a penny, and if you won’t give forty, I won’t take the risk.” - -Gregory Staines hated to part with so much money, for every penny it -cost him to preserve his liberty made him think that his crime had not -brought him a life whose pleasures were equivalent to the penalties -exacted from him. But he reflected that he would never be safe while so -determined an enemy lived, and resolved upon what he deemed a last -sacrifice. - -“Very well,” he said at last, “you shall have what you ask. But mind you -don’t hit the wrong man, and watch the dog. Your best plan will be to -wait until you see us go out together, and then watch your chance. If -necessary, I will help you, for it’s about time this game was ended.” - -A few more arrangements were made, the hired assassin received half his -fee, and Mr. Staines returned to his intended victim, remarking: “What a -nuisance duns are! I owed that fellow a few shillings, and he had the -impudence to insist upon being paid to-night.” - -“That’s the worst of dealing with common people,” said Mr. Bootle, -carelessly. “But we have talked over all preliminaries about our supper -party, and about the pigeon whom we intend to pluck. On Wednesday night -you must be in good trim, as Danvers is sure to bring a lot of money -with him.” - -“And where are you off to now?” - -“To my lodgings.” - -“Do you mean to take the dog with you?” - -“No, I think he had better be sent home. He will be able to find Miss -Stratton, and to-morrow I shall hear from her. She knows where to write -to.” - -“I have a better plan than that. Miss Stratton has come to stay at the -house I am in. Come with me, and see her this evening. It is not yet -late.” - -This plan was readily agreed to, and the two set out together, each -knowing the other to be plotting his safety, and each warily watching -his companion’s every movement, the dog being quite as watchful as his -companions. - -There was also another form carefully gauging his chances of making the -attack by which he hoped to put another twenty pounds in his pocket. -This individual was so exceedingly anxious not to miss his opportunity, -that he failed to notice sundry dark shadows which haunted the gloom to -the rear of him. Presently, his opportunity seemed to have come; he -sprang noiselessly forward, and aimed a terrific blow at the dog’s head, -while Gregory Staines gripped Mr. Bootle’s throat at the same moment to -prevent him making an outcry ere the other man could despatch him. - -But, somehow, everything went wrong. The dog eluded the assassin’s blow, -and, with a deep growl, sprang at his throat, the weight of his -onslaught flinging the man to the ground. Simultaneously, the place -seemed full of men, and ere Gregory Staines had time to realise what was -happening, he had been knocked aside, and overpowered, to find himself, -a few moments later, gagged, and bound hand and foot, in a vehicle that -was rapidly being driven away from Lina. Beside him sat a stalwart young -fellow, of soldierly bearing, who made it his business to tighten his -bonds and gags, every time that he struggled to free himself. Opposite -him sat Sergeant-Major Twiley and Mr. Bootle, the former looking -triumphant, the latter tremulously thankful. - -“I reckon your gallop’s stopped now, old man,” remarked the -sergeant-major. “You won’t steal many more diamonds, or murder many more -stewards, after this.” - -“Thank God that at last I have secured the real thief, and that Harley -will soon be at liberty now,” was Mr. Bootle’s inward comment. - -As for the prisoner, who knew that his fancied safety had been his -ruin, and that his daring pursuer had kidnapped him, in order to convey -him to English territory, where he would be amenable to the laws of -England, he could only see one horrible object ahead of him--the -gallows. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -ANNIE’S RETURN. - - -Mr. Cory’s residence was in a wonderful state of bustle and excitement. -A telegram had been received from Annie to the effect that at last she -had been successful in her mission, and that her captive was now on his -way to England, under such efficient surveillance that he was not likely -to escape again. There were endless conjectures as to how this desirable -result had been brought about; but none of these were permitted to -interfere with the active preparations that were being made, in order to -give a fitting welcome to the girl whose courage and devotion had been -crowned with such happy results. For no one doubted that now all would -progress satisfactorily, and that such proofs of Harley’s innocence -would be forthcoming as would conduce to his speedy liberation. - -There was only one blot on the general jubilation. That was the loss of -Hilton, of which all his friends were convinced that Hugh Stavanger was -the cause. Yet even Mrs. Riddell, bitterly as she grieved for him, felt -thankful to God to-day. For was not the unmerited disgrace under which -Harley languished a much sorer trial than even death itself? And had not -at least one of her boys a happy future before him? As for Annie, she -had ceased to look upon her as an ordinary mortal. For, she thought, no -mere girl could have done what she had done, and come unscathed through -her adventures. - -“John, you are sure you did not mistake the time, and that you will not -be too late to meet her?” inquired Miss Margaret anxiously. - -“There is ample time, my dear,” was the reply. “And even if I were too -late, the child is well able to dispense with anybody’s assistance, -especially as she has Briny with her.” - -“I wouldn’t be too sure of that. Now that the terrible strain is nearly -over, a reaction may have set in, and the dear girl may be as helpless -as a fashionable doll.” - -This reflection quickened Mr. Cory’s movements, with the result that he -was at the station quite an hour before the time appointed. He found the -long wait almost intolerable, but at last received the reward he sought. -Miss Margaret’s conjecture had not been far wrong. True, Annie was still -quite capable of directing minor affairs, but the strain imposed by the -necessity for daily, nay hourly, deception, had told upon her, and she -looked both weary and ill. But she soon brightened up under her father’s -radiant welcome. Her return home was in every respect a joyful one, and -the whole of the evening was spent in interchanging confidences and -experiences. - -The trio of elderly people listened with the greatest astonishment to -Annie’s account of her adventures in Lina, and of the mode in which Hugh -Stavanger, alias Gregory Staines, had been kidnapped and conveyed to -English territory. Considerable management and diplomacy had been -required ere it had been possible to overcome certain difficulties in -the way of securing his arrest and transshipment to England. But at last -all was arranged, and the culprit would be put upon his trial for the -suspected murder of Hilton Riddell. - -“And how have matters progressed here?” Annie inquired at last. “You are -all well, and you tell me, Dad, that Harley feels confident of success. -I have been so fortunate myself that I cannot but hope you have also had -some little gleams of enlightenment.” - -“And you are quite right, dear,” exclaimed Miss Margaret, triumphantly. -“There is no end of news to tell you. To begin with, old Mr. -Stavanger----” - -“No, that isn’t the beginning of the story,” interrupted Mr. Cory, -smiling. - -“Now, John, who is to tell the story--you or I?” - -“Oh, you, of course.” - -“Then be good enough to let me tell it in my own way. I shall just start -where I did before. Captain Cochrane--” - -“Captain Cochrane? What of him, for Heaven’s sake?” cried Annie, in -great excitement. - -“Did you ever try to tell anything to more unreasonable people, Mrs. -Riddell? They want to hear all sorts of news, and yet they take the -words out of my mouth.” - -So said Miss Margaret, and she did not feel at all sweet tempered as -she said it. But Annie speedily smoothed her ruffled plumes, and then -she continued without interruption: “Captain Gerard called to see us one -evening, and explained a great deal that had transpired during his last -voyage. As you are already aware, he also said that he had seen Captain -Cochrane in London. You may be sure that we recommended a vigorous -search, and only yesterday that search ended satisfactorily. Our man was -discovered close to the house in which his sister lives, and was only -captured after a very desperate resistance. Unfortunately for his future -chances of defence, he at once conjectured the cause of his arrest, and -protested that the passenger of the ‘Merry Maid’ was the only man to -blame for the steward’s disappearance. Even if this were true, though, -he tacitly admitted himself to be an accessory to crime after the fact, -and very plainly showed that he had regarded himself as liable to arrest -on suspicion at any moment. Probably Hugh Stavanger may try to place the -onus of guilt upon the captain. But, however this part of this long -string of troubles turns out, there will be quite enough evidence -elicited to prove that the diamond merchant’s son left England with a -great deal of the stolen property in his possession. Our solicitors have -already moved for a new trial, and we have secured several important -witnesses, Captain Gerard having been very helpful to us. His motives -must be regarded as quite disinterested, too, for he has been promised -the permanent command of the ‘Merry Maid,’ Captain Cochrane’s -resignation having been sent in. Your father saw this resignation at the -office of the shipowners, to whom he had explained our whole story, but -as there was no address of his on the document, it gave us no clue to -the man’s present whereabouts. He just seems to have hidden himself in -obscure lodgings, and to have imagined that our pursuit of him would -soon be abandoned. You are to see Harley to-morrow. He knows something -of what has been going on, as we thought it cruel to refuse him a gleam -of hope, now that things have progressed so well. I am not sure that he -won’t worship you, when he sees you.” - -But this prospect proved so overwhelming to the over-wrought girl that -she burst into a passion of weeping, and hurried up to her own room. -Mrs. Riddell found the sight of Annie’s emotion unbearable, and also -lost her composure, while Mr. Cory and Miss Margaret looked at each -other in blank dismay. - -“I think I must follow Annie upstairs,” said the latter at last. - -“By no means, my dear,” objected Mr. Cory. “A cry will do the child -good. Our presence would only impose restraint upon her. Depend upon it, -she will come down soon, all the better for giving way for once. God -knows she must have had nerves of iron lately, and it was high time that -her work was done. She has borne up splendidly, but to have continued -the strain under which she has lived since Harley was committed would -have killed her.” - -And Mr. Cory was quite right. The girl had borne as much as she could. -But she came back presently, quite composed, and ready to talk things -over quietly. Mrs. Riddell had gone to bed, but, even after supper was -over, Annie proved herself an insatiable listener. - -“How is the Stavanger family going on?” she asked. - -“Well,” her father answered. “I rather think that Mr. David Stavanger -must have become aware of his son’s guilt, and that the effort to hide -it is preying upon his mind. I hear that he has dissolved partnership -with his brother, and has realised his share of the business. His eldest -daughter is married, and he has gone with his wife and younger daughter -to live at Boulogne. It has been an object with me to keep him in sight, -as I thought it possible that his son might join him. The dissolution of -partnership and the removal seem to have been very suddenly taken steps -indeed, and my private inquiry agent told me that they were the result -of a quarrel with Mr. Samuel Stavanger. If this is true, perhaps the -latter suspects his nephew’s guilt.” - -“Whether he does or not is immaterial to us, father. We can prove all -that is necessary without him.” - -“Yes; but we could not be sure of that until lately. The capture of both -the culprits was hardly to be hoped for. Come in!” - -In response to this permission, a servant entered to say that Mr. -Jenkins wished to see Mr. Cory. Mr. Jenkins, feeling sure of a welcome, -followed the servant into the room, and was speedily communicating some -important information to his three hearers. - -“Annie,” said Mr. Cory, as soon as the servant had closed the door -behind her, “this is the agent who has been working for us at Boulogne. -Perhaps he has some fresh discoveries to report.” - -“You are right, sir,” said Jenkins, ensconcing himself comfortably on -the seat pointed out to him, and basking in the warmth of the -comfortable fire. “Mr. Stavanger had hardly reached Boulogne, when he -developed symptoms of serious illness, and both doctor and nurses were -speedily in requisition. Mrs. Stavanger pleaded indisposition on her own -account, and declined to immure herself in a sick room. Hence her -husband was entirely given up to strangers, for the little girl was of -no use as a nurse. One of the women who has been engaged for this office -is an Englishwoman, and she has proved singularly amenable to pecuniary -persuasions. In a conversation which I secured with her yesterday, she -gave me some extraordinary information. Mr. Stavanger’s ailment, it -appears, is brain fever, and his whole thoughts are centred upon various -events connected with, and subsequent to, the diamond robbery. He raves -incessantly of his son, and of all the trouble he has brought upon him. -These ravings I have tried to arrange in their chronological order, and, -always premising that they are not the mere phantoms of a diseased -brain, I conclude them to reveal the following facts: Mr. Stavanger -became convinced of his son’s guilt, some time not long before Mr. -Riddell’s committal. Certain indiscretions on the part of Hugh Stavanger -caused others beside his father to learn of his guilt. One of these -others was a servant named Wear, who at once proceeded to blackmail the -family on the strength of her knowledge. This woman died very suddenly, -and Mr. Stavanger has been haunted by a belief that his son compassed -her death. You, I know, had an idea that the old gentleman himself had a -hand in the affair. But whatever may be attributed to the son, I feel -sure that the father was not to blame in this respect. Yet he was quite -prepared to go to great lengths to shield his scapegrace son, and -knowing him to be a thief, and suspecting him to be a murderer, he aided -his escape from England in the ss. ‘Merry Maid.’ While staying at St. -Ives, several weeks after this, he had an extraordinary find in the -shape of a sealed bottle, containing papers. These papers appear to have -been written and signed by Mr. Hilton Riddell, on board the ‘Merry -Maid,’ before being sealed in the bottle and thrown into the sea. Their -purport was a complete description of all that had taken place on board -the vessel since it had sailed from London, and they evidently contained -proof enough of Hugh Stavanger’s guilt. If such a bottle was really cast -into the sea, it was a very strange chance that threw it into the hands -of the only man besides those denounced in it who could have a great -personal interest in suppressing and destroying its contents.” - -“Extraordinary!” exclaimed Mr. Cory. “Why, it would have saved months of -work and suspense for us. But--I am afraid it reveals only too truly -what has been the fate of poor Hilton! He had penetrated the secrets of -the villains, and felt that his life was not safe. They must in their -turn have suspected him, and Stavanger and Cochrane had deemed it -necessary to their safety to remove him. Oh, the scoundrels! But the -poor lad shall be amply avenged!” Annie, too, was excited and indignant. -So was Miss Margaret. But they forbore all interruptions, and Mr. -Jenkins concluded his narrative in his own way. - -“But little remains to be added,” he said. “This Mr. Stavanger seems -to be an odd mixture of bigotry, hypocrisy, and blind devotion to his -disreputable son. He talks quite jubilantly about the opportune deaths -of Mr. Edward Lyon, and of a man by whom he himself was being -blackmailed because of the fellow’s knowledge of Hugh Stavanger’s guilt. -Then his ravings are to the effect that Harley Riddell must have really -done something to make himself accused of God, since Providence is -visibly fighting against him. He also seems to be aware of many of your -abortive attempts to entrap his son, and the poor soul triumphs over you -in his delirium. Here is the last of his speeches that have been -reported to me. ‘Yes, you may search the world over, but you will not -discover Hugh. He is only the chosen instrument of Providence, used to -bring his deserts to a villain who has committed some great and -undiscovered crime. That villain’s brother’s would have betrayed Hugh, -and what became of him--Bah! Neither he nor you can prove aught against -my son--unless the sea gives up its dead!’” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. and Last. - -JUBILATE. - - -The Court was crowded in every part. For the trial of Hugh Stavanger -and Captain Cochrane upon various indictments had aroused immense public -interest, and countless rumours were afloat respecting the wonderful -acumen, devotion, and heroism of Miss Annie Cory. She was inundated with -applications for interviews, and greatly as she disliked much of the -questioning to which she was subjected, she submitted to it with the -best grace she could muster, for Harley’s sake. Soon she found herself a -popular idol. Her sayings and doings were recorded in every paper in the -land that could obtain authentic information on the subject, and some of -the more obscure journals that were endowed with smart editors -determined to rescue them from their obscurity, published racy accounts -of fictitious interviews with her, which were so extraordinarily full of -favourable criticism that none but her enemies could have taken serious -exception to them. She was photographed so often that at last she -rebelled, and vowed that she would never enter a photographer’s studio -again. She figured as Miss Una Stratton, as Miss Cory, and as Mr. -Bootle, her various presentments being so totally different that -curiosity to see her rose to its highest pitch, and caused her every -movement to be watched with the keenest interest. Briny, too, came in -for his share of attention. For had it not transpired that his mistress -in all probability owed her life to him? And that he was a cordially -beloved member of the Cory family? Through the publication of his -history a curious thing came to pass. - -One day an elderly gentleman sought an interview with Mr. Cory. Briny -was in the hall when he arrived, and welcomed him with the wildest -demonstrations of affection. It transpired that Briny’s original name -had been Neptune; that his master’s name was Woodstock; that the latter -had been ordered by his doctors to do a little sea-voyaging; and that -after going out to America, he had engaged a return passage for himself -and his dog on board a timber-laden vessel bound for England, and not -likely to make such a rapid passage as a steamer, his object being to -spend a few weeks over the voyage. - -“But things did not work quite so satisfactorily as had been expected,” -he continued. “Bad weather overtook us, after various incidents that I -will not inflict upon you, and the day arrived when it was deemed -necessary to take to the boats. I had the misfortune to receive a blow -on the head that rendered me insensible for a time, and when I came -round, I found, to my great grief, that my faithful friend Neptune had -been left on board the wreck to perish in miserable solitude. I believe -I was very violent in my denunciations of the inhumanity that could thus -desert him. But even my partiality was at last convinced that, the boats -being overcrowded already, there could have been no room found for a -large dog, except at the risk of all our lives. As it was, one boat -swamped and drowned its occupants. When, quite recently, I read of your -brave action in saving the life of a deserted dog, I felt sure it must -be dear old Neptune.” - -“But you won’t take him away from us?” pleaded Miss Margaret, anxiously. - -“My dear madam,” quoth Mr. Woodstock, “do you take me for a heathen?” - -But--will the disclosure be premature?--she was subsequently induced to -take him “for better, for worse,” and the pair are as happy and jolly as -people who have been half a century in finding their affinity ought to -be. - -Annie had had an interview--nay, two interviews, with her lover, and had -the satisfaction of leaving him more hopeful each time. Of course his -love and gratitude knew no bounds, but we will spare the reader all his -extravagant testimonials to his lady love’s perfections, or his bitter -denunciations of those who had brought about the necessity for her -exceptional exertions. - -“I think we may almost venture to pity them now,” said Annie, gently. -“They have been very wicked, and all their schemes have to some extent -been successful. But their downfall has come at last. They cannot escape -conviction, and this knowledge must in itself be a very bitter -punishment for them. Your liberation is now only a mere matter of form, -and all England is in sympathy with you, even before the trial which is -to decide whether you and Hugh Stavanger are to change places or not.” - -“Our solicitor told me that Mr. Stavanger was supposed to be dying. -Have you heard how he is?” - -“He is recovering; but will never be the same man again. They say that -his illness has changed him in many respects, and that he has vowed -never to look upon his son again.” - -“I suppose he is a man of extreme views. Probably his present aversion -to his son is more the result of the disgrace which it is no longer in -his power to avert, than of a suddenly aroused conviction that his son -has sinned against law and morality, or that, by swearing against me, he -has helped to make me that son’s scapegoat. I don’t believe in -after-discovery repentances. All the same, I believe he is to be pitied, -and I shall bear no animosity.” - -“That is well spoken, Harley! The punishment of our enemies rests now -with the law, and personal enmity may well die out. If only poor Hilton -were alive there would be such complete happiness in store for us that -our hearts need have no room for enmity.” - -Nevertheless, on the day of the trial Annie watched the progress of -events with the keenest anxiety, and her distress of mind worried her -friends considerably. Suppose her hopes were destined to be blighted, -after all? Suppose the evidence at command should not prove enough, even -yet, to bring about a reversal of the sentence which had weighed upon -Harley for months? It was no wonder that she looked anxious, or that she -was oblivious of everything but the actual progress of the trial. She -was well supported by friends, who lavished every attention upon her -that could be spared from the dear, sweet-faced old lady, to whom this -day was of such awful moment. They had all tried to persuade Mrs. -Riddell to remain at home, fearing that the excitement might be too much -for her. - -Their persuasions were most kindly meant. But the firmness with which -they were resisted convinced them that they were also ill-judged. One of -Mrs. Riddell’s sons was to have his fate decided that day--either as a -free man, or as a confirmed felon. And two men were to be arraigned for -depriving her of her other son. It would be dreadful to look upon that -son’s murderers. But it would be intolerable anguish to remain at home -in ignorance of what was being done. - -Captain Cochrane and Hugh Stavanger both looked round with a feeble -assumption of confidence when they were brought into the dock. But there -were very few sympathetic looks to be seen on the sea of faces at which -they gazed, and their eyes soon sought the ground, the one scowling -angrily, and the other looking abjectly miserable. - -No expense had been spared that could help to prove Harley innocent of -the diamond robbery, even the Maltese jeweller being to the fore. Harley -Riddell himself was strongly cross-examined, and his worn, haggard -appearance caused his fond mother and faithful sweetheart some -additional sorrow. But as the trial progressed, excitement lent a colour -to his cheeks and a brightness to his eyes which showed his friends how -soon he would recover his former vigour when free, and proved to -strangers how handsome he was likely to appear when happy. - -The prisoners were on their trial, the one for the diamond-robbery, and -the other for being accessory after the fact. On the morrow they were to -take their trial for the suspected murder of Hilton Riddell. Somehow, -however, the proofs which had been deemed so overwhelming by Harley’s -friends, did not appear as if they were going to be sufficient to -compass the conviction of Hugh Stavanger for the robbery. There was -plenty of proof that he had had a great many diamonds in his possession, -and his evident desire to evade observation argued guilt on his part. -But there was no one who could or would prove that the jewels in Hugh -Stavanger’s possession were the jewels that had been stolen. Both his -father and his uncle had suddenly disappeared, and their evidence was -unavailable. This disappearance confirmed everybody’s moral conviction -that Hugh Stavanger was guilty. - -But moral conviction is not proof, and without proof no man may be -judged. Accused’s counsel began to be very hopeful. Presumably -everything would have turned upon Hilton Riddell’s evidence, and, -curiously enough, the lack of evidence was likely not merely to fail in -proving Stavanger’s guilt, but to be the actual means of proving his -innocence. It was fully explained why he had joined the “Merry Maid.” -But although he might have gained important evidence, he had not -returned with it, and was, therefore, useless as a witness. It being -impossible to prove that Mr. Hilton Riddell was possessed of any -information likely to be detrimental to Mr. Hugh Stavanger or to Captain -Cochrane, it naturally followed that a motive for his supposed murder -was wanting. Given no motive, only absolute proof that the men had been -seen to commit the murder would be sufficient to secure their committal -upon the capital charge, and though all the world felt morally convinced -of their guilt, the men had capital counsel who knew, none better, how -to make black look like white, and whose professional reputation was -staked upon the winning of such a desperate looking case. - -There was also a certain judge on the bench with whom the words -“justice” and “moral conviction” became obsolete terms as soon as he -entered upon the study of “law.” He also prided himself upon his ability -to enforce the dictates of law in all their naked severity, in spite of -all the clamourings of public opinion. Nay, public opinion was his -especial bugbear, and his judicial eye always rested with particular -disfavour upon anyone unfortunate enough to be deemed a popular -favourite. He had read all about Annie’s adventures, and had at once -dubbed her in his own mind an unwomanly schemer. He didn’t like -unwomanly women. They set a bad example to others. Therefore an example -must be made of them, and they must be shown that the dictum of one of -her Majesty’s judges cannot be lightly upset. Poor man! He was but -human, and he could hardly be expected to view with favour an attempt to -upset the judgment he had himself given when Harley Riddell was tried -for the diamond robbery. Do not mistake me, dear reader, our noble judge -would sacrifice his own private feelings if law bade him do so. But law -must be paramount, and if law was ever doubtful, it must always consider -itself opposed to sentimentalism and unwarranted interference. - -Thus it happened that, by the enforcement of this enactment or of that, -all the cherished proofs of Harley’s innocence and Hugh Stavanger’s -guilt were ruthlessly torn to shreds, and more than one heart was -turning sick with disappointment, when a strange commotion was heard -among the crowd of people at the entrance of the court. There were loud -cries of “Silence in Court.” But these cries were unheeded. Indeed, the -commotion waxed louder and became momentarily more irrepressible, as a -man pushed his way through the crowd, while his name flew before him. - -It was Hilton Riddell! - -Hilton Riddell was that day a name to conjure with, and even the judge -himself permitted his mind to entertain emotions that were not strictly -of a legal tendency. But how describe the joy and delight of the mother -who had pictured him lying dead at the bottom of the sea? Of the brother -who thought that for his sake he had perished? Of the friends who now -saw light ahead for Harley? Or the dismay of the two scoundrels who, -though they were freed from the weight of bloodguiltiness, yet saw -condemnation in store for them as the result of the evidence of this -man, who had been given up by the sea for their undoing? - -All this happened some time ago. And our friends may be supposed to -have settled down to the freedom and joy which is theirs. But even yet -they cannot think calmly of the events of that wonderful day when blind -justice seemed to be balancing her scales against them again, and when -Hilton’s opportune return wrought the condemnation of villainy, and -re-united every member of a now happy family. Hugh Stavanger has ample -time now in which to contemplate the fate he so ruthlessly inflicted -upon another. And Captain Cochrane often laments the day that cupidity -stole such a sorry march upon him. - -Miss Una Stratton and Mr. Ernest Bootle have been relegated to the -phantoms of the past, and even Miss Annie Cory has been merged into Mrs. -Harley Riddell. Her husband has quite recovered his former health and -good looks, though he is perhaps of a more serious disposition than of -yore. He does not care to lead an idle life, but is at the head of a -lucrative business established for him by his father-in-law. Needless to -say, the said father-in-law did not care to be parted from his daughter, -and the three live very happily together. - -Hilton Riddell makes his mother’s heart happy by his devotion to her, -and she has no fear that the day will come when he will crave for the -exclusive society of a companion of his own years. He also has embarked -in a line of business which ensures him freedom from pecuniary anxiety. - -Mr. and Mrs. Woodstock live next door to the house in which Mr. and Mrs. -Harley Riddell and Mr. Cory reside, and it is questionable which of the -homes Briny claims as his own. - -Mr. and Mrs. Twiley, and Mrs. Dollman (on her marriage to a worthy young -friend of the sergeant-major) received some very handsome presents from -the Corys, and Hilton Riddell is not likely to forget all he owes to a -certain worthy Captain Quaco Pereiro and his steward. - - -THE END. - - - - -Transcriber’s Note - -The Contents was added by the transcriber. - -Punctuation has been standardised. Hyphenation and spelling have been -retained as published in the original book except as follows: - - Page 1 - further belate his arrivel _changed to_ - further belate his arrival - - Page 13 - my suspicions are centreing _changed to_ - my suspicions are centring - - Page 20 - is much higher that hers _changed to_ - is much higher than hers - - Page 34 - pretty confident now of suc cess _changed to_ - pretty confident now of success - - Page 43 - but the bo’sen was telling _changed to_ - but the bo’sun was telling - - Page 48 - in fixing the guitl _changed to_ - in fixing the guilt - - Page 48 - toading to wealth and positon _changed to_ - toading to wealth and position - - Page 57 - hole has served his purpose _changed to_ - hole had served his purpose - - Page 61 - We musn’t let him _changed to_ - We mustn’t let him - - Page 123 - evidence that was forthcomng _changed to_ - evidence that was forthcoming - - Page 124 - to write on his arrrival _changed to_ - to write on his arrival - - Page 125 - entitled to lodgings in goal _changed to_ - entitled to lodgings in gaol - - Page 170 - The Babel of voices _changed to_ - The babel of voices - - Page 174 - guardian and beloved portégé _changed to_ - guardian and beloved protégé - - Page 225 - his judical eye _changed to_ - his judicial eye - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of When the Sea Gives Up Its Dead, by -Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN THE SEA GIVES UP ITS DEAD *** - -***** This file should be named 62824-0.txt or 62824-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/8/2/62824/ - -Produced by Mary Glenn Krause, amsibert, University of -North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - -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. 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