diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | 40349-0.txt (renamed from 40349.txt) | 401 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 40349-8.txt | 6240 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 40349-8.zip | bin | 95212 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 40349-h.zip | bin | 98856 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 40349-h/40349-h.htm | 422 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 40349.zip | bin | 95184 -> 0 bytes |
6 files changed, 13 insertions, 7050 deletions
@@ -1,38 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chase of the Ruby, by Richard Marsh - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Chase of the Ruby - -Author: Richard Marsh - -Release Date: July 27, 2012 [EBook #40349] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHASE OF THE RUBY *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by -Google Books (Oxford University) - - - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40349 *** Transcriber's Note: @@ -573,9 +539,9 @@ served.' 'Thrashed! Where? On a flight of steps?' -'On the steps of the Hotel des Anglais at Nice.' +'On the steps of the Hôtel des Anglais at Nice.' -'Good God! I thought I knew the place; of course it was the Hotel des +'Good God! I thought I knew the place; of course it was the Hôtel des Anglais; it's--it's past believing.' The solicitor misapprehended the cause of Mr Holland's excitement. @@ -4189,7 +4155,7 @@ knew nothing.' 'You need not see what we do. We have a little something somewhere which will make you as unconscious of anything that may take place as you can possibly desire. Then, if there is a bother, you will be able -to assume, with perfect propriety, the _role_ of injured victim. But I +to assume, with perfect propriety, the _rôle_ of injured victim. But I don't see that there need be trouble, if you keep still. I've as much right to that ruby as anybody else. I'm going to assert that right, that's all. Now, be a good, kind girl. Go into another room and have a @@ -5476,7 +5442,7 @@ through to the bitter end. In view of such a possible consummation, there were many points to be considered. Had she been an actress, with a keen eye for an advertisement--a type which, it is understood, does exist--the idea of figuring as the heroine of what the slang of the -hour calls a 'cause celebre' might have commended itself to her +hour calls a 'cause célèbre' might have commended itself to her intelligence; but, as it happened, she was not that kind. If these gentlemen did come into the hands of the police--at anyrate, on this particular charge--it was possible that things might transpire which @@ -5882,359 +5848,4 @@ altogether most delightful person off it. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chase of the Ruby, by Richard Marsh -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHASE OF THE RUBY *** - -***** This file should be named 40349.txt or 40349.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/3/4/40349/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by -Google Books (Oxford University) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at - www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 -North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email -contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the -Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40349 *** diff --git a/40349-8.txt b/40349-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8eb982e..0000000 --- a/40349-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6240 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chase of the Ruby, by Richard Marsh - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Chase of the Ruby - -Author: Richard Marsh - -Release Date: July 27, 2012 [EBook #40349] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHASE OF THE RUBY *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by -Google Books (Oxford University) - - - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: - - 1. Page scan source: - http://books.google.com/books?id=nD4PAAAAQAAJ - (Oxford University) - - - - - - - The Chase - of the Ruby - - - - - - - Seventh Edition of RICHARD MARSH'S - - MOST STRIKING NOVEL - - With Illustrations by John Williamson - - THE BEETLE: A Mystery - - Crown 8vo. Price 6s. - - * * * * * - -The Speaker says: 'A story of the most terrific kind is duly recorded -in this extremely powerful book. The skill with which its fantastic -horrors are presented to us is undeniable.' - -The Daily Graphic says: 'It is the kind of book which you put down -only for the purpose of turning up the gas and making sure that no -person or thing is standing behind your chair; and it is a book which -no one will put down until finished, except for the reason above -described.' - -The Glasgow Herald says: 'The weird horror of this being grows upon -the reader. It is difficult, if not impossible, to lay down this book -when once begun.' - -The Academy says: '"Dracula," by Mr Bram Stoker, was creepy, but Mr -Marsh goes one, oh! many more than one, better. This surprising and -ingenious story succeeds in producing that sensation of horror which -should make the flesh of even the least susceptible reader creep.' - -Answers says: 'Mr Marsh's famous novel is one of the most -enthrallingly interesting narratives of the past few years. I strongly -advise all my readers to order the book at once.' - -The Literary World says: 'An ingenious, weird, and thrilling story, -narrated with a clearness of style and a fulness of incident which -hold the reader's attention from first to last.' - -The St James's Budget says: 'The frontispiece is a nightmare, and the -terrors are thrillingly described. One is compelled to read it to the -end.' - -The Birmingham Daily Gazette says: 'A powerful and vigorous story of a -most terrible character, told with skill and ingenuity. It is even -more strange and mysterious than Bulwer's "Zanoni."' - - * * * * * - - London: SKEFFINGTON & SON, 163 Piccadilly, W. - _Publishers to Her Majesty The Queen and to H.R.H. The Prince_ - _of Wales_ - And at all Libraries and Railway Bookstalls - - - - - - - THE - - Chase of the Ruby - - - - - BY - - RICHARD MARSH - - - AUTHOR OF - - 'THE BEETLE: A MYSTERY,' 'IN FULL CRY,' 'FRIVOLITIES,' ETC. - - - - - - - LONDON - SKEFFINGTON & SON, 163 PICCADILLY - - Publishers to Her Majesty The Queen - AND TO - His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales - - 1900 - - - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAP. - - I. GHOSTS IN AFRICA. - - II. THE QUEST ORDAINED. - - III. MISS BROAD COMMANDS. - - IV. MR HOLLAND FAILS. - - V. A WOMAN SCORNED. - - VI. MISS BROAD COMMANDS A SECOND TIME. - - VII. THE BOTTOM DRAWER. - - VIII. THE LADY--AND THE GENTLEMAN. - - IX. THE FLYMAN. - - X. SHE WISHES THAT SHE HADN'T. - - XI. THE PURSUIT OF THE GENTLEMAN. - - XII. THE TENDER MERCIES OF TWO LADIES. - - XIII. VISITORS FOR MISS CASATA. - - XIV. WHO KNOCKS? - - XV. AN HONOURABLE RETREAT. - - XVI. THE FINDING OF THE RUBY AND THE LOCKING OF THE DOOR. - - XVII. THE FIGURES ON THE BED. - - XVIII. REINFORCED. - - XIX. STILL WITH A SMILE. - - XX. HOW THE CHASE WAS ENDED. - - - - - - The Chase of the Ruby - - - - - CHAPTER I - - GHOSTS IN AFRICA - - -'Upon my word, this is--' He hesitated, then chose another form of -words with which to conclude his sentence. 'This is extraordinary.' - -He allowed the paper to flutter from between his fingers, stood -staring at nothing, then, stooping, picked up the sheet of blue post -from where it had fallen at his feet. - -'Extraordinary!' he repeated. - -He regarded it and handled it as if it had been some uncanny -thing--though, on the face of it, it was nothing of the kind. It was a -formal letter addressed to 'Guy Holland, Esq., 37A Craven Street, -W.C.' It began 'Dear Sir,' and ended 'Yr. obedt. servant, SAML. -COLLYER.' Between the beginning and the end it informed him that his -uncle, George Burton, had died at Nice on February 23, and that the -writer would feel obliged if he would call upon him at his earliest -possible convenience. - -'I wonder if I saw him die?' Mr Holland knit his brows as he asked -himself the question. 'How could I, when I was in Mashonaland and he -was in Nice? Absurd!' - -He laughed, as it has been written, 'hollowly'; the laugh of -uneasiness rather than mirth. - -Then he went and saw the lady. - -She was waiting on a seat by a certain piece of water in Regent's -Park. She must have had eyes behind, because, although she was sitting -with her back to him, directly he stepped upon the grass she sprang -up, and, as if she had been observing him all the time, went to him at -something very like a run. He advanced at quick step. They met in the -middle of the grass plot, contrary to regulations, which forbid people -to walk upon the grass. They each gave two hands, and that with an air -which suggested that if that had not been a public place they would -have given each other something else as well. - -'Guy!' she exclaimed. 'I thought you were the other side of the world. -What a time you've been!' - -'Coming from the other side of the world? or from Craven Street? It is -some distance from Craven Street to Regent's Park.' - -'You are in Craven Street, are you? What's it mean? You're looking -well--sort of coppery colour; it suits you.' - -'That's the air of the veldt; it burnishes a man's skin. You're -looking sweet. I say, it's awfully hard lines that I can't kiss you. -Mayn't I--just a little one?' - -'In broad daylight, in Regent's Park, with a hundred pairs of eyes -observing us from Hamilton Terrace? Thank you; some other day. When I -had your note--what a note! "Meet me at the old place at noon"--I -wondered who I was to meet, you or your ghost. As a matter of fact, I -had a most important engagement--just at noon; but I put it off on -purpose to come and see.' - -'That was very dear of you. I'm not my ghost, I'm me.' - -'But--Guy, have you made your fortune? You didn't seem as if you were -going to make it at quite such a rate when you wrote last.' - -He shook his head. - -'Came back with less in my pockets than when I left.' - -'Then--what does it mean?' - -'My uncle's dead.' - -'Mr Burton?' - -He nodded. - -'Has he left you his money? Oh, Guy!' - -'As to that, I can't say. At present I know nothing. The fact is, -Letty, it's--it's a queer business. You won't laugh?' - -'What at?' - -'Well'--he held out an envelope--'if I hadn't found this letter -awaiting me telling me of the old man's death, I should have accused -myself of softening of the brain, or something of the kind. As it is, -I believe I've had a vision.' - -'A vision! You? Guy, fancy your discovering that there are visions -about.' - -'You're laughing at me now.' - -'I'm doing nothing of the kind. How can you say such a thing? I'm the -soul of gravity. Do I ever laugh?' - -As a matter of fact, there was a twinkle in her eyes even as she -spoke, which he perceived. - -'All right; laugh it out. I don't mind. All I can say is that it's -gospel truth, and seems queer enough to me, though I daresay it's -extremely comic to anybody else.' - -'What seems comic? You haven't said a word.' - -'Let's find a seat, and I'll say a good many.' - -They found a seat--not the one she had been sitting on, but one which -was sheltered by a tree. It was, perhaps, because it was in the shade -that they temporarily ignored the fact that they were yet in Regent's -Park. They were still pretty close together when he began to tell his -tale. - -'On the 23rd of February I had had a long day in the open. It was -broiling hot, and in the evening I was glad to get back under cover. -As I sat at my tent door, too tired even to smoke, I saw, right in -front of me, my uncle.' - -'Your uncle? Mr Burton? Where was this?' - -'Perhaps three hundred miles north of Buluwayo.' - -'But--what was your uncle doing there?' - -'I told you it was a queer business, and so it was. Let me try to -explain. Straight in front of where I was sitting the plain stretched -for heaven knows how many miles right away to the horizon. There were -no buildings; scarcely a bush or a tree was to be seen; just the -monotonous level ground. All at once I perceived, certainly within a -hundred feet of where I was, a flight of steps.' - -'A flight of steps?' - -'Well, I had a sort of general idea that there was a building in -connection, but my eyes were fixed upon the steps. I seemed to know -them. There was a wide open door at top. I felt that I was well -acquainted with what was on the other side of that door. On the steps -my uncle was standing. Mind, I saw him as well as I see you, and, -thank goodness, I can see you pretty well. I can't tell you what he -wore, because I'm no hand at describing clothes; but I've an -impression that he had on a suit of tweeds and a bowler hat. He was -apparently lounging on the steps, watching the passers-by. He did not -see me--of that I was sure. On a sudden someone else came towards him -up the steps. He was a stranger to me, though I think I should know -him if I saw him again. He was taller than my uncle, and, I imagine, -younger. Anyhow, he was altogether a bigger and a stronger man. He had -a walking stick in his hand, with a horn handle. Directly he got -within reach, without, so far as I could judge, uttering a word of -warning, with this stick he struck my uncle with all his force across -the face. I suspect that my uncle had seen him coming before I did, -and, for reasons of his own, had stuck to what he deemed his post of -vantage on the steps, being unwilling to go and meet him, and ashamed -to run away. That he was not so taken aback by the suddenness of the -attack as I was I felt persuaded. He put out his hand to guard -himself, and, I fancy, at the last moment was disposed to turn tail -and flee. But it was too late. The blow got home. He staggered back -and would have fallen had not the stranger gripped him with his left -hand, and commenced to belabour him with the stick which he held with -his right. People came streaming out of the open door above and up the -steps from the street. My uncle made not the faintest attempt at -resistance. When the people came close enough to hamper the free -action of his arm, the stranger, giving his victim a push, sent him -head foremost down the steps. In an instant the whole thing vanished.' - -Mr Holland ceased. The lady had been regarding him with wide-open grey -eyes. - -'Guy!' she said. - -'Wasn't it odd?' - -'Odd? You must have been dreaming.' - -'I was as wide awake as you are. It was a mirage, or vision, or -something of the kind. The queerest part of it was that it was so -amazingly real, and so near. When the thing had gone I kept asking -myself why I hadn't jumped up and interfered. I could have got there -in a dozen strides.' - -'Then what happened?' - -'I sat for a long time half dazed, half expecting the thing to come -again, or to continue from the point at which it had left off. Then I -went and told a man with whom I was chumming what I'd seen. He said -the sun had got into my eyes, advised me to have a drink--made fun of -it altogether. But I knew better; and, as it turned out, I was haunted -by my uncle all through the night.' - -'Awake or sleeping?' - -'Awake. I couldn't sleep. I was haunted by a feeling that he was -dying. The stranger had not killed him; but in consequence of the -thrashing he had received he was struggling with death, and kept -calling out to me to come to him; and I couldn't.' - -'Poor Guy!' - -The lady softly stroked the hand of his which she held between her -two. - -'I wondered if I was on the verge of an attack of illness or going -mad, or what, though personally I felt as fit as a fiddle all the -time, with my senses as much about me as they are now. I kept hearing -him call out, over and over again, "Guy, Guy!" in the voice I knew so -well and wasn't particularly fond of. There was something else which -he kept repeating.' - -'What was that?' - -'"The ruby."' - -'The ruby?' - -'I haven't a notion of what he meant or what the whole thing meant, -but at least a dozen times that night I heard him referring to a -ruby,--the ruby, he called it. Long and seemingly involved sentences I -heard him utter, but the only two words I could distinguish were those -two--"the ruby"; and, as I have said, those two I heard him pronounce -certainly a dozen times. And in the morning I was conscious of an -absolute conviction that he was dead.' - -'How very strange.' - -'I'm not one of your clever chaps, so I don't pretend to be able to -suggest a sufficient explanation, but the entire business reminds me -of what I've heard about second sight. Although in the body I was out -there on the veldt I seemed to know and see what was taking place -heaven knows how many thousand miles away. In spite of the persuasion -which was borne in upon me that he was dead, every day, and sometimes -all day, I heard him calling out to me, "Guy, Guy!" and every now and -then, "The ruby!" It was as if he were imploring me to come to him.' - -'So you came.' - -'So I came. The truth is I couldn't stand it any longer. I should have -gone off my head if I had had much more of it. I was good for nothing, -my nerves were all anyhow, everyone was laughing at me. So I slipped -off by myself without a word to a creature; got down to Cape Town, -found a boat just starting, and was off on it at once. Directly the -boat was away the haunting stopped. My nerves were all right in an -instant. I told myself I was an ass; that I ought to have wired or -written, or done something sensible. Since, however, it was too late I -tried to make the best of things. I ran up to London so soon as we -reached port, meaning, if it turned out that my imagination had made a -fool of me, to go straight back without breathing a word to anyone of -my ever having come.' - -'Not even to me?' - -'Not even to you. You wouldn't have liked me to turn up with nothing -but a bee in my bonnet.' - -'So long as you turned up, I shouldn't have cared for forty thousand -bees. The idea!' - -'That's very sweet of you. As it happened, no sooner did I appear at -my old quarters than Mrs Flickers produced a letter which had arrived -for me--she did not know how long ago, and which she had not known -what to do with. It turned out to be an intimation from Collyer that -that my uncle had died on the 23rd of February, the very day on which, -out on the veldt, I had seen him assaulted by that unknown individual -upon that flight of steps.' - -'Guy, is this a ghost story you have been telling me? I don't want to -be absurd, but it really does look as if it were a case of the hand of -destiny.' - -'I don't know about the hand of destiny, but it does look as if it -were a case of something.' - -'I shouldn't be surprised if, after all, the old reprobate has left -you some of his money.' - -'Nor I. Oh, Letty, if he has! We'll be married on Monday.' - -'As this is Friday, couldn't you make it Sunday? Monday seems such a -long way off. My dear Guy, first of all interview Mr Samuel Collyer. -Then you'll learn the worst.' - -'I am going to. Of course I had to see you first--' - -'Of course.' - -'But I wired to him that I'd call this afternoon.' - -'Then call.' - -And Mr Holland called. - - - - - CHAPTER II - - THE QUEST ORDAINED - - -Mr Collyer's offices were in Pump Court, first floor front. Mr Samuel -Collyer was a somewhat short and pursy gentleman of about fifty years -of age, with a clean-shaven face, and a manner which gave such a -varying complexion to the words he used as to cause it sometimes to be -very difficult to make out exactly what it was he meant; an extremely -useful manner for a solicitor to have. As with alert, swinging stride -Mr Holland entered, Mr Collyer rose, greeting him with his usual -stolid air, as if he had just looked in from across the road, instead -of from the wilds of Africa. - -'Good morning, Mr Guy. You're looking very brown.' - -'Yes, I--I'm feeling very brown.' - -The words seemed to come from him almost before he knew it, on the -spur of the moment, as if the presence of a third person lent them a -special significance. Reclining in the only armchair the room -contained was a young gentleman of about Mr Holland's own age. He was -well dressed, good looking, very much at his ease, and he regarded Mr -Holland with a suggestion of amusement which seemed somehow to be very -much in character. - -'In questions of feeling is brown the equivalent of blue?' - -Mr Holland's bearing was not so genial as the other's. - -'I did not expect to see you here.' - -'Nor, my dear Guy, did I expect to see you. I did not even wish to.' - -'That I can easily believe.' - -'It is Mr Collyer's fault that I am here, not mine. I should have been -content never to set eyes on you again; and as for being in the same -room with you--' - -He left his sentence unfinished, with a little airy movement of his -hand, which seemed to round it off with a sting. He continued to -smile, although Mr Holland regarded him for a moment with eyes which -were very far from smiling. The newcomer turned to the solicitor. - -'I have your letter.' - -'I presume, Mr Guy, that you had my letter nearly three months ago.' - -'I had it this morning. I only came back from Africa last night.' - -'From Africa? I was not aware you had gone so far.' - -'Dear Guy is such a gadabout.' - -The interpolation came from the young gentleman in the arm-chair. The -solicitor went on. - -'The only address I had was the one in Craven Street. As my letter did -not come back I supposed it had reached you safely; but that, for -reasons of your own, you chose to take no notice of it. You know, Mr -Guy, that in such matters you are a little erratic.' - -'I know. You needn't remind me. So my uncle is dead. Of what did he -die?' - -'The immediate cause was apoplexy, brought on, it is to be feared, by -something which happened on the afternoon of his decease.' - -The young gentleman in the arm-chair struck in. - -'He was thrashed within an inch of his life, and very properly he was -served.' - -'Thrashed! Where? On a flight of steps?' - -'On the steps of the Hôtel des Anglais at Nice.' - -'Good God! I thought I knew the place; of course it was the Hôtel des -Anglais; it's--it's past believing.' - -The solicitor misapprehended the cause of Mr Holland's excitement. - -'It does seem almost incredible; none the less it is a lamentable -fact.' - -The young gentleman put in his word. - -'How incredible? The dear man misbehaved himself with another man's -wife, as was his invariable custom when he had a chance. The other man -thrashed him for it. What could be more natural? or simpler?' - -Mr Holland ignored the inquiry. - -'What is it, Mr Collyer, which you wish to say to me?' - -'It is not so much that I have anything to say to you as that I have a -duty to perform. I have to read to you your uncle's will. His -instructions were that it was to be read only in the presence of both -his nephews, his sole remaining relatives.' - -'He has probably left all his money to found a hospital for cats, and -wished us both to be present, my dear Guy, so that we might enjoy each -other's discomfiture.' - -Mr Holland said nothing. Mr Collyer was taking some papers out of a -metal box which stood against the wall, and on the front of which was -painted in white letters the name, 'George Burton.' Reseating himself -behind his table he held up a large white linen envelope, such as is -used in England for registered letters. - -'I will read you the endorsement which is on it. "This envelope, which -he told me contained his will, was delivered to me by Mr George -Burton, on the 22nd of June 1899, and was then and there sealed by me -in the presence of my two clerks whose names are undersigned." Then -follow my own signature, and the signatures of the clerks in question, -both of whom are still in my employ, Ferdinand Murpeatt and Benjamin -Davis. Would either of you gentlemen like to see them?' - -'My good Mr Collyer, we don't want to see your clerks. Your clerks be -sanctified. Why all this form and fuss? Make an end of it. Let's know -if it's cats or dogs Uncle Burton's favoured.' - -'And you, Mr Guy, are you content that I should proceed at once to the -contents of this envelope?' - -Mr Holland said nothing; he simply nodded. The solicitor, taking a -penknife, began to cut open the top of the envelope with a degree of -care which perhaps erred on the side of overcaution. He addressed them -as he did so. - -'I may say that, beyond Mr Burton's own statement that it holds his -will, I have no notion what this envelope contains. I have no -knowledge of the purport of the will; Mr Burton never gave me the -faintest hint as to what were his testamentary intentions. You are -aware that your uncle was a man who did what he liked, in his own way; -and I say this, therefore, in order to give you to understand that -whatever form the will may take, I am not to be held responsible.' - -The young gentleman in the arm-chair laughed. - -'My dear Collyer, do cut the cackle, and do let's come to the 'osses.' - -Mr Collyer took out from the envelope a single sheet of paper. Without -further preamble he commenced to read what was written on it, in a -slow, monotonous, sing-song voice, as if it were something sacred -which he almost felt it his duty to intone. - - -'"I, George Burton, of Hyde Park Terrace, London, W., do hereby -announce that this is my last Will and Testament, as written with my -own hand on June 17, 1899." - -'"I have only two relatives living, viz., my two nephews, Horace -Burton, my brother's son, and Guy Holland, the son of my sister; and, -since I love them equally well, I desire to do them equal justice."' - -The reading was interrupted by prolonged laughter from the young -gentleman in the arm-chair. - -'The dear man!' he cried. - -Mr Collyer continued. - -'"I therefore give and bequeath all that I die possessed of, in real -and personal estate, to my nephew, Guy Holland--"' - -'Good Lord!' exclaimed the young gentleman in the arm-chair. - -Mr Holland's lips might have been closed a little tighter. The lawyer -went on unmoved. - -'"Absolutely, to do with as he pleases, on condition that he recover -from May Bewicke, the actress, whom he knows, my ruby signet ring, -which she obtained from me by means of a trick on the 27th of this -last May. The ring is well known to him, and to Horace, and to my -lawyer, Samuel Collyer. The ring is to be delivered to Samuel Collyer, -whom I hereby appoint my sole executor, by my nephew, Guy, within -three months of the day of my death. Should he do so within the period -mentioned, then I do hereby name him as my sole heir and residuary -legatee. In default, however, of such delivery within the time stated, -for any cause whatever, then my whole estate, without any deduction -whatever, is to become the absolute property of my other nephew, -Horace Burton." - -'"Since the chances that Guy will obtain the ring from Miss Bewicke -are not very large, that young woman preferring to keep tight hold of -anything she has once laid her hands on, in making this will I am -doing Horace even more than justice." - -'"In the improbable case of the delivery of my ruby signet ring by Guy -to Samuel Collyer, within the aforementioned three months of my -decease, it is to be held by the said Samuel Collyer, and not to pass -out of his possession until his death, when it is to be sold, and the -proceeds devoted to form a Society for the Reformation of Actresses." - -'"As witness my hand and signature this seventeenth day of June, -Eighteen hundred and ninety-nine. GEORGE BURTON." - -'"Witnesses--" - -'"John Claney, 13 Porchester Terrace, W." - -'"Augustus Evans, 83 Belgrave Row, S.W."' - - -The reading was followed by silence, broken by a question from Mr -Holland. - -'And pray what is the plain English of it all?' - -'The will is plain English. You are to obtain a certain ring from a -certain lady and deliver it to me within a certain time. If you do so -you are your uncle's heir; if you do not, Mr Horace is.' - -'Within three months of his death. He died on the 23rd of February. -This is the 19th of May. I have four days in which to get the ring.' - -'Apparently that is the case.' - -'Supposing this lady refuses to give me the ring when I ask for it, -as, so far as I can perceive, she will be perfectly justified in -doing.' - -'Perfectly!' - -The murmur came from Horace. - -'How am I to get it from her within four days? Where is Miss Bewicke -now?' - -'In London. She is acting at the Modern Theatre. I am afraid I am -unable to assist you with any advice as to how you are to procure the -ring should she refuse to hand it over.' - -Mr Holland stood up. - -'Is that will a good one?' - -'You mean in a legal sense. I should say so, perfectly. It is just the -sort of will I should have expected your uncle to make. It is -distinctly characteristic of the man.' - -'My uncle was a most delightful person. Then, if I do not succeed in -jockeying this lady out of her property inside four days I'm a -pauper.' - -'At least you will not inherit under your uncle's will.' - -As Mr Holland stood with knitted brows his cousin gave him a friendly -pat upon the back. Mr Holland whirled round to him in a manner which -was distinctly not friendly. - -'How dare you touch me, sir!' - -'My dear Guy! May not a cousin give a cousinly salutation to a cousin? -My congratulations, my dear boy. You're sure to be the heir. You -always were so clever at diddling a woman.' - -The blood showed even through Mr Holland's bronzed cheeks; his -clenched fists twitched. The other, however, paid no heed to these -signs and portents. - -'I believe you managed to diddle Miss Bewicke once before, eh, Guy?' -He turned upon his heels, with a little movement of his shoulders. -'Let's hope you'll succeed the second time as well as I've been given -to understand you did the first. Good-bye. Good luck, dear boy. -Collyer, I'll look in on you again.' - -Mr Horace Burton strolled from the room. Presently Mr Holland followed -him. - -'I, also, Mr Collyer, will talk things over when I look in again. I -don't feel equal to the task just now.' He said to himself as he was -going down the stairs, 'Nice to have to rob your old sweetheart to -keep yourself out of the gutter. He knew very well there had been -passages between us; so he set me the dirtiest job to do which he -could think of. The brute! I'd better have stayed in Africa than have -come back to this. I wonder what Letty'll say.' - -The solicitor, left alone, leaning back in his chair, stroked his chin -with his hand as if to discover whether it wanted shaving. - -'They don't know that Miss May Bewicke is Mr Samuel Collyer's niece. I -fancy that there are only one or two persons who are aware that he has -a niece upon the stage. George Burton certainly was not.' - -He smiled as if his own thoughts tickled him. - - - - - CHAPTER III - - MISS BROAD COMMANDS - - -They were in Regent's Park again; at the same place; on the same seat. -She said to him as he came up,-- - -'I told papa that you were here. I'm of age, and I suppose I'm -entitled to do as I please; but I made up my mind that I'd have no -secrecy. It's degrading.' - -'Well, degrading's strong. And what did papa say?' - -'I mentioned, at the same time, that your uncle was dead, and under -the circumstances he perhaps thought it advisable not to say much. At -anyrate he didn't.' - -'He might have done; and he will do soon.' - -Something in his tone caught her ear. - -'Guy! What's the matter? You don't mean--?' - -'Not exactly, though I'm not sure it isn't worse.' - -She half rose from the seat. - -'Has he left you nothing?' - -He told her the purport of his uncle's will; she listening eager-eyed -and open-mouthed. - -'Do you mean to say that you're to get this ridiculous ring out of -Miss Bewicke's possession in four days, by fair means or foul?' - -He nodded. - -'But it's monstrous.' - -'It is a pretty tall order?' - -'What do you propose to do?' - -'I propose to call upon Miss Bewicke.' - -In a moment, without any warning, she was standing up beside him stiff -and straight. - -'I see. Now I understand. That's the idea. I've no doubt that Miss -Bewicke will find you a most persuasive person.' - -'My dear Letty!' - -'Weren't you and Miss Bewicke once engaged to be married? Pray don't -trouble yourself to explain. I know all about it. You need have no -fear of losing your uncle's inheritance. You are quite sure to -understand each other. She'll be delighted to give you the ring in -exchange for another. Would you like to give her mine?' - -She actually began to unbutton her glove. He groaned. - -'It's worth while seeing ghosts in Africa for this!' - -'And what do you propose to say to Miss Bewicke when you call upon -her?' - -'That's what I want you to tell me.' - -'I tell you! As if you didn't know! After the stories I have heard of -her I had hoped that you would have had no more to do with Miss -Bewicke. But, of course, my wishes do not count.' - -'If the stories you have heard are to Miss Bewicke's discredit, you -may take my word for it that they are libels.' - -'You are sure to know. I am glad you have such a high opinion of her. -When you have seen her you might let me know what she says. That is, -if she should say anything which was not spoken in the strictest -confidence.' - -She actually walked away. He went after her. - -'My dear Letty, don't you want me to try to get the ring?' - -'By all means act in accordance with the dictates of your better -judgment. You are so much wiser than I.' - -'But, Letty, if I don't get the ring, I--I won't say I lose you, -because God knows I hope I never shall do that; but it means that I -shall have to wait for you, the Powers above alone can tell how long. -While getting it means getting you at once.' - -'Guy, weren't you once engaged to be married to Miss Bewicke?' - -'Yes, I was.' - -'And I suppose you loved each other?' - -'Letty, it's not like you to rub it in like this.' - -'My dear Guy, let us look the situation fairly in the face. This -person, from whom you are going to ask this weighty favour--in effect -you are going to ask her to bestow on you a fortune--is the woman whom -once you loved, and who was once your promised wife. I don't like it; -it's no use pretending to you that I do.' - -'My dear Letty, do you think I like it? If it weren't for -circumstances I'd let the ruby and the fortune go together. Listen, -the decision shall be in your hands. Shall I try to fulfil the old -man's preposterous and malignant condition? or shall I throw the whole -thing up at once, let the money go to Horace Burton, return to Africa, -and keep on pounding away in the hope of making enough to win you in -the end? Now, which is it to be? You shall say.' - -'It's not fair to place the entire responsibility upon my shoulders.' - -'Since this is a matter in which you are primarily interested, my one -desire is that your views should be treated with the utmost possible -deference.' - -'Then get the ruby.' - -'But how?' - -'Tear it from her if you like; knock her down and steal it; I don't -care. Only don't make love to her under the pretence of doing me a -service. Guy, if you're even civil to her--' - -She left the sentence unfinished; the air with which she spoke was -eloquent enough. - -'My dear Letty, as if I should! Then do you suggest that I should go -and see her?' - -'Of course. To-night.' - -'To-night?' - -'At once. And get the ruby from her somehow; I don't care how, but get -it. And meet me here in the morning with it in your hand.' - -'But, dearest, Miss Bewicke goes to the theatre.' - -'I don't care where she goes.' - -'Exactly, but I can hardly interview her in the theatre; and, in any -case, she would scarcely have the ruby with her there.' - -'Then see her after.' - -'After the theatre?' - -'Oh, Guy, don't keep asking me questions! If you only knew how I hate -the notion of your seeing her at all, especially to solicit a favour -at her hands. But since I suppose you must, you must get it over. Only -I know what took place between you before; papa knows and everybody -knows--heaps of people have told me.' A curious something came into -her voice, a sort of choking sound. It frightened Mr Holland. 'Guy, -you must see her to-night--to-night--and never again. Get the ruby -from her if you have to fight her for it, and meet me here to-morrow -morning with it in your hand.' - -Without a word of warning she scurried from him down the path. He -called after her. - -'Letty!' - -'Don't try to stop me. I don't want to speak to you when you're going -to see that woman.' - -There was that in her voice which caused him to deem it advisable to -take her at her word. He let her go. He remained behind to objurgate -fickle fortune and other things. He told himself, not for the first -time,-- - -'It really was not worth while to see ghosts in Africa for this. If -spectral visitations all tend this way I bar them. The next ghost I -see I'll decline to notice it. It shall lead somebody else into a -mess, not me.' He began to stroll towards the gate, kicking every now -and then at the pebbles on the path. 'Never thought Letty was such a -little spitfire. Bless her heart! I love her for it all the more. Who -can have told her about the mess I made of things with May? I'll swear -I didn't. These things will out.' He groaned. 'It's past seven. I'll -go and get something to eat. Then if food screws my courage to the -sticking point I'll go and interview Miss Bewicke a little later. But -as for taking that ruby from her _vi et armis_--oh, lord! If ever -there was a forlorn hope, I'm down for one to-night.' - -Miss Bewicke had a flat in Victoria Street. A little after half-past -eleven Mr Holland addressed himself to the hall porter with an inquiry -if she was in. There was that in his bearing which suggested that the -food which he had consumed had not exhilarated him to any appreciable -extent. In fact, so melancholy was his air that one would not have -been surprised to learn that it had injuriously affected his -digestion. The porter regarded him askance. - -'Do you know Miss Bewicke?' - -'I have that honour.' - -'Sure?' - -'Tolerably sure.' - -'You'll excuse my asking you, but such a lot of people, perfect -strangers, come hanging about and annoying her that my orders are not -to let anybody go up if I can help it who isn't a friend of hers. I -understand you to say that you are a friend.' - -'A friend of some years' standing.' - -Mr Holland sighed. The porter observed him with dubious glances, being -possibly doubtful as to the meaning of the sigh. - -'I suppose it's all right if you're a friend of hers; you ought to -know best if you are. I can only say that you'll do no good if you're -trying it on. I don't know if Miss Bewicke is in; I don't think she's -returned from the theatre. But you can go up and see. I'll take you up -in the lift if you like.' - -The porter took him up in the lift. On the way Mr Holland asked a -question. - -'Do Miss Bewicke's unknown admirers allow their admiration to carry -them as far as her private residence?' - -'I don't know about admiration. Idiots I call them; and sometimes -worse. People hang about here all day, and sometimes half the night, -trying to introduce themselves to her, and I don't know what rubbish. -Why, I've known half-a-dozen cabs follow her from the theatre to the -very door.' - -'Empty cabs?' - -'Not much; a fool, and sometimes two fools, in each.' - -'Ah!' Mr Holland reflected. 'If Miss Bewicke had been destined to be -my wife I wonder how I should have enjoyed her being the object of -such ardent admiration. Under such circumstances a husband's feelings -must be worth dissection.' - -In reply to Mr Holland's modest knock, the door of Miss Bewicke's -apartments was opened by a young gentleman well over six feet high, -who appeared to be in rather a curious frame of mind. - -'What the deuce do you want?' was his courteous salutation. - -'I want Miss Bewicke.' - -'Oh, you do, do you? then just you come inside.' - -He took Mr Holland by the shoulder, and that individual, although a -little surprised at the young gentleman's notion of the sort of -reception which it was advisable to accord a friendly visitor, -suffered him to lead him to an apartment which was beyond. This was -apparently a sitting-room, prettily furnished, particularly with -photographs, as is the manner of ladies who are connected with the -theatre, and contained a table which was laid for two. The young -gentleman still did not release Mr Holland's shoulder. He glared at -him instead, and put to him this flattering question,-- - -'Are you the blackguard who has been making himself a nuisance about -the place this last week and more?' - -Mr Holland's reply was mild in the extreme. - -'I hope not.' - -'You hope not? What do you mean by that? Don't you know you are?' - -'I do not. I think the mistake, sir, is yours. May I ask who you are? -You have your own ideas of how to greet the coming guest. Does Miss -Bewicke keep you on the premises in order that you may mete out this -kind of treatment to all her friends? You should be popular.' - -'You're no friend of Miss Bewicke's. Don't try to bounce me, sir. I'll -tell you in two words who I am. My name's Dumville--Bryan Dumville. -Miss Bewicke is shortly to be my wife. As her affianced husband I -consider myself entitled to protect her from the impertinent -attentions of any twopenny-ha'penny bounder who chooses to think that -because she condescends to appear upon the stage of a theatre he is at -liberty to persecute her when and how he pleases.' - -'Your sentiments do you credit, Mr Dumville.' - -'Don't try to soft-soap me, sir. You can speak smoothly enough to me; -but I will give you ten seconds, before I throw you down the stairs, -to explain the meaning of your presence here.' - -'I think, Mr Dumville, that, if I were you, I should make it a little -more than ten seconds before, as you put it, you throw me down the -stairs. I have come to see Miss Bewicke. I am afraid I can only -explain myself to her.' - -'No, you don't. That trick's been played before! It's stale; out you -go!' - -'Don't be an ass, sir!' - -'Ass!' - -The epithet seemed to add fuel to the excitable Mr Dumville's flame. -Throwing both arms round Mr Holland, trying to lift him off the -ground, he proceeded to hustle him towards the door. Mr Holland, -unwilling to be treated in quite such unceremonious fashion, displayed -a capacity for resistance for which, possibly, the other was -unprepared. There was every prospect of a delightful little bout of -rough and tumble, when an interruption came. - -'Bryan! what are you doing?' - -The interruption came from a young lady who was standing at the open -door. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - - MR HOLLAND FAILS - - -A Small young lady, daintily fashioned, with a child-like face. She -was charmingly dressed; a big feather boa was round her neck. As she -stood there, in spite of the perfection of her attire, she looked more -like a child than a woman. The men released each other. Mr Dumville -explained. - -'I was only going to throw the fellow down the stairs.' - -'Is that all? And what has'--there was a little hesitation; then the -word was softened by a smile--'the fellow done? And who may the fellow -be?' - -'I don't know. Some bounder, I suppose.' - -Mr Dumville seemed slightly disconcerted, as if the situation had not -quite shaped as he had expected. Mr Holland's hat and stick had fallen -to the floor. He stooped to pick them up. When he turned there came an -exclamation from the little lady at the door. - -'Guy!' - -'Miss Bewicke.' - -'Whoever would have thought of seeing you? Why, this is Mr Holland, a -friend of my childish days.' - -She advanced with a tiny gloved hand held out to him. Mr Dumville, -whose hands were in his trouser pockets, seemed disposed to be grumpy. - -'It wasn't my fault; he should have told me.' - -'You hardly gave me an opportunity.' - -'My dear Bryan, I believe you're a little mad; that is, I believe -you're a little madder even than I thought you were. Guy, this is -Bryan Dumville, a gentleman who thinks that he has claims on me. -Bryan, this is Guy Holland, who was a friend of mine when I was quite -a little child; and that--how long ago that is!' - -'I don't see how I'm to blame. The porter was talking about the fellow -who has been such a nuisance, saying that he has been making himself -particularly objectionable to-day, trying to force his way upstairs, -and I don't know what; and he added that he was hanging about at that -very moment, and if he turned his back he shouldn't be surprised if -the blackguard made another try to get at you. I made up my mind that -if he did I would give him what for. So, when someone knocked at the -door, and I found it was a man, I went for him.' - -'Nothing could be more natural.' - -If Mr Holland's tone was a little dry Mr Dumville did not seem to -notice it; but the lady regarded the speaker with laughter lighting -all her pretty face. - -'Guy, you must sup with us.' - -'Thank you, I have not long dined.' - -'That doesn't matter; you must eat with us again.' She rang the bell. -A maid appeared. 'Bring another plate; Mr Holland will join us at -supper.' Miss Bewicke proceeded to remove her outdoor things, handing -them to Mr Dumville one by one, talking as she did so. 'Someone told -me that you were at the other side of the world--at the North Pole, I -think.' - -'Not the North Pole; but I have been to Africa. I only returned last -night.' - -'And you came to-day to see me? How perfectly delightful of you.' - -Mr Holland winced. He was conscious that the lady might misapprehend -the situation. - -'The fact is, I have something rather important which I wish to say to -you.' - -'Indeed? How interesting! I like people to say important things to me. -Say it while we're at supper. That is, if it's something Bryan may be -allowed to listen to.' - -'If I'm in the way I'll go.' - -Mr Holland was silent. He felt that Mr Dumville was in the way, but -that he himself was hardly in a position to say so. Miss Bewicke spoke -for him. - -'My dear Bryan, when you're in the way we'll let you know. Now, -people, will you please sit down?' They seated themselves at table. -'What is this very important thing?--must it out?--or will it keep?' - -Mr Holland reflected. He thought of Letty, and other things. Miss -Bewicke seemed disposed to be friendly. Perhaps it was as well there -was a third person present. He decided to make the running. - -'It's this way. My uncle's dead.' - -'Your uncle? Mr George Burton? I hope you won't think me dreadful, but -I cannot say I'm sorry. He was not a person for whom I entertained -feelings of profound respect.' - -'He--he's left rather a peculiar will.' - -'I'm not surprised. I should be surprised at nothing he did which was -peculiar. I never knew him do anything which wasn't. Or worse.' - -Mr Holland resolved to plunge. - -'He says you have a ruby ring of his.' - -'He says?--who says?' - -'My uncle--in his will.' - -Miss Bewicke laid down her knife and fork. 'Mr Holland, do I -understand that you intend to suggest that I have in my possession -another person's property?' - -'It's like this. He had a ruby ring, I know it very well. In his will -he says you have it. He may have given it to you for all I know; he -did queer things--' - -'Thank you.' - -'I don't mean that.' - -'It doesn't matter. Go on.' - -'Anyhow, it's a condition of his will that I'm to get it back from -you, and if I don't get it back within three months of his death I'm -to lose his money.' - -'I don't in the least understand you. Will you please be so good as to -make yourself quite clear.' - -He made himself as clear as he could, though he did not find it easy. -Nor was his explanation well received. - -'Then am I to gather that you have come to me at midnight, hot-foot -from Africa, in order to get from me--a ring; a ruby ring?' - -'It doesn't sound very nice, but that's the plain truth of it.' - -'It's very flattering.' - -'Very!' - -The chorus came from Mr Dumville, and was accompanied by a glare. - -'I can only throw myself upon your mercy, Miss Bewicke, and implore -you to let me have this ring to save my inheritance.' - -Miss Bewicke resumed her knife and fork, which had all this time been -lying idle. There was a change in her manner, which, though subtle, -was well defined to Mr Holland's consciousness. - -'By the way, Mr Holland, the other day I heard your name associated -with a person called, I think, Broad. Was it merely idle gossip, or do -you know anything of a person with a name like that?' - -'I do. I know Miss Broad, and very well. I hope she will be my wife. -She has promised that she will.' - -'Ah, you and I know what is the value of such promises, don't we, Mr -Holland? Is she any relation to Broad, the teaman, in Mincing Lane?' - -'She is his daughter; his only child.' - -'Indeed! His only child? How delightful! Old Broad has bushels of -money. How nice for you, of all men, to be received in such a family.' - -The airy insolence of the tone was meant to sting, and did, though he -endeavoured to conceal the fact. - -'You haven't answered my question.' - -'Haven't I? What was your question?' - -'Will you let me have the ring, to save my inheritance?' - -'It's such an odd question--isn't it, Bryan? So mysterious. -Melodrama's not at all my line. They say I'm too small. Do you think -that I'm too small?' - -'I should imagine that you were better fitted to shine in domestic -comedy.' - -His words conveyed a meaning which this time stung her, although she -laughed. - -'But, my dear Mr Holland, what do you want with an inheritance when -you are going to marry a rich wife--the only child of her father, and -he a widower. I'm told that old Broad's a millionaire.' - -'I'm not marrying her for her father's money; nor for her own. Nor do -I intend to go to her empty-handed.' - -'How chivalrous you are! So changed!' - -'Am I to have the ring?' - -'Really, Mr Holland, you speak to me as if it were a case of stand and -deliver. You can hardly know how your uncle behaved or I do not think -you would broach the subject to me at all. In any case it is not one -which I can discuss with you. Talk it over with Mr Dumville. Whatever -he wishes I will do. I always act on his advice; he is so very wise. -Good-night, Mr Holland. So glad to have seen you. Come soon again. -Goodnight, Bryan, dear.' - -'But you haven't had any supper.' - -'Mr Holland has taken my appetite away; he has caused my mind to -travel back to events which I am always endeavouring to forget. But it -doesn't matter. Hear what he has to say, and decide for me. King will -let you both out when your discussion's finished.' - -Mr Holland stood up. - -'Miss Bewicke, I am very sorry if I have said anything which has given -you pain or offence. Nothing could have been further from my -intention.' - -'Thank you.' - -'But this matter which you treat so lightly--' - -'Lightly!' - -'Is to me almost one of life and death. I believe that my uncle has -left something like a quarter of a million.' - -'What a sum, Bryan! Doesn't it sound nice?' - -'If I can hand this ring to Mr Collyer--' - -'To whom?' - -'To Mr Collyer, my uncle's solicitor, the money is mine. I have only -four days left to do it in.' - -'Four days! Just now you said three months.' - -'The time appointed is three months after my uncle's death. He died on -the 23rd of February. I have only just become acquainted with the -terms of his will. So in four days it will be decided if I am to be a -rich man or a pauper. You see, Miss Bewicke, that my fate is in your -hands.' - -'I really cannot discuss the matter with you now. It would make me -ill. The strain would be too much for me. I refer you to Mr Dumville. -Bryan, dear, I leave the matter entirely in your hands.' - -'Miss Bewicke--' - -Mr Dumville rose. - -'Mr Holland, you have heard what Miss Bewicke has said. So far as she -is concerned the discussion is closed. My dear, let me open the door -for you.' - -He opened the door for her. She passed out, with her handkerchief to -her eyes. A fact on which Mr Dumville commented. - -'You see what you have done, sir--affected her to tears.' - -'To what?' - -'To tears!' - -'Oh!' - -'Well, sir, what have you to say to me?' - -'To you?' - -'Yes, sir, to me. You have said more than enough to Miss Bewicke. Now, -perhaps there is something which you would like to say to me, as her -affianced husband.' - -'There are one or two things which I should like to say to you, but I -am inclined to think that I had better not say them to you here. Nor -do I quite see my way to ask you to come outside, though I should like -to.' - -Mr Holland was savage, and unwise enough to show it. Mr Dumville, -having polished his eyeglass, replaced it in his eye so that he might -scan the speaker with a greater show of dignity. - -'What on earth do you mean by talking to me like that? If that's the -kind of remark you wish to make the sooner you get away the better.' - -'I am quite of your opinion, Mr Dumville. I shall always remember with -pleasure that I was able to get away from you.' - -Mr Dumville strode forward. - -'You be hanged, sir!' - -'After you, Mr Dumville, after you.' - -'You had better be careful; although I don't want to have a vulgar row -with you here.' - -'Would you mind mentioning a place at which you would? I will try to -make it convenient to be there.' - -Mr Dumville turned and rang the bell. - -'What's that for?' - -'For the servant to show you out.' - -Mr Holland laughed, showing himself out without another word. He was -conscious of two things--that he had not been particularly discreet, -and that he would like to make his indiscretion greater by 'taking it -out' of somebody. It was not often his temper gained the upper -hand; when it did he was apt to be dangerous both to himself and -others. - -Nor was his mood chastened by a little incident which took place as he -was about to descend the staircase. From a door which opened behind -him Miss Bewicke addressed him in mellifluous accents. - -'Oh, Mr Holland, will you give my fondest love to dear Miss Broad? -It's true that I don't know her, but if you tell her what good friends -you and I used to be I'm sure that she won't mind. I hope to make her -acquaintance one of these days, and then I'll tell her how fond you -and I were of one another. Good-night.' - -Before he had a chance to answer the door was closed. He went down the -stairs in a rage. - -'The little cat!' he muttered. 'The little cat! who would have thought -she had such claws?' - -As he was going out into the street a woman, running against him, -almost knocked him over. She was entering the house, apparently in -hot, unseeing haste; putting up her hand as if to prevent his -observation of her features; flying up the stairs as if danger was -hard upon her heels. - -Mr Holland adjusted his hat, which she had knocked almost off without -offering the least apology. - -'I wonder what mischief you have been up to? Women are beauties, real -beauties!' - -Having indulged himself in this very cheap piece of cynicism, he, -metaphorically, shook the dust of the house from off his feet, but had -not gone a dozen paces when he found himself face to face with his -cousin, Horace Burton. - - - - - CHAPTER V - - A WOMAN SCORNED - - -Mr Burton might have been awaiting Mr Holland. He did not seem at all -surprised to see him there, even at that hour of the night, or, -rather, morning, for midnight had long since chimed. - -'How do, dear boy? So you haven't been letting the grass grow under -your feet. That's where you beat me; you are so energetic.' - -And Mr Burton smiled. That smile was his most prominent feature. It -was always there. Not that it necessarily denoted mirth. Not at all. -It might mean anything, or nothing. When he was in a rage he smiled, -and when he was in the best of tempers; when he wished to be -agreeable, and when he wished to be nasty--and he could be nasty. He -was not a bad-looking man, in his way, though there was something -about him a little suggesting the worst side of the Semite, which -rather detracted from the general effect. It was difficult to say -exactly what it was. Whether it was that his nostrils were unduly -thick, or that so much of his mouth as his heavy moustache suffered to -be visible was animal, or that his eyes, which were fine of their -kind, had an odd trick of intently observing you when you were not -looking at him, and of wandering away into space when you were, it -would have needed an acute physiognomist to determine, and then that -physiognomist might have been in error. Certainly there was something -about Mr Horace Burton which nearly always caused an experienced man -of the world, on first making his acquaintance, to glance at him a -first, a second, and again a third time, and then start thinking. -Perhaps it was that, in spite of his moustache, his chronic smile -displayed his teeth, which were not nice ones; or because of his soft, -purring voice, which, when he became excited, had a squeak in it; or -because of his feline trick of touching a person, with whom he might -be conversing, with his fingertips, and stroking him, when he got near -enough to do it. - -Mr Holland regarded his cousin in silence. The encounter did not -appear to astonish him, nor to add to his pleasure either. Mr Burton -continued. - -'Well--have you got it?' - -'Have I got what?' - -'Ah--you've answered. You haven't. I see. Thanks. It was rather sharp -work to raid the girl at this hour of the night, don't you think? But -you always were so keen. Was she nice to you? She used to be, didn't -she? You've been a lucky chap. I never could make out what women saw -in you to like. A lot of them have seen something. There's Miss Broad, -for instance--' - -'Don't mention that lady's name.' - -'Not mention her name? My dear chap!' Mr Burton placed the finger-tips -of his right hand against Mr Holland's chest, to have them brushed -aside as if they were some noxious insect. He went on unmoved. 'She's -to be my cousin; so I'm told. Unless you've jerked her up. I hear her -father kicked you out of the house; perhaps you anticipate more -kicking; in a case like that you can't kick back again. So perhaps -you're wise to chuck the girl. I tell you what, dear boy.' The -finger-tips returned, again to be displaced. 'Marry the Bewicke girl. -Get a special license to marry the girl out of hand. Then you'll get -the ruby and the money too. It's the only way you will. Hearken to the -words of a wise man.' - -'Mr Burton, although I am so unfortunate as to be a relative of yours, -I have on a previous occasion been compelled to inform you that I -decline to hold communication with, or afford you recognition of any -sort or kind. I repeat that intimation now. With my reasons you are -well acquainted; their name is Legion. Have the goodness, therefore, -to let me pass.' - -'But, my dear Guy, how about our uncle's money?' - -'What about my uncle's money?' - -'Our uncle's; forgive the plural, Guy. Hadn't we better come to some -friendly arrangement while there still is time. You'll never get the -ruby out of the Bewicke woman; I know her; she's a daughter of the -horse-leech; she'll see you damned first. Relinquish the chase at -once--you'll have to in a few hours, anyhow--and throw yourself on my -magnanimity. There's a suggestion, Guy! Give it up; withdraw at once -from what you know is a lost game, and I'll present you with a -thousand pounds. Push the thing through to the bitter end, and you'll -get nothing.' - -'A thousand?--out of a quarter of a million?' - -'It would be a gift, Guy--a free gift. It isn't every man who'd -present a cousin who'd used him as you've used me with a free gift of -a thousand pounds.' - -'Mr Burton, if the money is to be yours, I'll have none of it. I'm not -disposed to be beholden to your charity, nor to you in any way, as you -are aware. If it is to be mine, you'll have none of it; I know your -tastes, and will not pander to their gratification. Let me pass.' - -'See how different we are. If the money is to be mine--and it will -be; it's as good as mine already--I'll give you a few coppers every -time we meet; I'll even send you some occasionally through the post. -Good-night! My love to both the ladies!' - -Mr Burton hailed a passing hansom and was driven off. Mr Holland -continued his promenade, but had not gone far before he was accosted -from behind. - -'Mr Holland! Mr Holland!' exclaimed a female voice, as if the speaker -were in distress for want of breath. - -'Who's that?' He turned to see. A feminine figure was hastening -towards him. 'This promises to be a night of adventure. Has that -little hussy become humanised and changed her mind?' - -The caller approached, holding her hand to her side. - -'I wish to speak to you. You know me?' - -They stood close to a lamp. Mr Holland looked her up and down. - -'I seem to have seen you before. You are the person who rushed into -the house as I came out.' - -'That is it; I rushed--from him!' - -She threw out her hand with a dramatic gesture, pointing down the -street. - -'From whom?' - -'From your cousin--from Mr Horace Burton. Oh, he is a nice fellow! If -I had stayed with him much longer I should have killed him; so to save -myself from killing him I rushed away.' - -'My cousin's concerns are not mine. I cannot assume responsibility for -anything he may do or have done. You are mistaken if you suppose I -can.' - -'I am not mistaken; I know all that. You men are all the same; you -hang together. If your own brother drives a woman into the gutter, you -say it is no affair of yours; you pass on, you leave her there. Before -you open your mouth I know you cannot be responsible for what he has -done. But you can make me to be revenged on him.' - -'Even that I cannot do.' - -'You can! I say you can!' - -The woman spoke, not loudly, but with such passion and intensity of -meaning that Mr Holland was conscious of a curious sensation as he -heard her. She was tall and thin, about thirty, not bad looking, but -precisely the type of woman the ordinary rake, seeking for a victim, -would, if he had his senses about him, have left severely alone. She -was distinctly not a person to be trifled with. Apparently a -foreigner, because, although she spoke fluent English, there was now -and then a slight accent and a curious idiom which betrayed her. -Written large all over her was what, to a practised eye, was -unmistakable evidence that she was of the number of those who take all -things seriously, even rakes. One could easily believe that to her a -promise was a promise, though it came from the mouth of a man; and -since there are men who regard promises made to women as a sort of -persiflage, one would have thought that gentlemen who take that -standpoint would carefully avoid an individual who eyed matters of the -kind from such an inconveniently different point of view. Mr Horace -Burton, however, was in some respects an unusual specimen even of his -class. Possibly the consciousness that he ran the risk of burning his -own fingers by playing tricks with this particular fire was the lure -which drew him on. - -Anyhow, Mr Holland told himself that this time his cousin had caught a -Tartar, and became more and more convinced of it as the woman went on. - -'My name is Louise Casata; I am Corsican, as he will find, your -cousin. I am the companion of Miss May Bewicke.' Mr Holland pricked up -his ears at this, which the woman, with her keen instinct, perceived. -'Now do you not remember me? I was with her when you used to make love -to her. I used to think you did it very well. But in those days you -were fond of her. Now it is of another woman you are fond. Although -you may have forgotten, do not believe she has.' - -This time Mr Holland winced. - -'I think that now I do remember you. You used to write letters for her -and that kind of thing.' - -'All sorts of kinds of things. I do everything she tells me to; I am a -Jack-of-all-trades. I would act for her one day; I can act, but I am -too large a size. But that does not matter; nor does it matter what -your cousin has done to me, though you can guess. But you cannot guess -how he has lied and juggled.' - -'I think I can.' - -'Then you must know him very well. In which case you have my sympathy. -What does matter is what you are going to do to him.' - -'I am going to do nothing to him.' - -'We will see; you will see; they all will see. Be still! Let me speak. -He has told me about your uncle's will--about the ruby which Miss -Bewicke has. How, if you get it from her, you are to have all the -money; how, if you don't, he is to have it all. I know! Very well; you -will get the ruby. That's what you will do to him. He will be ruined, -body and soul; though, for his soul, that was lost long ago. If he -wishes to keep his body out of prison he will have to be quick out of -England. He will not find it easy. There are those who are watching -for him too well.' - -'Are you sure of what you say?' - -'Am I sure! Do I not know? It is only because they think he will get -his uncle's money that he has not been in prison before. I tell you -there is a convict's uniform waiting for him in more than one place. -You will fit it on his back. I shall be revenged. I will go and see -him when he is in gaol. Every three months he will be allowed to -receive a visit. I will be his visitor. To see me will give him -pleasure. I shall have such nice things to say. Oh, yes!' - -Mr Holland shivered. There was that about this woman which filled him -with a sense of vague discomfort. - -'I don't like your way of putting things at all!' - -'What does it matter what you like? To get the ruby--that is your -affair.' - -'How do you suggest that I am, as you phrase it, "to get the ruby"?' - -'You will have to take it.' - -'Take it?' - -'She will never give it to you--never. She hates you. She also has -been looking for revenge. Now she has her chance. You behaved badly to -her. Now she will behave badly to you.' - -'I deny that I behaved badly to her. If you were acquainted with all -the facts you would not judge me with such hard judgment.' - -'She thinks that you behaved badly to her, and, for a woman, that is -enough.' - -'Then am I to take it that you only think that Horace Burton has -behaved badly to you?' - -The woman favoured him with a look which made him realise more clearly -than anything which had gone before what a Tartar his cousin had -encountered. She was silent for a moment or two. When she did speak, -she spoke quietly; but it was a quietude in which there was a quality -which was not peace. - -'You think to get me in a rage. I am not such a fool. When I am in -earnest I am not so easily angered. It is no affair of yours if it is -only that I think he has treated me badly. It is your affair to get -the ruby; and I tell you that to get it you must take it.' - -'I am so dull as not to understand what you mean when you say that I -must take it.' - -'I will make it clear. You have four days--four only. Good! At one -o'clock to-morrow night you will come to Miss Bewicke's rooms. She -will be out. It is Saturday. She goes by the midnight train to -Brighton until Monday. All will be dark. The front door you will find -open. You will have but to push it to enter. You will go to her -bedroom; it is in front of you, the second door on the right as you go -in. That door, also, will be open. The dressing-table is before the -window on the left. It has many little drawers. In them are a great -number of her jewels. In the bottom little drawer on the right-hand -side facing the glass there is one thing only; it is your uncle's ruby -signet ring. I know. I have seen it very often. She is not proud of -the way in which she got it; she calls it "old Burton's scalp." It is -to her a trophy which she won in battle, so she keeps it all by itself -in that little bottom drawer. You have but to put your hand in; it is -yours. You go away; you close the doors behind you; for you the game -is won.' - -Mr Holland stared. The matter-of-fact air with which the proposal was -made almost took his breath away. - -'You are suggesting that I should commit burglary.' - -She made a contemptuous movement with her head and hands. - -'It is but a word; what does it matter--a word? It is a burglary of -which you will hear nothing more. I promise you that Miss Bewicke will -do nothing.' - -'And the morality of the proceeding, what of that?' - -'Morality!' She laughed. 'The morality! Do not talk to me such -nonsense! Bah! As if anyone cared for morality except for the sake of -a----. But I shall not contend with you; you but amuse yourself. You -understand what I have said?' - -'Perfectly. Too well.' - -'Very good. Then I shall see you to-morrow night at one o'clock.' - -'You will do nothing of the kind.' - -'No, I shall not see you, because it will be dark; but you will be -there. You will find the doors open, and everything as I have said. It -is already late; I must go. Good-bye.' - -She went, fluttering from him up the street at a gait which was half -walk, half run. He stood looking after her, a little taken aback by -the abruptness of her departure. - -'That woman appears to have formed a high opinion of my character. She -flatters me.' - - - - - CHAPTER VI - - MISS BROAD COMMANDS A SECOND TIME - - -The next morning, although he was early at the rendezvous, Miss Broad -was there before him. He saw her before she saw him--or thought he -did--and, unperceived, as he fancied, stood and watched her. She was -reading a book, sitting a little sideways, so that he saw her profile -clearly. It was a brilliant morning, and she was attired for the sun. -She had on a light grey silky dress, which was covered with flowers, -and a huge hat, about a yard round, which matched the dress. He -thought how nice she looked. Of a charm so delicate. Instinct with the -essence of all things spiritual. He had been depressed as he had come -through the park. The mere sight of her dispelled the clouds. The -blood moved brisker through his veins. Seeing how engrossed she was by -what she read, thinking to take her by surprise, he began to steal -towards her across the grass--which he ought not to have done. Hardly -had he stepped over the little iron fence than a stentorian voice -bawled,-- - -'Come out of that!' - -The invitation was addressed to him, as others, including Miss Broad, -perceived as well as he did. It was a keeper's civil method of -suggesting that he should keep off the grass, which, just there, was -fenced about. He bowed to Miss Broad with a feeble smile, she merely -nodding in return, without rising from her seat. As he advanced -towards her along the proper gravel path, he was a little conscious -that his approach had been robbed of dignity. She received him with an -air which was a little frigid--still without rising--and beginning at -once on a subject which he would have liked postponed. - -'Well? Have you got it?' - -'Have I got what?' - -'You know very well what I mean. Have you got the ruby?--as you -promised.' - -'As I promised? My dear Letty, I think that statement is--is a little -unauthorised.' - -'Does that mean that you haven't got it?' - -'I'm afraid it does--as yet.' - -'Did you try to get it?' - -'I did.' - -'Did you go and see that woman?' - -'I called upon Miss Bewicke.' - -'And do you mean to say that she refused to let you have it?' - -'If you'll allow me, I'll tell you what took place.' - -He told her--a trifle lamely, but still he presented her with a -sufficiently clear picture of what actually occurred--sufficiently -clear, that is, to inflame her with indignation. She listened with -eyes which grew brighter and brighter, and lips which closed tighter -and tighter. The spiritual side of her became less obvious. - -'And do you mean to say that you allowed the creature to trample on -you without a word of protest?' - -'I am not aware that she did trample on me.' - -'Not when, according to your own account, she treated you as if you -were a dog? I wonder you didn't take her into your hands and strangle -her.' - -'My dear Letty!' - -'Of course I don't mean that; but you know what I do mean. As for that -man--that Mr What's-his-name--why didn't you knock him down?' - -'In a lady's room? I did suggest that if he liked to step outside I -should be happy to do him any little service which was in my power.' - -'And what did he do?' - -'Rang the bell and requested the servant to show me out.' - -'And you went? You actually allowed this man to kick you out--for that -was what it came to--without a word.' - -'Well, my dear, Miss Bewicke called out to me as I was going down the -stairs to say that she sent her love to you.' - -'Guy! you dare to tell me such a thing? You allow that creature to -insult me by sending such a message, or pretending to; and then you -repeat her insolence to me. The little wretch! So you are ruined.' - -'Not yet. There are still about four days between me and the worst.' - -'Then do you propose to allow her to have you kicked out of her -apartments on each of those four days? Besides insulting me? I had -hardly imagined that you were that kind of person. But one learns. -Well, I suppose if you don't mind, I needn't. Though I really think -you might be better off if you returned to Africa before instead of -afterwards.' - -'That is something like the advice which Horace offered.' - -She sat up straighter. - -'Did you also see Mr Burton last night?' - -'He was waiting in the street when I came out of Miss Bewicke's. He -congratulated me on the result of my visit.' - -'Really, you appear to have had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Everybody -seems to have had a kick at you. For my part, Guy, rather than allow -people to ride over me rough-shod, as you appear disposed to do, -I'd--I'd--steal the ruby.' - -'You are in accordance with still another piece of advice which I -received.' - -'Guy! what do you mean?' He told her of his interview with Miss -Casata. When he had finished she drew a long breath. - -'Guy, I should do as she says.' - -'Letty!' - -'I should, I really should. So long as you get the ruby, no matter -what happens, you can't be worse off than you will be if you don't get -it. If you don't get it, you are ruined. You will have to go back to -Africa and stay there for the rest of your life, or, at anyrate, till -both of us are old; because you know you've no more chance of getting -money there than you have here, and that's none at all. And you know -you promised papa, and I promised papa, that you wouldn't marry till -you had money of your own. And that doesn't mean a pound or two; it -means a lot. He doesn't like to think you're marrying me for his -money.' - -'Letty!' - -'Well, he doesn't; you know he doesn't. Of course I know you're not, -or should I be sitting here talking to you now? But papa's different. -And, anyhow, we promised. If there was nothing else to be gained, I'd -like you to take it if only for the sake of spiting that actress -creature. I'll teach her to send me messages.' - -'But, my dear Letty, I fancy you don't quite realise that you are -suggesting that I should commit a felony.' - -'Felony! Don't talk such stuff and nonsense.' Her words reminded him -of some of Miss Casata's of the night before. For some cause he -shivered. 'Doesn't your uncle as good as say she stole it from him? -And didn't that woman tell you that she's ashamed of it herself, and -that therefore she hides it away all alone in a drawer? That shows -that she's perfectly conscious that it's as much your property as -hers. Indeed, it's much more your property. Your uncle left it to you, -and she's no right to keep you out of it a single moment. And she -wouldn't, you know very well that she wouldn't, if it wasn't for me. -You threw her over--' - -'Pardon me, I did not.' - -'Then did she throw you over?' - -'That's nearer the mark.' - -'Really, Guy, you have an agreeable way of commending yourself to me. -Then am I to understand that she regards you as her cast-off rubbish?' - -'We agreed that we had made a mistake. That is the truth of the -matter. There was no throwing over on either side.' - -'Now, Guy, I know more than you suppose. Do you mean to deny that she -resents the idea of your being about to marry me?' - -'She congratulated me on the fact last night.' - -'Did she, indeed? How very good of her. And pray how did she -congratulate you? As if she meant it?' - -'I suppose she meant it.' - -'You suppose! Do you dare to tell me that you don't know quite well -that her congratulations were ironical?' - -'Well, I confess I had my "doots."' - -'There! Didn't I say so all along? Oh, Guy, how difficult it is to get -things out of you. Now, try to be equally truthful again, and tell me, -on your word of honour, if you don't know that she would give you the -ruby without a moment's hesitation if it wasn't for me; that is, if -the fact of our being engaged to each other didn't prevent you paying -attention to her?' - -'I shouldn't like to put it in that way; but I think it possible that -Miss Bewicke might prove more malleable if the circumstances were -other than they are.' - -'Precisely. That is what I mean. So promise me that to-night you will -take your own.' - -'My own! Letty!' - -'Promise me!' - -'But, my dear Letty--' - -'Of course there is an alternative. You can throw me over. We, in our -turn, can agree that we have made a mistake. Then you will be able to -make yourself agreeable to her; and you will be able to get the ruby -that way.' - -'But, my dear Letty, if you will only be reasonable--' - -'It is you who are unreasonable. You allow an idea to mar our lifelong -happiness. Before you realise how hollow it is it will be too late. -There will be nothing in front of us but dreary years of waiting. You -let the cup of happiness be dashed from your hand even when it is -already at your lips. I release you, Guy. I will not be a clog on you, -perhaps through all eternity.' - -Her tone was sombre, funereal. Mr Holland groaned. - -'Oh, Lord! Your logic is as beautiful as you are. It really was worth -while seeing ghosts in Africa for this!' - -She stood up. - -'Then go back to Africa and see some more. You shall not stay here to -laugh at me. Goodbye.' - -He caught her by the hand. - -'Letty! How can you be so cruel.' - -'Then you should do as I ask you. As you would do, without hesitation, -if you really had a spark of the love you pretend to have for me.' - -'I will; I'll do whatever you ask, though I'm ashamed of myself when I -say so.' - -'Promise that to-night you'll take your own?' - -'I promise.' - -She sat down again, and was as nice as she could be; he only knew how -nice that was. He would have been as happy as is possible if it had -not been for the thoughts which were at the back of his head, and the -prospect which lay in front of him. - -Unfortunately, nearly all the time Miss Broad was causing him to -realise his good fortune in winning the love of such a girl as she was -he was picturing himself stealing up a flight of darkened stairs, like -a thief. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE BOTTOM DRAWER - - -That night he realised his own picture. - -One o'clock was the hour suggested by Miss Casata. Twenty times before -that hour arrived he told himself that he had better return to -Africa--ghosts or no ghosts--than do this thing. It seemed to him that -dishonour hedged him round about; that whichever way he went he would -find himself among the thorns. If he did this thing he would break his -plighted word; quite possibly lose his love and his fortune too. If he -did the other he might quite possibly find himself up to the neck in a -slough of misunderstandings--to speak of nothing worse--from which he -could never emerge as clean as he went in. The choice was a pleasant -one. Yet he never hesitated as to which horn of the dilemma he would -thrust himself on. Although very much against his will, he was set on -burglary. And, being once resolved, set about the business, to all -outward appearances, as calmly as if such incidents were the mere -trivialities of his nightly life. - -At a quarter after midnight he started to stroll from Charing Cross. -At the half hour he was sauntering in the Westminster Abbey Gardens. -He glanced along Victoria Street as far as he could see. An occasional -omnibus came rumbling along. Cabs flitted to and fro; sometimes -carriages. But foot passengers were few and far between. And, so far -as could be seen from the street, the buildings on either side of the -way were in darkness. - -He strolled gently on, swinging his stick, smoking a cigar, as any -other gentleman might have done who enjoyed the cool night air. Under -a lamp-post stood a policeman. Mr Holland smiled. - -'Good-night, officer!' - -He bestowed on him a genial salutation, which the other returned in -kind. - -'Good-night, sir.' - -He seemed rather a youngish man, well set up, with broad shoulders and -a shrewd face. Mr Holland wondered if he should have any professional -intercourse with him before the night was over. He laughed to himself -as he thought of it. When he had gone some distance further he stopped -and turned. The constable had vanished. Presumably his duty had led -him down one of the side streets. An omnibus was coming in one -direction, a couple of cabs in the other. Miss Bewicke's rooms were -close at hand. Should he let the vehicles pass before he came to -business? It was not yet one. He hesitated, then walked slowly past -the house, noticing as he went that the front door was closed. What -did it mean? Was he supposed to knock, calling upon the porter to let -him in? The notion was absurd. Perhaps Miss Casata had only been -playing with him after all. - -At the idea he laughed again. What would Miss Broad say--and think--if -the woman had promised more than she could perform? He went nearly as -far as Victoria, then retraced his steps. As he approached the house -again Big Ben struck one. He stopped, threw away the butt of his -cigar, moved to the door. There was a handle. He turned it, it -yielded, the door was open. - -So it seemed that there was some sort of method in Miss Casata's -madness. - -The question was, Where was the porter? Was he within? Upstairs or -down? He peeped inside the door, or tried to. The street lamps did not -penetrate; it was pitch dark. He entered, closing the door behind him. -All was still. As he listened, seeking to peer this way and that, it -seemed to him that the darkness was like a wall on every side. - -'What am I to do? I shall tumble over something if I don't look out; I -don't even know where the staircase is: Dare I strike a match? I -wonder what professionals do under circumstances such as these. I've -heard of their carrying dark lanterns, and such-like mysterious -things. Unfortunately, I haven't got so far as that, though there's no -knowing how far I shall get before I've done.' - -He moved forward, and kicked against something which made a noise. - -'This will never do. I shall come to grief if I don't look out. It'll -have to be a match.' - -He struck one; it ignited with a spluttering noise which seemed to him -to resemble the explosion of a dynamite cartridge, fizzled, then went -out. - -'This is pretty. But I caught a glimpse of the staircase. I suppose -I'll have to be content with seeing so much.' - -He felt his way to the stairs, presently had his hand upon the rail, -then commenced to ascend. All at once he stopped. - -'Hanged if I haven't forgotten on which floor her rooms are! That's a -comfortable state of affairs. I can't go prowling all over the place -playing a game of hide-and-seek with Miss Bewicke's rooms. There'd be -trouble. Now, what am I to do?' - -The question was answered in rather a curious way. Looking up he -gradually became conscious of what looked like a gleam of light -somewhere overhead. - -'I wonder if that's a hint to me, or if it's the porter. I'm off to -inquire. If it's the porter I'll have to explain.' - -He chuckled to himself at the reflection of the sort of explanation he -would have to offer. He continued to ascend. - -'I hope it's all right, but it seems a good way up. I didn't think she -occupied quite such an elevated position as this.' - -He reached the floor on which was the light, perceiving now that it -proceeded from a door upon the right which was open but the merest -fraction of an inch. - -'Is that where she resides? I wonder. At least I'll make inquiries. -I'll knock, as an honest man should do, and see who answers.' - -He tapped at the panel softly with his knuckles, so softly that one -might have been excused for supposing he had no desire that his -tapping should be heard. There was no response. He tapped again; still -none. He pushed the door wider open, finding himself in what appeared, -in the dim light, to be a little hall. Another open door was on his -right. It was on the other side of this that the light was burning. He -remembered what Miss Casata had said about Miss Bewicke's bedroom; -that it was the second door on his right as he entered. Apparently she -had been as good as her word; better, indeed, for she had placed a -light to guide him. He advanced to find himself in what was evidently -a lady's bedroom. - -A night light flickered on a table in the centre; it was that which -had lightened his darkness. He glanced around. Everywhere were traces -of feminine occupation; knick-knacks which no man would willingly -suffer in the chamber in which he slept; numerous examples of the -inevitable photograph. Against a wall hung a crayon portrait. He -recognised the original--the owner of the room. The pictured face -seemed to return him look for look, reproaches in its glances. He -removed his eyes, abashed. - -On one side was the dressing-table of which Miss Casata had spoken. -A gorgeous piece of furniture, of some delicate light wood, with -gilt and ivory insets. Columns of drawers were on either side; a -full-length cheval glass swung between them. As he stood in front of -it he was startled by the reflection of his own image; he felt that -there was something sinister in the bearing of the man who spied on -him. The little drawers were those of which he had been told. They -contained many of Miss Bewicke's jewels. What he sought was in the -bottom drawer upon his right. Somehow, since he had entered the house, -everything seemed on his right. He stooped to open it. The drawer was -locked. - -The discovery staggered him more than anything which had gone -before--that the drawer was locked. At last he was confronted with the -real nature of the errand he had come upon. Hitherto he had been able -to salve his conscience with the fact that he had simply passed -through open doors. Now, if he wished to effect an entrance he would -have to force one, like any other thief. He gave another try at the -handle. The drawer refused to budge. It certainly was locked. His eye -was caught by something which was lying upon the floor, within a foot -of him. It was a screwdriver. The juxtaposition was suggestive; the -screwdriver, and the locked drawer. Miss Casata was no half-hearted -ally; she was thorough. She was aware that, as an amateur, he might -forget to bring the proper tools; so, with praiseworthy -thoughtfulness, she had supplied, in advance, his possible omissions. - -He was not so grateful as he might have been. He used strong language. - -'Curse that woman! It is such as she who drive men along the road to -hell.' - -None the less he took the screwdriver in his hand. He felt its edge. -It seemed sharp. - -'I suppose, since I've gone so far, I may as well see the thing right -through. It's no good shying at a gnat after tackling a whale. Here -goes!' - -Thrusting the chisel between the woodwork and the drawer, he proceeded -to prise it open. The lock was but a slight one. It quickly yielded. -The drawer shot out. He peered within. It contained a small white box, -apparently of deal. He took it out. Inside was a ruby signet ring. He -rose with the ring between his fingers. - -As he stood up, someone came into the room. Turning, he found himself -staring at Miss Bewicke. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - - THE LADY--AND THE GENTLEMAN - - -Apparently each of the pair was equally surprised. Each stared at the -other as if tongue-tied; Mr Holland motionless, holding the ring a -little in front of him, as if suffering from at least temporary -paralysis; Miss Bewicke, equally rigid, with her fingers up to her -throat, just as she had raised them intending to remove the boa which -was about her neck. It was she who first regained the faculty of -speech. - -'Guy!' The word came with a little gasp, as if she uttered it -unwittingly. He was still; staring at her as if he were powerless to -remove his eyes from off her face. 'What are you doing?' - -Still silence from the man. His incapacity seemed to inspire her with -confidence. She removed her boa, smiling as she did so. She sauntered -here and there, eyeing things. She walked right round him, peering at -him as she went. He might have been some mechanical figure, he endured -so stolidly her ostentatious curiosity. Only he followed her with his -glance as she passed round. - -She did not speak when she had finished her inspection; with apparent -indifference to his presence she took off her hat and coat. Unable, -perhaps, to endure the situation any longer he struggled to obtain -possession of his voice. It sounded harsh and husky. - -'I thought you had gone to Brighton?' - -'So you keep an observation on my movements, I see?' The words were -accompanied by a smile which made him clench his fists so tightly that -he drove the nails into the palms. She was folding up a veil, with a -dainty show of peculiar care. 'I ought to be at Brighton; but I'm not. -I meant to go; but I didn't. It was so late that I put off my journey -till tomorrow; so I went to see some people instead. It was painfully -slow; this promises to be better.' - -Her airy manner, which seemed to him to be so pregnant with contempt, -tried him more than reproaches might have done, or rage. He was so -conscious of his position that indifference stung more than lashes. A -policeman he could have faced, but not this smiling girl. All his -self-respect had gone clean out of him; he felt she knew, and -floundered in his efforts to regain some part of it. - -'Miss Bewicke, you know why I am here.' - -'To see me, I suppose. So good of you, Guy. Especially as I take it -that you intended to wait for me till I returned from Brighton.' - -'I came to take my own.' - -'Your own?' - -'This.' - -He held out the ring between his finger and thumb. She came nearer, so -that she might see what it was he held, smiling all the time. - -'That--that's mine!' - -'It was bequeathed me by my uncle.' - -'Your uncle? Impossible; it wasn't his to bequeath.' - -'You know the conditions which were attached to its possession. Since -you declined to give it me--' - -'I did not decline.' - -'I don't know what other construction you put upon your conduct of -last night. I gathered that you declined. Therefore, since its -immediate possession was of capital importance, I came and took it.' - -'How nice of you. And you waited till you thought I was at Brighton to -show your mettle? How discreet! Guy, weren't you once to have been my -husband?' - -Nothing was further from his desire than to become involved in a -tangle of reminiscences, so he became a little brutal. - -'I have the ruby; that is the main point.' - -'Are you proud of having robbed me--the girl who was to have been your -wife?' - -'You would have robbed me.' - -'Even supposing that to be true, does that entitle you to throw aside -all those canons of honour to which you have always given me to -understand you were such a stickler, and become--a thief? Oh, Guy!' - -'I do not propose to bandy words with you. I know of old your capacity -to make black seem white--you were ever an actress, May. How the ruby -originally came into your possession I cannot say.' - -'It's not a pretty story, Guy; scarcely to your uncle's credit.' - -'But you were perfectly well aware that morally it was mine. It was -nothing to you; it was all the world to me. I believe that you refused -to let me have it precisely because you knew that your refusal might -entail my ruin; and so your cup of revenge might be filled to the -full. Under those circumstances I hold that I was justified in using -any and every means to save myself from being utterly undone by the -whim of a revengeful woman.' - -'I meant to let you have it.' - -'That was not the impression you left upon my mind last night.' - -'You took me unawares--I had to think things over.' - -'Then if it was your intention that I should have it you cannot but be -pleased to find that my action has kept abreast of your intention.' - -Miss Bewicke was silent. She was drawing imaginary pictures with her -finger-tip on the table by which she was standing, looking down as she -did so. His desire was to get away; it was not an interview which he -wished to have prolonged. But his departure was postponed. - -'Why do you say I am revengeful?' - -'You know better than I.' - -'Do you think I wish to be revenged on you because once you pretended -to love me, and now you keep up that pretence no longer?' - -'It was no pretence.' - -'I am glad to hear that, because, Guy, I love you still.' - -She looked up at him in such a way that she seemed to compel him to -meet her eyes. He shivered. - -'I wish you wouldn't say such things.' - -'Why? Because they're true? I like to tell the truth. I have always -loved you, and I always shall, though I shall never be your wife.' - -'I thought you said you were engaged to Dumville.' - -'So I am. And I daresay that perhaps one day I shall marry him. I -don't know quite why. But it certainly isn't because I love him. I -have never pretended to. Ask him; he's frankness itself; he'll -confess. Although, as you have only told me, I am a woman with -ill-regulated passions and irresponsible tendencies, I'm a woman with -only one love in her life, and you are he. Good-night, and good-bye.' - -Now that she had formally dismissed him he felt that it was difficult -to go. He fidgeted instead. - -'I know you think that I have behaved meanly.' - -'Not at all. I suppose you have acted according to your lights.' - -'I'm not so sure of that. But, the truth is, I was desperate.' - -'Indeed? Is that so? Like the man with the twelve starving children, -who steals the bottle of whisky. I know. If I were you I wouldn't -trouble to explain. This sort of situation is not improved by -explanation. I think you had better pocket your booty and go.' - -'As for the ruby'--he was holding it out on the palm of his open -hand--'I will give you another for it a dozen times as good as this.' - -For the first time she fired up. - -'You dare to do anything of the kind--you dare! Do you think I am to -be bought and sold?' - -'I simply don't wish you to suffer from my action.' - -'Do you think that your giving me one piece of stone in exchange for -another piece of stone will prevent my suffering? Guy, please, go.' - -He placed the ring before her on the table. - -'There is the ruby.' - -'Take it.' - -'Do you mean that?' - -'I do. If it is of the slightest use to you, by all means take it.' - -'You give it to me--freely?' - -'Oh, yes, so freely! Only--I wish you'd go.' - -Thrusting the ruby into his waistcoat pocket, he went, without another -word. Without it seemed darker even than before. He stumbled, blindly, -down the stairs. Presently the darkness lightened; a gleam descended -from above. Glancing up he perceived that Miss Bewicke was leaning -over the railing with a lighted candle in her hand. He said nothing; -attempted no word of thanks. So far as he knew she, too, was still; -but as he descended, assisted by the light she held, he felt as he was -convinced the whipped cur must feel, which sneaks off with its tail -between its legs. The candle was still showing a faint glimmer of -light as he passed into the street. He applied a dozen injurious -epithets to himself as he thought that he had not even acknowledged -the courtesy he had received. But for the life of him he could not, at -that moment, have uttered a word of thanks. - -Now that he was out in the street he raged. In his first mad impulse -he would have taken what Miss Bewicke had called his 'booty' from his -pocket and hurled it from him through the night. Prudence, however, -prevailed. He told himself, again and again, that he was an ineffable -thing to allow it to remain a second longer in his possession. It -stayed there all the same. He was conscious that nothing could be less -romantic than the whole adventure; nothing more undignified than the -part which he had played in it. He had been throughout a mere -figurehead--a counter manipulated by three women--he who thought that -if he had anything on which to pride himself it was his manhood. His -rage waxed hotter as he strode along; he was angry even with Miss -Broad. - -'If it hadn't been for her--' he began. Then stopped, stood still, -struck with his fist at the air--his stick, it seemed, he had left -behind him. 'What a cur I am! I try to put the blame, like some -snivelling sneak of a schoolboy, upon everyone except myself, as -though the fault was not mine, and mine alone. Am I some weak idiot -that I am not responsible for my own actions? that I do a dirty thing, -and then exclaim that someone made me? Well, it's done, and can't be -undone, and I stand, self-confessed, a hound; but, as I live, I'll -return at once and make her take the ruby back again. Then off once -more for Africa. Better to be haunted by my uncle's ghost than by my -own conscience.' - -He turned, prepared to put his new-born resolution immediately into -effect, and found himself confronted by an individual by whom his -steps had been dogged ever since he left Miss Bewicke's. Had he had -his wits about him he could hardly have helped noticing the fact, the -proceedings of the person who took such a warm interest in his -movements had been so singular. To begin with, he had been on the -other side of the road. When Mr Holland first appeared he had slunk -back into a doorway, from which he presently issued in pursuit, -keeping as much as possible in the shadow. When, however, he perceived -himself unnoticed he became bolder. Until, at last, making a sudden -dash across the street, he began to follow within a few feet of the -unconscious pedestrian. He carried something, which every now and then -he gripped with both hands, as if about to strike. - -The mathematical moment came when Mr Holland turned. Without giving -him a chance to speak the man swung the something which he carried -through the air, bringing it down heavily, with a thud, upon his head. -Mr Holland dropped on to the pavement. And there he lay. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - - THE FLYMAN - - -The assailant remained, for a second or two, looking down on his -recumbent victim. He retained his grip upon his weapon, as if -anticipating the possibility of having to strike with it another blow. -But, no, the first had done its work. Mr Holland lay quite still, in -an ugly heap, as men only lie who have been stricken hard. His -assailant touched him with his foot, as if to make quite sure. Mr -Holland did not resent the intrusion of the other's boot; he evinced -no interest in it at all. The man was satisfied. - -'That done him.' - -It had, for sure. The fellow glanced up and down the street. No one -was in sight. That was a state of things which could hardly be -expected to continue. Time was precious; at any moment a policeman -might appear. Under certain circumstances a policeman is inquisitive. -The man, dropping on one knee, began to handle Mr Holland as if he had -been so much dead meat; indeed, a butcher might have been expected to -finger the carcase of what he had just now killed with greater -ceremony. - -'I wonder where he put it.' - -He appeared to be searching for something, which, at first, he could -not find. He went quickly through the stricken man's pockets, emptying -each in turn of its contents. He made no bones about putting back what -he took out, but threw everything into an inner pocket in his own -jacket. Watch, money, cigar-case, keys, various odds and ends all went -into the same receptacle. Still he did not appear to light on what he -sought. - -'Suppose he never got it? That would be a pretty little game. My -crikey!' - -He went through the pockets a second time more methodically; coat, -waistcoat, trousers, nothing was omitted. The result was -disappointing; they all were empty. - -'Has he got it in a secret pocket?' Tearing open the waistcoat, he ran -his fingers up and down the lining. 'I can't undress the bloke out -here.' He went carefully over the lining, fingered the trousers. 'I -don't believe he's got it. If he hasn't, then I'm done. It wasn't -worth bashing him for this little lot.' The reference was, possibly, -to what he had transferred to his own jacket. 'If he hasn't got it, -there'll be trouble. Strikes me I'd better take a little trip into the -country. He might think I'd got it and done a bunk. I might get a bit -out of him like that. If he's anything to get. I wish I'd never gone -in for the job. What's that?' - -All the while he had never ceased to finger the silent man, submitting -his garments to the minutest possible examination which the position -permitted. Constantly he glanced behind and in front, well knowing -that the risk of intrusion grew greater with every moment. With what -looked very like impertinence, he turned the object of his curiosity -over on to his face. As he did so his eye was caught by something -which was lying on the pavement, and which apparently had hitherto -been covered by the body of the silent man. It was a ring. He snatched -at it. - -'Got it, by the living jingo! The whole time the fool was right on top -of it. If I hadn't overed him I might have gone away and thought he'd -never had it after all. That'd been a pretty how-d'ye-do. I suppose he -dropped it when I downed him, and covered it when he fell. He might -have done it on purpose, just to spite me.' He was standing up, -turning the ring over and over between his fingers. 'It's all right, -there's no mistake about that much. This is fair jam, this is. A -thousand quids into my pocket.' Something attracted his attention. -'Hollo!--sounded like a footstep--a copper's, unless I'm wrong!' - -Without pausing to look behind he crossed the street, keeping well -within the shadow of the houses, and walking fast, yet not too -quickly, in the direction of Victoria. As he went he disposed of what -had proved so efficient a weapon. It was a narrow bag, about a couple -of inches in diameter, and a little over a foot in length. It was -stuffed with sand. Untying one end, he allowed the contents to dribble -out into the areas of the houses as he passed. Nothing remained but a -strip of canvas. He was cramming this into his pocket as he reached -the corner of a street into which he turned. A constable was standing -on the kerb as if waiting for him to come. His wholly unexpected -appearance might have startled a less skilful practitioner into doing -something rash. But this gentleman had had too many curious -experiences to permit himself to readily lose his wits. - -'Good-night, p'liceman. Fine night!' he sang out, moving quickly on, -as if he were hastening on. - -'Good-night,' returned the policeman. - -He eyed the other as he passed, as if he wondered who he was, yet was -conscious of no legitimate reason why he should stop him to inquire. - -The man drew in the morning air between his teeth, as if he desired to -inflate his lungs to the full. - -'That was a squeak. It wasn't him I nosed. Who'd have thought that he -was there. If he'd come round the corner a minute or two ago there'd -have probably been fun. Lucky I emptied the bag before I came on him. -Hollo! He's going into Victoria Street. If he uses his eyes he'll spot -my bloke in half a minute from now. I'd better put the steam on.' - -He quickened his pace, not breaking into a run, for he was aware that -nothing arouses attention more than the sight of a man running at that -hour in a London street. But for the next ten minutes he moved at a -good five miles an hour, going fair toe-and-heel. Then he slackened, -judging that for the present he was safe; and, moreover, he was blown. - -By what at least seemed devious ways he steered for Chelsea, to find -himself, at last, in the King's Road. Thence he made for the river -side, pausing before a house which faced the Thames. The house was an -old one. In front was a piece of ground which was half yard, half -garden. The approach to this was guarded by an iron railing and a -gate. The gate was locked. By it was a rusty bell handle. At this he -tugged. Almost immediately a window on the first floor was opened -about three inches. A voice was heard. - -'Who's there?' - -'It's me, the Flyman.' - -'You've been a devil of a time.' - -'Couldn't be no quicker.' - -The window was shut again. Presently the front door was opened -instead. A man came out. It was Horace Burton. He sauntered to the -gate. - -'Have you got it?' - -'You let me in and then I'll tell you.' - -'Don't be an idiot! Tell me, have you got it?' - -'I sha'n't tell you nothing till I'm inside.' - -'You're an ass! Do you think I want to keep you out?' He fumbled with -the lock. 'Confound this key; it's rusty.' - -'Your hand ain't steady; that's what's wrong with it.' - -'Hang the thing!' - -The key dropped with a clatter to the ground. - -'You let me have a try at it; perhaps my hand ain't so shaky as -yours.' - -The man outside picked up the fallen key, thrusting his hand through -the railings to enable him to do so. Soon the gate was open. When he -had entered he locked it again behind him. The two men went into the -house. When they were in the hall Mr Burton repeated his assertion. - -'You've been a devil of a time. Do you think I want to stop up all -night waiting for you?' - -'That's all right. I'll tell you all about it when we get upstairs. -Who's there?' - -'Old Cox is there, that's who's there; and he looks to me as if he -were going to stop there the rest of his life--hanged if he doesn't.' - -Possibly Mr Burton had been quenching his thirst too frequently with -the idea of speeding the heavy hours of his vigil. The result was -obvious in his speech and his appearance. At the foot of the staircase -he stumbled against the bottom stair. The newcomer proffered his -assistance. - -'Steady, governor. Let me lend you a hand.' - -Mr Burton was at once upon his dignity. - -'Don't you touch me. I don't want your hand. Do you think I don't know -my way up my own staircase?' - -He ascended it as if in doubt. The Flyman kept close behind in case of -accident. Which fact Mr Burton, when he was half way up, discovered. -Steadying himself against the banister he addressed his too-assiduous -attendant. - -'Might I ask you not to tread upon my heels? Might I also ask you to -go down to the bottom of the stairs and wait there till I'm at the -top? There's too much of it.' - -'All right, governor. Only don't keep me here too long, that's all.' - -'You haven't kept me long? Oh, no! Not more than thirteen hours.' - -When he had reached the top Mr Burton threw open the door of a room in -which the gas was lighted. In an arm-chair a gentleman was smoking a -cigar. - -'This confounded Flyman thinks that he's the devil knows who. Seems to -think he owns the place. I think I'll have a drink.' - -The gentleman in the arm-chair ventured on remonstrance. - -'I wouldn't if I were you; at least, not till we've got this business -over.' - -'Wouldn't you? Then I would. There's something the matter with this -beastly siphon.' - -The matter was that while he directed the nozzle of the siphon in one -direction he held his glass in another. The result was that the liquor -did not go where he intended. So he drank his whisky neat. - -While Mr Burton was having his little discussion with the siphon, the -man who had described himself as 'the Flyman' came into the room. He -was rather over the average height, slightly built, with fair hair and -moustache and very pale blue eyes. The eyes were his most peculiar -feature. He was not bad looking, with an agreeable personality; at -first sight, a likeable man, until you caught his eyes, then you -wondered. They were set oddly in his head, so that they seldom seemed -to move. He had a trick of regarding you with a curiously immobile -stare, which, even when he smiled--which was but rarely--seemed to -convey a latent threat. He was dressed like a respectable artisan, and -had such a low-pitched, clear, musical voice that it was with surprise -one observed how peculiar were his notions of his mother tongue. - -As soon as he was inside the room Mr Burton repeated his former -inquiry. - -'Now, then, have you got it?' - -'I have.' - -'Then hand it over.' - -Mr Burton held out a tremulous hand. - -'Half a mo. I've got a word or two to say before we come to that. I -should like you to understand how I did get it. It wasn't for the -asking, I'd have you know.' - -The gentleman in the arm-chair interposed. He waved his cigar. - -'One moment.' - -'Two, if you like, Mr Cox.' - -He was a little, paunchy man, with 'Jew' written so large all over him -that one asked oneself why he had been so ungrateful to his -forefathers as to associate himself with such a name as Cox--Thomas -Cox. He got out of his chair, which was much too large for him, so -that he could see the Flyman, who still kept himself modestly in the -background. He punctuated his words by making little dabs in the air -with his cigar. - -'What we want is the ruby; that's all we want. We don't want the -schedule of your adventures. We're not interested. You understand?' - -'Yes, I understand you, Mr Cox, but it don't go.' - -'What do you mean, "it don't go"?' - -'I'm not all alone in this. There's three of us in this game.' - -'Listen to me. You say you've got the ruby. Very well, hand it over. I -will see you have what Mr Burton promised you. We'll say no more about -it, and there'll be an end of the matter.' - -The Flyman's manner became a trifle dogged. - -'I don't hand over nothing till you've heard what I've got to say.' - -Something in the speaker's manner struck the observant Mr Cox. He -showed signs of perturbation. - -'Flyman, you haven't killed him?' - -'I don't know whether I have or haven't. I hit, perhaps, a bit harder -than I meant. He was as good as dead when I saw him last; anyhow, -he'll be silly for the rest of his days, or else I'm wrong. I know -what a good downer with a sand bag means. I'm a bit afraid I gave him -an extra good one. I didn't like the looks of him at all.' - -'You're a fool! Why did you do it?' - -'Because you told me?' - -'I told you! What the devil do you mean?' - -'You set me on the job--you and Mr Burton together. You said to me -there's a bloke coming out of a certain house at a certain time. He's -got something on him which you're to get. You knew very well I wasn't -going to get it out of him by asking.' - -'Did anyone see you?' - -'Not while I was at it, so far as I know. But a copper did directly -afterwards. For all I can tell, he's seen me before, and'll know me -again.' - -Mr Cox's perturbation visibly increased. - -'Did he--did he try to arrest you?' - -'He didn't know what had happened then; but he was going straight to -where I'd left the bloke lying. Then, of course, he'd put two and two -together, and think of me.' - -'Flyman, you're a fool! Did anybody see you come in here?' - -'That's more than I can say. But somebody'll soon know I did come in -here if anything happens to me. I'm not going to be on this lay all on -my own.' - -Mr Cox threw his unfinished cigar into the fireplace. It had gone out. -His attention was occupied by matters which rendered smoking -difficult. He stood knawing the finger-nails of his left hand. The -Flyman watched him. Mr Burton seemed to be endeavouring to obtain -sufficient control of his faculties to understand what the -conversation was about. Presently Mr Cox delivered himself of the -result of his cogitation. - -'I tell you what, I shouldn't be surprised if a little trip abroad -would do you good.' - -'I'm willing.' - -'Then I'll see that you have a berth on board a boat I know of, which -leaves the London docks to-morrow for America.' - -'I'm game.' - -'Now, let's have the ruby.' - -'Against the quids?' - -'Against the quids. You don't suppose that Mr Burton and I carry a -thousand pounds about with us loose in our pockets?' - -'No quids, no ruby.' - -'The money shall be handed to you when you're on board the ship.' - -'I'll see that the ruby isn't handed to you till it is.' - -'Do you think I want to do you?' - -'I'm dead sure you do, if you only get a chance. I've done a little -business with you before to-day, Mr Cox. You must think I'm soft. Why, -nothing would suit your book better than to do me out of the pieces -and get me lagged. But if you try that game, I'll see you get a bit of -it. Thank you; I don't trust you, not as far as I can see you, Mr -Cox.' - -The gentleman thus flatteringly alluded to laughed, a little -mechanically. - -'I'm sorry to hear you talk like that, Flyman. There's no time now to -try to induce you to form a better opinion of me; but you'll discover -that you have done me an injustice before very long. Anyhow, let's see -that you have the ruby.' - -Mr Burton chose this moment to awake to the fact that he had a very -definite interest in the discussion which was being carried on. He -banged his glass against the table. - -'I'm going to have that ruby! I'm going to have it now!' - -'So you shall, when you've given me the thousand pounds.' - -'I don't care about the thousand pounds; I'm going to have the ruby!' - -'Then, I'm damned if you are!' - -'I say I am. Now, then! So you'd better give it to me--before I take -it.' - -The speaker staggered towards the Flyman. - -'Don't you be silly, Mr Burton, or you might find me nasty; and I -don't want to have to be nasty to you.' - -'Give me the ruby; it's mine.' - -'That's where you're wrong. Just now it happens to be mine.' - -Mr Cox placed himself between the pair. - -'Pretend to be sober, Burton, even if you're drunk.' - -'I am sober. I don't care that for him.' He tried to snap his fingers, -but the attempt was a disastrous failure. 'I say, I'm going to have -the ruby now, and so I am.' - -'Shut it!' - -Mr Cox's treatment of the intoxicated gentleman was vigorous and to -the point. He gave him a push which propelled him backwards with such -unexpected force that, before he was able to recover himself, he was -lying on the ground. - -There for a time he stayed. The others paid no attention to him -whatever. Mr Cox continued the discussion on his own account. - -'Let me see the ruby.' - -'Let me see the quids.' - -'Look here, Flyman; you say you know me. Well, I know you; I know you -for a windbag and a liar. It's quite likely that all you've been -telling us is humbug, and that you've not been within miles of what we -want. If you've got the ruby, you let me look at it; there'll be no -harm done. I'm not going to buy a pig in a poke, and I'm not going to -steal it.' - -'I lay you are not going to steal it; I lay that. There it is. Now, -you can take and look at it.' - -Taking a ring from his waistcoat pocket, slipping it on to his little -ringer, he held it out for the other's inspection, eyeing Mr Cox in a -very singular manner as that gentleman bent over to examine it. - -'Did you get that from--the person we've been talking about?' - -'I did.' - -'To-night?' - -'To-night. Not an hour ago--as he came out of the house.' - -Mr Cox turned to Mr Burton, who was sitting upon the floor. - -'Get up, you jackass! Come here and see if this is what we're after.' - -Mr Burton's answer was not exactly a response to this peremptory -invitation. - -'I'm not feeling--as I ought to feel.' - -'So I should think. You'll soon be feeling still less as you ought to -feel, if you don't look out.' He assisted the gentleman on to his -feet. 'Now, then, pull yourself together. Come and see if what the -Flyman's got is your uncle's ring.' - -As Mr Burton advanced, the Flyman dropped the hand with the ringed -finger. - -'Don't you let him snatch at it, or I'll down him.' - -'He won't snatch at it. You needn't be afraid of him.' - -'I'm not afraid of him--hardly; only I thought I'd just give you a -little warning, that's all. There you are, Mr Burton; there's what's -worth more to you than you're likely to tell me.' - -Mr Burton only bestowed upon the outstretched hand a momentary glance; -he drew back as if what he saw had stung him. - -'It's not!' - -'What d'ye mean?' - -'It's not my uncle's ring.' The fall, or something, had sobered him. -He had become disagreeable instead. He snarled, showing his teeth to -the gums, as if he would have liked to assail the man in front of him -with tooth and nail. 'Curse you, Flyman! what's the game you're -playing?' - -'What's the game you think you're playing, that's what I want to -know?' - -'That's not my uncle's ring, and you know it's not. Come, out with it! -no tricks here!' - -'This is your uncle's ring, and you're trying to kid me that it isn't, -thinking to do me out of what you promised. Don't you try that on, Mr -Burton, or you'll be sorry.' - -The two men glared at each other with their faces close together, Mr -Burton meeting the Flyman's threatening glances without flinching. He -turned to Mr Cox. - -'Cox, what he's got on his finger is no more my uncle's ring than I -am.' - -'You're sure of that?' - -'Dead certain. The stone in my uncle's ring was much larger, better -colour, finer altogether. It bore his crest--on that thing there seems -to be a monogram--and inside the gold mount, at the back, his name was -engraved--"George Burton."' - -'We can soon settle that part of the question. Flyman, is there a name -inside that ring?' - -The Flyman was already looking for himself. - -'There's not; there's no name. Is this a plant between you two to do -me out of my fair due?' - -'Don't you make any mistake about that, my man. If that's the ring we -want you shall have your thousand right enough. It's worth all that to -us. If it's not, then it's worth nothing, and less than nothing. Don't -let's have any error about this, Burton. You're quite sure that you -recollect what your uncle's ring was like?' - -'I'd pick it out among ten thousand. I've seen it hundreds--I should -think, thousands--of times. I wore it myself for a year. It used to -amuse the old man to fool about with it, lending it to all sorts of -people. He lent it to me, and he lent it to Guy. I believe he lent it -to Miss Bewicke; and it was because, when he asked her, she wouldn't -give it him back again that he got his back up.' - -'I suppose, Flyman, it was Mr Holland you tackled?' - -'It was the bloke you pointed out to me this afternoon--that I do -know. Here, I borrowed these things from off him--took them out of his -pockets.' He produced a miscellaneous collection. 'Here's a cigar-case -with initials on it, "G. H.," and cards inside with a name on them, -"Mr Guy Holland." I should think that that ought to be about good -enough.' - -'You're sure that that was the only ring he had about him?' - -'I'll swear to it. I ran the rule over him quite half a dozen times. -He only had one ring--there wasn't one upon his hands--and that's it.' - -'And you, Burton, are certain it's not your uncle's?' - -'As sure as that I'm alive.' - -'Then, in that case, we're done.' - -The trio looked as if they were. - - - - - CHAPTER X - - SHE WISHES THAT SHE HADN'T - - -Miss Broad had a very bad night. That was because of her conscience, -which pricked her. Almost as soon as Mr Holland had left her she -regretted the advice she had given him--advice, she had the candour to -admit, as applied to this case, being but a feeble word. She had -bullied him into committing burglary! It was awful to think of, or, at -least, it became awful by degrees. A sort of panorama of dreadful -imaginings began to unfold itself in front of her. She even pictured -him as being caught in the act, arrested, thrown into gaol, tried, -sentenced to penal servitude, working in the quarries--she had heard -of 'the quarries'--because of her. She did not pause to consider that, -after all, he was responsible for his own actions. He loved her; by -obedience he proved it, even to the extent of committing burglary. -Therefore, the blame of what she did was on her shoulders. - -So she upbraided herself, regretting too late, as ladies sometimes do, -the line of action she had taken up with so much vigour. - -'I wish I'd bitten my tongue off before I'd been so wicked. The truth -is, I really believe I'd like to kill that woman. Ellen, you needn't -pull my hair right out.' - -The first two remarks were addressed to herself, the last, aloud, to -her maid. That young person, who was dressing Miss Broad for dinner, -found her mistress in rather a trying mood. - -'If he was detected in the act, he would be at that woman's mercy. She -might compel him to do anything in order to avoid open humiliation and -disgrace and ruin.' - -At the thought of what he might be compelled to do, she was divided -between terror, tears and rage. Since the woman had once pretended to -love him, and, no doubt, was still burning with a desire to be his -wife, she might even force him--oh, horrible! - -'Ellen, you're pulling my hair again.' - -Which was not to be wondered at, considering how unexpectedly the -young lady jerked her head. - -She ate no dinner, excused herself from two engagements, made herself -generally so agreeable that she drove her father to remark that her -temper was not improving, and he pitied the man who had anything to do -with her. Which observation added to her misery, for she knew quite -well that her temper was her weakest point. She was a wretch, and she -had ruined him! - -Throughout the night she scarcely slept. She was continually getting -off the bed to pace the room, exclaiming,-- - -'I wonder if he's doing it now?' - -She must have wondered if he was doing it 'now' nearly a hundred -times, apparently under the impression that 'it' was an operation -which took time. - -The result was that, when the morning came, she did not feel rested, -and looked what she felt, causing her father--an uncomfortably -observant gentleman, who prided himself, with justice, on being able -to say as many disagreeable things as any man--to remark that she -looked 'vinegary,' which soured Miss Broad still more. - -She had an appointment with Mr Holland, at the usual place in Regent's -Park, for ten. They were to have a little conversation; then, -together, they were to go to church. She was at the rendezvous at -nine, though how she managed to do it was a mystery even to herself. -At ten minutes past she began to fidget, at the half-hour she was in a -fever, and when ten o'clock struck, and there was no Mr Holland, she -was as nearly beside herself as she could conveniently be. - -'He's never been late before--never, never! Oh, what has happened?' - -She went a little way along a path by which she thought that he might -come; then, fearful that after all he might come another way, -tremulously retracing her steps, she returned to the seat. But she -could not sit still, nor stand still either. She was up and down, -sitting and standing, fidgeting here and there, glancing in every -direction, like the frightened creature she was rapidly becoming. -Every nerve in her body was on edge. When the quarter struck, and -there were no signs of Mr Holland, she could restrain herself no -longer. Tears blinded her eyes; she had to use her handkerchief before -she could see. It would have needed very little for her to become -hysterical. - -She knew her man--his almost uncanny habit of punctuality. She was -certain that, if nothing serious had happened to prevent him, he would -have been in time to a moment. She was sure, therefore, that something -had happened. But what? - -As she vainly asked herself this question, a boy came along one of the -paths. He was a small child, about nine years of age, evidently -attired in his Sunday best. He carried something in his hand. Coming -up to her, he said,-- - -'Are you Miss Broad?' She nodded; she could not speak. 'I was told to -give you this.' - -He handed her the envelope. She jumped to the conclusion that it came -from him. Her delight at receiving even a message from him about -scattered her few remaining senses. - -'I'll give you sixpence.' She spoke with a stammer, fumbling with her -purse. 'I haven't one; I'll give you half-a-crown instead.' - -The boy went off mumbling what might have been meant for thanks, -probably too surprised at the magnitude of the gift to be able to make -his meaning clear. She tore the envelope open. It contained half a -sheet of paper, on which were the words,-- - -'If you want Mr Guy Holland, inquire of Miss May Bewicke.' - - - - - CHAPTER XI - - THE PURSUIT OF THE GENTLEMAN - - -That was all. - -Miss Broad's first blundering impression was that somebody was having -a joke with her--that she was mistaken, had read the words askew. She -looked again. - -No; the error, if error there were, was, to that extent, certainly not -hers; the words were there as plain as plain could be, and they only. - -'If you want Mr Guy Holland, inquire of Miss May Bewicke.' - -They were typewritten, occupying a couple of lines. The rest of the -sheet was blank--no address, no date, no signature; not a hint to show -from whom the message could have come. She looked at the envelope. The -face of it was blank; there was nothing on it, inside or out. Where -was the boy who had brought it? She turned to see. He had gone, was -out of sight. So far as she could perceive, she had the immediate -neighbourhood entirely to herself. What did it mean? - -The disappointment was so acute that, as she sank back upon the seat, -the earth seemed to be whirling round in front of her. She never quite -knew whether for a second or two she did not lose her senses -altogether. When next she began to notice things, she perceived that -the envelope had fallen to the ground, and that the half sheet of -paper would probably have followed it had it not been detained by a -fold in her dress. She examined them both again, this time more -closely, without, however, any satisfactory result. - -Of the typewritten words she could make neither head nor tail. Were -they meant as a hint--a warning--what? Anyhow, from whom could they -have come--to her, there, in the Park? Why had she not asked the boy -who had instructed him to give the envelope to her? What a simpleton -she had been! - -'"Inquire of Miss May Bewicke." What can it mean? "Inquire of Miss May -Bewicke." Unless--' - -Unless it meant something she did not care to think of. She left the -sentence unfinished, even in her own mind. - -She arrived at a sudden resolution. It was too late for church, or she -told herself it was, supposing her to have been in a church-going -mood, which she most emphatically was not. Instead of church she would -go to Mr Holland's rooms in Craven Street, and inquire for him there. -Under the circumstances, anything, including loss of dignity--and she -flattered herself that dignity, as a rule, was her strong point--was -better than suspense. - -She had some difficulty in finding a cab. In that district of town, -cabs do not ply in numbers on Sunday morning. By the time she -discovered one she was hot, dusty and, she feared, dishevelled. As the -vehicle bore her towards the Strand, her sense of comfort did not -increase. If he was not in Craven Street, what should she do? Ye -saints and sinners! if he were in gaol! - -He was not in Craven Street. - -A matronly, pleasant-faced woman opened the door to her. - -'Is Mr Holland in?' - -'No, miss, he's not.' - -'Has he been long gone out?' - -'Well, miss, he hasn't been in all night.' - -The young lady shivered. The landlady eyed her with shrewd, yet not -unfriendly, eyes. She hazarded a question,-- - -'Excuse me, miss, but are you Miss Broad?' - -'That is my name.' - -'Would you mind just stepping inside?' - -The landlady led the way into a front room. The first thing the young -lady saw on entering was her photograph staring at her from the centre -of the mantelshelf. A little extra colour tinged her cheeks. The -landlady glanced from the original to the likeness, and back again. - -'It's very like you, miss, if you'll excuse my saying so. You see, Mr -Holland has told me all about it. You have my congratulations, if I -might make so bold, for a nicer gentleman I never want to see. I was -that pleased when I saw him come walking in the other day. Did you -expect to see him, miss?' - -'I had an appointment with him. He never kept it. As he has never done -such a thing before, I scarcely knew what to think.' - -'Well, miss, the truth is, I hardly know what I ought to say.' - -'Say everything, please.' - -'It was only his nonsense, no doubt, but when he was going out last -night I asked him if he should be late. "Well, Mrs Pettifer," he said, -"if I am late, you'd better make inquiries for me at Westminster -Police Station, for that's where I shall be; they'll have locked me -up." When Matilda told me this morning that he hadn't been in all -night, I thought of his words directly, because he'd ordered his -breakfast for eight o'clock this morning, and, as you say, he's always -so dependable--Why, miss, whatever is the matter?' - -Miss Broad, who had found refuge in an armchair, was looking very -queer indeed. - -'Don't you take on, miss. It was only his fun. Mr Holland's full of -his jokes. Heaps of gentlemen stay out all night; nothing's happened.' - -But the young lady was not to be comforted. She had her own reasons -for being of a different opinion. That allusion to Westminster Police -Station did not sound like a joke to her. When she quitted Craven -Street, she directed the cabman to drive her to a certain number in -Victoria Street. She was staring as she went at the two typewritten -lines which the mysterious boy had brought in the mysterious envelope. - -'I will inquire of Miss Bewicke. It will be better to begin there -than--at the other place. There will be time enough for that -afterwards. If--if she should have locked him up!' - -The potentiality was too horrible. She could not bear to contemplate -it. Yet, willy-nilly, it intruded on her fears. - -She ascended in the lift to Miss Bewicke's apartments. She knocked -with a trembling hand at Miss Bewicke's door. She had to knock a -second time before an answer came. Then the door was opened by a tall, -thin, saturnine-looking woman, to whom the visitor took a dislike upon -the spot. - -'Is Miss Bewicke at home?' - -'Will you walk in?' It was only when Miss Broad had walked in that she -learned that her quest was vain. 'Miss Bewicke is not at home. She -went to Brighton this morning.' - -'This morning? I thought she was going last night.' - -'Who told you that?' - -There was something in the speaker's voice which brought the blood to -Miss Broad's cheeks with a rush. She stammered. - -'I--I heard it somewhere.' - -'Your information was learned on good authority; very good. Oh, yes, -she meant to go last night, but she was prevented.' - -'Prevented--by what?' - -'I am not at liberty to say. Are you a friend of Miss Bewicke's?' - -There was something in the woman's manner which Miss Broad suspected -of being intentionally offensive. She stared at her with bold, -insolent eyes, with, in them, what the young lady felt was the -suggestion of an insolent grin. That she knew her, Miss Broad was -persuaded; she was sure, too, that she was completely cognisant of the -fact that she was not Miss Bewicke's friend. - -'I am sorry to say that I am not so fortunate as to be able to number -myself among Miss Bewicke's friends. I have not even the pleasure of -her acquaintance.' - -'That is unfortunate, as you say. About her friends Miss Bewicke is -particular.' - -The suggestion was so gratuitous that Miss Broad was startled. - -'Are you a friend of hers?' - -'I am her companion; but not for long. You know what it is for one -woman to be a companion to another woman. It is not to be her friend. -Oh, no. I have been a companion to Miss Bewicke for many years; but -soon I go. I have had enough.' - -The woman's manner was so odd that Miss Broad wondered if she was a -little touched in the head, or if she had been drinking. She looked -round the room, at a loss what to say. Her glance lighted on a large -panel photograph which occupied the place of honour on the -mantelpiece. It was Mr Holland. She recognised it with a start. It was -the best likeness of him she had seen. He had not given her a copy, -nor any portrait of himself, which was half as good. - -Miss Bewicke's companion was watching her. - -'You are looking at the photograph? It is Mr Holland, a friend of Miss -Bewicke's, the dearest friend she has in the world.' - -'You mean he was her friend?' - -'He was? He is--none better. Miss Bewicke has many friends--oh, yes, a -great many; she is so beautiful--is she not beautiful?--but there are -none of them to her like Guy.' - -The woman's familiar use of Mr Holland's Christian name stung Miss -Broad into silence. That she lied she knew; to say that, to-day, Mr -Holland was still Miss Bewicke's dearest friend was to attain the -height of the ridiculous. That the young lady knew quite well. She was -also aware that, for some reason which, as yet, she did not fathom, -this foreign creature was making herself intentionally offensive. None -the less, she did not like to hear her lover spoken of in such fashion -by such lips. Still less did she like to see his portrait where it -was. Had she acted on the impulse of the moment, she would have torn -it into shreds. And perhaps she might have gone even as far as that -had she not perceived something else, which she liked, if possible, -still less than the position occupied by the gentleman's photograph. - -On a table lay a walking-stick. A second's glance was sufficient to -convince her of the ownership. It was his--a present from herself. She -had had it fitted with a gold band; his initials, which she had had -cut on it, stared her in the face. What was his walking-stick--her -gift--doing there? - -The woman's lynx-like eyes were following hers. - -'You are looking at the walking-stick? It, also, is Mr Holland's.' - -'What is it doing here?' - -The woman shrugged her shoulders. - -'He left it behind him, I suppose. Perhaps he was in too great a -hurry, or Miss Bewicke. Sometimes, when one is in a great hurry to get -away, one forgets little things which are of no importance.' - -She called his walking-stick--her gift to him--a thing of no -importance! What was the creature hinting at? Miss Broad would not -condescend to ask, although she longed to know. - -'As I tell you, Miss Bewicke is not at home. She is at the Hotel -Metropole at Brighton. Would you like to take Mr Holland's -walking-stick to--her?' There was an accent on the pronoun which the -visitor did not fail to notice. 'What name shall I give to Miss -Bewicke?' - -'I am Miss Broad.' - -'Miss Broad--Letty Broad? Oh, yes, I remember. They were talking and -laughing about you--Mr Holland and she. Perhaps, after all, you had -better not go down to Brighton.' - -When the young lady was back in the street, her brain was a tumult of -contradictions. That the woman who called herself Miss Bewicke's -companion had, for reasons of her own, been trying to amuse herself at -her expense she had not the slightest doubt. That Mr Holland's -relations with Miss Bewicke were not what were suggested she was -equally certain. None the less she wondered, and she doubted. What was -his portrait doing there? Still more, what was his walking-stick? He -was carrying it when they last met. Under what circumstances, between -this and then, had it found its way to where it was? Where was Mr -Holland? That there was a mystery she was convinced. She was almost -convinced that Miss Bewicke held the key to it. - -Should she run down to Brighton and find out? She would never rest -until she knew. She had gone so far; she might as well go farther. She -would be there and back in no time. The cabman was told to drive to -Victoria. At Victoria a train was just on the point of starting. Miss -Broad was travelling Brightonwards before she had quite made up her -mind as to whether she really meant to go. When the train stopped at -Clapham Junction, she half rose from her seat and all but left the -carriage. She might still be able to return home in time for luncheon. -But while she dilly-dallied, the train was off. The next stoppage was -at Croydon. There would be nothing gained by her alighting there; so -she reached Brighton, as she assured herself, without ever having had -the slightest intention of doing it. Therefore, and as a matter of -course, when the train rattled into the terminus she was not in the -best of tempers. She addressed sundry inquiries to herself as she -descended to the platform. - -'Now what am I to do? I may as well go to the Metropole as I am here. -I am not bound to see the woman even if I go. And as for speaking to -her'--she curled her lip in a way which was intended to convey a -volume of meaning--'I suppose it is possible to avoid the woman, even -if I have the misfortune to be under the same roof with her. The -hotel's a tolerable size; at anyrate, we'll see. - -She did see, and that quickly. As she entered the building, the first -person she beheld coming towards her across the hall was Miss May -Bewicke. - -Which proves, if proof be necessary, that a building may be large, and -yet too small. - - - - - CHAPTER XII - - THE TENDER MERCIES OF TWO LADIES - - -By way of a commencement, Miss Broad was conscious of two things--that -Miss Bewicke was looking her best; that she herself was looking her -worst; at least, she was nearly certain she was looking her worst, she -felt so hideous. - -Miss Bewicke had a knack of walking--it came by nature, though there -were those who called it a trick--which gave her a curious, and, -indeed, humorous, air of importance altogether beyond anything her -stature seemed to warrant. This enabled her to overwhelm men, and even -women who were much taller than herself, with a grace which was -positively charming. She moved across that spacious hall, looking -straight at Miss Broad, as if there was nothing there; and was walking -past with an apparent unconsciousness of there being anyone within a -mile, though she brushed against the other's skirts as she passed, -which was a little more than Miss Broad could endure. She was not -going all the way to Brighton to be treated by that woman as if she -were a nonentity. - -'Miss Bewicke!' - -The lady, who had passed, turned. - -'I beg your pardon?' - -'Can I speak to you?' - -'Speak to me?' She regarded the other with a smile which, if pretty, -was impertinent. 'I'm afraid I haven't the pleasure.' - -'I am Miss Broad.' - -'Broad?--Broad? I don't seem to remember.' - -'Perhaps you remember Mr Holland.' - -'Mr Holland?--Guy Holland? Oh, yes, I have good cause for remembering -him.' - -'Mr Holland has spoken of me to you?' - -'Oh! You are that Miss Broad! I have pleasure in wishing you good -morning.' - -Miss Bewicke walked off as if, so far as she was concerned, the matter -was at an end; but so abrupt a termination to the interview the other -would not permit. - -'I am sorry to detain you, Miss Bewicke, but, as I have said, I wish -to speak to you.' - -'Yes. What do you wish to say?' - -'Can I not speak to you in private?' - -'By all means.' Miss Bewicke led the way into a sitting-room. As soon -as they were in, and the door closed, before the other had a chance to -open her lips, she herself began the ball. 'Miss Broad, before you -speak, there is something which I wish to say to you. You incited Mr -Guy Holland to commit, last night, a burglary upon my premises.' - -If she expected the other to show signs of confusion, or to attempt -denial, she was mistaken. Miss Broad did not flinch. - -'I did.' - -'You admit it?' - -'I do.' - -'Are you aware that in so doing you were guilty of a criminal action?' - -'As to that I know nothing, and care less.' - -'I have only to send for a policeman to have you sentenced to a term -of imprisonment.' - -'I understand how it is you have been so successful on the stage. You -really are an excellent actress. You bear yourself as if you were the -injured party, while all the time you know very well that it was -precisely because you had robbed him that I advised him to despoil you -of your booty.' - -'You are perfectly aware that that is false.' - -'On the contrary, I am perfectly aware that it is true. Where is Mr -Holland? Is he here with you?' - -'Miss Broad!' - -'Or did you dare to make his doing, what you know he was perfectly -justified in doing, an affair of the police?' - -'I came upon Guy Holland, at dead of night, engaged in robbing me, and -I sent him from me with my blessing.' - -'Then where is he?' - -'I know no more than this chair.' - -'Miss Bewicke, I called at your rooms this morning. I saw his -walking-stick upon your table. When I asked how it came there, the -woman who had opened the door said, in effect, that he had left it -behind in his hurry to go away with you.' - -'The woman! What woman?' - -'She said she was your companion.' - -'Casata? Louise Casata never said anything so monstrous.' - -'Not in so many words; but that was what she intended me to -understand.' - -'You believed it? What a high opinion you appear to have of us! Guy -must be worse even than I imagined, or you, his promised wife, would -not judge him with such hard judgment.' - -'I did not believe it; but I did believe that you called in the police -last night.' - -'I didn't; I called in no one. I simply told him to go, and he went.' - -'You are laughing. You know where he is. I can see it in your face.' - -'Then you are indeed a seer.' - -'This morning, when he did not come, as he promised he would, and -always has done, someone gave me this. What am I to think?' - -Miss Broad handed Miss Bewicke the two typewritten lines, which that -lady carefully regarded. - -'Someone? Who was someone?' - -'A little boy. I thought it was a message from Guy. By the time I -found it wasn't, he was gone. I don't know who he was, nor from whom -he came, if it wasn't from you.' - -It certainly did not come from me. Miss Broad, I begin to find you -amusing. I also begin to understand what it is Guy Holland perceives -in you to like. You are more of a woman than I am; that is, there is -in you more of the natural savage, which, to a man of his temperament, -goes to make a woman.' - -'I want none of your praises.' - -'I'm not going to give you any, or compliments either. I doubt if -you're in a frame of mind to properly appreciate any sort of -sleight-of-hand. Let me finish. I had an engagement for luncheon; as -you have made me late for it, perhaps you will do me the honour of -lunching with me here.' - -'No, thank you.' - -'Pardon me, you will.' - -'Excuse me, I won't.' - -'We shall see.' - -Miss Bewicke touched the bell button. Miss Broad eyed her with flaming -cheeks. - -'It's no use your ordering anything to eat for me, because I sha'n't -touch it. You treat me as if I were a child. I'm not a child.' - -'My dear Miss Broad, we are both of us women--both of us; and there -are senses in which women and children are synonyms. Mr Holland was -once in love with me--he was, I assure you. He is now in love with -you, which fact creates between us a bond of sympathy.' - -'I don't see it.' - -'No? I do. You will. He appears to have got himself into, we will put -it, a rather equivocal position. It is our bounden duty, as joint -sympathisers, to get him out of it. We will discuss our bounden duty; -but I never can discuss anything when I'm starving, which I am.' - -To the waiter who appeared Miss Bewicke gave orders for an immediate -lunch for two. Miss Broad kept silence. The truth was, she was not -finding Miss Bewicke altogether the sort of person she expected. That -little lady went on,-- - -'I'm free to confess, my dear Miss Broad; by the way, may I call you -Letty?' - -'No; you may not.' - -'Thank you; you are so sweet. As I was about to remark, my -dear--Letty'--the other winced, but was still--'I'm free to confess -that I think it not improbable that something has happened to Mr -Holland.' - -'You know that something has happened?' - -'I don't know--I surmise. I put two and two together, thus:--To begin -with, I don't think that you were the only person who egged him on to -felony.' - -Miss Broad again was speechless. She remembered Mr Holland's tale of -his encounter with Miss Casata. - -'There was a preciseness about his proceedings which set me thinking -at the time, and has kept me thinking ever since. I'm pretty shrewd, -you know. Now, I happen to be aware that a certain person of my -acquaintance has been on too good terms with Mr Horace Burton. You -have heard of Mr Horace Burton? I thought so. Such a nice young man! -Now, however, this certain person is on the worst terms with Mr Horace -Burton. For sufficient reasons, I assure you. She has been evolving -fantastic schemes of vengeance on the deceitful wretch; she's just a -little cracked, you know. To ruin Mr Horace Burton by assisting Guy -Holland to deprive him of his fortune would be just the kind of notion -which would commend itself to her. I fancy that that's exactly what -she did do. Didn't she, my dear?' - -Miss Broad was breathing a little hard. The other's keen intuition -startled her. - -'It was I who told him to take what was his own.' - -'Yes, I know; but the first suggestion did not come from you. However, -so long as we understand each other, that's the point. To proceed--Mr -Horace Burton would be cautious that this certain person's sweetness -had turned to gall, and also that she was wishful to pay him out in -his own coin. He might even have a notion of the form that payment was -to take, having learned it from the certain person's own lips. If so, -you may be quite sure that he or his friends saw Guy Holland enter my -premises, if nobody else did. They saw him come out. They were to the -full as anxious to obtain possession of that ruby as ever he could be. -So they took it from him.' - -'Took it from him--with violence?' - -'Do you think they could take it from him without violence--that he -would hand it over practically upon request? That's not like Guy; not -the Guy I knew. He'd fight for it tooth and nail himself against a -regiment.' - -'Do you think then they hurt him?' - -'It looks as if they did something to him. He never went home. There -must have been some reason why he didn't. There is at least a -possibility that it was because he couldn't.' - -'Do you think they--killed him?' - -'Ah, now you ask too much. I should say certainly not. It would be -unintentionally if they did. That would be too big a price even for Mr -Horace Burton to pay. If they attacked him in fair fight, I should say -that he killed someone before they did him; and that when they did it -was because they had to. But the possibility is that they never let -him have a chance; that they stole on him unawares, and had him at -their mercy before he knew that danger threatened.' - -'Miss Bewicke, you are so clever--so much cleverer than I--' - -'My dear!' - -'Come up to town with me and help me look for him, and go with me to -the police, and--' - -'Set all London by the ears? I know. We'll do it; but here comes -lunch. You sit down to lunch with me, and we'll talk things over while -we lunch. You see how far talking things over has already brought us; -and after lunch we'll go to town, as you suggest, and find out what's -happened to Guy Holland, and where he is, or we'll know the reason -why. But if you won't lunch with me, then nothing remains but to wish -you good day, and, so far as I'm concerned, there'll be an end of the -matter. I'll have nothing to do with a person who won't eat my bread -and salt.' - -So the ladies lunched together. Although Miss Broad declared that she -could not swallow a morsel, Miss Bewicke induced her to dispose of -several. Indeed, she handled her with so much skill that by the time -the meal was through--it was not a long one--one would have thought -that they really were on decent terms with one another, though Miss -Broad was still a trifle scratchy. But then her nerves were out of -order, and when a lady's nerves are out of order, she is apt, -occasionally, to stray from those well-defined paths which etiquette -and good breeding require her to tread; in short, she does not know -what she is doing, or what anybody else is doing either, which Miss -Bewicke quite understood, so that her guest's eccentricities, -apparently, simply amused her. - -And the two young ladies went up together in the same compartment to -London to look for Mr Holland, and to call down, if necessary, -vengeance on his enemies and those who had despitefully used him. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - - VISITORS FOR MISS CASATA - - -Miss Casata had a razor in her hand--an open razor. She examined its -edge. - -'It is very sharp. Oh, yes, how sharp! One cut; it will all be over. -Will it be over with one cut--that is it--or shall I have to hack, and -hack, and hack? That would not be agreeable.' - -She stood in front of a looking-glass, regarding her own reflection. - -'I am not bad looking; no, I am not. I have a certain attractiveness, -which is my own. To use the razor would be to make a mess. I should be -a horrible sight. Would he care? He would not see me. If he did, he -would laugh, I know. He has what he calls a taste for the horrible. It -would amuse him to behold me all covered with blood.' - -She turned her attention to some articles which were on a table. - -'Here is a revolver. The six barrels are all loaded. It would not need -them all to blow out my brains--that is, if I have any to blow. Here -is a bottle of hydrocyanic acid. What lies I had to tell to get it; -what tricks I had to play! There is enough in this little bottle to -kill the whole street. I have, therefore, the keys of death close to -my hand--painless, instant death. Three roads to eternal sleep, and I -stand so much in need of rest. Yet I hesitate to use them. It is very -funny. Is it because I am going mad--I did not use to be infirm of -purpose--I wonder?' - -She handled, one after another, the three objects--the razor, the -revolver, the little bottle--as if endeavouring to make a selection. - -'I am too optimistic. There is my fault--I always hope. It is an -error. I have always had in my life such evil fortune that, when -happiness came, I should have known it would not endure--that the -night would be blacker because the sun once shone; that for me, -henceforward, it would be always night. I was a fool; so happy I -forgot, so I pay for it. Well, I will take my fate into my own hands -and make an ending when I choose. I should have liked to see the -little one--my little one.' A softness came into the voice of which -one might hardly have thought it capable. 'To have held it in my arms; -to press it to my breast; to touch its lips with mine. I should, -indeed, have liked to be a mother. Yet better not; it might have been -like its father. That would have been the worst of all. Which is it to -be--steel? lead? a little drink? Why is it I cannot decide? What's -that?' - -She had Miss Bewicke's dainty drawing-room to herself. An incongruous -object she seemed in it, she and her gruesome playthings. A sound -appeared to have caught her ear. She put her right hand behind her -back; in it, the three assistants of death. Moving to a door which was -on the opposite side of the room, turning the handle softly, she -passed half-way through it, then stood and listened. - -'Quite still, yet. The noise did not come from there. There was a -noise. Ah!' - -The interjection was in response to a rat-tat-tat on the knocker. The -room was illuminated by a dozen electric lights. Disconnecting one -after the other, she allowed but a single one to remain alight. -Comparatively, the apartment was in darkness. - -'That's not Ellen's knock, nor Jane's; she is not already back again. -Besides, she also does not knock like that. Who is it?' - -The knocking came again--slightly, more insistently than before. - -'If it is some bothering visitors, they will have a short answer, I -promise them. When I do not open, why do they not take a hint and go? -I am not to be disturbed when I am making my arrangements to remain -undisturbed for ever.' - -The knocking was repeated for a third time. - -'So, they persist! Well, I will show them. They shall see.' - -Cramming her trio of treasures into the pocket of her dress, where one -would have supposed them to be in uncomfortable, not to say dangerous, -juxtaposition, she strode to the door, intent on scarifying the -presumptuous caller. When, however, she perceived who stood without, -surprise for the moment made her irresolute. - -The visitor was Mr Horace Burton, at whom Miss Casata stared, as if he -were the very last person she had expected to see--which, probably, as -a matter of fact, he was. Mr Burton, on the other hand, bestowed on -her his blandest smile. He sauntered past her as if he had not the -slightest doubt in the world that he would be regarded as a welcome -guest. - -'Hollo, Lou! come to pay you a visit.' - -His tone was light and airy, in striking contrast to her demeanour, -which was about as tragic as it could be. - -'Go! Do you hear me, go, before you are sorry, and I am sorry, too!' - -Her manner seemed to leave him quite unmoved. - -'Now, my dear girl, don't look at me like that; it isn't nice of you. -I'm here as a friend--a friend, you understand--and something more -than a friend.' - -'You are no friend of mine; no, you never can be. I tell you again to -go at once, or you will be sorry. I have warned you.' - -'That's all right; you'll change your tone when you hear what I have -to say. I've come here to bring sunshine into your life, to ask for -your forgiveness, to undo the past. Be sensible; there's a good girl.' - -'Sensible? Oh, yes, I will be sensible. There's someone else here.' - -'Yes, that's Cox; he's a friend of mine. He's come here to see -fair-play and witness my repentance. Come in, Cox.' Mr Thomas Cox -entered, looking, if the thing were possible, less like a Thomas Cox -than ever. 'Cox, let me present you to Miss Casata, the only woman I -ever loved. There have been times when I have been forced to dissemble -my love. Hang it, Cox! you know how I've been pressed. When a man's in -such a hole as I've been in, he crushes down the love which he feels -for a woman; he has to, if there's any manhood in him. He doesn't want -to drag her down into the ditch in which he lies. But, Cox, you know -how I have loved her all the time.' - -Mr Burton turned away his head--whether to hide a tear or a smile was -uncertain. He spoke with a degree of volubility which, under the -circumstances, was remarkable. As Miss Casata appeared to think, her -tone remained inflexible. - -'There still is someone else.' - -'Ah, that's the Flyman; he's nothing and nobody; he doesn't count. Let -him have a chair, and he can wait in the hall, Lou, till you and I -come to an understanding.' - -Mr Burton's suggestion was carried out. A chair was taken into the -little hall, on which the Flyman placed himself. How long he remained -on it, when their backs were turned, was another matter. The outer -door was closed, as also, Miss Casata having entered, was the door -into the drawing-room. But that was of no consequence; the Flyman's -ears were keen. - -There was a curious glitter in the lady's eyes when she confronted her -quondam lover. Now and then she touched her lips with the tip of her -tongue, as if they were dry. Her hands continually opened and shut, -apparently of their own volition. Occasionally one of them found its -way into her pocket, feeling if her treasures still were there. She -spoke as if her throat were sore. - -'Well, what is it that you want? what new lie have you to tell?' - -'I want to marry you; and, Lou, that's no lie.' - -She was silent. One could see her bosom moving up and down. Then, -becoming conscious of the two men's scrutiny, she drew herself up -straighter, as if resolute to keep herself in hand. - -'You insolent!' - -'Insolent! Now, Lou, that's not nice of you. A man's not insolent who -wants to marry the woman whom he loves, and who loves him.' - -'I love you? I?' She tapped her chest with her forefinger. 'I love you -so much that I would like to tear you to pieces! That is the sort of -love I have for you. You--thing!' - -'Lou, you're letting your temper get the better of you. I know I -treated you badly.' - -'Badly!' - -She laughed--a mirthless little laugh. - -'I know you've a right to feel annoyed with me--' - -'Annoyed with you? Oh, no, not that!' - -'But I was forced to do what I did; I couldn't help myself.' - -'No doubt!' - -'But now it's different altogether. I see things in a new light. I -know what a mistake I've made. I've found out that I love you even -more than I thought I did, and I've come to ask you to give me another -chance--to forgive me. You're a woman, Lou, the best of women, and -you've a forgiving heart; I know you have. Let me be your husband. -I'll treat you better in the future; really, now!' - -'What does all this mean?' - -'It means what I say. Doesn't your own heart tell you so?' - -'Oh, yes, it tells me. It tells me all sorts of things. It is a fool -and a liar. It is of you I ask what does it all mean? It is you I want -to tell me. Never mind what my heart says; we will leave my heart -alone. I think we'd better.' - -'Well, look here, I'll be candid. You're clear-sighted, whatever else -you are, and level-headed; a cleverer woman I never met. I've told you -so scores of times. With a woman of your type, candour's the best -policy, as you say. So here's the matter in a nutshell. I'm in a hole; -you're in a hole. You help me out of the hole I'm in; I'll help you -out of the hole you're in. That's what I've come to say to you -to-night. You appreciate frankness; there you have it.' - -'What is the hole you are in?' - -'My dear Lou, you know quite well. I've never kept it secret from you; -I've always made you my confidant. What I want is my uncle's ruby. You -tell me where it is, and help me to lay my hand upon it, and I'll -marry you in the morning. And there's the proof that I mean what I -say.' - -He handed her an official-looking document, which purported to be an -announcement of the fact that notice had been given to a certain -registrar requiring him to perform the ceremony of marriage, by -special licence, between Horace Burton and Louise Casata. The lady, -however, scarcely glanced at it. She kept her eyes fixed on the -gentleman. - -'Your uncle's ruby!' - -'That's it. As you know, if I can get it in my possession, it means -fortune; if I can't, it may mean misfortune of a bad type. As I'm not -taking any chances, if you'll help me to lay my hand on it, I'll marry -you in the morning.' - -'What a liar you are!' - -'My dear Lou, all men are liars; somebody else said it before you. But -where's the lie in this particular case? You've the proof in your hand -that I mean business. Cox shall come with us and see it done. Won't -you, Cox?' - -Mr Thomas Cox bowed. - -'Pleased to do anything to oblige a lady.' - -'There you are! If you like, you needn't lose sight of me until we're -married.' - -'You say you want your uncle's ruby?' - -'Of course, you know I do.' - -'I know that you have it already.' - -'I wish I knew as much. If I had it, I shouldn't be here to-night. -There's another piece of candour.' - -'I saw him take it.' - -'Him? Who?' - -'The man outside whom you call the Flyman. I saw him from a window -take it last night from Mr Holland.' - -Mr Burton turned to Mr Cox. - -'There you are! There's one witness. How many more might there have -been? The Flyman's a fool to transact a delicate piece of business of -that description in a public thoroughfare!' He returned to Miss -Casata. 'My dear Lou, you saw him try to take it, unfortunately -without success.' - -'He took everything Mr Holland had.' - -'You appear to be well-informed upon the subject, though I don't know -from what quarter your information comes. Still, what you say is -pretty accurate. He did take all he could. He even took a ruby. Here -it is for you to look at. Unluckily, it's not my uncle's. Hence these -tears.' - -He handed her the ruby signet ring which the Flyman, when he turned Mr -Holland face downwards on the pavement, found that gentleman had been -lying on. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - - WHO KNOCKS? - - -Miss Casata examined the ring with every show of interest. - -'This is the ruby he took from Mr Holland.' - -'It is.' - -'It is the only one which Mr Holland had.' - -'So the Flyman said. He ought to know. I believe, on this occasion, -he's no liar.' - -'And it's not your uncle's?' - -'It is not.' - -'You are sure?' - -'Dead.' - -'Then, now I understand.' - -'I wish I did share your understanding.' - -'I understand why she laughed when he had gone, and why she said, -"Poor Guy, how disappointed he will be!"' - -'What is it you're talking about? Would you condescend to explain?' - -'Yet--I do not understand. It was the box. Wait; in a second I will be -back.' - -She was back in less than a minute, bearing in her hand a small -leather-covered box. On the lid was gummed a narrow strip of paper, on -which was written, in delicate characters, 'The Burton Ruby.' Mr -Burton received it with a cry of recognition. - -'It's it; but the writing's strange.' - -'It is her writing.' - -'It's uncle's box--the one in which he always kept the blessed thing. -There's his crest; there's where I dropped it in the ink.' He raised -the lid. 'It's empty!' - -'Last night Mr Holland took from it the ring which was inside. I -always imagined that in it she kept your uncle's ruby, which was what -I said to Mr Holland, as I told you I would do.' - -'You're a nice girl, Lou!' - -'And you're a nice man! Are you not a nice man?' - -Mr Cox interposed. - -'Now, don't let's have any quarrelling. Stick to business. Time's -precious. Go on with your story.' - -The lady turned and rent him. - -'I will not go on with my story for you. What business of yours is my -story, you dirty Jew?' - -Mr Burton smiled benignly. - -'Personalities! personalities! Don't call the man a Jew, my dear. Cox -is no Jew; he's an anti-Semite. Continue your story for me, my love.' - -Miss Casata complied with his request, although not in the most -gracious manner. - -'Do not call me your love, or you will be sorry. As Mr Holland was -taking the ring out of the box, she came in--' - -'And caught him at it? It must have been exciting. Wicked Guy!' - -'He wished to give it to her back again, but she said, "Go, and take -it with you." He took it, and went. Then, when he had gone, she began -to laugh. She kept on laughing--it was true laughter, not false--as if -it was the best joke in the world, and she said, "Poor Guy, how -disappointed he will be!"' - -'You notice things.' - -'I am not a fool.' - -'Is it possible that anyone ever mistook you for one?' - -Mr Cox dug him with his elbow in the ribs, by way of a hint to him to -hold his tongue. Miss Casata went contemptuously on,-- - -'I perceive now that she laughed because she knew that he had not -taken with him what he supposed; but what I do not understand is, -where, then, is the ring? I know she kept it in this box.' - -She examined minutely the one she held. Mr Cox put a question to Mr -Burton. - -'For the last time, Burton, I suppose you're quite sure that it's not -your uncle's ring? Nice we should look if it was afterwards discovered -that you had made a mistake.' - -'Don't be a silly ass! How many more times do you want to hear me -swear? I say, Cox, have you two legs, or four, and which end of you -are they? I might just as reasonably put such questions to you. I tell -you, I know.' - -Miss Casata was still continuing her scrutiny. - -'It is not the ring; you are right. It is not the ring which she used -to keep in the box. The stone in that, I think, was larger. It had a -crest on it, I remember. And inside there was a name engraved, "George -Burton." She showed it me one day, and she said, "I shall have to have -this stone remounted. I cannot wear a man's name upon my finger, -especially that man's name." I remember very well. Oh, no, this is not -the ring at all.' - -Mr Burton turned in triumph to Mr Cox. 'You hear? Now, who's right?' - -'You have seen the ring which you describe?' - -'It is certain; more than once. When was the last time? Not many days -ago. It was in this box. She took it out of this box, she put it back -into the box, and the box she put into the little bottom drawer. I -remember it very well. When I heard of Mr Burton's will, I thought of -it at once.' - -'Then where is it now?' - -'She must have taken it out of the box and put it somewhere else.' - -'But where? Think!' - -'How do I know? how can I think? She must have put it with some of her -other jewels. They are everywhere--all over the place.' - -Mr Cox and Mr Burton exchanged glances. The young gentleman took up -the running. - -'In that case, we'll look for it all over the place.' - -'What do you mean?' - -'My dear Lou, I'm going to have that ruby, and before I leave these -premises. So, now, you've got it.' - -'You will not touch her things?' - -'I've no desire to do anything so indelicate. You tell us where it is, -or give us a hint.' - -'I have not the slightest notion.' - -'Then we'll investigate for ourselves.' - -'You shall not touch her things!' - -'Lou, you gave Guy Holland the tip. You helped him to commit a -burglary. Why should you be squeamish now?' - -'That was different.' - -'Of course it was. He's not attached to you like I am; he doesn't -worship the ground you stand upon. It isn't as though you were smitten -with Miss Bewicke, because you're not; you've told me so a hundred -times. She's going to play some pretty trick on her own account; -that's the meaning of her taking out the ruby, which she knew you knew -was in that box. And it's a thousand to nothing that she means to play -it at my expense. If I can help it, I don't mean to let her have the -chance. Your fortune's bound with mine; we sink or swim together. If I -don't get that ruby, and to-night, it'll probably mean that I go -under, and, if I go, you'll go too. My dear girl, you know you will. -Come, be sensible; be something like your dear own self. Do only half -for me what you did for Guy. Let me just have a look round for that -wretched ruby. By your own account, it must be somewhere close at -hand. I'm sure to get it, and, when I do get it, I'll not forget the -part you played. It'll not be my fault if I don't still make you the -best husband a woman ever had.' - -'I was not here when Mr Holland came. I did not see what he did. I -knew nothing.' - -'You need not see what we do. We have a little something somewhere -which will make you as unconscious of anything that may take place as -you can possibly desire. Then, if there is a bother, you will be able -to assume, with perfect propriety, the _rôle_ of injured victim. But I -don't see that there need be trouble, if you keep still. I've as much -right to that ruby as anybody else. I'm going to assert that right, -that's all. Now, be a good, kind girl. Go into another room and have a -nice little read. We're going to have a ruby hunt. Flyman!' - -The Flyman appeared at the open door. At sight of him, Miss Casata -broke into a storm of exclamations. - -'Not him! He shall not come in here. He killed Mr Holland! I saw him! -Mr Holland's blood is on his hands! I will not have that he come in -here!' - -'My dearest girl, but that's absurd. He's the only one of the three -who understands locks. You don't want us to irretrievably ruin Miss -Bewicke's property owing to our sheer want of skill? And for a nose -for such a trifle as that ruby we are hunting for he has not his -equal. Now, you go and have a nice little read.' - -He moved forward with the possible intention of taking her by the arm -and leading her from the room. If such was his design, it failed. As -he advanced, she slipped past him. Rushing to the door which led into -Miss Bewicke's bedroom, she placed herself in front of it. She took -out one of the three treasures which were in her pocket--the revolver. -Before the three men had even dreamed that she might be in possession -of such a weapon, it was pointed at their heads. Her tone when she -spoke was as significant as her attitude. - -'If one of you tries to come through this door, I will shoot him dead. -Do not think this revolver is not loaded. I will show you.' - -She fired, the bullet penetrating the opposite wall. Mr Thomas Cox -ducked as it passed. His companions instinctively shrank back. Her -lips parted in a grim smile. Apparently this was her idea of humour. - -'You see I am not so helpless as you perhaps supposed. I am not -nervous, not at all. I am used to handle a revolver. I have won prizes -for pistol shooting, oh, several times. There are five more barrels -which are loaded. If I aim at you, I promise that I will not miss. You -shall see.' - -The bearing of the trio, in its way, was comical, they were evidently -so completely taken by surprise. Mr Thomas Cox, in particular, looked -as if this were an expedition in which, under the circumstances, he -wished he had not taken part. He said as much. - -'Look here, Burton, this is more than I bargained for. Before we came -I told you that I was not going to be mixed up with anything -equivocal. I have my character to consider. You said your lady friend -would listen to reason; if your lady friend won't listen to reason, -then I'm sorry, but I'm off.' - -'Then you'll lose your money.' - -'In that case you'll have to smart for it.' - -'That won't give you your money. It's a nice little lot.' - -'I know it's a nice little lot, and I can't afford to lose it; you -know I can't afford to lose it. But there's something I can afford to -lose still less, and that--that's my character.' - -'Your character! Why, if you only could manage to get rid of your -character--I don't believe you yourself realise what an awful one it -is--it'd be the best stroke of business you've done for many a day, my -dear Cox!' - -Mr Burton advanced, as if to tap his friend, in an affable manner, on -the shoulder. This brought him within a few feet of where Miss Casata -was standing. Laying his left hand on Mr Cox's shoulder, with his -right he snatched away that gentleman's walking-stick, swung round and -struck Miss Casata's outstretched wrist with such violence that the -revolver was driven from her grasp and sent flying across the room. -She gave a cry of pain. Her arm fell limp at her side. The blow had -been delivered with so much force that it was quite possible her wrist -was broken. - -'You devil!' - -'You wild cat!' returned the gentleman. 'Now, Flyman, on to her!' - -The Flyman obeyed. The two gentlemen attacked the lady. Although she -fought gamely, especially considering her injured wrist, she was no -match for the pair. They got her down upon the floor, still struggling -for all that she was worth. - -'Now, Flyman, where's that stuff of yours?' - -'I'm getting it. She's a oner. She's bit me to the bone.' - -With difficulty--he only had one hand disengaged--he evolved a tin -canister from his jacket pocket. - -'Bite her to the bone! Let her have the lot!' - -From the canister the Flyman managed to take a cloth--a cloth which -was soaked with some peculiar-smelling fluid. This he jammed against -the lady's face, even cramming it between her lips. She writhed and -twisted, then lay still. - -As the Flyman got up, he examined the hand which she had marked with -her teeth. - -'She takes a bit of doing. I shouldn't like to have to tackle her -single-handed.' - -Mr Burton smiled. His clothes were a little rumpled. As he rose he -arranged his tie. - -'Nice wife she'd make! What do you think?' - -Mr Cox had occupied his time in picking up the revolver of which the -lady had been relieved. He seemed genuinely concerned. - -'You know, Burton, I tell you again I didn't come here for this sort -of thing. I wouldn't have had this happen not--not for a good deal. I -shouldn't be surprised if we get into trouble for this.' - -'My dear Cox, we should have got into trouble anyhow. We may as well -be hung for a sheep as a lamb. I'm going for the gloves.' - -'Hung! Don't talk about hanging. You make a cold shiver go down my -back. You haven't--killed her?' - -'Killed her? You innocent! She's the sort who take a deal of killing. -My good chap, when she comes to, she'll curse a little and go on -generally; but she'll forgive me in the end. I know her; she's a -dear!' - -While the three men stood looking down at the unconscious woman, there -came a knocking at the outer door. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - - AN HONOURABLE RETREAT - - -It was not what they expected. Their faces showed it; they were so -unmistakably startled. They looked at each other, then at the -unconscious woman, then back again at one another. Mr Burton bit his -lip. - -'Who the deuce is that?' - -'Servants, perhaps.' - -The suggestion was the Flyman's. - -'Then confound the servants! Why can't they take a little extra time -to-night? They know their mistress is away.' - -The knocking came again--a regular rat-tat-tat. - -'That's no servants. They wouldn't make that row.' - -'You can never tell. Nowadays they make what row they please; they -fancy themselves. Brutes!' - -'Visitors, perhaps.' - -'Confound them, whoever it is!' - -They spoke in whispers, an appreciable pause between each man's -speaking, as if each in turn waited for something to happen. Mr Burton -was outwardly the most self-possessed, being the kind of man who would -probably smile as he mounted the gallows. The Flyman had his eyes -nearly shut, his fists clenched, his shoulders a little hunched, as if -gathering himself together to resist a coming attack. Mr Thomas Cox -was visibly tremulous; his great head twitched upon his shoulders; he -was apparently in danger of physical collapse. It was curious to -observe the contrasting attitudes of the three men as they stood about -the recumbent woman. - -The knocking was repeated, still more loudly, as if the knocker waxed -impatient. - -'We shall have to let 'em in. Anyhow, we shall have to see who's -there. They'll knock the door down.' - -This was the Flyman. Mr Cox suggested an alternative. - -'Can't we--can't we get away? Isn't there another way out?' - -Mr Burton enlightened him. - -'My dear Cox, there's only one way into a flat, and there's only one -way out, unless you try the window, which means a drop of perhaps a -hundred feet. I'm not dropping. The Flyman's right; we shall have to -see who's there. There needn't be trouble, unless you give yourself -away. It depends who it is. I'll lay this dear little girl of mine -upon her bed; she'll be more comfortable there, and not so -conspicuous. I know which is her room. Then we'll see who's come to -call on you.' - -Displaying a degree of strength with which one would hardly have -credited his slight figure, lifting Miss Casata off the floor, he bore -her from the room. During his absence there came the knocking for the -fourth time, this time furiously. When he returned, a marked change -had taken place in his appearance. There were signs of strange -disorder on his countenance, as if during his brief withdrawal he had -been unstrung by some overwhelming shock. The Flyman at once observed -his altered looks. - -'What's happened? What's the matter?' - -'Curse you, Flyman!' - -'What have I done now?' - -'I say, curse you!' - -'Is she--dead?' - -'No, she's not. I'm going to open the door. If it's the servants, I'll -send them away, pretending to give them a message from her; if it's -callers, I'll tell them a lie; if it's anybody who wants to make -himself unpleasant, you two look out. I'm not going to be bluffed out -of this before I've got that ruby.' - -'Burton, be careful what you do, for all our sakes.' - -This was Mr Cox. The retort was hardly courteous. - -'You be hanged!' - -Mr Burton reached the front door as the knocking was recommencing. -From where they were they could not see what he did, but they could -hear. They heard him open; a feminine voice inquire, in tones of -indignation,-- - -'What's the meaning of this? Why am I kept waiting?' - -Then the front door slammed, the drawing-room door was thrown -violently open, and two young ladies came through it, one after the -other, with such extremely indecorous rapidity as to suggest that they -could scarcely be entirely responsible for their own proceedings, as, -indeed, they were not. Mr Horace Burton had propelled them forward -with his own right arm before they themselves had the least idea what -was about to happen. And, following right upon their heels, he closed -the drawing-room door, turned the key and stood with his back against -it, surveying them with his habitual, benignant smile. - -It was what they call upon the stage a tableau, The smiling gentleman, -the two bewildered ladies, the two other almost equally bewildered -men, for it was an open question which were the more surprised by the -singularity of Mr Burton's behaviour--Miss Bewicke and Miss Broad or -Mr Thomas Cox and the Flyman. - -The peculiar nature of her reception seemed to have driven Miss -Broad's wits completely from her. She gazed around like a woman -startled out of sleep, who has no notion of what has roused her. Miss -Bewicke had apparently retained some fragments of hers. She looked at -Mr Burton, then at Mr Cox and the Flyman, then back at the gentleman -who stood before the door. She eyed him up and down with a mixture, as -it seemed, of amusement, anger and contempt. Could a voice have stung, -hers would have stung him then. But this gentleman was pachydermatous. - -'So it's you?' - -'I guess it is.' - -'How dare you come here?' - -'That's the problem.' - -'It's one which will soon be solved.' - -She moved across the room. He checked her. - -'It's no good your ringing the bell. There's no one to answer.' - -As she turned to face him, Miss Broad spoke, with an apparent partial -return to consciousness. - -'Who is this person?' - -'This person is Horace Burton, of whom you may have heard. I cannot -tell you who the other persons are. They look as if they were friends -of his.' - -'So this is Horace Burton?' - -Miss Broad regarded the gentleman in question as if he were some -unclean thing, which, possibly, she considered him to be. He, on the -other hand, continued genial as ever. - -'And you're Miss Broad--Letty, I believe? I'm pleased to meet you, -cousin that is to be.' - -'Cousin--your cousin? I shall never be a cousin of yours.' - -'No? That's hard on Guy. He's counting on the money.' - -'You despicable creature!' She turned away, presenting him with a good -view of her back, and put a question to Miss Bewicke. 'What is he -doing here? Surely you don't allow him in your rooms?' - -Mr Burton took upon himself to answer for the lady. - -'I'll tell you what I'm doing here; she can't. I'm now for the first -time going to tell her also. It'll be giving her a little piece of -information which I know she'll value. Miss Bewicke, I've come here in -search of a quarter of million of money.' - -'Is that so? You really are too modest! It was surely scarcely worth -your while to come for such a trifle! I need hardly say that you will -find several little sums of that amount lying loose about the -premises!' - -'Indeed? Well, I want one; that's all.' - -'Mr Burton, will you be so good as to leave my rooms?' - -'I'll leave them on the wings of the wind, whatever that may be, when -I have my uncle's ruby.' - -'When you have what?' - -'My uncle's ruby. My dear cousin Guy committed burglary here last -night in quest of it, so I'm sure you won't mind my paying you a -little call this evening as a sort of sequel.' - -'I suppose Louise Casata told you about Mr Holland?' - -'There's no charge for supposing.' - -'Probably the same person also informed you that he went away with -what he sought?' - -'Did he, Miss Bewicke?' - -'You had better refer to your informant.' - -'I'm referring to you. I'm asking you if Guy Holland left these rooms -last night in possession of my uncle's ruby?' - -'Ask Miss Casata; ask your cousin even, but don't ask me.' - -'I am asking you. You've been playing some confounded trick.' - -'Mr Burton!' - -'I don't wish to hurt your feelings, Miss Bewicke, so I'll say you've -been amusing yourself with some dainty, delicate device, and I -shouldn't be surprised to learn that you have that ruby on your person -at this moment.' - -Miss Bewicke, walking to the bell, pressed her finger against the -button, so that it kept up a continuous ringing. Mr Burton watched her -with a smile. - -'You see, there's no one there. You might have taken my word.' - -'Where is Miss Casata?' - -'Where is she? That's the question. Where's everyone?' - -'If I am unable to attract the attention of my own servants, thanks to -you, my friends in the next flat will hear the unceasing tinkling of -the bell, and guess that there is something wrong.' - -'I should be sorry, Miss Bewicke, to have to seem rude to a lady--' - -'On the contrary, I should imagine that few things would give you -greater pleasure; you are that kind of person.' - -'At the same time, I must request you to leave that bell alone.' - -He went closer to her. His moving away from it left the door -unguarded. Over her shoulder she shot a glance at Miss Broad. That -young lady, catching it, perceived the little ruse she had been -playing. Hurrying to the door, she began to turn the key, and had -already unlocked it when Mr Burton came rushing back to the post which -he had been beguiled into deserting. - -'You darling!' he cried. - -Seizing Miss Broad by the waist he dragged her from the door. As he -whirled her round, she struck him with her clenched fist on his right -ear, the blow being delivered with such good judgment, force and -fortune that it carried the young gentleman clean off his feet and -right over on to his back. - -'Bravo!' exclaimed Miss Bewicke. 'Now, Letty, open the door!' - -But Miss Bewicke was a little hasty in supposing that the road was -free. As Mr Burton fell, he prevented Miss Broad from moving by -clutching at her skirts. She struggled to release herself in vain; he -gripped too tight. And the Flyman, hastening to occupy the fallen -hero's place, confronted Miss Bewicke as she advanced. - -'It's no good,' he observed. 'There's no road this way.' - -She was not to be baffled without an effort. - -'If you'll let me pass, I'll give you--' - -'You won't give me anything, because you won't pass. Now, don't you be -silly, or you'll be sorry. You won't bowl me over with a clip on the -ear from your little fist.' - -This was said because, encouraged, perhaps, by Miss Broad's success, -Miss Bewicke showed signs of actual violence. The apparent -recognition, however, of some peculiar quality on the face of the man -in front of her caused her to relinquish her purpose, if it was ever -formed. Instead, turning to Miss Broad, she took her by the hand. - -'Come, quick!' she cried. - -Mr Burton, reassured by the Flyman's arrival, loosed the lady's skirt -as he ascended to his feet. The quick-witted proprietress of the -rooms, taking instant advantage of Miss Broad's freedom, rushed her -towards the door through which, not long since, he had carried Miss -Casata. Divining their purpose, he tore after them as soon as he had -regained his perpendicular. - -'Stop them, you fools! Move yourself, Cox!' - -But Mr Cox did not move himself. He remained motionless where he was -standing, and Mr Burton, in spite of his impetuosity, was too late. -They were not only through before he reached the door, but had banged -it in his face, and turned the key on the other side. He shook the -handle in vain. - -'Open, you cats!' - -They were not likely to comply with his civil invitation. He addressed -himself to Mr Cox, on his face, all at once, a very peculiar look of -pallor. - -'I shouldn't be surprised if you swing for this.' - -'Swing? For letting them through that door? Who do you think you're -talking to?' - -'I'm talking to you, my friend. What's the betting that your letting -them through that door doesn't turn out a hanging matter for you? I'll -take short odds.' He turned to the Flyman. 'Let me through there. -There's another way into where they are; I'll see if I can get at -them. You stay here, in case they try to double. Cox is no good. I'll -be even with him for this.' - -Mr Burton crossed to a door, which was on the other side of the little -hall. Unlocked, it admitted him to the kitchen. From the kitchen he -passed to another room, apparently where the servants slept. On the -opposite side of this was still another door. He eyed it. - -'If I remember rightly, that leads into her room.' - -The door was locked; the key was in the lock upon the other side. He -stooped to see; it was in a position which prevented anything being -visible. He rattled the handle; rapped with his knuckles at the panel, -without result. All was silent. - -'It is her room. I wonder what they're up to? They're very still. They -can't--' - -He stopped, probably because the stillness of which he spoke was -broken by a woman's cry--a mingling of surprise, anguish, fear. He -retraced his steps towards the kitchen, whispering to himself two -words,-- - -'They have!' - -Taking the key from one side of the lock, replacing it in the other, -he locked the door of the servants' room behind him. The key itself he -pocketed. - -'Except through the drawing-room, there's only this way out, so we've -trapped you anyhow.' - -As if to make assurance doubly sure, he locked the door of the kitchen -also. Again he pocketed the key. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - - THE FINDING OF THE RUBY AND THE LOCKING OF THE DOOR - - -When Mr Burton returned to the drawing-room, he found that Mr Thomas -Cox had been having a few words with the Flyman. That worthy jerked -his thumb in the other's direction. - -'Wants to sling his hook. Says he's had about enough of it.' - -'Oh, he has, has he? Now, Cox, listen to me. It's through you we're -here--' - -Interrupting, Mr Cox raised his hat and stick in a hasty disclaimer. - -'Was there ever anything like that? It was your suggestion entirely. -You said you could twist your lady friend round your finger--' - -'Let's go a little further back, my Cox. You've told me--how many -times?--that if I lose my uncle's money you'll send me to gaol. Not -being anxious to go to gaol, I'm doing my best to get my uncle's -money. So if it's not through you I'm here, I should like to know -through whom it is.' - -'That's different; you're entering on other matters altogether. You've -committed--you know what you've committed; but it doesn't follow, -because you've brought yourself within the reach of the criminal law, -that I want to bring myself too.' - -'You hand over those pieces of paper which you're always flicking in -my face, and you're at liberty to go through that door, and down the -stairs, and neither the Flyman nor I will ever breathe a word about -your having been connected with the evening's entertainment.' - -'Do you take me for a fool? You've robbed me on your own account -already, and now you want to jockey me into robbing myself. Don't talk -to me like that!' - -'No, I won't talk to you like that; I'll talk to you like this. What -there'll be to pay for this evening's proceedings I don't know; but -you'll pay your share, whatever it is. This is a game of share and -share alike, and of in for a penny in for a pound. The Flyman and I -are going to see this through. I'm going to have the ruby before I -leave, I tell you that; and you're going to be in with us right -along.' - -'Burton, you're a villain!' - -'Cox, you're a scoundrel! Any use our saying pretty things to each -other, you renegade Jew?' - -Mr Cox was wiping his forehead with his pocket-handkerchief, as if he -felt the heat. - -'I will not be spoken to like that, as if I were--as if I were a man -of your own type. Where--where have those women gone?' - -'The room on the other side that door is the dining-room; beyond is -Casata's room. That's where they've gone.' - -'Then--then they've found her?' - -'Oh, yes, they've found her; not a doubt of it. They've found a good -many other things as well.' - -His tone evidently struck Mr Cox as being disagreeably significant. - -'For goodness' sake, Burton, let's go. You are so rash, don't let's -make bad worse. Let's go while we have a chance, and before anything -very serious has happened.' - -'Something serious has happened.' - -'What do you mean?' - -'What I say.' - -'You don't mean--' - -'Oh, cut it! Flyman, Cox is too fond of cackle. We're losing valuable -time, my child. You stay where you are, and keep an eye on things, -while Cox and I find my uncle's ruby.' - -The Flyman proposed an amendment. - -'Excuse me, Mr Burton, but, if you don't mind, we'll have it the other -way about. You stay here, and Mr Cox and I will find the ruby.' - -Mr Burton laughed. - -'Flyman, Doubt was your sire, out of Suspicion. Still think I want to -do you?' - -'Sure.' The Flyman drew his finger across his lips. 'Mr Burton, you're -cleverer than most, and a lot cleverer than me. If you once got that -there stone between your fingers, I might whistle for my thousand, and -keep on whistling. Besides, I am handier than you at looking for a -thing like that.' - -'Then show your handiness; only look alive about it. We can't expect -to continue in the enjoyment of these charming rooms for ever.' - -'Where shall I start looking?' - -'There you are, displaying your handiness from the very beginning. How -am I to know? I'm not informed as to where she keeps her gewgaws. I -believe that the pretty lady's sleeping-chamber is on the other side -of that door; look, there.' The Flyman looked in the direction -referred to. 'Hold hard; take Cox with you.' - -The Flyman gripped Mr Thomas Cox by the arm. - -'You come with me.' - -Mr Cox objected. - -'None of your handling.' - -'Who wants to handle you? You come with me, that's all.' - -'Yes, Cox, that's all. You go and assist our friend in prising open -the pretty lady's jewel-boxes and dressing-cases, and so on. You know -quite well that it isn't the first time you've been at the game, dear -boy.' - -'I'll have no finger in anything of the kind; and as for your -imputations, I'll make you regret them, Mr Burton.' - -'You will, will you? Take care, Cox; I'm in a nasty mood. If you won't -take a hand in this game, we'll play it in spite of you. We'll count -you out. Not a farthing shall you have of my money, and I defy you to -put the law into execution against me. You know you daren't--now. The -moment you move, I'll give the police the office to keep an eye on -Thomas Cox. You've more to lose than we have.' - -'You--you brutes! Don't try to bully me.' - -'Bully? I don't bully, Cox. Here, I'll open that door, and you shall -go through it at once, if you please. Only I'll go with you, and at -the foot of the stairs I'll denounce you for murder. If the game is -lost, as it will be if you won't play it out, I don't care if I do -hang, so long as you hang with me.' - -'What--what the devil do you mean by keeping on dropping hints -about--about murder?' - -'You shall know, if you like, when you reach the foot of the stairs. -Take my earnest and well-meant advice, keep in with us, and take my -word for it that each moment you waste brings the shadow of the -gallows just a little nearer. I'll give you all the explanations you -want afterwards, if there ever is an afterwards.' - -Mr Cox hesitated. He glanced from one of his companions to the other. -What he saw on their faces seemed to have on him an odd effect. He -went with the Flyman into Miss Bewicke's bedroom, looking as if he had -all at once grown older. Mr Burton followed them with his eyes, the -peculiar expression of his countenance seeming to endow his -stereotyped smile with an unusual prominence. He looked, as he had -said of himself, in a nasty mood. - -'Leave the door open, Flyman. I also am interested in the proceedings, -and should like to be instantly informed when you do light upon my -uncle's precious jewel.' - -He watched for a moment or two the Flyman pulling open such drawers as -were unlocked and turning over their contents. - -'Don't trouble yourself to look at the frills and laces. Women don't -keep jewels among their underwear. Turn your attention to the -dressing-table, man.' - -The Flyman resented the comment on his mode of procedure. - -'You never know where a woman does keep her things, especially the -thing you're after, as you'd know if you'd as much experience as I -have.' - -Mr Burton, laughing, lit a cigarette. - -'All right, man of many felonies. You're quite justified in resenting -the criticism of the amateur. I was only telling you what was my own -idea. Only do be quick and illustrate the handiness of which you -bragged.' - -He strolled towards the door which was on the opposite side of the -room, the one through which the ladies had vanished. He softly tried -the handle; it still was locked. Taking the cigarette from between his -lips, he inclined his ear towards the panel and listened. - -'They're quiet. I suppose they're in her room. I wonder what they're -doing? Problem for the papers which give prizes for puzzles. Under the -circumstances, what might they be expected to be doing? Odds on that -they're doing something else. One might easily see. It wouldn't take -long to cut a piece out of this panel, or, for the matter of that, to -take the lock itself clean off. But would it be worth one's while? -They've seen enough. Ye whales and little fishes, they've seen too -much! Better carry the thing to a conclusion without unnecessary -witnesses. If they're content, we are. What's up now?' - -The question was prompted by an exclamation which came from Miss -Bewicke's bedroom. Mr Cox appeared at the entrance. - -'Burton, you said that all we wanted was the ruby; that the rest of -her things should go untouched.' - -'Well?' - -'The Flyman's pocketing her jewels.' - -Mr Burton crossed the floor. - -'That won't do, Flyman. We're here on an expedition of right. We're -not thieves.' - -'You said yourself we might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.' - -'I did; and you are aware that that is not the kind of sheep I meant. -On this occasion I really must ask you to be honest.' - -'But I never saw such shiners. Who could resist them, guv'nor? She's -got enough to stock a shop. Why, if we take 'em away with us, we -sha'n't be far out, even if we don't get that blessed ruby.' - -'It's the ruby or nothing; also, and nothing. Put those things back.' - -'I've only nobbled one or two. I've got to look after myself.' - -'I, too, have to look after you. You know what was agreed; keep to the -terms of the agreement, or, though you "nobble" every "shiner" the -lady owns, you'll be a loser. Put those things back.' - -There was something about Mr Burton just then which compelled respect, -of a kind, which fact the Flyman recognised. His face darkened and, in -audible tones, he grumbled. But he produced the trinkets, as -requested, and replaced them, one by one, on their velvet beds. - -'Is that all?' - -'Every blooming one.' - -'Cox, is that all?' - -'Yes, I believe it is.' He glanced at the open jewel-case. 'No, -there's a ring still missing.' - -The Flyman cursed. - -'Can't a bloke have one?' - -'Not unless he wishes to pay for it more than it's worth. Come, man, -look pleasant.' - -The Flyman did not 'look pleasant;' but he restored the ring. Mr -Burton expressed approval. - -'That's better. Now, show yourself as keen in the right direction. -Give us a proof of the "handiness" you talked about, and find that -ruby. It'll be worth to you more than all those other things.' - -On this point the Flyman, from his manner, seemed to have his doubts; -but he continued his researches. Mr Cox observed that they were -strictly confined to what Mr Burton had called the 'right direction.' -Mr Burton, returning to the locked door, pursued his meditations as he -listened at the panel. - -'It's odd that they're so quiet, and suggests mischief. In such a -case, surely women are not quiet. Unless--unless what? That's what I -should like to know.' - -'Burton, is this the ruby?' - -The words came sharply from Mr Cox, with a sudden interposition from -the Flyman. - -'You give me that! Don't you lay your fingers on the thing!' - -'I'm only looking at it.' - -'You give it me, I say.' - -'Burton!' - -The cry was almost an appeal for help. Mr Burton arrived to find -something very like a tussle taking place. The Flyman was endeavouring -to obtain possession of something which Mr Cox was holding, and which -that gentleman was doing his best to keep. - -'I found it!' he cried. 'Hand it over!' - -'Burton! Quick! Catch!' - -Mr Cox tossed something through the air which Mr Burton caught. He had -just time to see that it was a ring, set with a gleaming red stone, -when the Flyman was upon him with an emphatic repetition of the demand -he had made on Mr Cox. - -'You hand it over before I down you.' - -Mr Cox explained. - -'I found it; he didn't. I opened the box, and it was the first thing I -saw. It had nothing to do with him.' - -The Flyman paid no attention to the statement. He merely reiterated -his request. - -'Now, Mr Burton, I don't want no patter. You fork up before there's -trouble.' - -The young gentleman, holding his hand behind his back, was smiling in -the other's face. - -'Gently, Flyman. Let's know exactly where we are before we come to -business.' The Flyman flung himself upon him without another word. Mr -Burton never for a moment seemed to lose his self-possession. 'You -ass! what do you suppose you're going to gain by this?' - -While they struggled, the bedroom door was suddenly slammed to. There -was a clicking sound. The continuation of the argument was instantly -deferred. Mr Burton hurried to the door. - -'They've caught us napping; it's locked. Well, Flyman, I hope you're -satisfied. Owing to your "handiness," of which we have heard so much, -in our turn we are trapped.' - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - - THE FIGURES ON THE BED - - -'At anyrate,' remarked Miss Bewicke, as, turning the key in the lock, -she shut herself and Miss Broad inside the dining-room, 'you can't get -at us for a time.' - -The two girls stood and listened. They heard the handle tried; the -rapping at the panel. - -'You may knock, and knock, but it won't be opened. He's gone. That was -Horace, dear. How beautifully you knocked him down!' - -'What does he want?' - -'It's pretty plain. Uncle George's ruby has the attractiveness of the -Holy Grail. This is another quest for it.' - -'But they'll find it if we stop here.' - -'And if we don't stop here, what do you propose to do? Fight them to -the death? Nothing else will be efficacious. They're not the persons, -and they're not in the mood, to stick at trifles.' - -'What a wretch he is! I've heard Guy speak of him, but I'd no idea he -was as bad as this.' - -'My dear Letty, when a bad man is in a bad hole, you've no notion how -bad that man can be. The question now is, Can we get out through the -kitchen door, or can they get through the kitchen door to us?' - -'Where does that door lead to?' - -'Into Louise Casata's bedroom. The beauty of the average flat is that -you can always pass from any one room into any other, which, -sometimes, is convenient and sometimes isn't. I'm wondering whether -Louise is responsible for Horace Burton's presence here, and also -where she is. I've reasons for believing that it was not her intention -to go out to-night.' - -'I shouldn't keep such a woman about my place, if I were you.' - -'I don't intend to any longer. All the same, you've no idea how useful -she has been. There have been times when I don't know what I should -have done without her. Still, I fancy that henceforth she and I part -company.' She opened the door which led into Miss Casata's room, then -gave utterance to a startled exclamation. 'Why! what is the matter? -Letty, keep back!' - -Returning to the dining-room, she leaned against the door, which she -had pulled to after her, as if she needed its support. For one who -was, as a rule, so completely mistress of herself, she showed strange -emotion. Miss Broad stared at her askance. - -'What has happened now? What's in there?' - -'I don't know. Don't ask me. Let me get my breath and think, and I'll -tell you all about it.' - -She pressed her hand against her side, as if to still the beating of -her heart. She seemed unhinged, thrown, in a second, completely off -her balance. Her agitation was infectious. Probably, without her -knowing it, Miss Broad's voice trembled and sank. - -'Tell me--what it is.' - -'Wait a minute, and I'll tell you--all.' - -She made an evident effort to get the better of her infirmity. Bracing -herself up against the door, the little woman looked Miss Broad -straight in the face. - -'Letty, something horrible has happened.' - -'What is it?' - -'I don't quite know myself; I didn't stop to look.' - -'Let me go and see.' - -'It's Miss Casata and--a man.' - -'A man? What man?' - -'I can't say; I only saw it was a man. They're lying on the bed--so -still. Oh, Letty!' - -'May!' - -Miss Broad was probably wholly unaware that she had called her -companion by her Christian name. The unknown horror in the other room -had laid its grip on her. She was overcome by frightful imaginings, -not knowing why. She gasped out an unfinished question. - -'You don't mean--' - -'I don't know what I mean. I only know that there's something there.' - -The two girls had been speaking in whispers, as if they stood in a -presence which compelled hushed voices. Now, suddenly, Miss Bewicke -raised her tones, extending her small palm towards the door through -which they had entered. - -'Oh! you wretches! wretches!' - -She broke into a passion of tears. - -'May, for goodness' sake, don't cry!' - -'I'm not going to. I don't know why I am so silly, but, for the -moment, I couldn't help it.' Her sobs ceased almost as rapidly as they -came. She dried her eyes. 'Letty, let's go and see what's happened. -I'm afraid Miss Casata's--dead.' - -'Dead?' - -'Yes; and--the man.' - -'The man?' - -'They're so still. Let's go and see. Give me your hand.' - -Miss Broad yielded her hand. Miss Bewicke opened the door. The two -peeped through. - -The room was not a large one. On one side was an ordinary French -bedstead. A brass railing was on the head and foot. On this railing -were hung feminine odds and ends. These made it difficult for anyone -standing at the door to see clearly what was on the bed. Miss Broad -perceived that on the outer edge there lay a woman. - -'Who's that?' - -'That's Louise Casata.' - -'Perhaps she's sleeping.' - -'She wouldn't sleep through all the noise.' - -'She may be ill; I'll go and look at her.' - -'Don't you see--that there's a man?' - -Miss Broad moved further into the room. She saw what the other alluded -to. As she did so, she gave utterance to that cry which Mr Horace -Burton heard, listening in the servants' room beyond--the cry in which -there was such a mingling of emotions as they welled up to the lips -from the woman's heart. - -Miss Casata lay almost on the extreme edge of the bed fully clothed. -She was on her back. One arm dangled over the side; her head was a -little aslant upon the pillow, so that from a little distance it -looked as if her neck was broken. The whole pose was almost as -uncomfortable a one as a human being could choose; indeed, the -conviction was irresistibly borne in on the beholders that it was not -self-chosen, unless she had sunk on to the bed in a drunken stupor; -but Miss Bewicke knew that she was no drinker. - -However, it was not Miss Casata's plight which had drawn from Miss -Broad that involuntary cry. Beside her, outlined beneath the -bedclothes, was a figure, stiff and rigid. With the exception of one -place, it was completely covered. Some one, curious, perhaps, to learn -what the thing might mean, had drawn aside sufficient of the -bedclothes to disclose a portion of the head and face. As a matter of -fact, the curious person was Mr Horace Burton. When relieving himself -of the burden of the lady who was once the object of his heart's -affection, he had been struck by the outlined form which lay so -curiously still, and had wondered what it was, and had seen; and -because of what he had seen, had gone back to his companions with the -fashion of his countenance so changed. - -Now Miss Broad saw. The man beside Miss Casata on the bed was Mr -Holland--Guy Holland--her Guy. It was when she perceived that it was -he that her heart cried out. Miss Bewicke, who had only realised that -it was a man, without recognising what man it was, came to her side -trembling, wondering. When she also knew, she also cried aloud; but -there was a material difference between the quality of her exclamation -and Miss Broad's. Hers signified horror and amazement--perhaps -something of concern; Miss Broad's betokened so many other things -besides. - -The two women went running to the bed; but when Miss Broad showed an -inclination to lean over and to touch the silent man, the other, as if -fearful of what actual contact might involve, caught her by the dress. - -'No, no; take care!' - -Even Miss Broad shrank a little back; for Miss Casata lay between. - -'Move the bed!' - -The suggestion was Miss Bewicke's. In a moment it had been put into -force. The bed was wheeled more into the centre of the room, so as to -permit of passage between it and the wall, and presently the girl was -at her lover's side. She knelt and looked, but still she did not touch -him. No tears were in her eyes; she seemed very calm; but her face was -white, and she was speechless. On her face there was a look which was -past wonder, past pain, past fear, as if she did not understand what -it was which was in front of her. Miss Bewicke stood at her side, also -looking; her dominant expression seemed sheer bewilderment. - -He also lay on his back. The bedclothes were withdrawn, so that his -face was seen down to the chin. No marks of violence were visible. His -expression was one of complete quiescence. His eyes were closed, as if -he slept; but if he did, it was very soundly, for there was nothing to -show that he breathed. - -Suddenly Miss Broad found her voice, or the ghost of it. Her lips did -not move, and the words came thinly from her throat. - -'Is he dead?' - -The other did not answer; but, leaning over, she drew the bedclothes -more from off him, and she whispered,-- - -'Guy!' They waited, but he did not answer. She called again, 'Guy!' - -Yet no response. In that land of sleep in which he was, it was plain -that he heard no voices. - -The further withdrawal of the bedclothes had revealed the fact that he -was fully dressed for dinner, as he was when Miss Bewicke had seen him -last, the night before. His black bow had come untied; the ends -strayed over his shirtfront, which was soiled and crumpled. His whole -attire was in disarray. There were stains of dirt upon his coat. Now -that they were so close, they perceived that traces of dry mud were on -his face, as if it had been in close contact with the ground. About -his whole appearance there was much which was ominous. - -The fact that this was so seemed to make a fresh appeal to Miss -Broad's understanding; probably to something else in her as well. - -'Guy!' she cried. - -Her tone was penetrating, poignant. If it did not reach the -consciousness of him to whom she called, in another direction it had a -curious and unlooked-for effect. As if in response to an appeal which -had been made directly to herself, Miss Casata, on the opposite side -of the bed, sat up. The girls clung to each other in startled terror. -To them, for the moment, it was as if she had risen from the dead. - -Although she had sat up, Miss Casata herself did not seem to know -exactly why. She seemed not only stupid, but a little stupefied, and -gasped for breath, her respirations resembling convulsions as she -struggled with the after-effects of the narcotic. The two girls -observed her with amazement, she, on her part, evidently not realising -their presence in the least. - -It was Miss Bewicke who first attained to some dim comprehension of -the meaning of the lady's antics. - -'She's been drugged; that's what it is. Louise!' - -Miss Casata heard, although she did not turn her head, but continued -to open and shut her mouth in very ugly fashion as she fought for -breath. - -'Yes; I'm coming. Who's calling?' - -'I! Look at me! Do you hear? Louise!' - -This time, if she heard, Miss Casata gave no sign, but, sinking back -on the bed, clutched at the counterpane, making a noise, as she gasped -for breath, as if the walls of her chest would burst. - -'Letty, let me go! I must do something. She'll relapse, or worse, if -we don't take care.' - -Miss Bewicke hastened to the wash-handstand. Emptying a jug of water -into a basin, she took the basin in her hands and dashed the contents, -with what force she could, into the lady's face. - -The salutation was effectual. Miss Casata floundered, spluttering, on -to the floor, more like herself. - -Miss Bewicke confronted her, the basin still in her hands. - -'Who did that?' - -'I did. Louise, wake up!' - -Miss Casata seemed to be endeavouring her utmost to obey the other's -command. - -'What's the matter?' - -'That's what I want to know. In particular, I want to know what is the -meaning of Mr Guy Holland's presence in your room?' - -'Holland?' She put her hand up to her head in an effort to collect her -thoughts. She spoke as if with an imperfect apprehension of what it -was she was saying. 'He was in the street--lying--on his face--so I -brought him here--before the policeman came.' - -'Before the policeman came? What do you mean? How did you know that he -was lying in the street?' - -'I saw--the Flyman--from the window--knock him down--he took the -ruby.' - -'The Flyman? Who is he?' - -'A man--Horace knows--I knew--Horace had set him on. I didn't want him -to get into trouble, so I brought him here. It was all I could do to -carry him up the stairs--he was so heavy.' - -'And do you mean to say you've had Mr Holland hidden in your room all -day and night?' - -'All day--and night. He's dead. The Flyman killed him. Horace will get -into trouble--when it's known.' - -Miss Casata, in her condition of semi-consciousness, said more than -she had warrant for. Mr Holland was not dead. Even as she asserted -that he was, he showed that her assertion was an error. While the -still partly-stupefied woman struggled to get out of the darkness into -the light, there came a cry from the white-faced girl on the other -side of the bed. - -'May, he moves!' - -Startled into forgetfulness of what it was she held, Miss Bewicke -dropped the slippery basin from her hands. It broke into fragments -with a clatter. The noise of the shattered ware seemed actually to -penetrate to Mr Holland's consciousness. Miss Bewicke would always -have it that it was her breaking the basin which really brought him -back to life. In an instant Miss Broad was half beside herself in a -frenzy of excitement. - -'May! May! he lives! Guy! Guy!' - -Miss Bewicke, turning, saw that he was alive, but that, apparently, -when that was said, one had said all. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - - REINFORCED - - -Mr Holland had opened his eyes; he had done nothing more. The movement -might have been owing to an involuntary contraction of the muscles, so -rigid did his attitude continue to be, so apparently unseeing were the -staring pupils. But, for the instant, it was sufficient for Miss Broad -that he had shown signs of volition even to so small an extent. She -bent over the bed, addressing him by a dozen endearing epithets. - -'Guy! My darling! my love! my dear! Don't you know me? It's -Letty--your own Letty! Speak to me! Guy! Guy!' - -But he did not speak. Nor was it possible, to judge from any -responsive action on his part that he even heard. His continual -unnatural rigidity cooled the first ardour of the lady's joy. She -addressed Miss Bewicke. And now the tears were streaming down her -cheeks. - -'May, come here! Look at Guy! Get him to speak to me!' - -To enforce compliance with her wish was not so easy, as Miss Bewicke -saw, if the other did not. There was an uncanny look about Mr -Holland's whole appearance which was not reassuring. He looked far -indeed from the capacity for reasonable speech. - -'He wants help. We ought to have a doctor at once.' - -'Then fetch one--fetch one!' - -That there was anything about the request which was at all -unreasonable, seemingly Miss Broad did not pause to consider; she was -too preoccupied with her own troubles and his. But to Miss Bewicke the -difficulty of the errand forcibly occurred. - -'You forget--' she began. Then stopped, for she remembered how easy it -was, in the other's situation, to forget all things save one. She knit -her brows and thought, the result of her cogitations being a series of -disjointed sentences. - -'They can hardly be such brutes, when they know. And yet it was they -who put him there. I wonder! Do I dare?' - -It seemed that she essayed her courage. She went to the door, and, for -a moment, listened. Then turned the key, opened it an inch or two. -What she saw and heard increased her valour, especially what she -heard. The drawing-room was empty. Loud voices came through the open -door of the bedroom--her own bedroom on the opposite side--sounds -which did not speak of peace. - -'I do believe they're fighting.' - -She stole on tiptoe a foot or two into the empty room, then stopped in -a flutter as of doubt--what might not happen if they caught her?--then -tiptoed further, till she had reached the centre of the room. Again -she paused. If she was seen, it was a long way back to the haven of -comparative safety she had quitted. But the noise, if anything, grew -louder. From some of the words which reached her, she judged it -possible that they were too much occupied with their own proceedings -to pay heed to anything else. She perceived that, by some stroke of -good fortune, the key was outside the door. She screwed her courage to -the sticking-point, forming a sudden resolution. Darting forward, -thrusting the door to quickly, she turned the key, then, when the key -was turned, the deed done, the three gentlemen trapped, she leaned -against the wall, went white, seemed on the verge of fainting. - -She went still whiter when the handle was turned within, and Mr Horace -Burton's voice was heard demanding that the door be undone. - -'If they should get out!' - -The possibility of the thing, and the fear thereof, acted on her as a -spur. She tore to the door which led out of the flat, and, throwing it -open, almost fell into the arms of the cook and housemaid who were -returning from their Sunday evening out. Seldom have domestic servants -been more heartily welcomed. She addressed them by their names. - -'Wilson! Stevens! go at once for the police!' - -Instead of promptly obeying, they stared at her in astonishment. Her -hat, which she had not removed during the lively incidents which had -marked the passage of the time since her arrival home, was on one -side, at that unbecoming angle which is a woman's nightmare; and there -were other traces of disarray which were not in keeping with her -best-known characteristics, for, with her, a pin misplaced was the -thing unspeakable. While the cook and housemaid stared, hesitating to -start, as they were bidden, in search of the representatives of law -and order, the lift stopped at the landing, and from it, of all -persons in the world, Mr Bryan Dumville emerged. - -She flew into his arms, as, it may be safely said, she had never flown -before. - -'Oh, Bryan! Bryan! I'm so glad you've come!' - -As the flattered gentleman was, no doubt, about to express his -appreciation of the warmth of his reception, the lift commenced to -descend. Something else occurred to her. - -'Stop! stop!' she cried. The lift returned. The porter looked out -inquiringly. 'Peters, there are thieves in my rooms! You had better -come with us at once.' - -'Thieves, miss? Hadn't I better--' - -She cut the porter's sentence short, relentlessly. - -'No, you hadn't. You must come with us at once. Don't you hear me say -so?' - -He went. They all went--the cook and the housemaid, the porter, Mr -Bryan Dumville, and Miss May Bewicke. She went last. As she went, she -shut the front and drawing-room doors behind her. She pointed towards -her bedroom. - -'They're in there at this moment--three of them.' - -The porter seemed to have his doubts. - -'Three of them? You're sure they are thieves, miss?' - -'Am I sure? Why do you ask me such a question? Do you think I'm likely -to make a mistake in a matter like that? Pray, don't be absurd.' - -'In that case, if they are thieves, don't you think I'd better fetch -the police?' - -Miss Bewicke's wits worked quickly. Even when circumstances seemed -against their working at all--since instructing the cook and housemaid -to do as the porter was now suggesting that he should do--she had -already been turning things over in her mind, with the result that she -was not sure that she desired official assistance after all. If the -police came, arrests would be made; she would have to see the thing -through to the bitter end. In view of such a possible consummation, -there were many points to be considered. Had she been an actress, with -a keen eye for an advertisement--a type which, it is understood, does -exist--the idea of figuring as the heroine of what the slang of the -hour calls a 'cause célèbre' might have commended itself to her -intelligence; but, as it happened, she was not that kind. If these -gentlemen did come into the hands of the police--at anyrate, on this -particular charge--it was possible that things might transpire which -she, and possibly others, would not wish to have mentioned in court -and in the papers. That the miscreants deserved all the punishment -which the law might award them, she had no doubt whatever. At the same -time, she was equally clear that they would duly, and shortly, receive -their reward, if not at her instance, then at that of others. So, on -the whole, she decided, in a twinkling, that she would take no final -step till she saw which way the cat might jump. - -'When I want you to fetch the police, I will tell you.' She turned to -the housemaid. 'But there's one thing, Stevens, you might fetch, and -must, and that's a doctor. Go to the nearest, and bring him at once.' - -Even as she spoke, through the dining-room door there came three -persons--Miss Broad, with Mr Guy Holland on her arm, looking the most -woe-begone figure imaginable, but still alive, and plainly walking; -behind them Miss Casata. For the second time Miss Bewicke -countermanded her instructions. - -'Stay, Stevens! Perhaps the doctor won't be wanted.' - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - - STILL WITH A SMILE - - -The five stared at the three, then, after momentary inspection, as if -for the purpose of satisfying herself on certain points by visual -inspection, Miss Bewicke moved towards Mr Holland. - -'Oh, Guy, I am so glad to see you better! I do hope that you're all -right.' - -The words were, perhaps, a trifle banal, possibly because, for once, -the nimble-witted lady was doubtful as to what was exactly the proper -thing to say. Apparently, however, it was of little consequence what -she said. The gentleman was still incapable of appreciating at their -just value either words or phrases. That he knew she spoke to him was -probable, for he turned and regarded her with vacant looks and glassy -eyes; but that he realised who she was, or what she meant, was more -than doubtful. Mumbled words proceeded from his stammering lips. - -'All right--yes--quite all right--nothing wrong.' - -Miss Broad looked at Miss Bewicke with eyes in which the tears still -trembled. She appealed to her in a whisper, in tones which quivered. - -'Won't you let them fetch a doctor?' - -'Let them! Stevens, fetch the man at once.' - -This time Stevens went in search of medical aid. - -Mr Dumville had been observing Mr Holland with undisguised amazement. -Now he clothed his thoughts with speech. - -'Holland, what on earth's the matter with you? May, what does all this -mean?' - -Miss Bewicke explained; that is, she told as much as she thought it -necessary and advisable that Mr Dumville should know in the fewest -words at her command. Mr Dumville professed himself to be, what he -plainly was, amazed. The tale was very far from being complete in all -its details, or he would probably have been yet more surprised, in a -direction, as things were, which he little suspected. - -'And do you mean that that man Burton is still upon these premises?' - -'He was in my bedroom, when I turned the key, with his two friends.' -Mr Dumville strode forward. She caught him by the arm. 'What are you -going to do?' - -'Slaughter him!' - -'I would rather you did not do that. It would make such a mess upon -the floor.' - -'Do you think that scoundrel's behaviour is a thing to laugh at? I'll -show you and him, too, where the laughter comes in.' - -'My dear Bryan, I know very well that there's nothing laughable about -Mr Horace Burton or his proceedings. He is--oh, he's all sorts of -things. I'd rather not tell you all the things I think he is.' - -'I know.' - -'Of course, you know. But, at the same time, when you have made sure -that neither he nor either of his friends is taking away any of my -property upon his person, I should be obliged if you would let them -go.' - -'Let them go! May, you're mad!' - -'Believe me, Bryan, I am comparatively sane. I will tell you all my -reasons later on. At present the thing is to get them gone. You may -take my word for it that for Mr Horace Burton the day of reckoning is -close at hand, and that it will be as terrible an one as even you can -desire.' - -'That won't be the same as if I'd killed him.' - -'No, it won't be the same; it will be better. Could I creep between -your arms if I knew that your hands were red with that man's blood? If -you don't mind, as I locked the door, I'll open it. Please keep your -hands off him as he comes out--for my sake, dear.' - -She gave him a glance which possibly constrained him to obedience. She -was famous in the theatre for the skill with which she used her eyes. -Turning the key, throwing the bedroom door wide open, she stood before -it with a little gesture of invitation. - -'Pray, gentlemen, come out.' - -And they came out, the hang-dog three, for, though each endeavoured to -bear himself with an air of unconcern, in no case did the endeavour -quite succeed. As regards Mr Thomas Cox, the failure was complete. He -looked like nothing so much as the well-whipped cur which only asks to -be allowed to take itself away with its tail between its legs. The -Flyman, who was probably more habituated to positions of the kind, -succeeded a trifle better. He looked defiance, as if he were prepared -to match himself, at less than a moment's notice, against whoever -came. Mr Horace Burton it was, however, who might claim to face the -situation with the most imperturbable front. He looked about him, not -jauntily so much as calmly, with his unceasing smile. - -'More visitors, Miss Bewicke, I perceive. Ah! Guy, how are you? You're -looking dicky. Louise, my dearest girl!' - -Of its kind, his impudence was glorious. Mr Dumville strode up to him, -as if forgetful of the lady's prohibition. - -'By gad! I'd like to kill you!' - -Mr Burton, glancing up at the speaker, did not turn a hair. - -'I'm afraid I haven't the honour. Miss Bewicke, may I ask you to -introduce me to the gentleman?' - -'With pleasure. Mr Horace Burton, this is Mr Dumville. It is only at -my urgent request that he refrains from breaking every bone in your -body, as he easily could. But you know, and I know, that for you -there's such a very bad time coming that I feel it's quite safe to -leave you to the tender mercies of those to whom mercy is unknown. -Turn out your pockets!' - -'Charmed! I quite appreciate the motive which actuates your request, -Miss Bewicke. Nothing could be more natural. But I give you my word of -honour that neither of us has anything which belongs to you.' - -Notwithstanding, Mr Burton turned his pockets inside out, smiling all -the time. His companions followed suit, though scarcely with so much -grace. So far as could be seen, neither of them was in possession of -anything to which Miss Bewicke could lay claim, as she herself -admitted. - -'I really do believe you, Mr Burton, when you say that you--none of -you--have property of mine. It sounds odd, and you may wonder why, but -I do. Good-night.' - -'Good-night I am indebted to you, Miss Bewicke, for a pleasant -evening's entertainment.' - -'Don't mention it. When the time comes to balance your accounts, -you'll find the sum-total of your indebtedness altogether beyond your -capacity to meet. Go.' - -And they went. At least Mr Thomas Cox and the Flyman went--the -first-named gentleman with an undignified rush, the second not very -far from his heels; but Mr Burton lingered on the threshold to waft a -kiss on his finger-tips to Miss Casata. - -'Best love, Louise.' - -The lady made a dash at him, inarticulate with rage. - -'You--you!' - -Miss Bewicke stayed her progress. - -'Louise!' - -Mr Burton laughed. - -'My dearest girl, you can't expect to embrace me before all these -people! Propriety forbids.' - -When he had disappeared, Mr Dumville gave voice to his sentiments. - -'I wish you'd let me kill him!' - -Miss Bewicke nodded her head, with an air of the profoundest wisdom, -as she laid her little hands on his two arms. - -'My dear Bryan, before very long he'll be wanting to kill himself; -that'll be so much nicer for us and so much worse for him.' - - - - - CHAPTER XX - - HOW THE CHASE WAS ENDED - - -Mr Samuel Collyer was seated in his office. Spread open on the table -in front of him was Mr George Burton's will, which apparently he had -just been studying. The study seemed to have afforded him amusement. -Leaning back in his chair, he smiled. He referred to his watch. - -'Twenty minutes past; they will soon be here. On these occasions, -punctuality ought to be the rule, and generally is. George Burton was -a curious man, and left a curious will. And yet I don't know. Why -should I, or anyone, call it curious? By what right? When a man has -neither wife nor children, and his only kindred are a couple of -nephews to whom he is not particularly attached, surely he has a right -to do as he likes with his own. It is his own--as yet. And if he -chooses to attach to the succession certain conditions which appeal, -we'll say, to his sense of humour, what title has anyone, lawyer or -layman, to comment adversely on the expression of his wishes? So long -as they are not in opposition to the general welfare of the body -politic, it seems to me none. In a sense, most wills are curious, when -you get right into them and understand their ins and outs. I daresay -mine will be. I'm a bachelor. Upon my word, I don't know who has the -best claim to the few pence I shall leave. Why shouldn't I ornament my -testamentary dispositions with a few characteristic touches? Why not?' - -While the lawyer propounded to himself this knotty problem, two -visitors were shown in--Mr Holland, again upon Miss Broad's arm. He -still was not himself. The effects of the sand-bag, which the Flyman -had used with more enthusiasm than he had perhaps intended, had not -yet all vanished. He seemed uncertain about his capacity to steer -himself. He did not carry himself so upright as was his wont. There -was a look upon his face which it had not previously worn--of -indecision, irresolution, as if he was not quite master of his mental -faculties. That sandbag had landed on the brain. Miss Broad seemed to -regard him as if he were a child; she watched over him as if he were -one, and it must be allowed that he appeared to appreciate to the full -her tender care. - -The diplomatic lawyer chose not to see the things which were patent. -His greeting was,-- - -'I am glad to see you, Mr Holland, looking so much yourself. I was -grieved to hear that you had had an accident.' - -'Accident!' The reiteration was Miss Broad's. 'You call it accident!' - -'My dear young lady, the words which lawyers use are not always -intended to bear their strict dictionary significance.' - -Another visitor was announced--Mr Horace Burton, as much at his ease -as ever. Miss Broad blazed up at sight of him. - -'You dare to come here!' - -'Dare! Collyer, who's this young lady? Oh, it's Miss Broad, my future -cousin. May I ask, Letty--you'll let me call you Letty?--why you -should speak of my "daring" to come to my own lawyer's office? Hallo, -Guy, you look squiffy! Buck up, my boy!' - -He would have saluted his cousin with his open palm upon the back had -not Miss Broad caught his arm as it was descending and flung it away. -He gazed at her with what was meant for admiration. - -'You are a warm one, Letty, really now! If you propose to slang Guy, -as you seem fond of slanging me, you ought to have a pot of money to -make it worth his while. He's likely to find marriage with you an -expensive luxury, my dear.' - -Mr Holland half rose from the chair on which Miss Broad had placed -him. He spoke with hesitating tongue. - -'You had better be careful--what you say.' - -His relative laughed. - -'You'd better be careful what you say, or you'll tumble down.' - -Miss Broad laid her hand on Mr Holland's shoulder. - -'Never mind what he says. I don't. He's not worth noticing.' - -'Do you hear that, Collyer? Isn't she severe? But let's to business. -I'm not come to engage in a tongue-match with a lady. The three months -are up. Where's the ruby?' - -Mr Collyer spoke. - -'May I ask, Mr Holland, if you're in possession of the ring in -question?' - -It was Miss Broad who answered. - -'No, he is not. Miss Bewicke calls herself his friend, and she even -pretends to be mine, but her friendship does not go far enough to -induce her to hand over property to its rightful owner which was never -hers.' - -Comment from Mr Burton,-- - -'How sad! That's very wrong of her. Shows such deplorable -moral blindness, doesn't it? She is a wicked woman, is May -Bewicke--heartless, hypocritical, selfish to the core. Well, Collyer, -anyhow that settles it. The money's mine, and I give you my personal -assurance I can do with it.' - -'I have not the slightest doubt of that, Mr Burton; but, before we -conclude, there is something which I have been instructed to hand to -Mr Holland. It was for that purpose I requested your presence here. -Permit me, Mr Holland, to hand you this.' - -From a drawer in his writing-table the lawyer produced a small parcel. -When Mr Holland had undone, with somewhat shaky fingers, the outer -covering, it was seen that within was a leather-covered case. Inside -was a note, which he unfolded. - - -'Dear Guy,' it ran, 'this is a wedding present from yours, MAY -BEWICKE.' - - -'This' was a ring--the ring--the famous ruby. - -While they gathered round it, with a babble of voices, and Mr Burton -showed himself disposed to bluster, Miss Bewicke herself appeared at -the door with Mr Bryan Dumville. She advanced to Mr Holland and Miss -Broad. - -'My dear children, how are you both? So you have the ring? That's all -right. Directly I heard of the will, I sent it to Mr Collyer--he's my -uncle, don't you know? I thought it would be safer with him than it -would be with me. A lone, lorn woman's rooms are always open to the -machinations of the most dreadful characters, and you never know what -may happen--burglaries and all sorts of things. And you see I do call -myself Guy's friend, and I even pretend, Letty, to be yours. Don't I, -Bryan, dear?' - -Some of the latter words suggested that the little lady had been -listening outside the door. Mr Dumville confined his attention to Mr -Horace Burton. - -'So it's you again? I shall have to kill you after all.' - -Actually Mr Burton did not seem altogether at his ease. - -'I suppose, Guy, you couldn't let me have a thousand pounds to get -away with?' He laughed. 'No; it's no good. You'd better let me have it -when I come out. They're waiting for me outside. A thousand would only -be a drop in the sea. They wouldn't let me make a bolt of it for -that.' - -As he said, certain persons were waiting for him in the street. When -he appeared, and it was discovered that he was not to have his uncle's -money, within an hour he was arrested on a charge of forgery. It was a -remarkable case, and not a savoury one. Neither prosecutors nor -prisoner showed to advantage; but as it was clearly proved that Mr -Horace Burton had forged, and put into circulation, a large number of -acceptances and other legal documents, the jury had no option but to -find him guilty. A hard-headed judge sent him to penal servitude for -fourteen years. - -The Flyman soon followed him, it was understood, to the same prison. -His was a charge of robbery with violence in the City Road. The -sand-bag again. As there were previous convictions against him, he -suffered badly. - -Mr Thomas Cox is still at large. He was seen lately on the cliff at -Margate, with his wife and daughter, lounging on a chair listening to -the band. He looked well and flourishing--an illustration of a sound -mind in a sound body. But one never knows. - -Mr Guy Holland and Mr Bryan Dumville were married at the same church, -at the same time, on the same day. They are the best of friends. Their -wives swear by one another. Mrs Guy Holland is convinced that Mrs -Bryan Dumville is the most charming woman on the English stage, just -as Mrs Bryan Dumville is certain that Mrs Guy Holland is the -altogether most delightful person off it. - - - - THE END - - - - - - - EDINBURGH - COLSTON AND COY. LIMITED - PRINTERS - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chase of the Ruby, by Richard Marsh - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHASE OF THE RUBY *** - -***** This file should be named 40349-8.txt or 40349-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/3/4/40349/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by -Google Books (Oxford University) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at - www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 -North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email -contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the -Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/40349-8.zip b/40349-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e0e29e7..0000000 --- a/40349-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/40349-h.zip b/40349-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c014d8b..0000000 --- a/40349-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/40349-h/40349-h.htm b/40349-h/40349-h.htm index 9c16b1f..d154b77 100644 --- a/40349-h/40349-h.htm +++ b/40349-h/40349-h.htm @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ <meta name="Publisher" content="Skeffington & Son"> <meta name="Date" content="1900"> -<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> <style type="text/css"> body {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; background-color:#FFFFFF;} @@ -96,42 +96,7 @@ p.hang2 {margin-left:3em; text-indent:0em;} </style> </head> <body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chase of the Ruby, by Richard Marsh - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Chase of the Ruby - -Author: Richard Marsh - -Release Date: July 27, 2012 [EBook #40349] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHASE OF THE RUBY *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by -Google Books (Oxford University) - - - - - - -</pre> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40349 ***</div> <br> <br> @@ -702,9 +667,9 @@ served.'</p> <p class="normal">'Thrashed! Where? On a flight of steps?'</p> -<p class="normal">'On the steps of the Hôtel des Anglais at Nice.'</p> +<p class="normal">'On the steps of the Hôtel des Anglais at Nice.'</p> -<p class="normal">'Good God! I thought I knew the place; of course it was the Hôtel des +<p class="normal">'Good God! I thought I knew the place; of course it was the Hôtel des Anglais; it's--it's past believing.'</p> <p class="normal">The solicitor misapprehended the cause of Mr Holland's excitement.</p> @@ -4318,7 +4283,7 @@ knew nothing.'</p> <p class="normal">'You need not see what we do. We have a little something somewhere which will make you as unconscious of anything that may take place as you can possibly desire. Then, if there is a bother, you will be able -to assume, with perfect propriety, the <i>rôle</i> of injured victim. But I +to assume, with perfect propriety, the <i>rôle</i> of injured victim. But I don't see that there need be trouble, if you keep still. I've as much right to that ruby as anybody else. I'm going to assert that right, that's all. Now, be a good, kind girl. Go into another room and have a @@ -5605,7 +5570,7 @@ through to the bitter end. In view of such a possible consummation, there were many points to be considered. Had she been an actress, with a keen eye for an advertisement--a type which, it is understood, does exist--the idea of figuring as the heroine of what the slang of the -hour calls a 'cause célèbre' might have commended itself to her +hour calls a 'cause célèbre' might have commended itself to her intelligence; but, as it happened, she was not that kind. If these gentlemen did come into the hands of the police--at anyrate, on this particular charge--it was possible that things might transpire which @@ -6006,380 +5971,7 @@ PRINTERS</h4> <br> <br> - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Chase of the Ruby, by Richard Marsh - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHASE OF THE RUBY *** - -***** This file should be named 40349-h.htm or 40349-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/3/4/40349/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen, from page scans provided by -Google Books (Oxford University) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, -set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to -copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to -protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project -Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you -charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you -do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the -rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose -such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and -research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do -practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is -subject to the trademark license, especially commercial -redistribution. - - - -*** START: FULL LICENSE *** - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at - www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy -all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. -If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" -or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the -collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from -copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative -works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg -are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project -Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by -freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of -this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with -the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by -keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project -Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate -access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently -whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, -copied or distributed: - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived -from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is -posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied -and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees -or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work -with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the -work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 -through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional -terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked -to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the -permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), -you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a -copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon -request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other -form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided -that - -- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is - owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he - has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the - Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments - must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you - prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax - returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and - sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the - address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to - the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." - -- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or - destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium - and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of - Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any - money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days - of receipt of the work. - -- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set -forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from -both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm -collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain -"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or -corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual -property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a -computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by -your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. -To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 -and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent -permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. -Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 -North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email -contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the -Foundation's web site and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To -SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any -particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. -To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic -works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. -unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - -</pre> - +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40349 ***</div> </body> </html> diff --git a/40349.zip b/40349.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4ffd823..0000000 --- a/40349.zip +++ /dev/null |