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Guilty Bonds

by William Le Queux · English · Gutenberg #41456 · 363,702 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: Guilty Bonds

Author: William Le Queux


        
Release date: November 23, 2012 [eBook #41456]
                Most recently updated: August 16, 2025

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/41456

Credits: Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GUILTY BONDS ***

Guilty Bonds
By William Le Queux
Published by R.F. Fenno and Company, 112 Fifth Avenue, New York.
This edition dated 1895.

Guilty Bonds, by William Le Queux.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
GUILTY BONDS, BY WILLIAM LE QUEUX.

CHAPTER ONE.

THE MYSTERY OF BEDFORD PLACE.

"Come, have another hand, Burgoyne."

"I'll have my revenge to-morrow, old fellow," I replied.

"Why not to-night?"

"It's past two, and I've a long walk home, remember."

"Very well; as you wish."

My friend, Robert Nugent, a journalist, was young man, tall and dark,
twenty-seven at the outside, with a pleasant, smiling face.  His wavy
hair, worn rather long, and negligence of attire gave him a dash of the
genial good-for-nothing.

It was in the card-room of that Bohemian--but, alas, now defunct--
institution, the Junior Garrick Club, where we had been indulging in a
friendly hand.  Having finished our game, we ordered some refreshment,
and seated ourselves upon the balcony on Adelphi Terrace, smoking our
last cigarettes, and watching the ripple of the stream, the broken
reflection of the stars, and many lights that lined the Thames.  All was
dark in the houses on the opposite shore; the summer wind whispered in
the leafy boughs on the Embankment, and a faint cold grey in the east
showed that night was on the edge of morn.

For some time we sat chatting, until Big Ben boomed forth three o'clock;
then we rose, and wishing good-night to the men who were still playing,
sought our hats and left the club.

We walked together as far as Danes' Inn, where we parted, Nugent
entering the Inn, while I continued my homeward walk alone.  From the
Strand to Torrington Square is a considerable distance; but I did not
feel inclined for sleep, and sauntered along in the steely light,
enjoying the silence and solitude of the deserted streets, absorbed in
my own thoughts.

What need I say about myself?  Some envied me, I knew, for I chanced to
be the only son of a wealthy man who had died a few months before,
leaving me a handsome fortune, together with a stately old mansion in
Northamptonshire.  In the choice of a profession I had not altogether
pleased my father, the result being that the old gentleman was somewhat
niggardly regarding my allowance, and in consequence of this I had lived
a devil-may-care Bohemian life, earning a moderate living by my pen.
But upon my father's death a change came, and now, instead of a
hand-to-mouth existence, I found myself with an income which far
exceeded my wildest expectations.  This sudden affluence might have
turned the head of many a man, but it made very little difference to me.
My friends, for the most part struggling artists and literary men,
congratulated me upon my good fortune, probably believing that now I was
rich I should cut them.  They were mistaken; I continued to live pretty
much as before, though I gave up literary work and devoted more time to
pleasure.

Dreamily pondering over what I should do in the future, and heedless of
where my footsteps led me, I had crossed Holborn and was passing along
Bedford Place, Bloomsbury, before I was aroused from my reverie.

At that moment I was passing a rather large, handsome-looking house, of
a character somewhat superior to its neighbours, inasmuch as its outward
appearance had an air of wealth and prosperity.  The other houses were
in darkness, but the drawing-room of this particular one was brilliantly
lit, the window being almost on a level with the pavement.

A faint agonised cry caused me to pause in my walk.  For some moments I
stood before the gilt-topped railings listening, but no other sound
greeted my ears.

My idle, reflective mood suddenly fled.  Recalled from it by the
startling distinctness of the appeal--half-moan, half-scream, with its
intonation of anguish--an overwhelming curiosity possessed me.

An ominous sound: what could it mean?

Impelled by an involuntary inquisitiveness I resolved to ascertain, if
possible, the cause of this midnight cry of distress.

The gate leading to the front door was open.  I crept inside and
advanced cautiously.

Upon tiptoe I placed my face close to the glass of the window.  At first
my expectations seemed doomed, but to my intense joy I found a small
aperture between the blind and window-sash through which a glimpse of
the interior could be obtained.

My eager eyes fell upon a scene which caused me to start back with a
scarcely repressed ejaculation of horror and surprise!

A tragedy had been enacted!

Stretched at full length upon the carpet was the form of a woman in a
white flimsy evening dress, the breast of which bore a large crimson
stain--the stain of blood!

Utterly unable to make up my mind how to act, I stood rooted to the
spot.  A violent gust of wind swept down the street, causing the lights
in the lamps to flicker, and the branches of the stunted trees to groan
beneath its power.

Just then the front door opened and closed noiselessly, and as I drew
back into the shadow a man passed me so closely that I could touch him;
and after glancing anxiously up and down the street, walked hurriedly
away.

As he brushed past, the light from a neighbouring street-lamp disclosed
the face of a young and rather handsome man, with dark eyes and
carefully waxed moustache--a face it was impossible to mistake.

I hesitated a few seconds whether I should give the alarm and follow
him.  The echo of his retreating footsteps brought me to my senses, and
I started off after the fugitive.

As soon as he heard my footsteps behind him, however, he quickened his
pace.  I had gained on him until he was within a hundred yards or so,
when he suddenly turned half-fearfully around, and started running as
fast as his legs could carry him.

I called upon him to stop, but he took no heed.  We were soon in Russell
Square, and, crossing it, turned the corner at the Alexandra Hospital
and continued along Guilford Street into Gray's Inn Road.  I was a
fairly good runner, yet though I exerted every muscle in my endeavours
to catch the man, nevertheless he gradually increased the distance
between us.

It was an exciting chase.  If I could only meet a policeman no doubt we
might run him to earth by our combined efforts; but after the lapse of
five minutes, without meeting one of the guardians of the public peace,
the mysterious man dived into some intricate turnings, with which he was
evidently too well acquainted, and I was compelled to relinquish the
pursuit.

He had escaped!

CHAPTER TWO.

SEALED LIPS.

With some difficulty I at last found my way back to the house, but all
was quiet, and the passer-by would little dream of the terrible tragedy
that had taken place within.  I had no time for reflection, however, for
I heard the well-known creaking footstep, and saw the flashing of a
distant bull's-eye, betokening the arrival of a policeman from the
opposite direction.

Hastening to meet the constable, with excited gesture and confused
accents, I told him of my horrible discovery.  At first the man seemed
inclined to disbelieve it, but seeing I was in earnest, accompanied me
to the house, and peeped in at the window as directed.

He started when his gaze fell upon the prostrate woman.

"Do you know who lives 'ere?" he asked.

"No.  Haven't I told you I'm an utter stranger?"  I replied.

As I spoke he ran up the short flight of stone steps and pulled the
large brass knob beside the door.

Clear and distinct the deep-toned bell clanged out somewhere in the
regions at the rear, but there was no response.

As suddenly as it had risen the wind sank; the streets were silent, the
houses gloomy as rows of sepulchres tenanted only by the departed; and
as the day broke, cold and grey, light fleecy clouds gathered over the
waning moon.

Twice the constable tugged at the bell in his efforts to awaken the
inmates of the house, but all was still, save for the bark of a distant
dog.  Although we both strained our ears, no sounds of life were
apparent within.

"Shall I go round to the station for help?  I can find it if you will
direct me," I said to the man.

"No; you stay 'ere.  There's no necessity," replied he gruffly.  "I'll
soon call my mates," and applying his whistle to his lips, he blew a
series of shrill calls, which were immediately answered by others.

Ten minutes later three policemen had arrived, and, finding there was no
entrance from the rear, had burst open the door.

The houses adjoining were both empty, so no neighbours were awakened by
the noise.

We entered undisturbed.

From the spacious hall several doors opened right and left; while
immediately opposite was a broad staircase.

With but a hasty glance around we passed to a door which stood open, and
from which a flood of light was issuing.  There our eyes encountered a
terrible sight.

Lying on her back upon the carpet, with her arms outstretched above her
head, was a tall and undeniably beautiful woman of about thirty years of
age.  Her wealth of fair hair had become unfastened, and fell in
disorder about her bare shoulders.  Her lips were still apart, as if in
her last moments she had uttered a cry, and her clear blue eyes, wide
open, had in them a stony stare--that of death.

Attired in an elegant evening dress of soft white silk, her low bodice
revealed the fatal wound in her breast from which the blood slowly
oozed, forming a dark crimson pool upon the carpet.  Upon her wrist was
a splendid diamond bracelet of an uncommon pattern, for it was shaped to
represent a double-headed snake, and under the gaslight the gems danced
and gleamed with a thousand fires.

The appearance of the murdered woman was hideous enough in itself, but
something else we saw startled us, and sent an increased thrill of
horror through our nerves.

We were awe-struck by the sight of it, yet there was nothing
extraordinarily revolting--merely a half sheet of notepaper upon which
was a large red seal of a peculiar character, fastened to the breast of
the dress.

"Good God!  The Seal!"

It was the ejaculation of one of the constables as he knelt and unpinned
the paper.

Breathlessly, we bent over the piece of paper and closely examined it,
for we were all aware of the unparalleled and inexplicable mysteries
with which not only London but the whole world was ringing.

It had an awful significance.

That its exact dimensions and strange hieroglyphics may be the more
readily conceived, I reproduce it here:--

The horrible mystery connected with the fatal device flashed vividly
across my mind in an instant, as, with a sickly, giddy feeling in my
head, my heart beating violently, and my hands trembling as if palsied,
I examined it.  What did it mean?  I wondered in a dazed fashion, for my
thoughts seemed in a whirl of maddening velocity.  There was no power in
my mind to grasp the meaning of the hideous fact at first, and only a
stupefied, dull sense of evil filled my soul.

My mental vision grew gradually clearer after a few moments; as if
slowly awakening from a frightful dream, I drew myself together, trying
to grasp the full interpretation of the mysterious symbol.

Within the past few months there had been no fewer than six murders in
different countries, and in every case a piece of paper with a seal
identical with the one we had just discovered had been found pinned upon
the breast of the victim; yet in no instance had there been a clue to
the murderer, though all the vigilance of the police, both at Scotland
Yard and elsewhere, had been directed towards the elucidation of the
mystery.

We stood aghast and pale, for the discovery had completely dumbfounded
us.

There had been something so uncanny, almost supernatural, about the six
other crimes, which so closely followed each other, that for the moment
we were quite unnerved at this latest essay of the unrevealed assassin.

A momentary glance sufficed to convince the constables that a brutal
murder had been committed, and after a few moments' hesitation two of
their number hurried out--one to fetch the divisional surgeon, the other
to report to the inspector on duty at the station.

The two constables remaining gently lifted the corpse, and placing it
upon a low lounge near, began to examine the apartment.  It was a
luxuriously-furnished drawing-room, and the gas, which burned in crimson
glass, threw a soft harmonious light over the furniture and hangings,
which were composed of pale blue satin; and upon the costly nick-nacks
which plainly showed the owner was possessed of artistic tastes and
refinement.  A room, in fact, which bore the unmistakable traces of the
daily presence of a woman of wealth and culture.

Glancing round, I could see that some of the articles were of great
value.  The pictures were for the most part rare, the quaint old Dresden
and Sevres upon the brackets, and the ivory carvings, were all
curiosities of no ordinary character, while upon the mantelshelf stood a
French clock, the tiny peal of silver bells of which chimed merrily,
even as I looked.

Presently the officers concluded their examination of the room, and
taking one of the candles from the piano, proceeded upstairs to search
the house.

Accompanying them, I, an unwilling witness of this midnight tragedy,
found the whole of the rooms furnished in elegant taste, no expense
having been spared to make them the acme of comfort and luxury.  Every
nook and corner was searched, without success, so we returned again to
the drawing-room.

To our surprise we found the body had moved slightly from the position
in which we had placed it.  The woman's bloodless face seemed gradually
to assume the faintest flush, her eyelids quivered, and in a strange,
low whisper she uttered a word which to us was unintelligible.

Again she articulated it with evident difficulty; then a convulsive
shudder shook her frame, her breast heaved, and her features again grew
pale and rigid.

We stood watching her for a moment.  One of the constables placed his
hand upon her breast, but withdrew it, saying, "It's all over with her,
poor thing; I'm afraid the doctor won't be able to do her any good."

And we sat down to await the arrival of the inspector and surgeon,
conversing only in low whispers.

A few minutes had elapsed, when they entered.

The doctor, as soon as he saw her, shook his head, saying, "Dead, poor
woman!  Ah! stabbed to the heart, I see."

"Murder, evidently," exclaimed the inspector, glancing round; then
turning to the constables, he asked, "Have you searched the house?"

"Yes, sir," they replied.

"Found anything?"

"This, we found in the hall," replied one of the men, taking a small
Indian dagger from a side-table, "and this paper was pinned upon her
dress."

The production of the seal caused both the inspector and doctor to start
in surprise, and the former, after examining it, placed it carefully in
his pocket-book.

Taking the knife in his hand, the inspector examined it minutely.  It
was stained with blood--evidently the weapon with which the murderer had
dealt the fatal blow.

The doctor also looked at it, and wiping the blood from the victim's
breast, gazed upon the wound, saying, "Yes, that's the knife, without a
doubt; but who did it is the question."

"Who's this gentleman?" asked the officer, jerking his thumb towards me.

"Gentleman who informed us, sir."

"Do you know who lives here?" he asked, sharply, turning to me.

"No, I do not.  I am quite a stranger; in fact, I have never been in
this street before in my life."

"Hum!" he grunted, in a rather suspicious manner.  "And how came you to
know anything about the affair?"

"I chanced to be passing at the time, and my attention was attracted by
a scream.  I found a space between the blind and the window, and my
curiosity being aroused, I looked in and saw the woman had been
murdered."

"Is that all you know?" he asked.

"That's all."

"Well, you won't mind just stepping round to the station for a few
minutes, will you?  Then you can give us your version of the matter."

"Oh, certainly I will, with pleasure," I replied.  The inspector having
given some instructions to his men, the body of the murdered woman was
covered with a table-cloth, and we went out leaving two constables in
charge of the premises.

Dawn was spreading now; the stars had disappeared, and there were some
saffron tints in the east, heralding the sun's coming.  At the corner of
Montague Street the doctor wished us "good-morning," and strode away in
an opposite direction, scarcely well pleased at being aroused from his
bed and called out to witness so unpleasant a sight.

CHAPTER THREE.

WHAT THE WORLD SAID.

A quarter of an hour later I was in the inspector's office at Tottenham
Court Road Police-Station, relating to him all I knew of the horrible
discovery.

"You saw a man come out, you say?  Are you certain of this?" the
inspector asked, after I had concluded my story.

"Quite; and, what's more, I saw his face."

"Would you know him again?" he inquired, eyeing me keenly.

"Certainly, I should."

"Well, when you saw him, what did you do?"

"I followed him.  We ran for nearly five minutes without meeting a
constable, and I subsequently lost sight of him in Gray's Inn Road."

"For five minutes without meeting one of our men?" repeated the
inspector, dubiously.

"Yes.  I shouted, but nobody came to my assistance," I replied, for I
had not failed to notice the suspicion with which he regarded me.

The inspector's brows contracted slightly as he took a slate from his
desk, saying, "Give me his description as accurately as possible,
please."

I did so, and he wrote at my dictation.  As soon as he had finished, he
handed the slate to a sergeant, who at once went to the row of telegraph
instruments and transmitted the description of the murderer to all the
stations in the Metropolitan Police District.

"And this was upon the body when you saw it?" exclaimed the officer,
smoothing out the crumpled piece of paper before placing it upon the
desk in front of him.

I nodded an affirmative, and proceeded to describe the position of the
paper as pinned upon the breast.

"Hum! well, I think that's all," said he, when I had finished.  "You say
you live in Torrington Square.  Ah!  I have the number.  And you spent
the evening at the Junior Garrick Club--was that so?"

"Yes."

"At the inquest we shall want you as a witness; but you will get warning
in due course.  Good-morning."

I left the station, and trudged homeward, full of thoughts of the
horrible scene of which I had been an involuntary spectator.

Truly the night had been an eventful one.

The discovery had been made too late for the first editions of the
morning papers, but those published on the following evening gave
accounts of the tragedy, headed "Another Mysterious Murder: The Mystic
Seal again," in which the details of the crime were most graphically
told, the facts exaggerated, and plenty of fiction infused; for that
style known as the New Journalism seems to have been invented for the
purpose of satisfying the craving for sensational reading.

During the day I was pestered with interviewers.  Several enterprising
reporters, who saw a chance of making an interesting column of "copy"
out of me, sent up their cards, and to them I granted an audience.
Following these came two detectives from the Criminal Investigation
Department, who also wished for a description of my night's adventure.

This I gave willingly, yet to my astonishment and annoyance I found,
when I went down to the club in the evening, that the police had been
making inquiries of the servants as to what time I left on the previous
night, besides endeavouring to learn various other particulars.

I, Frank Burgoyne, was evidently suspected of the crime!

There had been six murders, all curious, unexplained mysteries, which
had formed the chief topic of conversation and comment in the newspapers
for the past few weeks.  In each there appeared an utter absence of
motive, which made the enigma doubly puzzling; and though the murderer
had sought his victims from every rank of society, the same seal--
evidently impressed by the same hand--had been found pinned upon the
breast of the corpses.

Premeditated the crimes undoubtedly were, and accomplished by one to
whom murder was an art, for in not a single instance was there the
slightest clue to his identity, though some were committed in broad
daylight.  The _modus operandi_ appeared to be similar in every case,
and with the exception of one victim, who had been shot, the remaining
five had all been stabbed to the heart by a stiletto, which the murderer
usually carried away with him.

Various were the theories advanced as to the motives for these appalling
deeds.

Some journals suggested that the murderer was a maniac, whose insatiable
thirst for blood was controlled by the moon's changes.  This appeared
plausible enough to some, but others asked how, if he were a lunatic,
did he continue so effectually to conceal himself.  These were told
there was method in madness, and that in all probability the murderer
was insane whilst committing the crimes, and immediately afterwards, on
gaining his right senses, he remembered nothing of the fearful deeds.

Such hypotheses, and others of a far wilder character, were daily talk,
not only throughout the Kingdom, but in all the Continental capitals,
and in America.  Although several heavy rewards had been offered for the
apprehension of the offender, and a free pardon to any accomplice, all
efforts to discover him were futile.  The shrewdest detectives
acknowledged themselves utterly baffled.

The most inexplicable part of the mystery was the fact that the crimes
were not confined to one city, or even to one country, but had been
committed at places at great distances from one another.  This plainly
showed that the murderer travelled with almost miraculous rapidity.

Very little sensation was created by the first discovery, although it
was regarded as a mysterious affair.  It occurred in New York, where a
celebrated financier, George M.  Sheward, was discovered one day in his
private office, stabbed to the heart.  Here the fatal seal first made
its appearance.  At the time the New York police thought little of the
fact, and the finding of the symbol was not made public until
subsequently, when other crimes had taken place, and the same emblem was
found.

From inquiries, it appeared that the deceased arrived at Wall Street, as
usual, at ten o'clock in the morning, retiring into his room, which was
only separated from that of his clerk's by a short passage, some ten
feet in length.  He remained in his room an hour, interviewing several
clients and attending to his correspondence.  His manager had occasion
to consult him shortly after eleven, when on entering the room he was
horrified at finding him dead in his chair.  Upon the blotting-pad
before him lay the paper whereon was the seal.

The persons who had called to see the murdered man were so numerous that
neither of the clerks could tell who had been the last to visit their
master, yet it was certain that the murderer, whoever he was, had passed
through the public office to get to the principal's room.

As the deceased gentleman had a world-wide reputation, the fact of his
sudden death from some unknown assassin was speedily carried to the ends
of the civilised globe, or, at all events, to the great centres where
his financial influence was felt.  He was a quiet, reserved man, but had
many friends, for his well-known benevolence of disposition, combined
with his immense wealth, had acquired for him a celebrity in more
circles than one.

The New York police, aided by the powerful agency of the Press, which in
America takes a peculiar pride in the business of the detection of
crime, gave all its energies to the unravelling of the mystery; but
their efforts, alas! were in vain.  Before a fortnight had passed, news
was received from Vienna that Herr Scherb, a wealthy professor, a man of
great scientific attainments, had been stabbed in a restaurant at
mid-day.

It appeared that a waiter, on approaching a table at which Herr Scherb
was sitting, was terrified to observe that he was quite dead.  The cause
of his sudden demise was a glittering dagger, even then firmly fixed in
the breast.  On this being removed, it was discovered that a piece of
paper bearing the seal had been fastened to the handle.

With trembling fingers and blanched faces the spectators unfolded it,
and tried to decipher the hieroglyphics.  It was not until the discovery
of this seal had gained publicity that the New York police admitted
finding one that was identical.

This was considered a very curious circumstance and was freely commented
upon by various London and provincial newspapers, some giving a woodcut
of what purported to be a representation of the mysterious characters
upon the seal.  Considerable excitement was caused thereby, and numbers
of antiquarians and others at once set about trying to solve its
meaning; but although editors were flooded with correspondence from
those who professed to have found an elucidation, it remained as
enigmatical as ever.

Just as the excitement was abating there came information of a third
tragedy.  This time a young French actress, Mlle.  Voiturit, who was
_premiere danseuse_ at the Eden Theatre in Paris, was discovered late
one evening in the Kalverstraat at Amsterdam, dying from the effects of
a knife-wound in the breast.

There were dozens of persons passing and repassing in the street at the
time of the occurrence, nevertheless, so swiftly and surely was the blow
dealt and the seal attached, that before a crowd had assembled, the
unfortunate young artiste had expired.

This created little less than a panic.

By the existence of the seals--each of which corresponded in every
detail with the others--the fact was proved that the murders, if not
committed by the same hand, were within the knowledge of the same
person.  This, of course, was a peculiar element in the case, and not a
little speculation was indulged in as to what was the chief motive
leading to the commission of crimes so outrageous.

The next dastardly affair caused a thrill of amazement and horror
through the whole of Europe.

Mr Joseph Glossop, member of the House of Commons, and one of Society's
shining lights, had been found dead in bed at his house in Mount Street,
Grosvenor Square, in most curious circumstances.  True, the deceased had
met with his death much in the same manner as the three previous
victims, and the seal was present in exactly the same form, yet the
window of the room was securely fastened, and the door locked.

This catastrophe caused the hearts of the three great capitals to throb
with fear and indignation and the efforts of the police were redoubled.
The same result--or lack of result--followed all their endeavours,
however, and again nothing was discovered of the assassin who so
ruthlessly took the lives of his unoffending fellow-men.

The police were utterly powerless, for the marvellous, almost
superhuman, swiftness with which the fell deeds were accomplished, and
the manner in which the murderer gained access to his victims, were two
points which were entirely incomprehensible.

But while this situation was bad enough, it was nothing when compared
with the complete paralysis which took possession of the entire
population when, a few weeks later, the work of the same dreadful hand
was observed, this time at Zurich, where Madame Daburon--a celebrated
authoress, whose works, principally on political questions, and of a
Socialistic tendency, had attracted a great deal of attention--was found
lying in the bottom of a pleasure boat drifting upon the Lake.

The discovery was made by a party of tourists who were out sailing, and
their dismay may be readily imagined when they found the unfortunate
woman had been shot in the breast, and the seal placed upon her.

There were neither oars nor rudder to the boat, yet from the presence of
blood it was plain that the shot was fired after the murdered woman had
embarked, and it was more than probable that the assassin, before
escaping, threw both oars and rudder overboard.  How he landed was a
mystery.

Hardly had the news of this latest crime reached London, when the
sensation was increased by the report that another person had been
discovered in the metropolis with the seal upon him.

In a few hours this statement was confirmed.

It transpired that on the afternoon following the discovery in
Switzerland some children who were at play in Upper Street, Islington,
noticed blood trickling from under the door of a pawnbroker's shop
occupied by Mr Isaac Solomons.  The police were called; with difficulty
the door was forced.  Solomons was found face downwards in the passage,
with a fearful gash in his throat, and on lifting the body, the seal was
seen pinned upon him.

The seventh of this remarkable series was the Mystery of Bedford Place.

The _Comet_--most sensational of evening newspapers--upon the staff of
which was my friend Bob Nugent, appeared with what it assured its
readers was a portrait of the murdered woman, and in its comments upon
the continuation of the mysterious crimes severely criticised our police
system, asking what was the use of a Commissioner, of detectives, of a
police force at all, if crimes could be committed with impunity in our
very midst.

The murderer apparently treated the vigilance of the combined detective
force of Europe with the utmost indifference, and such an attitude was
alarming, for, as the latter acknowledged themselves defeated, there was
no telling where this wholesale butchery would end!

That there was a motive for it all no one doubted, though it was a
problem none could solve.

What was to be done? demanded the public; a question on which the
newspapers were skilfully silent.

Questions were asked in the House, but the reply was that all that could
be done had been done.

The population were to be coolly assassinated, while the apathetic
authorities made no secret of their incompetency, and treated it with
unconcern.

The excitement rose to fever heat.

CHAPTER FOUR.

"STARTLING REVELATIONS."

The coroner held his inquiry at a neighbouring tavern two days after the
murder, but the investigations, instead of throwing any light upon the
mystery, only increased it.

After the jury had formally viewed the body, the coroner, addressing the
inspector in charge of the case, said,--

"We will take evidence of identification first."

"We have none, sir, up to the present," replied the officer gravely.

The jury looked at one another in dismay.

"What!" exclaimed the coroner.  "Have you not discovered who the lady
is?"

"No, sir.  The only evidence we can procure is that of an estate agent
by whom the house was let to deceased."

"Call him."

The oath having been administered to the witness, a man named Stevenson,
he proceeded to give his evidence, from which it appeared that he was an
agent carrying on business in Gower Street.  A few months previous he
was entrusted with the house in Bedford Place to let furnished, the
family having gone abroad.  A month ago the deceased called upon him,
and after viewing the premises, consented to take them, paying six
months' rent in advance, and giving her name as Mrs Inglewood.  She was
undoubtedly a lady of means, for she kept two servants and rode out
daily in a brougham hired from a neighbouring livery stable.

The most unaccountable feature of the case, however, was that neither of
these servants were in the house at the time of the murder, nor had they
since returned.  The police had been unable to discover any one else who
knew the murdered woman, or could give any particulars regarding her.

The next witness was myself, and my depositions were rather more
satisfactory.  I related my experience on the fatal night, and how I had
discovered the crime.  Then I was submitted to a severe
cross-examination by the jury regarding the appearance of the man who
left the house immediately afterwards.

The other evidence adduced was purely formal: that of the divisional
surgeon, who certified the cause of death was a knife-wound in the
heart, and of the constable who came to my assistance.  The latter
produced the blood-smeared paper with its cabalistic seal, as to which
much curiosity was evinced by the jury, it being handed round and
minutely examined.

The inquest, after lasting several hours, was ultimately adjourned for a
week, in order that the police might make further inquiries and bring
the necessary evidence of identification.

To this end advertisements were inserted in the leading newspapers,
giving a description of the latest victim, with the request that persons
acquainted with her would communicate at once with any police-station in
the metropolitan district.

This mystery in which the murdered woman was enveloped added to the
excitement prevalent.  Notwithstanding all the efforts of the Criminal
Investigation Department, the coroner was informed, when he resumed his
inquiry on the following week, that no further light could be thrown
upon her identity.  It seemed that the mysterious Mrs Inglewood was an
utter stranger and entirely friendless, although the police were bound
to admit there was something suspicious in the continued absence and
strict silence of the servants.  Had she any friends, one or other must
have come forward, for the Press had carried the details of the tragedy
to the most remote corners of the Kingdom.

No further statements being forthcoming, the jury, after a long
deliberation, returned the same verdict as had been recorded upon the
other mysterious deaths, that of "Wilful murder by some person or
persons unknown."

Thus ended the seventh murder, with all its journalistic embellishments;
and the public, who looked for "startling revelations," were
disappointed.

"Who will be the next victim?" was the question all the capitals of the
world were asking.

The detectives were by no means idle, and from occupants of neighbouring
houses they found that Mrs Inglewood, during her residence, had
received but few visitors, the most conspicuous being an elderly lady,
accompanied apparently by her daughter.  They came several times a week
in a victoria, and remained an hour.

This was all the information they were able to glean, for it seemed that
the unfortunate woman was an enigma herself, making the mystery even
more abstruse.

On the evening the jury delivered their verdict, I went down to the
Club.

In the spacious smoking-room, with its fine portraits of Garrick and his
contemporaries (which, alas, have now fallen under the hammer), a few
Bohemians were taking their ease in the well-padded lounge chairs,
discussing the details of the inquiry as reported in the evening
journals.

"It's all very well to talk," exclaimed Hugh Latimer, a young artist of
renown, as he cast aside his newspaper, "there must be something
radically wrong with our detective force if the man Burgoyne has seen
cannot be traced."

"But how's it to be done?  Perhaps he could not be recognised,"
suggested one.

"Or he may be in America by this time," said another.

"No.  I disagree with you.  It is proved that the guilty one is a
well-dressed man, and the success of his sanguinary work has been such
as to encourage him to commit further crimes; therefore, the logical
deduction is that he will remain in England and continue them," Latimer
replied.  "What do you think?" he added, turning to me.

"I don't think anything about it, except that I heartily wish I'd never
been mixed up with it at all," I said.

"I should have liked it myself," exclaimed Bob Nugent, with an eye to
the manufacture of sensational "copy."  The remark created a laugh.

"Well; joking aside," he continued, "very few of you fellows who are
pressmen would have objected to being on the scene of the tragedy.
Sensational writing is the living of most of us, and if Burgoyne were in
the position he once occupied, he would have been eager enough for the
chance."

"`Them's just my sentiments,'" said Moreland, who was on the staff of a
comic journal, and fancied himself the wit of the Club.  "But, you see,
Burgoyne is no longer one of us; he's one of the `bloated aristocracy,'
as he used to call the wealthy at one time."

"True," I said, smiling.  "I know from experience that such mysteries
are an unqualified blessing to the impecunious journalist.  The worst of
it is that I've grown so confoundedly idle now, I really have nothing
with which to occupy my time."

"But you have plenty of work of a character that will benefit mankind,
if you'll only do it," observed Nugent.

"What's that?"

"Find the author of the crimes.  You have seen him, and it only remains
for you to turn amateur detective.  By the exercise of a little patience
you will be able to identify the wretch and bring his guilt home to
him."

"Impossible," I remarked, though the suggestion was one which had not
crossed my mind before, and I felt inclined to give it some
consideration, as I had grown listless and lazy, and required something
to occupy my mind.

To write for one's bread and to write for mere pastime are very
different matters.  When I was compelled to follow journalism as a
profession I put my very soul into my work; but now my keen enthusiasm
had entirely disappeared, and I had neither patience nor inclination to
write for pleasure.

"Man-hunting would be rattling good fun," remarked Latimer, "especially
when one is free, and possesses as much of the world's good things as
you, Burgoyne."

"What nonsense you fellows talk?"  I said.  "How could I hope to succeed
where Scotland Yard fails?"

"Exactly.  But they haven't seen the man they want; you have."

"Oh, let's change the subject.  If ever I come across him he shall not
go unpunished.  Now, I've been at the inquest all day, and am bored to
death with the whole thing.  Come, Bob, let's go out on the balcony; I
want to talk to you," I added, addressing Nugent.

Rising, we both passed out upon the veranda overlooking the Embankment.

CHAPTER FIVE.

SUSPICIONS.

Like many others, I found my sudden acquisition of wealth had made me
not a whit the more contented than when I was compelled to write for an
existence.  Still, I was a thorough-going Bohemian, and never happier
than when amongst that free-and-easy artistic circle that made the
Junior Garrick its headquarters.

For years Nugent had been my particular chum, and had frequently been
the means of getting my articles accepted when I was more than usually
hard-up; and now, in my affluence, I did not fail to remember the many
services my old friend had rendered me.

As we sat together under the stars I was confiding to him how
discontented I had felt of late.

"Well, my dear fellow, there's only one remedy," said Bob, blowing a
cloud of smoke from his lips.

"And what's that?"

"Get married."

"Marriage be hanged!  I couldn't settle down; besides, it is not my
intention to forge the matrimonial gyves just yet.  The fact is, Bob,
I'm not well.  I believe this horrible murder has given me a touch of
the blues, and nothing but an entire change will rid me of it.  I'm
bored with everything, and with myself most of all.  It may seem
strange, but I have no object in life, except merely to exist.  Once I
envied fellows with money, but, by Jove, I don't now."

"Then what is your intention?"

"To go abroad; and I want you to accompany me."

"I should be only too pleased, providing I could get away, but I have a
great deal of work on hand which I must finish," replied Nugent.

"Do come, and take the rest with you.  Fresh surroundings will incite
new inspirations, and you can combine business with pleasure.  Can you
be ready by next Saturday?"

"Well, yes, I think so; but where do you intend going?"

"Don't know, and don't care a straw, as long as I get a change.  We'll
run over to Paris first, and afterwards decide where shall be our next
halting-place."

"And how long do you propose being away?"

"Six months--a year, if you like."

"I must return in a couple of months at latest, for I've business to
attend to."

"Very well, return whenever you please.  What do you say to starting by
the night mail on Saturday?"

Bob replied in the affirmative, and we ratified the agreement over a
bottle of Pommery.

Later that night when I left the Club to walk home, my thoughts
involuntarily wandered to the mysterious tragedy which I had discovered.

It was past one o'clock, and few people were about as I turned from Adam
Street into the Strand.  I was alone, and strolling along at an easy
pace, passed down Drury Lane.

Suddenly I became conscious that some one had been following me, though
the footsteps of the person seemed almost noiseless.

Thinking it might be some pickpocket, I buttoned my coat across the
chest, and grasping my stick firmly, waited until I approached a
gas-lamp, then turning suddenly, confronted a respectably-dressed man in
the garb of a mechanic.

He was only a few yards from me, and at first I felt ashamed of
exhibiting such fear, but a momentary glance sufficed to show that this
person was also connected with the adventure of the never-to-be
forgotten evening.

He was an elderly man, who bore a striking resemblance to the detective
who had called upon me.

I stood aghast, for this man's appearance had been so sudden and
unexpected that I was too much confused for the moment to collect my
thoughts.

He was apparently following me and keeping observation upon my
movements.  That fact instantly aroused in me a feeling of great
indignation.  I should have spoken, and probably an angry scene would
have followed, had not he, with a celerity of movement which baffled my
efforts, almost instantly gone off in an opposite direction.

I made no attempt to follow him.

It was intensely annoying to be tracked in this manner.  Was I, Frank
Burgoyne, to be watched like a suspected criminal or a ticket-of-leave
man, because I had--unfortunately, as it seemed--been the means of
bringing to light yet another foul piece of handiwork of the unknown
miscreant?

Why did they suspect me?  What end had they in view in such a
proceeding?

Suppose my friends and the world should notice the suspicion resting
upon me?  I grew hot at the very thought.

Perhaps, after all, he was only acting from curiosity, and not under the
orders of his superiors.  The suggestion was a little consoling, and
endeavouring to re-assure myself by its aid, I walked briskly home.

CHAPTER SIX.

VERA SEROFF.

Two months had elapsed.

Rob Nugent and I had had a pleasant time up the Rhine and among the
Swiss lakes, and both acknowledged ourselves greatly benefited by the
change.  We were in Genoa, having broken our journey between Lugano and
Rome, intending to remain only a couple of days, but finding so much of
interest in the old city of Paganini and Columbus, we had already
remained there a fortnight; and neither of us felt any inclination to
travel further south.

We had taken up our quarters at the Hotel Isotta, in that handsome
thoroughfare the Via Roma, of which the Genoese are so justly proud, and
though debarred from sight-seeing in the daytime by reason of the
blazing autumn sun, we thoroughly enjoyed those cool balmy evenings when
jalousies are thrown open, and the light-hearted Ligurians stroll up and
down the Via Carlo Felice and the Via Assaroti, or sit outside the cafes
taking their ease in the _bel fresco_.

Nugent's vacation was at an end, for he had received a letter which
necessitated his almost immediate return to London.  I had neither the
desire nor intention of quitting Genoa just yet.  The cause of this was
not very far to seek, and of course Bob suspected the position of
affairs from the first; yet when he signified his intention of
departing, and I said I should remain another week or so, his surmise
was confirmed, and he could not refrain from indulging in a little
good-humoured chaff at my expense.

The fact was that at the hotel there was also staying an exceedingly
pretty young lady, named Vera Seroff, under the guardianship of her
uncle, and accompanied by her French maid.  The first evening we met at
_table-d'hote_ I was fascinated with her beauty, and my admiration had
not diminished as we sat opposite one another on the eve of Nugent's
departure.

The hotel was not full, and the number dining that evening did not
exceed twenty, though the long table, glittering with its choice glass
and plate, would have accommodated a hundred.

My _vis-a-vis_ was about twenty-three, with a face as to which there
could be no adverse opinion.  She was dark, with fine eyes, serious and
penetrating, a delicate little nose, and a well-formed mouth, which
showed, when she smiled, two rows of pearly teeth.  She was brisk,
vivacious, with a charming ingenuousness in her flawless face; a figure
slim and graceful, and a voice silvery and sympathetic.

In contrast to her was her uncle, who sat by her side, a short, stout
old gentleman, with sharp features, a prominent nose, and scanty white
hair, who seldom entered into conversation with any one, and who always
appeared ill-humoured, grumbling constantly at the heat.

She spoke English with a pleasant accent, and was conversing with Bob
and myself, to the apparent annoyance of the old gentleman, who could
not understand a word.  She was relating her impressions of one of the
galleries she had visited that day, and displayed such a wide knowledge
of pictures as to astonish Nugent, himself the art-critic of the
_Evening Comet_.  We both had become friendly with her, for, besides
meeting daily at the hotel, we had several times run across one another
at those places of interest the tourist always visits.  Her uncle,
Monsieur Hertzen, rarely went out, and her maid usually accompanied her
on such expeditions; however, when only taking a short walk, she was
frequently alone.

On one of these latter occasions I met her in the Piazza Principale, and
offered to escort her to the hotel, to which proposal she made no
objection.  The distance was not great, but it sufficed to break the
conventional ice between us, and when we parted I was more than ever
fascinated.  Never before had I met a woman so beautiful, so charming,
so near my ideal of perfection.

When the meal had ended, and we rose, I said to her, "This is my
friend's last evening in Genoa.  He returns to England to-morrow."

"And do you go also?" she asked, with an intonation--as I flattered
myself--of disappointment.

"Well; no," I replied; "I shall remain a few days longer."

The shadow of anxiety which had rested momentarily upon her face,
vanished at once, as she turned to Nugent, saying, "I am sorry you are
leaving, and must wish you _bon voyage_.  I hope, some day, we may meet
again, for our dinner-table discussions have been exceedingly pleasant."

"Thanks, Mademoiselle," replied Bob, grasping the tiny white hand she
held out to him.  "My business calls me to London, otherwise I should
not return just yet.  However, I hope you will prevent my friend, here,
from getting into any scrapes with the bloodthirsty Italians after I'm
gone."

She laughed merrily as she answered, "He's quite old enough to take care
of himself.  I cannot undertake the responsibility.  Good-bye," and she
tripped away up the stairs to her own apartments.

"Old fellow," exclaimed Bob, after she was out of hearing, "if you feel
inclined to pitch yourself into the matrimonial net, there's your
chance; and I wish you every success."

"Well, there are more unlikely things than my enlistment in the ranks of
Benedicts," I replied, laughing, as we sought our hats and went out to
spend our last evening together.

Early the following morning Nugent departed for Turin, _en route_ for
England, and I was left alone to amuse myself as best I could.  Truth to
tell, I was not sorry Bob had gone, for now I felt free to devote myself
to the beautiful woman who held me under her spell.  I lost no time in
carrying out my object, for meeting her in the drawing-room before
dinner, I obtained permission to escort her on her evening walk.

It was already dusk when the tediously long meal was brought to a
conclusion, and we left the hotel, strolling along the Galleria Mazzini
towards the public gardens of Aqua Sola, the most charming promenade in
Genoa.  It is situated upon a picturesque cliff overlooking the port and
the Mediterranean beyond, while at the rear rise the tall vine-covered
Appenines, with romantic-looking villas peeping out here and there from
amongst the olives and maize.  The shadow of its great old trees form a
delightful retreat from the scorching noon-day sun; but at night, when
the people refresh themselves after the heat and burden of the day, its
gravelled walks are thronged by the _elite_.  Fashionable Genoa enjoys
herself with mad but harmless frolic, and under the deep shadows
fire-flies flit and couples flirt.

Upon an old stone seat near a plashing fountain we sat listening to the
sweet melancholy strains of the _Sempre Vostro_ waltz, performed by the
splendid band of the National Guard.  On the right the many-coloured
fairy lamps of the gardens attached to the Caffe d'Italia shone through
the dark foliage; on the left the ripple of the sea surged softly far
below.  Away across the moonlit waters flashed the warning beacon of the
port, and the air was heavy with the sensuous odour of orange blossom
and roses.

For upwards of an hour we sat talking; she _piquante_, bright, and
amusing; I lazily enjoying a cigar, and watching her beautiful face in
rapt admiration.  I told her of myself--how the interest in my sole
object in life had been suddenly destroyed by affluence--and my present
position, that of a world-weary tourist, with no definite purpose
farther than killing time.

All my efforts to learn some events of her past life or her place of
abode were unavailing.  "I am plain Vera Seroff," she replied, "and I,
too, am a wanderer--what you call bird of passage.  I have no country,
alas! even if I have patriotism."

"But you are Russian?"  I said.

"Quite true--yes.  I shall return to Russia--some day."  And she sighed,
as if the mention of her native land stirred strangely sad memories.

"Where do you intend going when you leave here?"  I asked.

"I have not the slightest idea.  We have no fixed abode, and travel
whither it suits my uncle--London, New York, Paris; it matters little
where we go."

"You have been in England; have you not?"

"Yes; and I hate it," she replied, abruptly, at once turning the
conversation into another channel.  She appeared extremely reticent
regarding her past, and by no amount of ingenuity could I obtain any
further information.

When it grew chilly, we rose and walked along past the forts, and out
upon the Spezzia road, where a refreshing breeze blew in from the sea.

In her soft white dress, with a bunch of crimson roses at her throat, I
had never seen her looking so beautiful.  I loved her madly, blindly,
and longed to tell her so.

Yet how could I?

Such a proceeding would be absurd, for our acquaintance had been of so
brief a duration that we scarcely knew anything of one another.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

A SECRET TIE.

On our return we traversed the road skirting the fortress, and paused
for a few moments, resting upon a disused gun-carriage.  The moon had
reappeared and cast its long line of pale light upon the rippling waters
of the Mediterranean.

Suddenly, as we were seated side by side, her dark eyes met mine, and by
some inexplicable intuition, some mysterious _rapport_ between my soul
and hers, I knew I was something more to her than a mere casual
acquaintance.  My reason answered me that I must be mad to think she
loved me, but my heart told me different, and gradually all my
misgivings vanished before the hope and confidence that the conviction
of her love raised in my mind.

"I have just been wondering," I said, "whether, when we part in a few
days, we shall ever meet again, for, believe me, I shall cherish the
fondest memory of this evening we have passed together.  It is
charming."

"And I also," she replied, "but as you say in English, the best of
friends must part."

It is useless to repeat the words I uttered.  Suffice it to say that I
could restrain my feelings no longer, and there, in the bright Italian
moonlight, I declared my ecstatic passion, and asked her to be my wife.

Had I taken her unawares?  Probably so; for, when I had finished, she
rose with an effort, and withdrawing her hand gently, said, "No, Frank--
for I may call you by that name--your request I am unable to grant, and
the reason I cannot now explain.  There is, alas! an insurmountable
barrier between us, and had you known more of me you would not have
asked me this."

"But, Vera, you love me, you can't deny it!"  I passionately exclaimed.

Tears stood in her eyes, as she answered, "Yes, yes, I do--I love you
dearly!"

"Then what is this obstacle to our happiness?"

"No! no!" she cried, covering her face with her hands.  "Request no
explanation, for, I--I cannot give it.  It would be fatal."

"But why?"  I asked, for it was a cruel and bitter disappointment.  All
my hopes had been shattered in those brief moments.

"From the day we first met I have known we loved one another," she said
slowly, "yet it would have been better had we never become acquainted,
since it causes pain to both."

"But, surely, if you love me, Vera, this obstacle can be removed!  Tell
me what it is; if a secret, it will be safe with me," I said earnestly.

She dashed the tears from her eyes, and with an effort stood erect
before me, saying:

"No! it is impossible.  Think no more of marriage, Frank; regard me only
as a dear friend who loves you."

"Then you will not tell me why we cannot marry?"  I said, gravely,
rising and taking her hand.

"It--it is a secret.  I would rather die than divulge it; though, some
day, perhaps, the circumstances will alter, and I shall be at liberty to
tell you everything.  For the present we love one another, but it must
end there; marriage is entirely out of the question."

I saw it was useless to press for any further explanation.  Evidently
she was prepared for any self-sacrifice, to protect her secret, because,
when finding herself wavering, she had summoned all her strength, and
with a mighty effort overcame her emotion, resolutely giving her answer.

As we rose and turned towards the city, a circumstance, slight in
itself, occurred, which afterwards caused me not a little perturbation
and surprise, and which considerably enhanced the mystery surrounding
the fair Russian.

We were passing a buttress of the fort when my attention was arrested by
what appeared to be a man standing bolt upright in the shadow.

I was too engrossed with thoughts of our _tete-a-tete_ to allow the
discovery of an eavesdropper--probably only a peasant--to cause me any
alarm, but, seeing my eyes upon him, for I had halted to make sure, the
figure suddenly drew from the shadow, and, with its face averted from
the moonlight, walked rapidly away.

Vera, uttering an exclamation of surprise or alarm,--which it was I
could not tell--seized my arm with a convulsive energy that caused me no
small pleasure at the feeling of dependence it implied, and drew a deep
breath.

"Do you know him?"  I asked.

"No, no; not at all," she quickly replied.  "He might have heard us; but
never mind."

I endeavoured to learn the cause of her alarm thinking that so much
agitation could not be created by such a trivial circumstance; but
whether my knowledge of feminine nature was imperfect, or whether she
knew who the listener was, and concealed his identity, I could not
learn, her answers being of the most evasive kind.

It was plain that the fact of our being discovered together had caused
her the greatest consternation, and I was considerably puzzled to assign
to this a reason.

I did not broach the subject again, however, but walked straight to the
hotel, where we bade each other _buona notte_.

We met daily, and I, most prosaic of bachelors, found myself thinking of
her every moment.

Though in a dejected, perplexed mood, I felt utterly happy when at her
side; for had she not given me words of hope for the future, and in
these was a certain amount of consolation, however slight.  Our
clandestine meetings were so skilfully arranged as to keep the
ever-grumbling Hertzen in entire ignorance, and Vera admitted such
expeditions were her happiest hours.

One evening, a fortnight afterwards, we had driven to Pegli, a quaint
old fishing village four miles from Genoa.  It was a gorgeous sunset,
the sea a glittering expanse of blue and gold stretching out toward the
descending sky, with nothing to fleck its surface but the gleam of a
white sail or two; and as we walked together, close to the lapping
waves, I fancied she looked a trifle wan and anxious.

At first I took no heed of it, but presently her agitation became so
apparent that I asked whether she were well.

"Yes, well enough in health," she sighed, "but very unhappy."

"Why, how is that?"  I asked in concern.

"Ah!  Frank," she said, with her eyes fixed sorrowfully upon the ground,
"I must not tell you all, so you cannot understand but I am one of those
born to unhappiness."

"Tell me something of this sorrow, that I may sympathise with you," I
said, looking into her eyes.  "If it is in my power to help you I will
do so willingly."

"Ah! if you would?" she exclaimed wistfully, her face brightening at a
suggestion which appeared to flash across her mind.  "There is indeed
one way by which you might render me a service, but it is impossible.  I
am afraid the commission is too great for you to undertake."

"I am ready to serve you in any way, Vera.  If a test of my devotion is
required, I'm prepared for the ordeal," I replied seriously.

She halted, and gazing into my face with eyes brimming with tears, said:
"Believe me, I am in sore need of a friend.  I will tell you something
of my trouble, but do not ask for further explanations now, as I cannot
give them.  The man whom you know as my uncle holds me in his power.  He
is harsh, cruel, and--and--"

"_He is your husband_!"  I interrupted in a low voice, for somehow I
felt convinced that such was the case.

"No! no!" she cried hoarsely; "no, I swear that is not so.  He is
neither husband, nor even friend.  Though my uncle, he is unworthy the
name of relation.  I am unfortunately in his thrall, and dare not
disobey his will.  To do so would mean--"

"What?--tell me."

"Impossible.  The longer I live the more I learn to hate his presence.
Ah, if you could but know!"

There was an intensity of bitterness in that utterance, a flash in her
clear dark eyes that spoke of a fierce passion.  Could it be hatred?

"Vera; why not trust me?"  I implored, taking her hand, and seeking to
penetrate the indomitable reserve in which her words were shrouded.

"Once and for all, Frank, it cannot be."

Her answer came short, sharp, decisive, firm, yet with ineffable
sadness.

"Heaven knows!  I would willingly share your burden, Vera."

She paused, as if in doubt.

The silence grew painful, and I watched the mobile features which so
plainly indexed the passing emotions of her mind.  A blush, like that of
shame, tinged her cheek and pallid brow as she lifted her face to mine,
although her eyes were downcast.

"Frank," she said, slowly, "will you help me?"

"With heart and soul, dearest."

"Then you _can_ do so."  And she drew a deep breath.

"How?"

She hesitated, wavering even then, as it seemed; and the colour left her
cheeks as suddenly as it had appeared.

In a low voice, speaking rapidly and impetuously, she replied:--

"Briefly, you may learn this.  My uncle is my guardian.  He has, I
believe, appropriated a large sum of money which is mine by right.  Ah!
I know what you would say.  But I dare not prosecute or expose him, for
the consequences would be almost beyond conception, and would affect
myself more even than him.  I am powerless!"

"But I can help you?"

"I'm afraid you will not consent to what I ask."

"What is it?  You know I cannot refuse a behest of yours."

"A further annoyance, in fact a great danger, threatens me now.  My dead
mother's jewels--on which I place great store, for they are the only
souvenir remaining of she whom I dearly loved--are now coveted by him.
In vain I have besought him to let me keep them, but he is inexorable.
To place them with a friend in whom I have confidence is the only course
remaining; that friend lives--"

"Yes, where?"

"At St Petersburg."

"St Petersburg!"  I exclaimed, in surprise.  "Oh! but, of course, it is
your home?"

"It is; or rather was.  Had I the opportunity I would convey them there
myself, braving the displeasure of my harsh relative and the punishment
that would follow.  Unhappily I am debarred.  To trust the jewels to the
post would be too great a risk, and it is only to--to such
a--_confidant_ as you that I can look for assistance."

"And this is all?"  I asked.  "You merely want me to take them to St
Petersburg?"

"That is all."

"The commission is a slight one, Vera; you know how willingly I would
undertake, for your sake, a thousand such--"

"How can I ever thank you enough?" she interrupted, her face assuming a
brighter expression.  "I really thought it too much to ask of you."

"Nothing could be too much, dearest.  When shall I start?"

"As soon as possible.  By delay all may be lost.  It is imperative you
should be in Russia three weeks from to-day."

"Three weeks from to-day," I echoed.

"Yes, within that time, or it will be useless--my friend will have
departed."

"Then I am ready to set out to-morrow.  Have you any message?  What must
I do?"

"To-morrow morning I will give you the case.  Go to the Hotel Michaeli,
on the Galernoi Oulitza, at St Petersburg, and remain there until a
tall, fair gentleman presents my card and asks for them.  He will give
his name as Paul Volkhovski."

"Very well," I said, "I shall leave to-morrow night."

Then we retraced our steps, and entering the carriage, drove back to
Genoa in the fading twilight.

Next morning we met alone in the drawing-room, and she placed in my
hands a leather jewel-case about nine inches square and three deep,
securely sealed, saying,--

"I trust to you for their safety.  Do not let this out of your sight for
an instant, and on no account allow the seals to be broken, for it will
be easy enough to pass so small a box through the _douane_."

I bade her rest assured the diamonds would be safe in my hands, and that
I would carry out her instructions regarding the preservation of the
seals.

"I trust you implicitly," she repeated.  "And now--as to funds?"
producing her purse.

"No," I said firmly, "I should not think of taking your money.  This
journey will be a pleasure, and you must allow me to defray its cost."

"Thank you, a thousand times," she replied, her lips quivering with
emotion.  "Our movements are very uncertain, but I have your London
address, and will write and inform you of our wanderings from time to
time."

"After I have accomplished this mission, I shall return to you
immediately, when I hope you will be convinced that my love is no mere
passing fancy, but a--"

"Hark!" she interrupted, "my uncle's cough.  Go!--Farewell!"

I bent and kissed her, then snatching up the box, hurriedly left the
room.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

POST-HASTE ACROSS EUROPE.

One circumstance puzzled me greatly.

My baggage had already been placed in the carriage which was to take me
to the station, and in descending the stairs to depart I passed the
sitting-room occupied by Vera.  The door was ajar, and I was suddenly
prompted to enter to wish her a final adieu.  Having opened the door
half-way I heard voices, which caused me to halt.  Vera was seated upon
an ottoman, her elbows upon her knees in an attitude of dejection.
Before her, with his hands thrust deep in his capacious pockets, stood a
well-made athletic young fellow, who, though his back was burned towards
me, had the air of a military officer.  Apparently he had assumed a
commanding demeanour, for he was bending over her, speaking rapidly in a
language I did not understand, while she was appealing to him to desist.

I had already bade her adieu, and as neither noticed me I passed down
the staircase and out into the street, the thick pile of the carpet
preventing my footsteps being heard.

In my drive to the station I was greatly perplexed over this incident,
wondering who the man could be.  Evidently he was a Russian, and had
just arrived or was on the point of departing on a journey, for he wore
a long travelling ulster and soft felt hat.  From Vera's dispirited
manner it appeared as if he were giving some directions which were
hateful to her, and which she was vainly resisting.

I somehow felt certain, too, that he had pronounced my name; and at
mention of it she shrank as if in fear.  It seemed very much as if this
man, as well as her uncle, exercised some power over her, and during my
long night journey I tried to account for the stranger's presence.

After all, it might be nothing, I thought at last; and perhaps the
green-eyed monster had arisen within me and distorted, as it often does,
what would otherwise have seemed a very commonplace occurrence.

On the third evening after leaving Genoa I arrived at Charing Cross,
having travelled incessantly by the Mont Cenis route without breaking
the journey at Paris.  It was impossible for me to go to Russia without
a passport, therefore I was compelled to return to London and obtain
one.  At first I was troubled by this, the time of my arrival being
limited to three weeks; but afterwards, finding the journey from Italy
to the Russian capital was much more circuitous than from London, I made
the best of it, feeling certain I should be able to deliver the jewels
within the time stipulated by the woman who had enchanted me.

On my arrival I drove at once to my rooms and sought the rest of which I
was so sorely in need, afterwards setting about packing a few additional
necessaries for my journey.  For three days, however, I was obliged to
remain in London before I could obtain my passport, and though impatient
to set out, I passed the time as best I could.

The evening of the second day I met Nugent at the Club.

He expressed the greatest surprise at meeting me, yet I did not inform
him of the journey I had undertaken, but led him to believe that my life
at Genoa had become unbearable after he had left, and that on the
following day I contemplated returning to Paris for a few weeks.

We dined together and afterwards went to the Alhambra, but only once did
he refer to Vera.

It was after the ballet, when we were taking cigarettes and coffee.

"By the way," he said suddenly, a mischievous smile lighting up his
genial face, "what progress did you make with _la belle_ Seroff?  You
have not spoken of her."

I did not care to be questioned upon this matter, so appeared to treat
it as a joke.

"Ah?"  I replied, "it was a mere flirtation.  Why, really, Bob, old
chap, I believe you regarded that little affair seriously," I said,
laughing.

He raised his eyebrows slightly, saying, "You guessed aright.  I thought
you were in love with her; but am glad to hear such is not the case."

"Why?"  I asked, in surprise, for had he not hinted more than once that
she would make me a charming wife?

"No reason, no reason," he replied evasively; "simply because I've
altered the opinion I once held regarding her."

I requested no further explanation, for the bell was ringing, denoting
that the curtain had risen, and we returned to our stalls.

Could he have seen or heard anything to cause him to utter this vague
warning?  I asked myself.  No, surely not; yet it was strange, to say
the least.

Having obtained my passport properly vised by the Russian Consul, on the
evening following I entered a first-class compartment of the
Queenborough express at Victoria, and, settling myself, commenced the
initial stage of my long journey across Europe.  As the train sped
onward through the Kentish hop-gardens, I sat watching the September sun
change from gold to purple, and eventually disappear behind the dark
night-clouds.  Safely stowed away in my valise was the jewel-case; but I
had already devised a plan whereby it would escape the prying
_douaniers_--the same by which I had brought it from Italy unopened,
viz, to place it in the capacious pockets of my travelling coat, and
hang that garment upon my arm during the examination of the baggage.

I was alone in the carriage, but by reading the newspapers with which I
had provided myself, managed to wile away the two hours' journey to the
sea.

With relief I alighted at Queenborough Pier, and embarked upon the
Flushing steamer, for here I knew the sensation of loneliness would
quickly disappear.  The whirr of the steam crane, hubbub and noise,
mingled with disconsolate comments in English and staccato sounds in
French, soon ceased, and very quickly the vessel had set her head
towards the Dutch coast.

At seven we landed, and an hour later I had commenced a several days'
journey by rail across the continent, the terrible monotony of which is
known only to those who have accomplished it.  Cramped up in a
_coupe-lit_ for a day and night is sufficient to tire most persons, but
a continuance of that sort of thing is the reverse of enjoyable.

Both at Flushing and Kaldenkirchen I contrived to smuggle the jewels
through the _douane_, and with a honeymooning couple and a voluble old
Frenchman as fellow-passengers, I travelled onward through Duisburg,
Oberhausen, and Hanover, arriving at Berlin early on the third morning
after leaving London.

Here I decided to break the journey for a day, having traversed half the
distance, and after seeking repose at a hotel, strolled through the city
to stretch my legs.  That evening I passed wandering alone through the
principal thoroughfares, and lounging in several beer gardens, returning
to the hotel shortly before midnight, and resuming my eastward journey
the following morning.

With scarcely any interesting scenery, it was a wearying monotony enough
throughout the day, but when night drew on and the shrieking of the
engine and whirl and rattle of wheels made sleep impossible, it was
absolutely unendurable.  My French novel no longer interested me.  I was
excessively fatigued, and as I lay my aching head upon the velvet
cushion of the narrow berth, watching the flickering oil-lamp, my
meditations reverted, as they constantly did, to the pleasant evenings
Vera and I had spent beside the Mediterranean.  Thoughts of her for
whose sake I had undertaken this journey, of her strange position, and
of the service it was in my power to render her, acted as an incentive,
and caused the inconveniences and fatigue of travel to appear much less
than they would otherwise have been.

In a fortnight I hoped to have fulfilled my promise and return to her,
for this enforced separation I could tolerate no longer than was
absolutely necessary.  Already I was eagerly looking forward to the time
when I should again be at her side, for was it not my duty to be near
and to protect her whom I loved?

What might not happen during my absence?  I dreaded to think.

Evidently she was in the hands of an unscrupulous villain, and my
anxiety and hope was to marry her as soon as possible, and take her
under my own protection.

Like other men, I had had my flirtations, but this was my Grand Passion.
I loved Vera heart and soul, passionately and purely, and was
determined to make her my wife without delay.  As I lay there I could
not help reflecting how little of real happiness I had known before we
met; how selfish and unsatisfactory my life had hitherto been, when my
motto was _Chacun pour soi, et Dieu pour nous tous_.

Now, all was changed.  At last I had found the woman whom I believed was
predestined to become my wife; she who had fascinated me, who held me
for life or death.

Through the long night I thought only of her, puzzled over the secret of
the old man's influence; happy and content, nevertheless, in the
knowledge that ere long I should return to her, never to part.

CHAPTER NINE.

IN THE IZAK PLATZ.

Why need I refer further to the terribly wearisome journey across
Prussia, Poland and Western Russia?  Those of my readers who have
accomplished it know well how dull, tedious and tiring it is, travelling
hour after hour, day after day, through a flat, uninteresting country.

Suffice it to say, that on the fifth day after leaving London, the train
came to a standstill in the spacious station of the Russian capital.

After some difficulty I discovered the whereabouts of the Hotel
Michaeli, and entering a _likhac_ was driven to a small, and rather
uninviting hotel under the shadow of the gilded dome of the Izak Church.

The proprietor, a tall, black-bearded Russian, greeted me warmly in
French, exclaiming:

"M'sieur Burgoyne, _n'est ce pas_?"

"That is my name," I replied.

"The apartments ordered for you are in readiness."

"Who ordered them?"  I asked.

"M'sieur must be aware that a gentleman secured his rooms a week ago?"

"No, I did not know that arrangements had been made for my reception," I
said.

"Will m'sieur have the kindness to sign the register before ascending?"
he said, politely handing me a book and pen.

Those who have not travelled in the dominions of the Czar know nothing
of the strict police regulations, the many formalities the foreigner has
to undergo, and the questions he must answer before he is allowed to
take up even a temporary residence in the Venice of the North.

I wrote replies to the printed questions in the book, and, signing my
name, handed it back to him, and was shown to my rooms.

Though anxious to complete my mission and return, I confess I found much
of interest.  St Petersburg externally is the finest city in the world,
but internally the dirtiest and most enthralled, struggling as it does
under a police _regime_ so harsh that one can scarcely walk the streets
without infringing some law, and attracting the attention of the spies,
who everywhere abound.

I remained waiting several days for the appearance of the man to whom I
was to deliver the diamonds, but he did not present himself, so I
occupied myself inspecting the sights of the city.  Through the churches
of Kazan, St Nicholas, and the Intercession I wandered, astounded at
their magnificence; saw a comedy at the Bolshoi, admired the statues of
Peter the Great and Souvaroff, and, perhaps the greatest novelty of all,
visited that most magnificent of imperial residences, the Winter Palace.

Here occurred an incident of which at the time I thought nothing, though
afterwards I had much cause to remember it.

Following one of the gorgeously attired servants through a labyrinth of
picture galleries and apartments, we entered the Salle Blanche, the most
luxurious chamber of this splendid palace, with its wonderful
decorations of white and gold, from which it derives its name.  In this
chamber are held those court fetes which eclipse all others in the
world, for it is here the nobility assemble to pay homage to the
Autocrat of all the Russias.

Standing in the centre of the apartment, I gazed in wonderment upon its
marvellous gilding and glittering magnificence, while the servant
described graphically, but parrot-like, how the receptions were
conducted, the blazing of the priceless jewels worn by the Empress, and
how the Emperor himself, the most quietly dressed amongst the gay
assemblage, walked and talked with his guests.

The whiteness of the walls I was unable to understand, and being of a
somewhat inquisitive nature, and desirous of ascertaining whether they
were marble or wood-panel, I rapped upon it sharply with my knuckles.

In an instant a sentry, who had been standing motionless at the door,
and several servants in the Imperial livery, were at my side.

"For what reason did you tap that wall?" demanded one of the men in
French.

I was thoroughly taken by surprise, and stammered out an apology, urging
that I was not aware of committing any offence.

"It is an offence, and a grave one," exclaimed the servant, whom I
afterwards found was a police spy.  "Visitors must not touch the walls
in that manner, and we have orders to eject those who break the law."

"Oh, very well," I replied, rather ruffled at the man's impertinence, "I
have no desire to do anything contrary to this strange law of yours;
and, moreover, I'll leave the Palace."

With these words, I turned and retraced my steps to the entrance, being
closely followed by the sentry and the guide.

It was a very small matter and soon passed out of my mind, though it
afterwards proved more serious than one would have imagined.

Life in St Petersburg was so different from any to be found in Western
Europe, that during the few days I awaited the arrival of the man to
whom I was to deliver the jewels, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

In the daytime, perhaps the place which has most attraction for the
foreigner is the Nevskoi Prospekt.  It is the principal thoroughfare, a
fine broad street four versts long, with imposing houses and handsome
shops, the favourite promenade of the _haut ton_.  The bustle and throng
is as great as in Regent Street or the Strand on a sunny day, for the
endless line of well-appointed equipages, with servants in splendid
liveries, and mostly drawn by four horses, roll noiselessly over the
asphalte, while upon the pavement stroll princes and generals in
uniform, aides-de-camp and staff officers, merchants, mujiks, Greeks,
Circassians--indeed, that heterogeneous assortment of sects and races
which combine to make up the population of a great city.  Russian women,
as a rule, are the reverse of prepossessing; but the ladies who shop in
the Nevskoi, and afterwards promenade on the English Quay, are even more
remarkable for their elegance and beauty than those one sees in the Row
or on Parisian boulevards.

As it is not my intention, however, to dilate upon Russian manners and
customs, except for the purpose of presenting this strange drama in
which I played a leading part, I must refrain from commenting on the
thousand and one show places, the coffin shops, in the windows of which
the grim receptacles for the dead are ticketed, and many other things
which strike the stranger as ludicrous and curious.

I saw them merely _pour passer le temps_, and they can be of but little
interest in the present narrative.

Exactly three weeks had passed since I bade farewell to Vera.  I had
breakfasted, and was standing before the window looking out upon the
Izak Platz, that broad square in the centre of which the column of
Alexander stands out in bold relief.  Not having made up my mind whither
I should repair in search of pleasure, I was idly watching the busy,
ever-changing crowd of pedestrians and vehicles, when I heard the door
behind me open, and, turning, confronted a tall, fair-bearded man, who
had entered unannounced.  He was well-dressed, and as I turned and
looked inquiringly at him, he bowed and removed his hat.

"Is it to M'sieur Frank Burgoyne I have the pleasure of speaking?" he
asked politely, in very fair English.

"Quite correct," I replied.

"Allow me to present to you the _carte_ of Mademoiselle Vera Seroff, and
to introduce myself.  Paul Volkhovski is my name, and--er--need I tell
you the object of my visit?" he inquired, showing an even set of white
teeth as he smiled.

"It is unnecessary," I replied, glancing at the card he took from his
wallet and handed to me.  "The jewels are quite safe in that box upon
the ottoman.  The seals, you will notice, are untouched."

"_Merci_," he replied, a grin of satisfaction lighting up his
countenance as he repeated, "The jewels--ah!"

Crossing quickly to where the box lay, he took it up and examined it
minutely.

"_Ha! harosho_!" he exclaimed confidently, replacing it with care.

There was something peculiar in his manner which I could not fail to
notice.

To tell the truth, I was rather disappointed in Vera's friend.  I had
imagined that any friends of hers must be men with whom I could readily
associate, whereas there was nothing beyond mere bourgeois
respectability in Monsieur Volkhovski.

Somehow a feeling of suspicion crept over me.

It was possible some one had personated the man whom I was awaiting!  At
that moment it occurred to me that the means at my disposal to recognise
him were exceedingly slight.

This man might be an impostor.

"How do I know, m'sieur--if you will pardon my interrogation--that you
are the person you represent yourself?"  I said, regarding him keenly.

With an exclamation in Russian which I did not understand, he said, "It
is not for you to doubt!  Mademoiselle Seroff asked you to bring the
diamonds to me.  Your commission is ended."

"I had conceived."  I replied rather warmly, "that Mademoiselle's
friends were mine.  Apparently I am mistaken."

"It matters not--a mere trifle."

"At least you will give me a receipt to show that my promise has been
carried out."

"She said nothing of any receipt, and I will give none."

Evidently he was alarmed.

"Then I shall not give up the jewels--"

"Not another word!  You have safely delivered them, and your commission
is ended.  Go back to Mademoiselle as quickly as possible.  She is
expecting you, and will explain all.  You have rendered her a great
service, and she owes you a debt of gratitude."

Walking to the door, with the sealed jewel-case carefully placed in the
pocket of his fashionable dust-coat, he simply paused to add, with a
severe air:

"You have been mistaken, m'sieur; you deceived yourself.  I wish you
adieu and a safe return."  Before I could utter another word he had left
the room.

CHAPTER TEN.

THE SPIDER'S WEB.

I gave myself up to reflection.

Vera was an enigma, it was true, yet somehow I could not bring myself to
realise that she had made pretence to love me merely for the purpose of
prevailing upon me to undertake the conveyance of the jewels.  Loving
her as sincerely as I did, I was loth to credit anything base of her,
feeling confident she reciprocated my affection.

It must be confessed that I was bitterly disappointed in Volkhovski.  He
had not welcomed me as I had expected, and his behaviour was so brusque
as to leave me no pleasant impression of his character.

The day wore on.

The afternoon I spent smoking in the Cafe Chinois in the Nevskoi
Prospekt, and in the evening strolled through the delightfully artistic
Summer Gardens, debating whether I should remain a few days longer, or
leave Russia at once.

Sitting alone at dinner about seven o'clock, I chanced to gaze across
the Polschad.  It was apparent something unusual had taken place, for
people were standing in small groups talking and gesticulating together;
and as I rose to regard them more closely, Trosciansky, the proprietor
of the hotel, entered, with a pale, half-scared expression upon his
face.

"What's the matter outside?"  I asked in French.  "It seems as if
something is wrong."

"I have heard of nothing, m'sieur," he replied, with an expression of
astonishment which I detected was feigned, at the same time advancing to
the window and looking out.

I made a mental note that mine host was not telling the truth, for his
agitation was plainly observable; and, while a number of police were
being marched across the square, he quickly withdrew his face from the
window, as if half-fearful lest he should be observed.  He left the room
for a few moments, afterwards returning with a large bowl of crimson
flowers, which he placed upon a small table close to the window,
remarking:

"These will make your room brighter, m'sieur.  I, myself, am very fond
of flowers."

"And I'm not," I remarked, "I detest flowers in a room; take them away,
please."

He turned and looked at me with surprise, not unmixed with alarm.

"Eh?  M'sieur really means I am to take away the beautiful blossoms?" he
said, raising his eyebrows in astonishment.

"Yes, I won't have them here on any account, they smell so faint."

He hesitated for a few seconds, then replied: "Well, I regret it, for I
procured these expressly for m'sieur's benefit," and carried the bowl
out of the room, muttering as he did so, "Then it must be the artificial
ones."

He had been absent only a few minutes before he reappeared, bearing a
large basket of crimson roses in wax, under a glass shade, and set them
in the place whence he had removed the real ones.

"What have you brought those for?"  I asked, as wax-flowers are one of
my abominations.

"For you, m'sieur.  Are they not superb?--so near the life.  Wonderfully
clever imitation, are they not?"

I nodded assent, but it struck me there must be some reason for the
hotel-keeper placing these in my window.  What was it?

I was about to order him to remove them also, but refrained from doing
so, determined to observe this strange proceeding and endeavour to find
out the cause.

After some cigarettes, I went out for an evening stroll, and as soon as
I gained the street there were unmistakable signs that something
extraordinary had happened, though, not speaking Russian, I was unable
to ascertain.  Intelligence of some description had spread like wildfire
and was causing a terrible sensation, for from mouth to mouth ominous
news was whispered with bated breath, conversations were being carried
on in an undertone, heads were shaken mysteriously, and newspapers
rapidly scanned, which all tended to confirm my suspicion that something
had occurred.

Such a stir had not been created in the capital for many years, and that
night the streets presented a scene of panic that impressed itself
indelibly upon my memory.

When I returned to the hotel I chanced to be walking upon the opposite
side of the street, and glancing up, before crossing, saw what caused me
to start in surprise.  Though the lamp in my sitting-room was alight,
the blind was not drawn, the brilliant illumination within causing the
wax roses to stand out in bold relief in the window--so bold, indeed,
that they could be plainly seen from the most distant part of the great
square.

That they were placed there for some purpose I was convinced--what did
they mean?

I retired to rest as usual, but could not close my eyes for thinking of
the strange episode.  There seemed an air of mystery about the whole
place that I did not like.

Several minor matters now occurred to me of which, at the time they
happened, I thought nothing; yet as I lay thinking I confess I began to
wish myself anywhere but in St Petersburg.  Throughout, there had been
so much that was incomprehensible, and I had been so sorely puzzled,
that I felt a fervent desire to give up, and seek no further elucidation
of the riddle from Vera.

The bells of the Izak Church had broken the silence of the night,
chiming the hour of three, as I lay dozing, when suddenly there came a
sharp rapping at the door, and voices demanding admittance.

My first impression was that the hotel was on fire, but on throwing open
the door, Trosciansky and two other men entered.

"What is the meaning of this?"  I demanded.

"Hist! m'sieur," he replied, laying his finger upon his lips, indicative
of silence.  Then he said in a low voice:

"Quick!  Prepare yourself for a journey; the police are on their way
here, and will arrest you!  Make your escape, now you have time."

"What?"  I cried, rubbing my eyes to make certain I was not dreaming.
"To arrest me!  What for, pray?"

"M'sieur must be aware.  Lose no time, you must get out of Russia at
once, or all will be lost," he said in a loud whisper, while the other
men gave vent to some ejaculations in Russian.

"I have committed no crime," I said, "and I certainly shall not fly from
here like a thief.  The police may come, and I will welcome them."

"Fly! fly!" urged the man, with a look of alarm upon his face; "fly for
Vera Seroff's sake!"

"What has she to do with this?"  I asked eagerly.

"You know, m'sieur; you know.  It will place her in deadly peril if you
are arrested.  Fly, while there is still time."

"But the police cannot touch me; I have no fear of them," I remarked,
just as a thought suddenly occurred to me.

Where was my passport, that paper without which no one in Russia is
safe, not even Russians themselves?  I took up my coat and felt in the
inner pocket where I constantly kept it.

It was gone!

My valise, the pockets of other coats, every hole and corner I
investigated, but found it not.  It was evidently lost or stolen!

Then a thought crossed my mind.

"Take our advice, m'sieur; dress and escape," said Trosciansky,
persuasively.

"No, I will not," I cried angrily.  "I see this is a plot to extort
money--or something.  My passport has been stolen, and I shall myself
inform the police to-morrow, and also of my suspicions regarding this
house."

"_Diable_!" he ejaculated, in the utmost alarm, as at that moment there
was a sound of a door opening and heavy footsteps below!

"Hark!  They are here!  It is too late."

I opened my lips to reply, but no sound came from them.  I have a faint
recollection of a sponge being dashed into my face by one of the
hotel-keeper's companions, then came a strange, even delightful
sensation of giddiness, a confused murmur of voices, of music, of
pleasant sounds,--and all was blank.

I had been drugged.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

THE CELL BELOW THE RIVER.

A terrible, excruciating headache of maddening intensity, a violent
throbbing, as if molten lead were being injected into my skull; a
horrible pain through my eyes and temples like the pricking of red-hot
needles.

I tried to think, but could remember nothing distinctly; I was only
conscious of frightful agony.  To all else I was oblivious.  Where I
was, or what were my surroundings, I knew not.

My mind was wandering, my reason giving way, for suddenly I felt a
sensation as if the burning in my head had been succeeded by an icy
coldness which seemed to freeze my senses; and then, as suddenly, I felt
as if I were being borne along in mid-air, floating higher and higher
into space, then down, down, into depths too terrible to contemplate.
In a moment I should be dashed to pieces.  I felt I was falling and
utterly unable to save myself.

The sensation was awful.

One moment I fancied I was in London, amid old associations and boon
companions, the next I seemed in some out-of-the-way place, lonely and
forgotten.  Presently I saw the grave, beautiful face of Vera, and then
it gave place to that of a middle-aged man, whose sinister features
puckered into a hideous mocking smile.

I tried to collect my thoughts, to shape them, to think; but it was no
use.

The pains returned more acutely than before.  I essayed to cry out, but
my dry, parched tongue clave to the roof of my mouth.  I felt weak and
ill, and my agony was so intense I was convinced if it continued I
should go mad or die.

Perhaps it grew too much for me, for as the throbbing in my temples
increased, I experienced a sickening sensation of giddiness, and again
became insensible.

I must have fainted.

Slowly I struggled back to consciousness, only to find myself stretched
at full length upon a heap of mouldy straw, with a black, impenetrable
darkness around me.  The place was cold and damp, and as soon as I was
able I rose and commenced to feel the dimensions of my strange
apartment.

It was not large, I found, but its four bare stone walls, through which
water oozed in places, the large iron ring fixed into the masonry, and
the strong iron-bound door, quickly apprised me of my position.

I was in prison.

Awe-struck at finding myself under arrest, I sank upon the narrow stone
shelf which served as chair, and tried to recollect the events of the
past few hours.  I knew nothing, save that I had been drugged, and by
some means conveyed there.  What was my crime?  Why had I been arrested?
I wondered.

Through the roof of the cell came a tiny glimmer of light, not half
sufficient to enable me to discern anything, though it was evident from
this, as well as from the sodden dampness of the walls, that my place of
confinement was underground.

The horrors of that Dantean dungeon were indescribable.  Before I had
lodged at the expense of the Russian Government a few days, the fearful
suspense and agony of mind had already added years to my age.

As I sat, desponding and forlorn, I experienced for the first time,
regret that I had ever known Vera Seroff.  All my good resolutions not
to prejudge her went to the winds, and I found myself regretting from
the bottom of my heart that I, who had passed unscathed through many a
mad infatuation, had permitted myself to become so enamoured and
fascinated by her irresistible charms.

Fool that I was to be so blind to her false assumption of injured
innocence, to believe that she ever entertained any affection for me, or
to imagine that by undertaking a journey across the continent I could
render her a service.

And that crotchety old bore, Hertzen.  Surely I must have been wilfully
undiscerning not to have detected a closer tie between them.  No doubt
she was his wife, or, yet more probable--no relation whatever.

I ground my teeth and paced the slimy stone floor in anger as I thought
how ingeniously I had been tricked; how from the beginning I had been an
unresisting dupe in the hands of a heartless, designing woman.  She must
indeed be sadly wanting in womanly love and tenderness to be a party to
this vile plot, whatever its object might be.  Doubtless she knew of my
arrest, and from her place of safety laughed with satisfaction as she
reflected upon her own cleverness.

These and a thousand other thoughts surged through my brain as I walked
to and fro in hopeless dejection.  Alone, heart-broken at realising my
idol shattered, that she whom I believed immaculate and loved so dearly
was base and false, I felt utterly indifferent to what my fate might be,
only desiring not to be kept in that horrible suspense, but to know the
worst.

If it were death, what would it matter?  Though young, I had seen the
world, tasted of its pleasures, and grown _blase_.  The sun of my
existence was the hope of making Vera my wife, yet now it was blotted
out I cared no longer to live, for my life in future would be one of
blank despair.

After a few hours I heard a rattling in the lock, a jingle of keys, and
the door opened, revealing the brawny form of a man bearing a lantern.
It was my jailer.

He held in his hand a basin containing soup and some black bread, which
he placed upon the floor without deigning to bestow a word upon me.

As he turned to leave I rose and, clutching his arm, addressed him in
French.

Turning the light full upon my face, he took a couple of paces backward,
fearing perhaps that I was about to attack him.

"Why am I here?"  I asked.  "Tell me, what is the crime I am accused
of?"

He regarded me for a moment in surprise, answering:

"How should I know?"

"But surely you are aware who brought me here?"

"The _gorodovoi_, I suppose," he grunted savagely.

"And what is this detestable place called?"  I asked.

"The Fortress; the prison from which no man has ever been known to
escape."

"Are its bolts and bars so strong?"

"Yes, and there is no way out for convicts unless they swim the Neva,"
the man replied, grinning with satisfaction.

"Are you not aware of my crime?"  I asked, persuasively.

"No, I know nothing about it.  My business is not with the crime but
with the criminal," he growled.

"I am an Englishman--a foreigner--and cannot be supposed to know your
laws.  Is this what you term justice in Russia--to imprison a man
without trial?"

"You have had your trial and been condemned.  In the sentence passed
upon you by the Court you were told the crime for which you must
suffer."

"Condemned!"  I cried.  "Condemned for what?  Why, I have had no trial.
I have never been before the Court!"

He turned from me, and as he did so, muttered:

"Ah! just what I thought--mad.  These cells below the river always
affect their brains."

In another moment the key turned heavily in the lock, the bolts shot
into their sockets, and I was again alone.

Was I mad, as the turnkey believed?  I was almost convinced I must be,
the events of the past few hours seemed so unreal--like the impression
of some horrible dream.

I had been sentenced, the jailer said.  Sentenced for what?  I had
wronged no man on earth that I was aware of, neither had I done an evil
action willingly.  What was my offence, and what was my sentence?

For days I lived with this one thought, crushed by its terrible weight,
frozen by its ghastly presence.  Not days, but years ago it seemed,
since I was a man like any other, with an intellect young and fresh,
losing itself in a pleasant world of fantasy, with buoyant hopes for the
future; an existence full of life and light, gaiety, and unalloyed
happiness, with naught to trouble me save the realisation of my fond
dream of marrying Vera and dwelling with her in perfect felicity.
Joyous and free had been my thoughts, therefore I was free also.

Alas! those aerial castles, those blissful illusions, had been cruelly
dispelled, for I was free no longer.

I was a criminal.

CHAPTER TWELVE.

A SUBTERRANEAN DRAMA.

With my wrists in bonds of iron, and my soul fettered by one idea--
horrible, implacable--the days passed: I kept no count of them.

Whilst the glimmer of daylight shone through the chink above I spent the
time sitting engrossed in my own sad thoughts, or pacing the narrow cell
for exercise.  When it had faded I cast myself, restless and nervous,
upon the heap of evil-smelling straw that served as bed, waiting
patiently for the reappearance of the streak of grey light.

Those hours of awful silence and suspense I shall never forget.

Do what I might a terrible thought, a deep-rooted conviction, was ever
with me, like a spectre haunting me face to face, frustrating every
endeavour to close my eyes--it was that by Vera's instrumentality I had
been arrested and incarcerated in that foul dungeon.

The jailer, when he brought my daily ration of food, seldom spoke; but
on one occasion I asked him:

"What is my sentence?"

"You know better than I," he growled.  "Indeed, I do not.  Tell me; is
it death?"

"No; the death sentence has been abolished by order of the Czar.
Criminals are tortured to death instead of being killed instantaneously
by hanging."

"And is this the commencement of my torture?"  I asked, glancing round
the glistening walls, that looked black and unwholesome in the
flickering lamplight.

"You may call it so, if you like," he replied.

"Many prisoners would no doubt prefer the death sentence being passed
upon them--but that the law now forbids."

"Shall I never leave this horrible place?"  I asked.

"Shall I never again see the blessed light of day?"

"Yes," he muttered, ominously, "you will leave here--some day--never to
return."

I said no more.  I knew he meant that when I left the prison I should be
dead.

_Torture till death_!  This, then, was my sentence!  The words were
continually passing through my brain, attacking me whilst waking, and
intruding themselves upon my spasmodic attempts to sleep; appearing in
my dreams in all their hideousness.

Even when I awakened to realise the terrible reality that surrounded me,
those four bare walls, coarse clothes, straw pallet, and the monotonous
tramp of the sentry in the corridor outside my door, the words rang a
continuous, demoniacal chorus in my ears.  _Torture till death_!

In my solitary confinement I naturally began to seek some means by which
to occupy attention and divert my mind from the unjust and horrible
sentence.

One matter interested me in a dreamy, indifferent way.  It was the
inscriptions that had been traced upon the damp walls of my gloomy cell,
presumably by former occupants.

Having been in darkness so long, I had developed an acute sensitiveness
in the tips of my fingers, almost in the same manner as the blind; and
for recreation I took to groping about, feeling the indentations upon
the stone, and trying to sketch their appearance mentally.

Hours--nay, days--I spent in this grim but interesting occupation,
studying carefully the initials, dates, and other inscriptions, and
after I had formed a correct picture in my imagination, I would sit
down, wondering by whose hand those letters had been graven; what was
the prisoner's crime; and how long he had lived in that terrible tomb.

The persons who had been confined there before me must have been legion,
for the walls seemed literally covered with words and symbols, some well
defined, others only scratched roughly and almost obliterated by the
thick slime which covered them.  So interested was I in their study
that, after a short time, I had gained a pretty accurate knowledge of
the appearance and position of most of them.  Some had written their
names in full, with the date; one had drawn a gallows, and many had
inscribed lines of words like poetry, but as they were in Russian I was
unable to read them.

I confess, though I gave up the greater portion of every day to the
investigation of the self-executed epitaphs of those who had gone
before, I made but little progress in their meaning.

Still, they served to occupy my time, and for that alone I was thankful.

I had gone methodically to work in my strange researches, commencing at
the door, and taking them one by one from the floor upwards, as far as I
could reach.  The advancement I made was not great; in fact, I was
purposely slow, and took a considerable time over the examination of
each one, because I wanted my task to last as long as possible.

Of those upon the sides of the cell I had formed a fairly distinct
mental picture, and one day while engaged upon the wall opposite the
door groping along as usual, my hand passed over a circular indentation
cut deeply in the stone, which I judged to be about six inches in
circumference.  It was on a level with my head, and by the first touch I
distinguished it was entirely different from the others, both in form,
size, and general character.

Interested in this discovery, I proceeded to make a minute investigation
with the tips of the fingers of both hands.

There were two circles, the one inside the other, about an inch apart,
and I felt some writing in the intervening space.  Round the circle I
ran my fingers; the inscription was not profuse, only nine ill-formed
letters.

"The name of some prisoner, perhaps," I said to myself, as I carefully
passed my finger over each letter, and tried to picture it upon my mind.

The first was of so strange a form that I could make nothing out of it,
so passed on to the next.  This seemed like a small thin line, crooked
half-way down; the next was straight, like a figure one, and the next
very similar, and so on, until I came to the one I had examined first.

Disappointed because I could not decipher a single character of what
seemed hieroglyphics, I passed my hand over the whole in an endeavour to
gain a general impression of it, when I found the centre of the circle
was occupied by some large solid device.

I felt again.  It bore some resemblance to the letter T inverted, and
then momentarily, there flashed across my mind the thought that I had
somewhere seen an emblem of similar appearance.

Eagerly I ran my hands over it, carefully fingering the centre, and
trying to form a clearer idea of what it was like, when I suddenly
recollected where I had met its exact counterpart.

"Yes, there is no mistake," I said in an awed whisper, once more
fingering it in breathless excitement.

"The characters must be the same; the centre is the same; it differs in
no particular.  It is the Seal!"

I stood almost terrified at the unearthly sound of my own words.

Here, in this foul prison, amid all these gruesome surroundings, I had
made a strange discovery!

I had deciphered an exact reproduction of the curious seal found upon
the body of the woman who had been so mysteriously murdered on that
eventful night in Bedford Place--the fatal emblem over which the police
of Europe and America had been so puzzled.

The disclosure brought vividly to my mind recollections of the murder
which, by rare chance, I detected, and I asked myself whether Fate had
decreed that a sketch of the seal should be graven upon the wall of my
dungeon.

I am neither a visionary, nor am I superstitious, yet it is probable
that my gloomy thoughts, combined with my solitary imprisonment, the
lack of exercise, and the horrors of my cell, had produced a slight
attack of fever; for while I was musing it seemed as if the mystic
symbols assumed divers grotesque shapes, the outlines of which glowed
like fire, and that by my side were hideous grinning demons, who assumed
a threatening attitude towards me.

My breathing became difficult, my head swam, and I sank backward upon
the stone seat.

I may have been insensible, or perhaps only sleeping soundly, when there
came a jingling of keys, and a harsh grating of bolts.  This aroused me.

"Get up," commanded the jailer; "follow me."

I rose, my hands trembling and my teeth chattering so that I could
hardly re-arrange my clothes.

What fresh torture was in store for me?  I dreaded to think.

At the first step I attempted to take I staggered and almost fell, but
recovering myself, followed the turnkey.

After examining my fetters to make certain of their security, he led me
through a long dark passage, up a flight of steps, down another, and
through some intricate places, little more than tunnels.  Unlocking a
door, he bade me enter.

I did so, and found myself in a square cell, damp, and pitch dark, like
my own.  We had been joined by another jailer in our walk through the
corridor, and both men entered with me.

As the lantern-light fell upon the straw I saw the cell was occupied; a
man was lying there, fully dressed, and apparently asleep.

"Prisoner," said the jailer, "take the clothes from off that man, dress
yourself in them, and afterwards put your own on him."

"But he will wake," I said.

"Do as I bid," growled the man; "and look sharp; or it will be the worse
for you."

For a moment I did not move.  I felt dazed.

"Now; do you hear?" cried he angrily, shaking me roughly by the arm.

I stooped over the prostrate man in order to unbutton the collar of his
coarse coat, but in doing so my hand touched his chin.  I withdrew it as
if I had been stung, for it sent a thrill of horror through me.  It was
cold as ice.

I was to undress a dead man!

"Why do you hesitate?" the jailer asked gruffly.  "Know you not that you
must obey?"

"This man is dead!"  I said, in alarm.

"And the best thing that could happen to him," was the stern reply.
"Now, how long am I to wait for you?"

His companion grinned at my abhorrence of the task, and uttered some
words in Russian, which the other answered.

It was plain I had to obey my heartless janitor, so, kneeling beside the
corpse, I managed, by dint of some exertion, to divest it of its grey
kaftan, strong knee boots, and sheepskin bonnet.  In these I attired
myself, afterwards dressing the corpse in my own clothes.

My new garments were such as I had never seen before, and upon my breast
was a brass plate bearing a number.

"Now, take these," commanded the turnkey, throwing his light upon some
things in a corner.

I turned and picked them up.

There was a rug, a mess tin, and a wooden spoon.

"What am I to do with these?"  I asked.

"You will want them upon your journey."

"My journey!  Where, then, am I going?"

"To the mines."

"To Siberia?"  I gasped.

"Yes," he answered, adding, "Come, follow me."

I left the side of the dead prisoner and accompanied him back to my own
cell.

I would have preferred death ten thousand times, for I knew, too well,
that for the Russian convict is reserved that punishment which is
tantamount to death by slow torture--a living tomb in the quicksilver
mines beyond Tomsk.  When sent under the earth he never again sees the
sunlight or breathes the fresh air, until a year or so afterwards when
he is brought to the surface to die.

Racked by the frightful pain which quicksilver produces, gaunt as
skeletons, and with hair and eyebrows dropping off, convicts are kept at
labour under the lash by taskmasters who have orders not to spare them,
working eighteen hours at a stretch, and sleeping the remaining six in
holes in the rock--mere kennels, into which they must crawl.

A sentence of Siberian hard labour always means death, for the
Government are well aware it is an absolute impossibility to live longer
than five years in such horrible torture in the depths of the earth.

To this terrible existence was I consigned.  Was it surprising,
therefore, that I hoped--nay, longed--for death instead?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

GRAVEN ON THE WALL.

I walked back to my cell as one in a dream.

Engrossed with my own reflections, I neither saw nor heard anything
until I found myself seated alone in the dark, damp chamber, with the
maddening thought of Vera's treachery and triumph torturing and goading
me to despair.

I covered my face with my hands, and strove to forget the present and to
review the past.

As I pondered, the recollection of my childhood's days came back to me.
I saw the grey-haired stately lady, my mother, whom I loved, whose
counsel I had ofttimes wisely taken, but who now, alas! was no more.  I
saw myself a laughing schoolboy, and later, a rollicking student, one of
a crowd in the Latin Quarter; then a young man hard at work with my pen
in a tall old house in one of the Inns of Court, burning the midnight
oil and striving day and night towards the coveted Temple of Fame.

Later, a man of ample means, and afterwards--a convict.

Next morning, after the warder had paid his matutinal visit and I had
appeased my hunger, I naturally turned to the inscriptions as my sole
means of occupation; for besides being anxious for anything wherewith to
occupy my mind, however trivial, I was also curious to ascertain whether
the mysterious device upon the wall really bore a resemblance to the
seal, or whether it was only in my distorted imagination that the
similarity existed.

Without difficulty I succeeded in placing my hands upon the indentation,
and after minute investigation satisfied myself I had not been mistaken.
Though somewhat roughly executed, the symbols were exactly the same as
those upon the fatal seal.

While carefully following the lines with my finger tips, I felt,
suddenly, what appeared to be some letters, two above the circle and two
below, about an inch from the outer ring.  At first it did not cross my
mind that they could have any connection with it, for I concluded they
were but the initials of two prisoners who had occupied the cell.

However, when I had completed my investigation of the inexplicable
emblem which had so long occupied my thoughts, I commenced trying to
decipher the letters above.

At first I could make nothing out of them, but by passing my hand
carelessly along I ascertained that they were in the Russian character.

Evidently they were initials.

Fortunately, while at college I had gained a knowledge of the Russian
alphabet, and though it was rather imperfect, I was prompted to make an
attempt to discover the equivalent of the two letters in English.

The task occupied me a very long time, and after considerable patience
and perseverance I found I had translated the initials, although they
told me nothing.

The two letters cut in the stone above were "N.S."

I stood motionless for a few minutes, almost unable to give credence to
the solution of the puzzle; then went carefully over the two signs
again.

No; I was not mistaken.

"N.S.," I repeated to myself aloud, almost breathless with amazement, my
heart beating quickly, and sounding distinctly in the tomb-like silence
of my dungeon.  "The initials of some unfortunate man who perhaps, like
myself, was confined here for some crime he did not commit."

Whose was the hand that traced the deadly sign, and the initials?  This
was the question I vainly asked myself.

"Perhaps the letters below will throw some light upon this ghastly
secret," I said aloud, as I commenced to feel the two characters
underneath the design.  They were well-shaped and deeply cut, so I had
not so much difficulty as with those above.

"I may be about to solve the enigma of the seal," I reflected, as, in
intense excitement, I took one letter after the other and thought of its
corresponding letter in English.

I soon deciphered them, and found the initials were "S.O."

The discovery caused me much disappointment, for beyond the assumption
that a certain person whose initials were N.S. had been imprisoned in
the cell, together, perhaps, with a comrade whose initials were S.O.,
who had possibly sketched the obscure hieroglyphics, I was no nearer the
solution of the device than before.

It might have been inscribed a dozen, perhaps a hundred, years ago--
before the seal had become synonymous of death--for aught I knew.

So intent was I in endeavouring to feel other names or devices near this
particular one that I failed to notice the opening of my cell door, and
when I became aware of the lantern-light behind me I turned and saw a
Cossack officer standing upon the threshold.

He stepped forward and was about to enter, but suddenly, as if on second
thought, he drew back and pulled up the broad collar of his riding-coat
about his neck, so as to partially hide his face before entering.

Advancing, and turning the lamplight full upon my face, he gazed into it
fixedly for several seconds, his own countenance being concealed by the
shadow.  Then, without speaking, he went across the cell and commenced
examining the wall, apparently to ascertain in what pursuit I was
engaged when he entered.

He cast his eyes along the wall, when he suddenly gave vent to a low
exclamation of profound surprise, not unmingled with horror, and holding
his lantern on a level with the inscription, scrutinised it minutely for
some minutes, at the same time muttering to himself.

From his movements, and the agitation which he strove to suppress, it
was evident he, too, had made a startling discovery; and I stood
wondering what there was about it that interested him so much.

He looked at me several times, and though his face was always in the
shade I could see that in his eyes was a peculiar expression.  Twice he
returned and examined the inscription, as if to rivet it upon his memory
and to satisfy himself he was not mistaken; then he turned, and,
addressing me in French, said:

"Prisoner, prepare yourself.  We start to-morrow."

"To Siberia?"  I asked.

"Yes; make the best of your last night's rest," he replied in a strange
hoarse voice, and went out, leaving me again to my gloomy reflections.

For hours I sat, asking myself what this could mean.  The initials, in
conjunction with the seal, served to increase the mystery, and the
agitation of the officer when his gaze fell upon it clearly showed the
grim symbol was repulsive to him, although the cruel light in his eyes
caused me to conjecture that it revealed to him some awful truth that
had hitherto been hidden.

But why need I exercise my mind upon trying to solve this inscrutable
problem, I thought, when on the morrow I should start upon my terrible
journey to the grave?

Ay, what was the use?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

EN ROUTE FOR THE MINES.

At last the day--or rather night--arrived, when the gates of the Citadel
opened, allowing myself with thirty other prisoners to pass out upon the
first stage of the weary two months' tramp to that bourne whence few
convicts ever return.

We were a sorry, smileless band of criminals of all classes, each
dressed alike and bearing a number, our hands fastened behind our backs,
and chained together in single file.

Slowly we passed through the great iron gates, and turning, crossed the
Troitskoi Bridge, our escort of mounted Cossacks cracking their long
whips, and with lanterns tied to their lance-points examining the road
continually, in search of any letters which might be dropped.  It was a
weird, dismal procession, as we trudged on through the streets made
sloppy by the melting snow, and the clanking of chains, the cracking of
whips, the shouts of the soldiers, and the rumbling of the springless
carts in the rear for those who might fall ill by the way, awoke the
echoes of the silent thoroughfares.

A few belated pleasure-seekers, some in fancy dress, who were evidently
returning from a ball, stopped to watch us pass, but no one was allowed
to come near us, for the Cossacks warned them off.

In this way we passed across the slumbering city and out upon the broad,
bleak highway on our journey eastward to the Ourals.  It commenced to
rain in torrents, and soon all of us were wet and uncomfortable, but
through the long night we marched onward in dogged silence.
Conversation was forbidden, and those who had spoken had felt the thong
of the escort's whip about his shoulders.

The convict to whom I was chained I recognised as the guide who had
conducted me over the Winter Palace.  What was his crime I knew not, but
he plodded on, with a settled look of terror on his face, and the sighs
that frequently escaped him plainly showed what were his feelings at
being exiled from his native land.

His was not the face of a criminal, but rather that of one who had been
unjustly condemned, as I had been.

Our wet clothes clung to us as we walked, our feet splashed through
great pools at every step, and the icy wind that blew across the wide
level highway chilled our very bones, greatly adding to our discomfort.

We must have walked six hours, for as the day dawned, cloudy and grey,
we saw in the distance the wooden houses of Jjora, and half an hour
later were drawn up in a line in the open space before the little
church.

Here our fetters were removed; but in the meantime the news had spread
through the village that a convict convoy was on the march, and the
inhabitants, taking compassion upon us, crowded round with steaming
tureens of _tschi_, piles of new bread, and jugs of _vodki_.  They were
not allowed to approach us, however, and were compelled to set their
offerings at the roadside and retire.

The pity felt for Siberian exiles is universal, and even the Cossacks
seemed to have some sympathy for us poor wretches, as they allowed us to
partake freely of what the kind-hearted peasants offered.

I was almost exhausted by the long tramp, and ate ravenously.  As soon
as we had appeased our hunger, we were marched inside the church to
attend a parting mass and hear a brief sermon.

As we knelt, the priest went through the ritual, afterwards giving us an
address, urging submission and penitence, as well as extolling the
Czar's clemency most likely; but as I was unable to understand a word, I
was spared this canting hypocrisy, and was glad when the grim farce was
over and we had left the sacred building.

Soon we were upon our way again, and through out the day trudged wearily
onward.  With a thick pine forest on each side of the road, the journey
resembled a sea voyage, one spot so much like another that we always
seemed to remain in the same place.

We had no chains to trouble us now; but though permission had been given
to talk, all desire for conversation had gone out of us, so jaded and
weary were we.  Without a halt, we pushed on until long after daylight
had faded, and when at last a rest was made we prepared to bivouac in
the forest.

A large fire was lit, some biscuits and salt beef served out, and then,
with nothing further to protect us from the frost than our greatcoats
and rugs, we flung ourselves upon the ground and sought repose.

I was exhausted and soon fell asleep.  I must have continued so for
several hours, when suddenly I felt a hand upon my cheek, and in the
fitful light thrown by the dying embers of the fire, saw a Cossack
bending over me.

All was quiet, save for the shadowy forms of the sentries, who paced
quietly to and fro among the surrounding trees.

As I awoke, the man at my side placed his finger significantly upon my
lips, whispering in broken English, "Don't utter a word, but listen;
Frank Burgoyne, remember what I am about to tell you.  Be brave, and you
may escape."

"Escape!"  I ejaculated, rubbing my eyes, half-believing that I must be
dreaming.  "How can I?"

"The matter is simple if you follow my directions; but it will require
nerve and firm determination.  If you falter you are lost."

"Tell me, how can it be done?"  I whispered, eagerly.

He bent so closely that, although his face was unrecognisable in the
darkness, I could feel his breath.  Placing his mouth to my ear he said:
"To-morrow afternoon we shall pass through a small village called
Podberesa.  A mile after leaving it, we shall come to cross-roads, and
there you will see a two-horse sleigh awaiting you, the driver of which
will have a red ribbon upon his whip.  Be on the watch, and when close
to it make a dash between the guards, jump in, and you will be driven to
the coast, where you can get away to England.  In the sleigh you will
find the dress of a courier, and a passport which will ensure your
safety."

"But the escort; they will fire!"  I exclaimed in amazement.

"There are no `buts.'  Time does not permit of reflection.  Do as I bid,
and you will not be harmed," he said.

"You are my friend, then?"

"No, scarcely that.  My duty is to take you to the mines."

"Then why do you tell me how to escape?"

"There is reason in most things that we do."

"And what is your reason for this?"  I asked.  "Perhaps you can explain
why I have been kept in that horrible prison without trial, and why I,
an Englishman, should be sent to Siberia for no offence whatever?"

"Yes, yes," he replied, "I am aware of all this.  But hush!  The guards
are changing.  Remember all I have said; make your dash for liberty with
a stout heart, and when you return to London all will be explained.
Adieu, and _bon voyage_."

The man crawled noiselessly away, but as he lifted himself upon his
hands the fire threw out a flicker of light which fell upon his
features.  It was only momentarily and then died away, yet in that brief
second I detected a close--even striking--resemblance to some one I had
seen before.

He slipped away without a sound, just as the sentry passed; nevertheless
for a long time I lay awake trying to recollect where I had seen the
soldier's face before.

At last I felt positive the voice was the same as that of the officer
who had visited me in the cell, yet what motive he could have in
planning my escape, I could not guess.  Then again I felt sure the face
resembled some one I had known intimately, or had cause to remember.
Suddenly it dawned upon me.

The face was similar to that of the man I had seen leaving the house in
Bedford Place!

The next day passed much as the preceding one, though with considerable
excitement and anxiety I prepared myself for my bold attempt to regain
freedom.  It was late in the afternoon that we passed through the
village, and it was fast growing dusk when the object for which I was
straining my eyes came into view--a sleigh, the driver of which had the
reins and whip gathered up in the act of starting.

The critical moment arrived.

Just as we were passing, I slipped out of the ranks, and made a sudden
dash, falling headlong into the vehicle.  The fall saved me.

I heard the word of command.  A dozen shots rang out.  But in a few
seconds we were flying at a furious rate along the smooth highway in an
opposite direction.  It was an exciting moment, but I did not lose my
nerve.

"Don't be alarmed," said the driver, in English; "the guards dare not
leave the prisoners, and we shall beat them easily.  Dress as quickly as
you can, for by this time to-morrow we must be at Viborg."

I found the clothes, and exchanged my convict's dress for them.  In the
pockets were a passport and a purse well filled with roubles.  When
dressed, I settled myself to think.  With relays of horse at every
post-station, we travelled all that night.  Next evening we drove into
Viborg.

I questioned the driver, but he would not tell me by whom he had been
engaged.

"You have been wronged, and reparation must be made," was all he
replied.

By no ingenious questioning could I elicit any particulars as to who was
instrumental in scheming my escape, for to all my inquiries he was dumb,
although he appeared fully cognisant of my adventures since I had been
in Russia.

On arrival at Viborg I lost no time in searching for a ship, and, to my
relief, found one leaving for Hull in a few hours.  I exhibited my
passport as an official courier, obtained a berth, and before the next
day dawned had the satisfaction of watching the lights of the Russian
port disappear at the stern.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

AN OMINOUS INCIDENT.

On the evening of the day after my return to London, I was passing down
the Strand, intending to seek Bob Nugent at the Junior Garrick.

The utmost excitement was prevalent.

Something startling had been published in the evening papers.  Dozens of
newsboys were rushing about amongst the throng of foot-passengers crying
"Spe-shall! 'nother 'orrible murder!"  Every one was purchasing copies,
reading them in doorways and under street-lamps, and my curiosity being
aroused at the unusual commotion, I did likewise.

Opening the paper, my eye caught the bold headlines, "The Mystic Seal
again.  Another Mysterious Murder."

The account was too long to be read in the street, so turning into the
nearest restaurant, and flinging myself into a chair, I read it from
beginning to end; for I, of all men, was interested in these almost
superhuman crimes.

Briefly told, they were the details of a curious but atrocious crime,
committed with great daring.  Shortly before one o'clock that morning, a
constable on his beat, while passing through Angel Court, Drury Lane,
noticed the form of a woman lying in the shadow of a doorway.  He at
first thought it was one of the wanderers so numerous in that
neighbourhood, and was about to rouse her, when he was horrified to
discover that she was dead, and that blood was flowing from a deep wound
in her throat.

The body was in a pool of blood, and it appeared as if the fatal gash
had been inflicted with a razor.  The officer at once gave the alarm,
and within a few minutes several other constables were on the spot, as
well as the divisional surgeon.  Nothing could be ascertained in the
neighbourhood regarding the murdered woman, who was aged about
twenty-five.  But on the body being removed to the mortuary, there was
discovered pinned to the breast, and soaked through with blood, a small
piece of paper which had evidently borne the repulsive seal.  Although
the latter had been torn off, a portion of the wax still remained.

The narrow passage in which the murdered woman had been found was little
frequented, it being extremely secluded, and, except at the outer
portion, the houses were not inhabited.

How the deed could have been committed without any sounds having been
heard by those who lived near was regarded as a mystery by all who knew
the neighbourhood, and, of course, there were the usual wild rumours
afloat as to the probable identity of the murdered woman.

In a leading article, the journal said:

"It seems pretty certain that this last atrocity must be ranked with the
others.  Committed with the same startling rapidity, with the same
disheartening absence of traceable clues, this latest crime was probably
perpetrated by the same scoundrel or maniac as the one who horrified and
puzzled the world last year.  The murderer goes about his work with much
deliberation, and effects his escape with great skill, and even takes
time and trouble in pinning the cabalistic sign of the seal to the
breast of his victim.  The meaning of that sign it is impossible to
tell.  We have steadily asserted, before and after the occurrence of
these murders, that the police force of London is not adequate in
numbers to the duties imposed upon it.  It is the business of the
police, if it cannot prevent crime, at least to detect it."

It was the eighth murder, and still the authorities were as far off
bringing the guilty one to justice as they were when the first victim
was discovered.

After eagerly reading the report I placed the newspaper aside and sat in
silent meditation.  There was something so curious, almost supernatural,
in these crimes, that I could not reflect without a shudder upon the
horrors of that night a few months before when I was instrumental in
bringing the previous work of the mysterious, assassin to light.  Every
detail of that terrible crime surged through my brain as plainly as if
it were but yesterday, and the face of the man who left the house, and
whom I followed I could see as vividly as if he were still before me,
for his features were graven too deeply upon my memory to be ever
effaced.

I sat utterly dumbfounded.  The problem was growing even more
complicated, for it struck me as something more than a strange
coincidence that the Bedford Place murder should have been committed
immediately before I left London, and that the murderer should have
thought fit not to add another victim to his ghastly list until
immediately upon my return.

Somehow I could not help feeling convinced there must be some occult
reason in this.

On the former occasion I had carefully studied the theories put forward,
especially that urged by an eminent medical man, that the murderer was a
homicidal maniac.  This, I felt assured, was totally wrong.  The man the
doctor had in his mind was a type well-known to those who have made a
special study of murder-madness.  But such a man does not work with the
skill displayed by this assassin--he does not arrange his entrance, his
"picture," his exit, so carefully.  Misdirected enthusiasm may prompt to
murder, but it does not run side by side with cunning deliberation and
desire for effect.

No!  I maintained in my own mind that when, if ever, the author of the
murders was arrested, he would be found to be a man who was perfectly
sane, and who had gloated over the extraordinary skill with which he had
thrown the London detective force off the scent.

I did not seek Nugent that night, but returned to my rooms, and sat far
into the early hours, soliloquising upon the mystery.

At last, wearied out, I rose, and, taking down a pipe, filled it.  There
was a mirror over the mantelshelf, and as I was in the act of lighting
my pipe, I caught sight of a countenance in the glass, and paused to
reflect.  The vesta burned down till it scorched my fingers; but,
fascinated by what I saw, I stood motionless, staring into the glass.

It was not upon the reflection of myself that I gazed, but on the face
of the man I had seen coming from the house in Bedford Place!

I am aware there are some events in our lives, of which each
circumstance and surrounding detail is indelibly impressed upon the
mind, and, on reflection, it was easy to account for this strange and
startling fantasy.  So petrified had my mind been during the past few
hours, that, in my imagination, the image of my own facial expression
closely resembled his.  Still, there was yet another more urgent aspect,
which caused me to consider seriously.  Such a freak of the mental
faculties I had never before experienced; nevertheless, I knew the
symptom to be precursory of madness.

Was I doomed to insanity?

Sinking back into a chair and smoking my pipe, I calmly reviewed the
situation.  My inner conscience seemed to tell me--though, to this day,
I have never been able to account for it--that the key to the mystery
was in my hands.  By mere chance--or was it Fate?--I had discovered one
of the murderer's victims, and had seen the miscreant himself leave the
house--a man whom I should be able to identify anywhere.  No one else
had seen him, I argued with myself, so it was a duty towards my
fellow-men to bring him to the punishment he so well merited.  That is
what conscience urged me as I sat smoking through the long night, and
before the dawn I had made up my mind again to try my hand at
elucidating the fearful mystery, and spare no effort towards its
accomplishment.

With that object, I obtained permission of the police next morning, and
viewed the body which was in the mortuary awaiting identification.  It
lay in the chilly chamber, stretched upon the dark slate slab, the face
covered with a white cloth.  This the constable removed, revealing the
features of a dark, rather handsome, young woman, evidently of the
poorer class, and a denizen of that quarter of the city.

As I gazed upon the body I wondered who she was.  What was she?  What
was her history?  Could even such a plebeian woman be missed by her
friends, and no inquiries made after her?  It seemed almost incredible,
yet it was so; for when the coroner held his inquiry a few days later,
she had not been identified, so the verdict of "Murder" was given,
photographs were taken of the dead unknown--one of which I have before
me as I write--and she was conveyed to her last resting-place in Nunhead
Cemetery.

It was no isolated case.  Every year numbers of bodies of men and women
are found by the London police and buried unclaimed, at the expense of
the parish; until one is at a loss to know where are the relatives of
the unfortunate ones that they make no sign, and take no trouble to make
known their loss.

It is one of Babylon's unfathomable mysteries.

For days--nay, weeks--afterwards, I continually devoured the information
contained in the newspapers regarding the eighth murder, but the victim
remained unidentified; and although I frequented the busiest haunts of
men in the City and its immediate suburbs at all hours of the day and
night, in the hope of meeting the murderer, my efforts were so
dispiritingly futile that more than once I was sorely tempted to give up
in despair.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

FACING THE INEVITABLE.

Though I had been in London nearly two months I had heard nothing of
Vera, and her explanation of my imprisonment, as promised by the
Cossack, had not been made.

I had some misgivings, it is true, for I could not help feeling that,
having used me to execute her strange commission, she would trouble me
no further; and as the days went by, and I received neither letter nor
visit, my conviction was strengthened that such was the case.

A wet, cheerless night, one of those soaking rains with which dwellers
in the metropolis are too well acquainted.  Business London had brought
a day's work to a close, the 'buses were filled to overflowing, the
shops were putting up their shutters, and the strings of dripping
humanity waiting at pit doors of theatres were anathematising the
management of places of amusement for not opening earlier, as a hansom
deposited Nugent and myself before the Gaiety Theatre, where a new
burlesque was that night to be produced.

A contrast to the rain and mud outside was the interior of the theatre.
Warm, bright, and comfortable, were stalls and boxes, filled with "fair
women and brave men," the bright dresses and glittering jewels of the
former contrasting well with the dull red shade with which the place was
decorated and adding a brilliancy and luxury to the whole.  The
production of the piece had long been talked of, and the event had the
effect of bringing together a number of professional first-nighters and
leading lights of the literary and musical world, not forgetting the
fair sprinkling of Bohemians who are always the welcome guests of the
management on such occasions.

Soon after we had found our stalls the conductor's _baton_ waved, the
overture was played, and the curtain rose.

The first act had concluded when I stood up to nod to several people
present whom I knew, and in casting my eyes around the boxes I was
attracted to one in which sat a young and handsomely dressed lady,
alone.  As I looked, our eyes met.

It was Vera!

Apparently she had been watching me, for with a pleasant smile of
recognition, she beckoned me with her fan.

At that moment Bob noticed her, and nodding towards her, whispered, "By
Jove! old fellow, who'd have thought of meeting the fair Russian?  The
world isn't so large, after all.  Shall you go up and speak?"

I glanced upwards in hesitation.  She was leaning from the box, the
diamonds in her hair flashing under the gaslight, and she beckoned
anxiously.  This decided me, and I went in search of her, with a
feeling--half of the old love, and half of a newly-born distrust.

I was not long in finding her box, and as I entered, her maid, who was
her only companion, went out.

Retiring into the shadow, so as not to be observed by the people below,
she stretched forth her hand and, with a glad smile, exclaimed, "At
last, Frank--_quel plaisir_!"

I drew back, and was ungallant enough not to take the proffered hand,
for had I not been duped by her and nearly lost my liberty and life?

"Ah!" she said in a hoarse whisper, "it is as I expected, Frank--we are
no longer friends."

"Why should we be?"

"I know I am unworthy a thought, having acted as basely as I did; but it
was not my fault.  It could not be avoided," she said, casting her eyes
to the floor.

"And that is the way you reciprocate my affection!  You send me upon an
errand so dangerous that it nearly costs me my life!"  I remarked,
bitterly.

"No, no!  Do not judge me harshly," she pleaded, laying her hand upon my
coat-sleeve, and looking into my face imploringly.  "Wait until I can
explain before you condemn me.  I know you think me a scheming,
cold-hearted adventuress; perhaps I was when I met you; but now--it is
different."

"Vera," I said, endeavouring to be firm, "it pains me, but I must put an
end to this interview.  I was foolish to seek you thus, but it was only
to confront you for the last time that I obeyed.  I have loved you
fondly, madly, but you have--there--I could never trust you again; so,
for the future, we must be as strangers."

"You are cruel, Frank," she said, the tears welling in her eyes.  "It is
merciless of you not to hear my version of the matter, although I own
appearances are much against me.  The vilest criminal is allowed to make
a defence; surely you will not debar me from it!"

She looked beseechingly at me, her face blanched and betraying the
struggle going on within.

"But you cannot tell me here," I said, somewhat softened by her
repentance.

"No; my uncle will be out to-morrow evening, come to me then," she
replied, producing a visiting card, upon which she scribbled an address.
"We are living at Richmond.  If you cannot come, may I meet you?"

Taking the card, I said, "Very well, you shall explain matters if you
wish.  I will call to-morrow."

"_Do_," she implored; "I am sure I shall be able to satisfy you that I
am not so very much to blame."

We then shook hands and parted, for the orchestra having finished
playing, the curtain had risen, and the theatre was too quiet to allow
further conversation.

I returned to my seat, but on glancing up five minutes afterwards, saw
that Vera was not in her box, and concluded that the burlesque had no
longer any attraction for her.

Nugent's inquiries after her health and well-being I answered
satisfactorily, though I, myself, could not sit out the play, and
returned home long before it was over.

I need not dwell upon the fearful suspense and mental torture in which
that night was spent.  Suffice it to say it was a period that seemed
interminable, for my heart was racked by an intensity of emotion which
can scarcely be conceived.  The sight of Vera, in all her bewitching
loveliness of old when we passed those happy days at Genoa, had
awakened, with a thousand-fold energy, my love.  Deceived as I imagined
myself to have been, the one absorbing passion of my existence had still
lived, in spite of all attempts to smother and subdue it by reason's
aid.  One word from Vera, one look from those eyes into my own, had
again laid me a captive at her feet, although I despised--hated--myself
for what seemed mere weakness.

I knew it was a farce to seek an explanation, for, whatever it might be,
I was ready to accept it.  My heart could not be hardened against Vera.
And then, should she in verity explain the mystery which hung around us
both, that would mean the dawn of better days and brighter hopes.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

THE TERRACE, RICHMOND.

With a beating heart and a firm determination to be strong, I was
ushered on the following afternoon into the drawing-room of one of that
terrace of large houses that stand on the summit of Richmond Hill,
overlooking what was at that time the grounds of Buccleuch House, but
which have lately been thrown open as public gardens.

It was a pleasant room, the windows of which commanded a fine view of
the picturesque valley, where, deep down, the river, like a silvery
streak, winds in and out the mass of foliage.  Undoubtedly it is the
prettiest scene within many miles of London, and that day Father Thames
was looking his best in the glories of a setting sun, whose rays now
gilded the sail of a tiny craft dropping down with the tide, and anon
lighted up some snorting tug or shrieking pleasure-launch.

Scarcely had I time to glance round when the door opened and Vera
entered.

She looked even more lovely than I had ever before seen her, dressed in
a tea-gown of cream lace over _vieux rose_ satin, with a loose front and
train, showing the pale rose satin lining, her waist being encircled by
a curious girdle.  It suited her admirably, and as she walked across the
room with a smile of glad welcome upon her lips and her hand
outstretched, I confess my heart was softened towards her.

There was an indefinable air--it might be of anxiety about her, however,
as if she were afraid that what she had to say would not be convincing
to me; and it was plainly to be seen that she, too, had spent a night of
sleeplessness.

"Well, Frank, we have met again--you did not forget your promise," she
said, in those soft tones I loved to hear, speaking slowly, perhaps
timidly.

We seated ourselves in silence.  I dared not yet trust myself to speak.

"Last night I said I would give you the reason of my apparent
_fourberie_."

She paused, and toyed with her rings.  She was waiting for me to answer.

"Yes," I said; "I am listening."

She looked up hastily; my voice was not encouraging.

"It was imperative Frank, that you should be sent to Petersburg--and--it
was for your own sake--"

"For my sake!"  I exclaimed.

"Yes, Frank," she replied; "and it was only for that and for your future
happiness and our--" she paused, while a vivid blush mantled her
handsome features.

"Our what?"  I demanded, almost rudely.

"I must not say, dearest; but this you might know--that no harm was
intended for you in any proceeding in which I had a hand."

"That is no answer, Vera," I said, somewhat sternly.  "You say this was
for `our' something, and for my future happiness!  What does it all
mean, and why this mystery?  I'm tired of it.  If you cannot explain,
why ask me to call upon you?"

"Because, Frank--because I feel sure you would forgive me everything,
could you know all."

"Is there a reason, then, that you will make no explanation?"

"Yes, a most important one.  If I could, I would tell you--but I
cannot," she said.

"Yet you were aware of my arrest, my imprisonment without trial, and
transportation?"

"True.  I knew of your arrest an hour after it had taken place."

"And it was you who planned my escape?"

"It was.  Had I not been successful, you would now be working in the
Kara silver mines, enduring that living death which is a worse
punishment than the gallows," she replied, shuddering.

"For your timely assistance in that matter I must thank you," I said.
"Yet it is only fair that I should know the nature of my unknown
offence, and the reason of my arrest I presume you are aware of it?"

"No, do not thank me, Frank.  It was in my power to help you, and I did
so.  It was but my duty."

"But why was I imprisoned?"  I asked.

"That I cannot tell you."

"Surely I have a right to demand an explanation, and if you do not tell
me I shall place the matter before the English Consul, who will,
perhaps, be able to fathom it," I observed.

"No, no!" she replied, starting up.  "No, Frank, don't do that, for my
sake.  It would implicate me and I should be in deadly peril.  Let the
subject rest, and request no further explanation, promise me that?" she
urged earnestly.

"I cannot.  There is a mystery about the whole affair which I confess I
don't like.  I came here to-day expecting to hear it explained, but I
find you indisposed to tell me anything," I replied angrily.

"Not indisposed, Frank--unable."

"Unable!  Why, you admit you are fully cognisant of the facts!"

"I do, but unfortunately circumstances will not permit me to disclose
the secret."

"There _is_ a secret, then?"  I ejaculated.

"Yes, one that must be kept at all hazards, alas!  Therefore promise not
to cause inquiries to be made, or it will be myself who will be the
sufferer.  Do promise me this?" she implored.

"If what you say is true," I replied, "you may rely upon my silence,
though I think, in the interests of our friendship, you should tell me
what you know."

"I wish I could.  I know I am not _hors de blame_, for I deceived you
when I said I was under my uncle's thrall.  It is true he holds power
over me, but not in the way I suggested."

"How, then?"

"Ah, it is part of the secret.  Some day, perhaps, you may know--not
now.  I had a set purpose in asking you to go to Russia to perform that
commission you so kindly undertook, yet it was in desperation that I
asked you--the man who was to have been my husband."

"And I shall bitterly remember the experience until my dying day," I
remarked.

"Yes! it is only natural that you should feel disgusted at what you
conceive is my treachery.  It is but another result of the fatal step--I
mean of the cursed circumstances in which I am placed.  I cannot hope
for your forgiveness, for I dare not explain.  On every side," she
exclaimed disconsolately, with a vehement gesture of the hands, "I am
watched and surrounded, hemmed in with difficulties, absolutely
prevented from--"

"From telling me the object for which you sent me to Russia, when you
knew it was a dangerous errand, likely to cost me my life?  How can you
expect that I should love you as I did with this terrible enigma
unsolved?"

She remained silent.

For a moment I thought she was on the point of telling me all, when,
with a look of piteous appeal, she threw herself at my knees and raised
my hands to her lips.

"Frank," she murmured, so low that it was only by bending forward that I
could catch the words, "why do you ask?  Is it because you love me, or--
or--is it from mere curiosity you inquire?"

"Because I love you, Vera."

"Then," raising her beautiful face to my own, with a smile of hope,
"then--trust me, Frank, and, in the future, when things have altered,
you shall know _all_!"

"This is trifling," I said stiffly, raising her to her feet.  "You ask
me to trust you because I love you; if you care for me, why not trust
me, and confide this trouble to one who would do so much for you?"

"Cannot you wait, Frank, for--for even a short time?  Can you never
think that it was by pure force of circumstances that I was compelled to
practise deceit towards you?  I have known of your return since the day
of the murder--that is--I mean since the first hour you set foot in
England, but I had not the courage to face you because I knew I deserved
forgiveness so little."

"If this is all you have to say," I responded, rising, and taking up my
stick and hat, as if going, "we may as well part.  Force of
circumstances may be compelling you to deceive me now."

My heart told me that Vera was wronged.  As the cynical words fell from
my lips she gave me a glance confirming that opinion.  Standing erect,
her features aglow with indignation, her whole frame quivering with
excitement, she confronted me like a lioness.

"Go!" she exclaimed, with an energy which made me start violently.  "Go,
for we have both been deceived.  I have been deceived, but now my
awakening has come.  Alas! this is my reward for the dangers braved, the
difficulties surmounted, and the crimes committed for your sake!"

"Stay, Vera, for Heaven's sake!  What crimes?"

"Oh, forgive me!  What have I said?  I think I'm mad.  Nay, question me
no further, but leave me.  Could you but know my heart, Frank, you would
have pity--you would know that my love is too great, too all-absorbing,
to allow me for an instant to endanger your life unnecessarily.  But it
is absolutely certain I cannot tell you now, and therefore--"

I was conquered.  As she paused again, in the midst of her anguish, and
her eyes sought mine with an irresistible glance in which love and
tenderness, mingled with entreaty, struggled with hope, I knew that all
further resistance to the spell on my part was useless, for Vera spoke
the truth--and she was all the world to me.

So I took her in my arms, and forgave her.

"And you will always trust me now, Frank?" she asked presently with
happy and tender elation.

"Vera," I said, gravely, "I am showing my faith in you, am I not, by
asking you to be my wife?  I can trust you?"

"Trust me!" she cried.  "_Mon Dieu_!  I have loved only one man; it is
you."

I bent down to kiss the pale upturned face and her lips met mine in a
hot passionate caress, enough to make any man's head reel.

"I will endeavour to blot out from my memory this strange deceit you
have practised upon me," I exclaimed in a low voice.

"I am thankful to you, for I'm so undeserving," she cried, kissing me
fondly again and again.

"But you must own your vindication has not been very satisfactory," I
said, smiling.

"Yes, I am aware of that," she replied, seriously.

"_Mais, restes tranquille_.  I cannot tell you all--at least not yet."

"Then for the present I have heard enough to convince me once more of
your affection, Vera, and to each other we will be as before.  You are
still, darling, my betrothed."

She did not reply, but flinging her slim white arms around my neck, shed
tears of joy.  The terrible anxiety as to the result of her pleading,
upon which depended her happiness and peace of mind, had proved too
great for her, and her pent-up feelings found vent in hysterical
emotion.

She clung tightly to me as I tried to soothe her, and presently, when
she became more calm, she dashed away her tears.

Before I returned to town that night she had consented to become my wife
in a few months.  Some might censure me as being rash and headstrong,
but the truth was I had become intoxicated with her marvellous beauty,
fascinated by her charming manner, just as I had been when we met by the
Mediterranean.

There was something undeniably strange and mysterious in her
religiously-guarded secret, but I felt assured hers was a strong,
passionate, unwavering affection, and consequently, when I bade her
good-night, I was in the best of spirits, and hopeful of the future.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

UNDER THE STARS.

Six months later.

Vera was now my wife.  After spending a blissful honeymoon among the
Cumberland Lakes we had taken up our abode at Elveham Dene, the home of
my childhood, which I had inherited from my father.  She was delighted
with the old place, and, indeed, I myself have always been fond of it,
and may be forgiven if I descant upon its old-world beauties.

It sounds egotistical, even snobbish, nowadays, to talk of ancient
lineage, but ours was not a mushroom family, for the Burgoynes have been
the possessors of the estate for the greater portion of three centuries.

Six miles from the nearest railway station, Stamford, and one from the
village of Blatherwyke, Elveham stands high up, commanding magnificent
views across that most fertile of the midland counties--
Northamptonshire.  Built when the First James was King, with its wings
of brick and stone dressings, the centre entirely of stone shrouded by
the ivy of years and decorated with Renaissance ornaments, its great
charm lies in the air of unprofaned antiquity which surrounds it.  There
are no modern additions; and the broad balustraded terraces, the quaint
old flower gardens with their sundials, and the venerable oaks and
yew-trees, all call up visions of sturdy white-plumed cavaliers whose
talk is of the unhappy fight at Cheriton and the downfall of "Loyalty."

Through the long years the interior has been little changed, and
contains some fine old tapestry, ancient furniture, and a gallery
wherein hang the time-sombred portraits of my ancestors.

It is a quaint old place throughout, and it was my delight when I
brought Vera there to point out and explain the curiosities, odd nooks
and corners, and relate to her its many traditions.

The Dene itself is noteworthy, too: a long steep glade carpeted with
turf, closed in by a wooded amphitheatre, which opens close to the
house.  The lower part forms a flower garden; the whole scene, with its
occasional cypresses and sunny patches of greensward, is Poussinesque,
and strictly classical, belonging not to English fairies, but to the
wood spirit of the old world.

Beyond, a walk leads through a beech wood, the undergrowth of which
consists of huge rhododendrons.  Blatherwyke may be reached by this
path, being a shorter distance than by the high-road.

Such was the home which, owing to a quarrel with my father, I had left
seven years before to battle with the world and earn my living by dint
of sheer hard work; the home to which I returned, my bride upon my arm,
wealthy, happy, with a bright future of bliss unalloyed before me.  Our
welcome, too, was a very hearty one, possibly because from a child I had
been popular with the servants and tenants, and since coming into
possession of the place I had not stinted them.

It was scarcely surprising that my wife should have been charmed with
the natural and artistic beauties of this dear home, for they were such
as should content any one of good sense, even though their tastes were
fastidious.

Mine were not.  I was a happy, contented man, blessed with a beautiful
and affectionate wife, and feeling glad, having at last secured the
prize for which I risked so much.

As she had scarcely any friends in this country we had been married
quietly at Richmond.  Monsieur Hertzen performed the formality of giving
away his niece, and at the church door we left him, as we understood he
had to leave England upon pressing business.  On our return from the
Lakes I proposed that we should spend the autumn at Elveham and invite
some people for the shooting.  For the winter season it was my intention
to take a house in London and introduce Vera in society.  At these plans
she expressed her utmost satisfaction, though she said she should be
happy to live aways at Elveham.

In peaceful contentment, without thought, devoid of care, the days
passed pleasantly after our arrival home.

As mistress, she soon set about arranging and reorganising the
household, and I could not fail to notice that her quiet, kindly
demeanour at once endeared her to the servants, all of whom spoke highly
of her.

I had married her knowing absolutely nothing about her past, and this
was a fact which she apparently had not forgotten, for on the night of
our arrival, when we had dined, and were seated _tete-a-tete_ in her
boudoir, she rose, and coming behind my chair, said,--

"Frank, dear, I had no idea my future home was to be so beautiful a
place; it is absolutely perfect.  Few women begin their married life in
happier circumstances than these."

"Was it a pleasant surprise?"  I asked, laughing.  "Yes, very," she
answered.  "But I cannot forget, dear, that you know nothing whatever
about me.  I might be a base adventuress for aught you know.  How is it
you trust me so?"

"Because--why, because I love you," I replied.  She passed her hand
lightly through my hair, as she said, "In return I will always be true
to you, Frank.  The day will come, sooner or later, when I can tell you
the story of my life, and much that will astonish you, perhaps."

"And you promise there shall be no clouds to mar our happiness?--clouds
caused by jealousy or distrust, I mean."

"No, never.  You love me truly, I know.  No man who did not would have
married me with appearances so much against me as they were.  I am
world-weary, tired of the wandering life I have led, and glad to be with
you here--always.  I swear I will ever be good and faithful to you," and
a light of great contentment shone in her eyes.

It was enough.  I desired no more, for my cup of happiness was filled,
and with all my heart I worshipped my wife as an angel of goodness and
purity.  Ah! if we men could but remember that there is no beauty
beneath the skin, that a soft tongue is not an outward sign of genuine
affection in that crisis in our lives when we take a woman for our wife,
how many brief fools' paradises should we avoid, how many hours, nay
years of trouble and unhappiness, how much shame, how many broken
hearts!

Alas! my bliss was but short-lived, for very soon the glamour fell from
my eyes, and I made discoveries of a nature so horrible that I would
gladly have given all I possessed as a ransom for my freedom.

Love is blind, 'tis true, but jealousy has a thousand eyes which
hideously distort that which is seen, at the same time eating into our
hearts like a corrosive acid, with results almost as dire.  Yet what
greater calamity could befall a man than to discover his wife's perfidy,
and to know that while she smiles and caresses him she is conspiring
with others to bring about his death?

Fate decreed that such position, ere long, should be mine.

One morning, after we had been at Elveham several weeks, the post-bag
contained a letter addressed to Vera, which I handed to her.  There was
nothing extraordinary in this, as she received many letters from
friends, some of which bore the Russian stamp.  But the postmark of this
particular one was remarkable, inasmuch as it was from Oundle, a town
but a few miles distant, where I knew none of her acquaintances resided.

Hastily glancing at its superscription, she turned pale and became
visibly agitated; then glancing at me, as if to assure herself I had not
noticed her anxiety, she broke the envelope and read the contents,
afterwards thrusting it hurriedly into her pocket, evidently trying to
hide it from my sight.

I am constrained to confess that in my then mood I attached but little
importance to the matter, and not until subsequent events had occurred
did I remember it, though I remarked inwardly that during the remainder
of the day she seemed nervously anxious, and about her face there was a
strange, careworn expression, such as I had only once before seen--on
the night of our interview at Richmond.

In the evening, having some correspondence to attend to, I retired to
the library, a fine old room, filled from floor to ceiling with books,
and containing many choice editions, for bibliophilism had been my
father's hobby, and he had rendered this portion of the house extremely
pleasant and comfortable.  A lover of books himself, I, as a literary
man, inherited his tastes, and now on my return home frequently spent
several hours here daily, reading, and transacting that business which
necessarily falls upon the owner of an estate.

It was pleasant enough in the daytime, with its windows opening upon the
terrace, commanding an extensive view of the Dene, but at night, when
the thick crimson curtains were drawn, the lamps lit, and the fire
blazed cheerfully in the wide old-fashioned grate, casting its
inconstant light upon the stands of shining armour of departed
Burgoynes, then it was one of the most snug and cosy rooms in the house.

We had dined, and I had been alone a couple of hours busily answering
several important letters, when Vera entered.

She did not speak, fearing perhaps to interrupt me, but with a loving
glance drew a lounge chair towards the fire, and sank into it.  I was
startled to notice how deathly pale she was, and asked whether she felt
ill.

"I have a very painful headache, dear," she replied in a tremulous
voice.  "I think I will go to my room and rest.  If I am undisturbed I
shall, perhaps, be better."

"Very well," I replied; "I will ring for Elise," for my wife's maid had
been retained, and was devoted to her mistress.

"No, no, do not trouble her; I will go myself.  Don't disturb me, dear,
and I shall be well to-morrow," she replied, as I rose to touch the
bell.

"As you wish, dearest," I said, kissing her; "I hope sleep will refresh
you."

She rose and departed, but before she closed the door, added: "I shall
not come down again to-night.  You will not feel dull?"

"No, dear," I replied.  "Here's a heap of writing before me, and while
you are getting rid of your headache I can get through it.  Good-night."

She wished me _bon soir_ in a low, strained voice, and closed the door.

Till nearly eleven o'clock I continued writing, but feeling cramped, lit
a cigarette, and opening one of the French windows, stepped out into the
night.

It was dark.  There was no sound beyond my own footsteps, but as I left
the house the thought of the strange murders in London by some chance
recurred to me.  Was it a presage of coming evil; of an approaching
crisis of my fate?  Somehow I felt that it was, and with my thoughts
fixed upon the awful subject I wandered away over the gravelled paths,
scarcely heeding the direction in which I was walking.  Gradually,
however, I became more composed; the surrounding peace, the soft air,
and the thought of my wife's strong affection, had their soothing effect
upon me.

Recalled to myself by the weird hoot of an owl, I looked round, and saw
I had penetrated into the beech wood, and that I trod noiselessly upon
the mossy ground.

Pausing for a moment to take out a fresh cigarette, the sound of voices,
close to where I stood, fell indistinctly upon my ears.  It did not, and
would not, have struck me as curious, had I not suddenly observed two
figures, a man and a woman, who were standing together.  I had no
desire, nor inclination, to witness the love-making of a couple of
rustics, yet what could I do?  To move was to be discovered, so I
remained motionless, hidden behind the trunk of a huge tree.

After a few moments they resumed their conversation earnestly, and my
curiosity was aroused.  I listened, but was unable to distinguish a
single word.  Suddenly, however, the truth became evident.  I knew they
were speaking in Russian!

I recognised the woman's voice as that of Vera!

Scarce daring to breathe, I stood rooted to the spot, but just as I had
made the startling discovery the moon appeared from behind a bank of
cloud, shining down through the leafy branches, and revealing my wife
leaning upon the arm of her companion.

He was bending over her, with his face hidden from me.  My first impulse
was to rush forward and surprise them; but reflecting a moment, I stood
eagerly watching.  He was uttering tenderly-spoken words, and her head
was resting upon his shoulder, when suddenly he turned and glanced in my
direction.

The moonlight fell full upon his face, and in a moment I recognised it
as one I had seen before!

It was a countenance every feature of which was impressed only too
deeply upon my memory--that of the man I had seen leaving the house in
Bedford Place!--the man I had vowed to deliver up to justice whenever he
should cross my path!

There was a rustling among the bracken, and the branches of the trees
gently swaying, cast weird shadows around which a heated imagination
could easily have transformed into the shapes and forms of supernatural
creatures.

Again peeping from my place of concealment, I saw my wife and her
companion were moving onward; indeed I was compelled to draw back
quickly, for she passed so close that I could touch her.

Conversing in the same earnest tones they strolled slowly along to the
edge of the wood; but I did not follow them: I had heard and seen
enough.

Stunned and bewildered, no tears welled from my eyes, but, nevertheless,
I began to bitterly repent the implicit trust I had placed in Vera, and
firmly resolved not to rest until I could bring to justice the inhuman
monster who, not content with his horrible deeds, had ruined that
happiness that I foolishly believed would last always.

The shock was so great it prostrated me.  The impulse to follow them
never suggested itself--fool that I was!

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

FALSE!

Utterly broken down at this manifestation of Vera's deception and
faithlessness, I wandered away through the grounds in an opposite
direction.

Those only who have experienced a suddenly overwhelming grief at
discovering the perfidy of the person on whom their affection is set
know the intense regret, the anger, and the jealous hatred of the one by
whose instrumentality their idol has been shattered.  If ever the spirit
of murder enters a man's soul it is then.

I thought only of revenge.

Did I not know enough of this man who had blighted my wife's happiness
to prove him a murderer and to send him to the gallows?  Should I not be
even fulfilling my duty in doing so, as well as avenging my own wrongs
at the same time?

Yes.  I resolved, after much commune with myself, to do this on the
morrow.  First I would compel Vera to disclose his name, then seek him
out, and hand him over to the police.

With these and other maddening thoughts coursing through my brain I had
cast myself upon the trunk of a fallen tree, and must have sat there for
some time as, when I became conscious of things about me, the grey dawn
had appeared through the fast-falling foliage.

Rising, I slowly retraced my steps to the house, pacing the terrace
several times in deep soliloquy.  The stars had disappeared, the chill
breeze stirred the boughs softly, and the air was impregnated with the
perfume of decaying leaves.  How well I remember leaning upon the stone
balustrade, gazing away down the misty Dene, and reflecting that ere the
morrow's sun had set Vera and I would be parted forever; for after such
a discovery I could trust her no longer, neither could we be anything
more to each other than strangers.

Need I say how heartily I cursed myself for having been prevailed upon
to visit her at Richmond, to listen to her lame excuses, to be softened
by her endearing words?  No.  For the thousandth time I told myself I
had been fascinated by her beauty in the way the bird is fascinated by
the snake; her toils were about me, and until the present moment I had
always been too weak to tear them asunder, to lift the veil from my own
eyes, and see her in her true character--that of an adventuress.

But that time had now arrived, and though I confess I was beside myself
with grief to find the woman I had loved so fondly, guilty of such
scheming and such treachery, I was, nevertheless, pleased to be in
possession of the truth.  Now I was aware of the worst, and should know
how to act.

Presently I turned and passed through the French window into my study.
It was useless retiring, for I could not sleep with such thoughts
gnawing at my heart, so I flung myself into my writing-chair and
thought.

I sat motionless until the warm sun shone through the open window and
the birds outside had broken forth into song, when it occurred to me
that as I had resolved to leave the place in a few hours it would be
well to place my papers in order.  This I commenced to do.

There lay scattered upon the table a deed relating to some property, and
several letters of a private nature, upon which I had been engaged
before taking my stroll on the previous night.  With the object of
placing them under lock and key I was thoughtfully collecting them when
there fell from amongst the heap of papers a piece of red sealing-wax,
about the size of a sixpence.

Rarely having occasion to use wax myself I took up the fragment, and
found it had the appearance of being the rough corner of a seal that had
chipped off the paper to which it had been affixed.

"Some one must have been here in my absence," I exclaimed aloud,
glancing at the taper which also lay upon the table, at the same time
noticing a small spot of wax that had apparently been dropped upon the
leather.  Then I remembered that if any one had been in the study during
the night they had, without doubt, made themselves acquainted with the
contents of the paper, and with the rough copy of my will which I had
carelessly left about.

I glanced at the scrap of wax again and found upon the margin, close to
where it was broken, there was an impression of something.

This might give me a clue to the identity of the member of my household
who required sealing-wax in the middle of the night.

Going to the window, the stronger light revealed a strange character,
something of the shape of the letter B, but having a long excrescence in
front.

In a moment I recognised it as one of the hieroglyphics of the mystic
seal!

Nervousness is not one of my afflictions, yet I looked round that room
involuntarily viewing the curtains with suspicion, as if half afraid I
should witness something supernatural appear from behind them.

It was obvious that some one with the seal in his or her possession had
come to my study in my absence during the dark hours of the night for
the purpose of obtaining an impression in wax, and that the piece which
had served as a clue had accidentally chipped off, alighting amongst the
papers.

That some one in the house held the seal there could not be the
slightest doubt, and my thoughts at once flew to the man whom Vera had
clandestinely met--he whom I knew to be the murderer of Mrs Inglewood.

Who had he marked out as his next victim?

If he entertained affection for Vera, and she reciprocated it, what was
more natural than that they should wish to rid themselves of me?  I
shuddered at the thought.  My wife could surely never be an accessory to
a murder--yet such things were not unknown, I told myself.

Yes; my surmise must be correct.  My wife's lover was only waiting for a
favourable opportunity to strike the fatal blow.

He was not aware, however, that I had espied his presence, had
recognised him; nor that by mere chance I had learned that an attempt
was to be made upon my life.

"I can thwart their vile plot, even now!"  I said bitterly, holding the
piece of wax in my hand, and gazing upon it.  "I will see Vera and first
give her an opportunity to justify herself.  If it is unsatisfactory I
shall then give information to the police, and have the murderer
arrested," and I even smiled at the thought that, after all, I held the
trump card.

Just at that moment the door opened, a head was poked in, and a voice
exclaimed: "Halloa, old fellow, why you look as if you hadn't been to
bed!  I heard somebody chattering, and thought there must be visitors,
yet it's rather early.  Talking to yourself, it seems."

"What's the time?"  I exclaimed rather brusquely, at the same moment
taking out my watch.

"Half-past five," he replied.  "Coming out with me for a walk?  A
stretch at this hour of the morning will do you good."

"No, thanks; I'm not an athlete," I replied.  "Very well.  But, by Jove,
what's the matter with you this morning?  If you'd had a bad night at
baccarat and were stone broke you couldn't look worse."

"Matter with me?  Nothing!"  I replied, endeavouring to smile, "except
that I've been very busy writing."

"Take my tip and go to bed, old fellow.  A couple of hours there will
freshen you up wonderfully.  But, good-bye, if you won't come for a
stroll."

"Good-bye: see you at breakfast," I replied abruptly, as the head
withdrew and the door closed.

The intruder was Demetrius Hertzen, Vera's cousin, a tall,
broad-shouldered fellow about my own age, who had an abundance of
spirits, which made him a most agreeable companion.

In response to my invitation he had arrived from Brussels a fortnight
previously, and had signified his ability to remain my guest for another
month.  I had only met him once before, at our marriage, but when he had
been with us a few days, I found he had many tastes in common with
myself,--that he knew London quite as well as Paris or Brussels, and
that although used to rather fast society perhaps, he was nevertheless a
thoroughly good fellow.

Vera and he had been children together, and laughingly admitted they
were sweethearts before they had gained their teens, but that when
Demetrius arrived at the mature age of fifteen he transferred his
affections.  Cautiously I had approached my guest with a view to learn
something of his cousin's past, but he seemed remarkably shrewd, and
carefully warded off every indirect question I put to him on the
subject.

Possibly it was at Vera's request that he would not tell me what he
knew, yet upon this matter only was he silent, as he conversed freely of
his own doings and acquaintances, and of his life since leaving the
paternal roof, for though a Russian, he spoke English almost perfectly,
and only in certain words could the accent be detected.

Somehow, though our acquaintance had been but brief, I had become
greatly attached to him, such a mirthful cosmopolitan was he, brimming
over with humour and good-fellowship and as light-hearted as his father
was dark and sullen.  He seemed to be untroubled by any thought or care,
the sole object of his existence being to get the greatest amount of
enjoyment out of life, and cause amusement to his companions.

Perplexed and uneasy, I longed for some one in whom to confide, and
after he had gone, as I stood there brooding, I almost regretted I had
not told him of my suspicions, and enlisted his sympathy and aid in
tracking the murderer.

I knew, were I to tell him of my discovery of Vera's faithlessness, he
would readily render any assistance, and even give me advice that I
might follow with advantage.  I had no one else near to whom I could
speak, and after considerable deliberation I at last determined to take
him into my confidence, provided I obtained an opportunity of speaking
with him alone after breakfast.

To my pocket-book I transferred the mysterious piece of sealing-wax, and
then sadly and thoughtfully resumed the task of putting my papers in
order.

It took some time, and when finished I set about making preparations for
my journey.

First I drew a cheque in favour of myself for a good round sum, then I
sat down and wrote a long letter to Vera, which I intended she should
read after I had gone.

Full of sorrow and regret, it was a letter in which I told her of my
dejection and my inconsolable grief, yet expressing a bitter hope that
her life might be happier in the future than mine would be, and
explaining the arrangements I proposed whereby she would have a fair
income, and Elveham to reside in as long as she wished.

More than once in the course of writing I was so overcome I could scarce
proceed, and throwing down my pen was tempted to tear the letter up.
But it was a duty; the last communication between myself and she who had
been dearest to me.  I felt constrained to write on to the end, and
append my signature.

After carefully reading it through, I placed it in an envelope, and
addressed it to her, "to be opened after my departure."

The hours had crept on unnoticed; the servant had long ago come in for
the purpose of dusting the place, but, seeing me, had retired.  Just as
I had written the superscription on the envelope the door again opened,
and I found myself face to face with Vera.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

A MYSTERY STILL.

I rose with a resolute determination that it should be our last
interview.

"Why, Frank," she exclaimed, with well-feigned surprise, as she
advanced, "you haven't been to bed, and--why, what's the matter, dear?"
she added, noticing the expression of anger upon my countenance.

"You ought to know well enough," I replied sternly.

"How should I know?" she asked.  "Why, the gas is still burning!  Surely
you've not been writing all night!"

"It seems your headache has left you," I exclaimed curtly, without
answering her question.

"Yes, I feel better this morning."

"In fact, the pain disappeared as soon as you left me last night, eh?"

"What!--what do you mean, Frank?" she asked anxiously, in a strange
voice, a sudden pallor overspreading her statuesque face.

"You plead ignorance; it is exactly what I expected.  My meaning, I
should have thought was pretty clear.  You are not usually so dull."

"I do not understand you."

Her eyes wavered, she trembled with excitement, and I could see she was
bent upon concealing the truth.  This increased my anger.

"It is a lie!"  I said sharply.  "You are trying to deceive me, but I
know the truth at last."

"Deceiving you!  Why, what have I done that you should accuse me in this
manner?  Surely you are not yourself this morning?"

"You left me here writing last night, did you not?"

"Yes," she answered, gloomily.

"And thought that I was safe for a few hours, and would not keep an eye
upon your movements?"

"What has that to do with it?"

"Simply this.  A couple of hours after you shammed illness and left me,
I went out into the Dene, and there I saw--"

"There you saw me!" she cried wildly, swaying forward, and clutching at
the back of a chair for support.  "_Dieu_! it is true, Frank; yes, true,
I--I confess--I deceived you."

"Then you admit it!"  I ejaculated, hardly believing my own ears.

"Yes; yes, I do," she moaned in tones of anguish.  "But forgive me, and
say no more about the occurrence.  It was unfortunate, and no harm has
been done."

I tried with difficulty to restrain my passionate indignation.  Such a
cool request maddened me.

"Unfortunate?"  I cried.  "No; for me it is the reverse, for it has
opened my eyes to your faithlessness.  Forgive you this!  The thing's
absurd!"

"I unfaithful!" she repeated, looking vacantly about her, and clasping
her hands.  "I never thought it could be misconstrued into that!  I
unfaithful!  Am I not your wife?" and with heaving breast and tearful
eyes she bent her head as if to avert my gaze.

"Yes; you are my wife, but she who brings dishonour upon her husband is
unworthy that name," I said, in a tone of disgust.

"I have not brought you dishonour," she declared, drawing herself up
with dignity.

"You have, I tell you!  Late last night you met a strange man in the
Dene, and that man is your lover!"  I retorted, decisively.

"That I am to blame, Frank, I admit," she said, dashing the tears from
her eyes, "but he is not my lover.  I swear you are mistaken.  Nothing
was further from my thoughts."

"Oh, don't tell me that!  I know enough of the world to distinguish the
meaning of such clandestine meetings," I replied, sickened at the manner
she was endeavouring to clear herself.

"There is no love between us," she exclaimed; "but,"--and she paused.

"Then why meet him in such a secret manner?"  I demanded, adding with a
sneer, "perhaps you will tell me next that it was not you I saw, but a
twin sister."

She still hesitated, with her eyes cast down as if in thought.

"You can give no answer," I continued with warmth, "because you are
guilty."

"Guilty only of meeting him," she said, drawing a deep breath: "but I
assure you there is no love between us--nay, I swear it--only a secret
tie."

"I don't wish you to perjure yourself," I remarked coldly.  "You `assure
me'!  What utter nonsense."

"I tell you the truth."

"You have told me so many falsehoods that a little truth is certainly
refreshing!"  I replied with sarcasm.

"I cannot force you to believe me," she continued in a low voice, still
steadying herself by the chair.

"Do you think me such a confounded idiot, then, as to believe you could
have business with a strange man at that hour of the night?"

"Business, nevertheless, was the object of our meeting."

"Bah! your excuses are positively intolerable.  What was the nature of
this business?"

"You must not know," she replied, hesitatingly.

Her brows contracted, and her tiny hands clenched tightly upon the
chair-back, as if summoning all her courage to be firm.

"Ah! the old story.  More mystery.  Look here!  I've had enough of it!"
I shouted in anger.  "In fact, I've had too much of it already, and I
demand an explanation, or you and I must part!"

A shudder ran through her slim frame as I spoke, and she lost her
support and almost fell.  With a sudden movement she pushed back the
mass of dark curls from her forehead, her bright eyes gleamed with an
earnest fire as they met mine, and she said, hysterically, "You are
cruel--you do not know how I suffer, for your surmise is not correct in
the smallest degree.  You, my husband, I love, and no one else.  And you
accuse me.  _Mon Dieu_!"

My self-control was very nearly exhausted.  If she had been a man I
might have struck her!  As it was, I was powerless, and as I looked at
her my eyes must have gleamed with fury.

"Last night proved the great extent of your love for me," I exclaimed
fiercely.

All that latent fire which exists in every woman's nature, ready to
burst into flame when her self-respect is wounded, was aglow in Vera as
I uttered that retort.

"I cannot see that it did.  I have done absolutely nothing of which I am
ashamed," was her answer.

She spoke with a cool, reckless candour that shocked me.  My thoughts
were soured by disappointment.

"What!"  I cried, "have you no compunction?"

"I am sorry it was my ill-luck to be seen by you, and thus cause you
unnecessary pain."

"Oh, spare me your expressions of sorrow, pray," I said, in a hard tone.
"They are out of place."

"I had thought to keep his presence a secret," she continued in that
dead-calm voice, which was like some one speaking in a dream.

"If he were not your lover, why should you do that?  Your own words
prove your guilt?"

"Because I had reasons," she replied.  "Reasons!"  I repeated, my
thoughts at once reverting to the piece of seal I had discovered.
"Strange reasons they must be, surely.  What is his name?"

"It is nobody you know.  You have never heard of him."

It was upon the tip of my tongue to denounce him as the perpetrator of
the crime in Bedford Place, but with difficulty I restrained myself,
and, impelled by the strangeness of her manner, demanded:

"Who is he?  Answer me!"

"I am very sorry, Frank, but I cannot," she replied, her face deathly
pale, and her limbs trembling with agitation.

"Then you refuse to answer?"  I cried, stung to the quick by her dogged
persistency.

"Yes; I must."

Her hands clasped, her teeth firmly set, her bloodless face tear-stained
and haggard, and her hair disordered, she stood rigidly beside the chair
that supported her, striving by an almost superhuman effort to suppress
her emotion.

"Vera," I shouted fiercely, "it seems I've been fooled.  Curse that man
who has brought misery and destruction to us both!  By heaven if--"

"He is not to blame: it is I," she interrupted.  "You shield him at the
expense of yourself.  I see.  Now, hear me.  All my questions you have
evaded; to none will you give direct answers.  Enough of mysteries which
you have refused to reveal ever since knowing me; therefore, we can do
naught else but part."

"What--you will leave me because of this?" she moaned, with a wild,
hysterical cry.  "Why don't you go a step further--why don't you say at
once you are tired of me?" she cried, with an outburst of passion.  "Say
that you wish me dead."

"That would be untrue," I answered.  "You know well I have lived only
for you, Vera, and at nothing should I rejoice more than to be able to
prove myself mistaken; yet, until that can be done, we must separate."

She was grave and thoughtful for a moment, then, looking into my face,
said haughtily:

"If you are determined upon this step, I am powerless to prevent it."

"No, you are not," I asserted.

"Why?"

"Because you might answer satisfactorily the questions I put to you just
now."

"No; no, anything but that," she replied promptly, as with a frantic
gesture she covered her face with her hands, continuing, "It--it would
be far better for us to part, or the result--the result--might prove
fatal."

"What do you mean?"  I demanded incredulously, as the mystery of the
seal recurred to me.

"I mean that my secret must be kept, even if we part," she gasped, with
a futile endeavour to compose herself.

"This is your final decision, then?"

"Alas! it must be."

"Very well, Vera, I wish you adieu," I said sadly, for I was completely
broken-hearted at the thought of my idol's deceit, and the transparent
subterfuges by which she had endeavoured to conceal her guilt.  "We have
been happy during the few months of our wedded life, but that is a thing
of the past.  Henceforth mine will be a dark, hopeless existence, while
yours, I trust, may be as pleasant as it has hitherto been; for though
you have dishonoured me, I love you too well, even now, to wish any
calamity should ever befall you."

"No, Frank, don't leave me.  I could not bear it!" she shrieked,
bursting into a torrent of tears.  "I have told you the truth--I have,
by heaven!  It is my terrible misfortune that I am unable to explain who
that man was, and from the same cause it has not been possible for me to
acquaint you with anything relating to my past.  Wait patiently for a
little, and I promise you faithfully--I swear you shall know
everything."

She was terribly in earnest, I could see; her whole future depending
upon my decision that moment.  It was the secret of her life I was
anxious to learn beyond anything, and I asked:

"How long must I wait?"

She gazed at me for a few seconds blankly, apparently making some
calculation.

"Three weeks.  Wait till then before you condemn me--do, I implore of
you!"

What ingenious motive could there be in thus gaining time, I asked
myself.  Could it be that in three weeks' time the murderer would be
safely out of the country?

This seemed more than probable.

I felt half inclined to demand an immediate explanation or carry out the
alternative, when, on a moment's reflection, I resolved not to resort to
extremes without giving her an opportunity of disproving my allegations.

"Very well," I said impatiently, at last; "the matter shall rest for the
present; but this day three weeks I shall be prepared--I shall expect to
hear a complete explanation.  Bear that in mind."

As I spoke the door had opened noiselessly, and Demetrius, with an
expectant expression on his good-humoured face, and a cigarette in his
mouth, stood upon the threshold.

Vera, who had been awaiting my reply with breathless agitation, murmured
in a low, intense voice, "In three weeks you shall know all, I--
promise--you," and before I could save her she had swayed forward
helplessly and fallen full length in a dead swoon.

"_Ma foi_!" exclaimed Demetrius; "why, what has happened?" as he rushed
forward in consternation and assisted me to lift her upon the couch.

"Nothing," I replied.  "A little difference of opinion between us,
that's all;" and ringing the bell violently to summon the servants, I
left the room without further utterance.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.

STORMS OF FATE.

It will readily be imagined that it was in no amiable state of mind I
left the house.  Distraction was what I wanted--distraction from
thoughts of the sad events which had just transpired, and which
threatened to wreck all the hopes of wedded happiness I had founded upon
Vera's supposed love for me.  It was a bitter experience of the vanity
of human pleasures, and was one more proof of the falsity and hollowness
of her whom I had loved more than life itself.

Determined to leave the Dene and rid myself of these remorseful
thoughts, I jammed on my hat and rushed from the house.

While walking down the drive the postman passed me, bearing the second
delivery of letters.  The sight of him recalled to my mind the fact
that, in the midst of the morning's excitement, the usual batch of
correspondence had escaped my notice.  Turning hastily, I made for the
study, where a number of letters were awaiting me.

There was only one communication which possessed for me any interest.
It was from my old friend Bob Nugent, and a thrill of pleasure passed
through me as I recognised the familiar scrawl--Bob was never a neat
writer.

The letter was as follows: "Dear Old Frank,--I am writing in great
haste, and at the usual high pressure, to give you the welcome news that
Teddy Rivers has turned up after his New Zealand experiences, as fresh
as paint.  He hasn't much time to spare; so if you want to have one of
the old dinners at the Junior Garrick, my boy, and can tear yourself
away from the little wife for a few hours, why--come soon.--Yours ever,
Bob Nugent."

"Tear yourself away from the little wife!"  I repeated to myself with a
groan.  Bob was quite right; Vera had truly charmed me, laying me under
the spell of her beauty and the vivacity of her manner--for what!  With
a savage stamp of my foot I threw the letter upon the fire.

A moment's reflection convinced me that my best course would be to run
up to town and meet my friends.  As a matter of fact, the opportunity
was just what I needed.  It would afford a little excitement to drown
the weary hours, and cause the time to pass more quickly.

I decided to go.

My preparations were soon complete, and the afternoon mail saw me being
rapidly conveyed to town, after having left an explanatory note for
Vera, to the effect that I should in all probability be absent three
weeks.

That journey I shall ever remember.  The mad noisy whirl of the express
train was as nothing compared with the wild tormenting dance of my
thoughts as they again and again reverted to the unhappy events of the
morning.  At one time I blamed my precipitation; at another I bemoaned
my weakness in allowing myself to be wheedled into waiting another three
weeks.  Should I ever live those fearful twenty-one days?  Some
presentiment seemed to fill my brain, and as the train rushed through
the stations one after another, every moment seemed bearing me nearer
and nearer to some catastrophe.

With a sense of vast satisfaction, therefore, I alighted from a cab in
Adam Street, Strand, the same evening, and found myself standing outside
the time-stained old building, with which so much of my past had been
associated.  As its well-known entrance met my gaze it appeared to be
but yesterday when I left that very spot on the morning the first murder
was committed in Bedford Place.

Brushing aside these memories--for they threatened to become very
dismal--I walked quickly upstairs to the well-remembered smoking-room,
and glanced around.

As I did this it occurred to me that I had made a great omission.  I had
forgotten to inform Bob by telegram that I so promptly accepted his
invitation, and consequently he was not awaiting me, nor did I know a
single face about me.

Evidently there was no utility in staying there, for it might be hours
before my friend put in an appearance.  I knew his address, but did not
feel in the humour for going to hunt him up; finally I resolved to go to
a hotel at once.

On regaining the street I noticed, crouching beside the iron railings,
which, however, afforded him very little shelter, a haggard-looking man.
His threadbare coat was buttoned tightly across his chest, and a
battered silk hat, which had seen better days, was pulled down over his
eyes, giving him a peculiar, almost repulsive, appearance.  Under the
rim of his hat a pair of sharp keen eyes glittered with a baleful yet
anxious glare, and these two orbs were the most striking part of the
man's _tout ensemble_.  Something about the fellow's appearance caused
me to regard him with attention.

He did not withdraw his glance as mine rested on him.  On the contrary,
he seemed to become satisfied of my identity.  With earnest gesture he
rose and stopped me as I was about to enter the cab.

"Now then; move on!" shouted a harsh voice, as the unknown placed his
hand, lean, thin and dirty, upon the sleeve of my ulster.  The figure of
a constable loomed up suddenly in the flickering gaslight.

"Stay!  What is it you want?"  I asked, for my heart seemed to tell me
he was no ordinary alms-seeker.

He was about to reply, and I could feel his hand upon my arm trembling
with eagerness, when the policeman again interposed.

"He's only a-beggin' again, sir," said that worthy.  "I often turn him
away when he's bothering the gents--and that's pretty nigh always," he
added, in a grumbling undertone.

"What's the matter with him?"  I inquired, noting the paleness of the
poor fellow's face.  Before I could say another word his hold on my arm
had relaxed, and he fell backwards, almost into the arms of the too
zealous officer.

Bending beside him, I ordered some brandy to be brought, and in spite of
the assurance from my astute friend that "he was not worth the trouble,"
I did all I could to restore the inanimate form to consciousness.

"I've never seen 'im like this 'ere before, blow me!" observed the
cabby, who was lending a little assistance, because, as I supposed, he
thought there might be some profit attaching to the operation.  My
authority was not to be slighted when I was in earnest, which was the
case just then.

The unfortunate man presently showed signs of reviving, having been
carried into the cloak-room of the club, while I questioned the
constable as to who he was and where he lived.

"As for who he is, sir, that's more than any one knows barrin' hisself,"
and he laughed.  "He lives 'ere, or has done so for the last eight or
nine months and always seems to be lookin' out for somebody wot he
thinks he'll know when he sees."

This appeared rather enigmatical.  Why had the stranger sought to detain
me?  A momentary thought crossed my mind--was Vera concerned in this?

With a new interest I turned to the constable.

"Has he ever stopped any one else and spoken like this?"  I asked.

"Bless you, yes," he replied.  "But I never knew him so earnest as this
time--hullo, old fellow, how do you feel now?"

A faint flush of colour tinged the careworn face; the stimulant had done
its work.  How sickening it was, I thought, to hear the affectation of
friendliness in this man's voice, now he thought that because my
sympathy had been attracted towards the sufferer there was a chance of
gaining a few shillings!

"It's him--it's him!  I knew I'd find him some day," cried the prostrate
man, raising himself on his arm and pointing eagerly at me, as if
awakening from some bad dream.  Then, as he saw the interested faces of
those who had gathered around, and noted the keen looks with which he
was regarded, he scowled darkly, and struggled into a sitting posture.
As he noticed me again watching him intently, he started.

"Did you want to speak to me, my poor fellow?"  I inquired kindly.

"For mercy's sake wait a few moments, sir, please.  Let me get breath.
Send these people away, I--I'm better now.  See," and he rose and walked
unsteadily to the door, watching me all the time with a keen scrutiny
which made me feel rather uncomfortable.

A moment or two later we were on the pavement outside, where the cab I
had ordered still remained.

"We must hurry, or we shall be too late," he urged.  "Follow quickly,
sir."

"Wait a moment," I said, my prudence for the moment mastering my
curiosity.  "What do you want with me, and where are you going to take
me?"  With a searching stare he faced me, but I did not flinch.  There
was an ominous gleam in his dark eyes scowling fiercely into mine, as he
said impetuously,--

"Don't stand here, wasting precious time in useless questions.  You
cannot know _now_ what it is I want you for--if you are the right man--
and Heaven grant you may be--you shall know all."

"You are talking nonsense," I said quietly, and with determination.
"What's at the bottom of all this?  Come, tell me quickly; my time is
being wasted."

My watch, as I glanced at it in the gaslight, showed that the hour was
about half-past ten, but my earnestness to find the real meaning of this
mysterious adventure, coupled with my curiosity, would probably have
kept me there for hours.

Soon, however, I became impatient.

My unknown questioner looked at me with a resolute smile.  His features,
or as much of them as could be seen beneath the shabby hat, were not
unhandsome, and the smile became him well.

"You _are_ coming with me to-night and soon," he said, in the same cool
and determined manner I had myself displayed.

This was too much.  Without word or sign I sprang into the cab, and as
the Jehu touched the animal with his whip, my face was determinedly
turned away from my strange acquaintance.

My action was so sudden that at first he seemed disconcerted.  The cab
had only moved a few yards before, with a sudden bound, he gained the
horse's head.

"Leave go that 'orse!" shouted the cabman with an oath.

For a few seconds there was a scene of confusion.  The man still holding
the reins, and heedless of the plunging and affrighted animal,
approached me.  He was evidently exhausted, and could withstand the
excitement no longer.  His coat had burst asunder, revealing in all its
raggedness the soiled shirt underneath, through the holes in which his
panting chest was plainly visible.

"One word, sir," he implored, springing with the wildness of despair
upon the front of the hansom.  "Just one more word, and then if you
won't come, the consequence will lie upon your own head.  Do, _do_
stop!"

Thoroughly alarmed at his vehemence, I again ordered the cabman to pull
up.  There must, I reflected, be something in this matter, after all.

"Will you tell me, without delay, the reason I'm stopped here; or do you
wish me to give you into custody as a beggar?"  I sternly asked.

There was a crowd around us.  It was a rather unusual spectacle, and the
passers-by gave eager attention to it.

"Very well, then, I'll show you something that will decide you, if you
will let the man drive on a little, out of this crush," he rejoined,
diving his hand into his breast-pocket.

Impatiently I told him to jump in, giving the order to drive away,
anywhere.  After the lapse of a few minutes I turned to the strange
being by my side.

He held a piece of torn paper, but what was on it I could not then see.
Putting his shaking hand upon my shoulder, and his ashen face with its
wild, glaring eyes, close to my own, he hissed, with a kind of vicious
pleasure.

"You think me an impostor, eh?  Well, look at this, and remember what it
has revealed to you before.  Then say if I have stopped you without
cause.  Its author may yet be found!"

His face wore a smile of triumph as he held before my eyes a torn
fragment of paper.  With an indefinable thrill of excitement, not
unmingled with alarm--for his words were ominous--I took it.  So dark
was it in the vehicle that I held it close

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