Carlule
 
 OE CALIF.; IIBRAfiY.T EOS ANGELES
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE
 
 THE FUGITIVE 
 MILLIONAIRE 
 
 BY 
 
 ANTHONY CARLYLE 
 
 AUTHOR OF "GRAINS OF DUST" AND "THE HOOFSLIDE" 
 
 BOSTON AND NEW YORK 
 
 HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 
 (je fctoewfoe $re* Cambribge 
 
 1922
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY THE CROWELL PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY 
 
 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 
 
 THIS BOOK IS PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND UNDER THE TITLE OF 
 " THE TAVERN AND THE ARROWS " 
 
 CfK -Ribtrcfbe $recf 
 
 CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUSETTS 
 PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 " You 'LL have to marry, Lee ! There is 
 absolutely nothing else for it!" 
 
 Mrs. Dorice stirred among her piled-up 
 cushions, dropped her cigarette ash untidily 
 onto the carpet, and pushed a pile of bills pet- 
 ulantly off her knees. 
 
 Her small, fair, rather exquisitely tinted 
 face was clouded, her clear, carefully modu- 
 lated but hard voice was querulous. She 
 looked across at the slim, straight, white-clad 
 figure at the window at once speculatively 
 and with annoyance. She found her step- 
 daughter annoying more often than not; and 
 she was never wholly at her ease with her. 
 
 There was something about Lee's power of 
 listening to a conversation or argument in 
 complete silence which was discomfiting as 
 well as irritating. Moreover, she found it 
 quite impossible to fathom the working of the
 
 2 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 girl's mind behind her long, grey, black-lashed 
 eyes. Outwardly, at any rate, Lee Dorice was 
 never ruffled, angry, or dismayed. She ac- 
 cepted pleasant or unpleasant things with the 
 same expressionless calm. 
 
 Men found her difficult to get on with, 
 though decidedly intriguing and attractive. 
 Women for the most part avoided her. 
 They did not understand her any more than 
 her stepmother understood her. There was 
 an aloofness about her supreme indifference 
 to the ordinary pettinesses of everyday exis- 
 tence which they openly deplored, and envied 
 in secret. It gave her an air of distinction 
 which singled her out for notice wherever she 
 might go, and made her completely different 
 from other girls. 
 
 Beyond this there was nothing very remark- 
 able about her. Her beauty was of the kind 
 that makes itself felt slowly, rather than at 
 once. She was pale, extremely slender, boy- 
 ishly graceful. Her eyes were grave, stead- 
 fast, and clear. The blackness of her lashes 
 made them seem much darker than they were 
 in reality. Her features were good, not 
 strictly regular, and the vividly red mouth 
 was perfect. She carried herself superbly,
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 3 
 
 and dressed with a shrewd good judgment 
 and taste which made even well and expen- 
 sively dressed women regard her wistfully. 
 
 There was nothing " fluffy " about her. She 
 wore her hair smoothly and neatly knotted at 
 the back of her small head, and only a few of 
 her acquaintances knew that it was long 
 enough and thick enough to cover her like a 
 cloak to her knees. It was black with a den- 
 sity seldom seen in the hair of any but Oriental 
 women, or a rare type of Irish, and it made the 
 whiteness of her skin dazzling. 
 
 She stood now with her hands resting 
 lightly on the window-sill, her eyes upon the 
 distant sea. A faint haze slightly obscured the 
 sun, and softened the rather rugged, rocky 
 coast-line. Through the mist, seemingly very 
 far away, loomed a high grey shape, like a 
 huge hillock. Lee's rather sombre gaze 
 shifted slowly to it, and grew momentarily 
 intent. But she did not answer Mrs. Dorice, 
 and after a moment that lady spoke again, 
 with some asperity. 
 
 " Are you listening, Lee?" 
 
 Lee nodded. 
 
 " Oh, yes," she returned quietly " I 'm 
 listening."
 
 4 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 She changed her position slightly, leaning 
 a shoulder against the window-frame and tilt- 
 ing her head back. 
 
 Mrs. Dorice frowned, then sighed exasper- 
 atedly. 
 
 " You are quite the most impossible person! 
 Almost as bad as your poor dear father was! " 
 
 Lee stirred, and her black brows met for an 
 instant, but she made no comment. Only into 
 the wide eyes there crept a great wistfulness, 
 a great regret. Her father had been very dear 
 to her, her constant companion and friend, 
 her only intimate. Life at his side had been 
 well worth living, if not prolific of luxuries, 
 until his utterly unexpected and mistaken 
 marriage to Teresa Ford, an appealing and 
 more than pretty widow of thirty, possessed 
 of an overgrown, lanky, and wilful daughter 
 of twelve. 
 
 This had happened five years ago, when 
 Lee was not quite nineteen. Mrs. Ford, having 
 contracted a ridiculously early marriage with 
 a penniless boy not many years her senior, 
 had regretted it and her lost opportunities 
 ever since. She had welcomed the advent of 
 her child with resignation and the subsequent 
 decease of its father with relief. She was
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 5 
 
 young, attractive, with extravagant tastes and 
 somewhat highly coloured ambitions. She 
 was sufficiently well-bred to hold her own in 
 any society; she was clever, conceited, and 
 very sure of herself. 
 
 With the death of her child's father she had 
 matter-of-factly made up her mind to marry 
 again, but this time advantageously. Unfor- 
 tunately those men with whom she was able 
 to come in contact were neither wealthy nor 
 important. It was not until grave-eyed, am- 
 iable Tom Dorice had drifted across her path 
 that she had seen any hope of attaining her 
 desires. 
 
 He was plainly good-tempered, unmistak- 
 ably a gentleman. He was generous in expen- 
 diture, and when his occasional literary efforts 
 brought him in anything substantial in pay- 
 ment he lived up to his possessions. He was 
 in funds when Mrs. Ford had met him. His 
 name was an old and good one; by dint of 
 judicious inquiry Mrs. Ford discovered that 
 his connections were wealthy, and that a 
 remote cousin was a baronet. 
 
 After some slight consideration she had 
 decided upon conquest; and, rather miracu- 
 lously, had achieved it. Long afterwards
 
 6 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Dorice confessed, sheepishly, to his bewildered 
 daughter that he had not the faintest idea of 
 how the thing had happened. He seemed 
 scarcely to remember proposing. Certainly 
 he was neither infatuated nor in love with 
 Teresa. 
 
 But she led him triumphantly to the altar, 
 and only when it was too late discovered that, 
 far from being a man of means, he was pos- 
 sessed of an income which had made existence 
 for two merely comfortable. 
 
 The blow had been severe, but she had 
 comforted herself with the reflection that as 
 Mrs. Dorice she had a higher social standing 
 than a richer man might have given her, could 
 move among people of position and a certain 
 importance, while her active mind dwelt 
 secretly upon the bare possibility of Tom Dor- 
 ice stepping, romantically, into his distant and 
 titled cousin's shoes. 
 
 This, however, had not happened. The dis- 
 tant cousin was also struck with the idea of 
 matrimony, and within course of time rejoiced 
 in the possession of a sturdy heir. This fur- 
 ther blow had almost embittered Teresa; and 
 then, while she was yet sombrely reflecting 
 upon it, Tom Dorice had been brought back
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 7 
 
 to her from the hunting field one morning with 
 his back broken. 
 
 He had died with Lee's hand in his, smiling 
 at her steadfastly, but without speaking. He 
 had not much to leave, sufficient perhaps to 
 bring in an income of a bare five hundred a 
 year; and that, in a moment of mental aber- 
 ration, and fancying that he was doing the 
 right thing, he had left, in a hastily made but 
 perfectly valid will, to his second wife. 
 
 He had meant no neglect of his daughter 
 that daughter who looked at him with his 
 first wife's eyes and smiled with her smile. 
 Yet he had made her, by a stroke of his care- 
 less pen, utterly and completely dependent 
 upon the woman who had usurped her 
 mother's place. 
 
 The girl had uttered no protest; had shown 
 nothing of what she felt. She had known her 
 father so well, and in her every thought of 
 him there was an indulgent tenderness rather 
 than hurt or resentment. 
 
 But she felt her position keenly, the more 
 so as Mrs. Dorice, while a little afraid of her, 
 was not the sort of woman to allow her to 
 forget it even for a moment. 
 
 Lee felt herself an encumbrance, and found
 
 8 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 it increasingly intolerable. At the same time 
 it was impossible to break free. She was well- 
 bred, cultured, charming, but she had few 
 accomplishments that were of a marketable 
 value. It had never been Tom Dorice's inten- 
 tion that she should work for a living; she 
 realised herself, dismayedly, that she was 
 incapable of doing so. 
 
 She roused from her sombre memories at 
 Mrs. Dorice's next words. 
 
 " Anyway, things can't go on much longer 
 like this! It 's bad enough to have the ex- 
 pense of bringing up Terry, and dressing her, 
 but with you on my hands as well I 'm nearly 
 at my wit's end! If you were n't quite so 
 standoffish, Lee, you 'd be a good deal more 
 attractive to men, let me tell you that. You 
 Ve looks, of course " the concession was 
 so grudging that Lee unexpectedly smiled 
 " but looks are n't much good without a little 
 animation." 
 
 Lee shrugged. 
 
 " I 'm not aware," she observed drily, 
 " that just lately we Ve met any men 
 worth attracting! One can't look upon sea- 
 side acquaintances as prospective husbands, 
 you know!"
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 9 
 
 " I don't know anything of the sort!" Te- 
 resa's voice was sharp. "I Ve found that 
 one meets really nice people at the seaside. 
 But of course you give yourself such airs!" 
 
 Lee laughed rather sadly, but she made no 
 comment. Her eyes were still upon the un- 
 gainly, indistinct bulk looming through the 
 mist, her lips pressing so firmly together that 
 her whole pale face looked unnaturally hard. 
 
 Teresa Dorice recovered her bills, and 
 viciously flung her half-smoked cigarette into 
 the empty hearth. 
 
 " As to meeting people," she proceeded, 
 " we won't be here much longer. I 'm tired 
 of it; it 's too dull and too expensive. I Ve 
 decided to go back to town at the end of the 
 week." 
 
 Lee straightened herself, and turned slowly 
 into the room. 
 
 " I 'm going to-morrow," she announced. 
 " I had a letter from Patty Clay asking me to 
 join her there and go on with her for a fort- 
 night to her place in Surrey. I accepted 
 chiefly because I thought it would be a relief 
 to you to have me off your hands if only for a 
 couple of weeks!" 
 
 There was no bitterness in her voice; never-
 
 10 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 theless Mrs. Dorice stirred uncomfortably. 
 Again her voice was sharp when she answered. 
 
 " You can't blame me if it is!" she point- 
 ed out. " Things are getting more impossible 
 every day. I hardly know where to turn. 
 One can't live suitably on what I 've got, 
 and keep two girls as well. And Terry 's 
 growing up. She 's seventeen " 
 
 She checked herself, and flushed. 
 
 As a rule she was careful to avoid any men- 
 tion of her daughter's age, and generally 
 spoke of her as " my little girl." Secretly 
 she rejoiced that a very curly, rather close- 
 cropped nutbrown head, an affection for very 
 short skirts, and a decidedly diminutive stat- 
 ure made Terry appear a full two years 
 younger than she was. 
 
 She encouraged a display of long black- 
 stockinged legs, and a liking for rather child- 
 ish amusements; smiled indulgently at a 
 somewhat slipshod manner of speaking, inter- 
 spersed with slang, and was often heard to 
 quote, in soft admonishment, that " little girls 
 should be seen, and not heard! " 
 
 Terry was quite well aware of her motives, 
 and grinned impishly at them. She was, per- 
 sonally, quite content with the arrangement.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 11 
 
 She had a lot of freedom, and used it as she 
 chose. Her feeling towards her mother was 
 tolerantly contemptuous rather than affec- 
 tionate ; she avoided her company as much as 
 possible, and for the most part completely 
 ignored her authority. 
 
 She enjoyed herself thoroughly, and ac- 
 cepted her childish role amusedly. She was 
 in no haste to grow up. 
 
 Lee, thinking of her, frowned. She was 
 more than a little fond of Terry, and regretted 
 her upbringing. She looked now at Mrs. 
 Dorice. 
 
 " I know," she said. " And she '11 soon have 
 to stop running wild like this, of course. 
 Oh, I assure you, Teresa, I 'm by no means 
 blind to the fact that I am not only not 
 wanted, but very much in the way. I am in 
 your way now in a little while I shall be in 
 Terry's! Believe me, the position is as gall- 
 ing for me as it is annoying for you. But 
 I 'm quite helpless to alter it. I was n't, un- 
 fortunately, brought up to be useful! And 
 father never meant me to be dependent." 
 
 Mrs. Dorice sat up quickly. A little angry 
 flush ran up over her fair skin; her big, pansy 
 eyes began to sparkle.
 
 12 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " Are you," she demanded, " trying to in- 
 sinuate that your father was influenced in his 
 disposal of his property? That " 
 
 " I am insinuating nothing," Lee interrupt- 
 ed. " I am merely stating a fact. He did not 
 realise what he was doing when he left every- 
 thing to you, otherwise he would not have 
 done it. He would not have been so unjust. 
 You see " her voice seemed to catch for an 
 instant " it was n't as if his health was not 
 of the best. He expected to live so much 
 longer, and I suppose " there was a sudden 
 bitterness in her tone " that he, too, expect- 
 ed I should be provided for long before his 
 death. As it is " 
 
 " As it is," Mrs. Dorice was wrought up 
 enough to declare, " you 're most ungrateful, 
 and positively insulting at times. Really, Lee, 
 I find it more difficult to get on with you every 
 day!" 
 
 Lee did hpt answer. She crossed the room, 
 picked up a thick white sports coat, and a 
 close-fitting hat, and proceeded to put them 
 on. Her face was expressionless, but a close 
 observer would have seen that her eyes were 
 very dark, as if with anger, and that her 
 hands trembled a little.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 13 
 
 At the door she glanced back. 
 
 " I 'm going for a row," she said levelly. 
 " I shan't be back to tea, and something 
 cold for supper will do when I come in." 
 
 She laid her hand on the knob, but paused 
 as Mrs. Dorice gave a little exclamation. 
 
 " Really, Lee ! You were telling me about 
 going to Patty Clay's to-morrow, and if you 
 leave early I shall certainly not see you before 
 you start. I suppose you '11 join us after- 
 wards in town?" 
 
 Lee lifted her brows. 
 
 " I suppose so. Unless you change your 
 mind and don't go back! But I '11 write you, 
 anyway." 
 
 Mrs. Dorice drummed her fingers on the 
 arm of her chair. 
 
 " I suppose," she suggested tentatively, 
 " you could n't take Terry? She is always 
 so much wilder when you 're not about, and 
 besides she gets on my nerves. She " 
 
 " Patty Clay does n't know Terry," Lee 
 interrupted uncompromisingly, " and, any- 
 way, she is n't fond of flappers." 
 
 Teresa's lips tightened, but she shrugged 
 resignedly. 
 
 " Ah, well. I suppose it 's out of the ques-
 
 14 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 tion. Anyway, you 're lucky to be going. 
 Patty always gives you a good time, does n't 
 she and I suppose there '11 be a crowd of 
 interesting people there. Perhaps " she 
 stopped drumming on the chair to look with 
 new eagerness at the girl " you '11 meet 
 some men there who will be more congenial. 
 If so" 
 
 She stopped. Lee met her eyes suddenly, 
 straightly. She spoke with a note in her voice 
 that Teresa had never heard in it before. 
 
 " My dear Teresa," she cried, " I '11 prom- 
 ise you this. The very first man. who asks 
 me to marry him, whoever he is, or whatever 
 he is I '11 accept!"
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 UPON her way to the shore Lee came upon 
 Terry. She was the centre of a group of men 
 and girls, all of them chance acquaintances, 
 and was energetically sucking peppermints 
 while she talked. 
 
 She had been bathing, and was attired in a 
 limp linen skirt, and a striped jumper that 
 had seen much service. Feet and legs were 
 bare, her hair was still wet, and a couple of 
 sodden bath-towels hung over her arm. 
 
 Terry was not yet at an age when appear- 
 ance meant very much to her. She disliked 
 intensely having to be careful of her clothes, 
 and Mrs. Dorice encouraged this attitude by 
 providing her only with the plainest of 
 apparel. 
 
 Oddly enough her lack of adornment lent 
 the girl attraction. She was thin to a degree, 
 and awkward as a young colt, and in conven- 
 tional garb she looked, as she herself cheer- 
 fully described it, a " freak." The short skirt 
 and rough wool jumper suited her. She looked 
 nothing more than a child in it.
 
 16 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Her face and arms and neck were burned 
 a uniform deep brown. Her eyes were brown 
 too the red, warm, clear brown of an Irish 
 setter's. There was nothing of the pansy 
 softness of her mother's about them, but they 
 were large, and clear, and well-shaped, black- 
 lashed as Lee's own, and full of fire and 
 sparkle and expression. 
 
 Her features were well- formed, if scarcely 
 regular. Her mouth was wide and generous, 
 her nose rather short, the chin square and 
 very determined. 
 
 In character she was somewhat complex. 
 She was a creature of impulse, wayward, 
 headstrong, and inconsequent as a butterfly. 
 Warm-hearted and generous, she was quick- 
 tempered to a fault. She defied any person's 
 authority, save, sometimes, Lee's. She was 
 painfully outspoken, fiercely resentful of ridi- 
 cule, and passionately fond of animals. She 
 was fearless, strong, and as active as a little 
 wildcat, contemptuous of cowardice in any 
 form. 
 
 Impatient of restraint, she had gone her 
 own sweet way since babyhood. She was 
 shrewd and far-seeing as well as intelligent. 
 She read voraciously at such times as she was
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 17 
 
 forced to remain indoors; but she was never 
 quite happy unless she was in the open air. 
 
 She possessed a collection of animals which 
 amounted almost to a menagerie, and which 
 she insisted upon taking everywhere with her. 
 She shrugged at Mrs. Dorice's objections and 
 ignored other people's. Her affection for her 
 creatures was intense and deep-rooted. 
 
 She had acquired a nondescript, shaggy 
 beast, of such mixed ancestry that he was 
 beyond description from the half-drunken 
 brute who had owned him, for the price of his 
 licence and a pint of beer; she had found a 
 ribby, wistful-eyed terrier on the kerb one 
 night, and had been given a thoroughbred and 
 well-nigh perfect Pomeranian by a youthful 
 adorer who had surreptitiously purloined it 
 from his mother's prized kennel upon the 
 morning of the Dorices' departure from that 
 particular neighborhood. 
 
 They formed a constant bodyguard, each 
 equal in favour, in company with a one-eyed 
 cat of morose demeanour, and a canary which 
 had been sold to her by a persuasive and evil- 
 visaged proprietor of a dingy birdshop in Lam- 
 beth with the assurance that it was a male 
 bird with the promise of a glorious voice, and
 
 18 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 which had protested against this misrepresen- 
 tation by laying an egg almost as soon as she 
 had got it home. 
 
 There was also a parrot who swore pictur- 
 esquely, a white rat, and a mongoose. Terry 
 earnestly hoped in course of time to add a 
 monkey to their ranks, while she found the 
 greatest happiness of her life in ministering 
 to their various wants. 
 
 To-day only the dogs accompanied her, the 
 mongrels bright-eyed and wet, the Pom fas- 
 tidiously avoiding their moist company and 
 shrilling indignation at the encroaching sea. 
 
 Terry silenced it with a well-aimed, playful 
 blow of a bare heel, and grinned at Lee. 
 
 " He 's nearly in hysterics," she explained, 
 meaning the Pom, " because I tried to make 
 him go in too. Have a peppermint? Where 
 are you off to, and what are you looking so 
 glum about?" 
 
 She investigated a sticky bag and thrust 
 another black ball between her lips, then link- 
 ing her damp arm in Lee's, nodded carelessly 
 to her companions, took the peppermint out 
 of her mouth to whistle .the dogs piercingly, 
 and moved lightly on. 
 
 " Mother been nagging you again?" she
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 19 
 
 demanded, when they were alone; and 
 shrugged as the other replied only with a swift 
 gesture. She continued to suck noisily until 
 they reached the old fisherman from whom 
 Lee generally hired her boat. Then: " Going 
 out? Is n't it rather misty to-day?" 
 
 " It 's only a haze," Lee returned. But the 
 old man interrupted: 
 
 " Likely it '11 turn to fog later, miss. If 
 you be set on goin' I 'd not stay long 
 these fogs come sudden, and last a fairish 
 while. Maybe to-morrow 'd be a better 
 day" 
 
 " But I shaix't be here to-morrow!" Lee 
 told him, with that sudden rare smile of 
 hers. " And I want to go." 
 
 " Not here to-morrow?" Terry caught up 
 the words shrilly. Her eyes shadowed with a 
 faint apprehension. 
 
 Lee, watching the old man preparing the 
 tubby little boat, explained. The younger girl 
 made a sharp gesture. 
 
 "How perfectly rotten!" she exclaimed. 
 " I '11 miss you disgustingly!" 
 
 Lee laughed. She was quite aware of 
 Terry's affection for her, and returned it. The 
 girl was lovable, for all her faults, and when
 
 20 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 she gave her liking she gave it in full measure. 
 Lee had a certain amount of influence over 
 her, which Terry would not, for the world, 
 have admitted. She valued her opinion as she 
 valued the opinion of no one else, and hers 
 was the only real companionship Lee had 
 known since her father's death. 
 
 " Mother 's a perfect rotter!" Terry went 
 on, having paused to masticate hastily the 
 remains of the peppermint. " Oh " as Lee 
 made a movement " don't tell me! You 're 
 going because of her to get away from her 
 and her grousings for a bit! / know!" 
 
 Lee did not reply, but she gave the hand 
 Terry had dropped on her arm a quick, warm 
 pressure. Her sympathy was comforting; the 
 hard lines of Lee's face relaxed. 
 
 "Where 're you going?" Terry went on. 
 
 Lee answered, moving to the end of the 
 jetty and preparing to step into the boat: 
 
 " Patty Clay's. Only for a fortnight. I '11 
 join you in town." 
 
 " Town?" Terry's glance held dismayed 
 questioning. " Good Lord! Is mother going 
 back to town in a fortnight? and this only 
 the beginning of September. Oh, she 's too 
 bad! She promised to stay till the twenty-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 21 
 
 ninth, and I hate town, and suburbs, and a lot 
 of dreary houses and poky shops ! She come 
 back, you little fool " this admonishingly to 
 the Pom who was endeavouring to follow Lee 
 into the boat " knows I hate it!" 
 
 She caught the Pom up by the scruff of its 
 neck and held it to her. Her eyes were flash- 
 ing, her cheeks flushed. 
 
 " I 'd like to slap her sometimes! If 
 she does go back to town I Ve a jolly good 
 mind to get into long frocks and drop the little 
 girl stunt forthwith. Lee can't I come row- 
 ing with you?" 
 
 Lee shook her head. 
 
 " Not to-day," she said. " I don't want to 
 listen to chatter, or to talk just to be alone 
 and get comfortably tired. I 'm sorry." 
 
 " Don't mensh. I understand, my dear. 
 Only don't forget the time and pull out too 
 far. I 'm going to the theatre with a bunch 
 of Tim Rawdon's friends to-night, so you 11 
 probably be in bed and asleep when I come in. 
 But I '11 be up good and early in the morn- 
 ing so as to see you off. 'Bye-ee!" 
 
 She stood waving, the Pom under one arm, 
 until Lee and the boat became indistinct in 
 the fain,t mist, then, with a word to the old
 
 22 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 boatman, started running back over the sand, 
 concocting, as she went, various means of 
 impressing, forcibly, her disapproval upon 
 Mrs. Dorice. 
 
 Lee, pulling slowly seawards, glanced about 
 her like one uncertain of quite which direction 
 to take. Then, over her shoulder, she caught 
 sight again of the vague, uneven shape which 
 she had been watching from the windows of 
 her stepmother's room, and a sudden gleam of 
 determination came into her eyes. 
 
 She knew the shape to be that of an island, 
 some little distance out from the mainland, 
 and, even on a clear day, not near enough to 
 be plain to the view. It was called Ruff's 
 Island, and once had been the site of a light- 
 house, now nothing but a mass of ruins. 
 There were some well-known and dangerous 
 rocks in its immediate vicinity, and while it 
 was possible to approach it, few ever went 
 near it. It was bleak, and lonely, and rather 
 sinister-looking, and since the days before the 
 lighthouse had fallen to ruin there was no 
 record of any on,e having been tempted to 
 explore it. 
 
 Terry had first put the wish to do so into 
 Lee's mind. Terry was an adventurous spirit,
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 23 
 
 with a vivid imagination. She had frequently 
 voiced her conviction that the ruins would be 
 well worth investigating; and to-day Lee was 
 conscious of a desire for something out of the 
 ordinary to distract her attention. 
 
 She began to pull more strongly, and in a 
 little while could see the outline of the island 
 and the forlorn pile of ruins quite plainly. She 
 found the approach fully as difficult as it was 
 said to be, and it was only by a skilful ma- 
 noeuvring of her little boat among the jagged 
 rocks that she was finally able to effect a 
 landing. 
 
 But she managed it at last, and, securing the 
 boat as best she could, she began clambering 
 over the rocks. The air was mellow; high 
 above, faintly red through the mist, the sun 
 glowered, and the chill of evening was still 
 absent. 
 
 The island was bigger than she had imag- 
 ined, and, farther up from the sea, the ground 
 was sandy and easier to walk on. She went on, 
 her attention absorbed by shells and weeds, 
 until a glance at her wrist-watch told her it 
 was nearly five. Then she turned with the 
 intention of going back. 
 
 She could see the crumbled ruins of the
 
 24 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 lighthouse, and, among the rocks below it, 
 her little boat. The next instant, bewilder- 
 ingly and completely, both were obliterated. 
 There were no longer any rocks, any ruins, or 
 any sea. Unexpectedly, dankly, like a thick, 
 impenetrable blanket, the dense sea-fog was 
 wrapping the whole island.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 IT did not occur to Lee at once that, not only 
 was she cut off from the mainland, but com- 
 pletely lost. A moment before she had been 
 within not so many yards of the ruined light- 
 house, and quite near to the rocks and her 
 boat. Now it was as if both had been wiped 
 off the face of the earth, and she was alone. 
 
 She stood for a seconjd or two quite still, 
 bewildered, dismayed. Then she began to 
 stumble and grope her way forward. The 
 ruins had been directly in front of her, and she 
 faced in what she believed to be their 
 direction. But a sudden, slip made her realise 
 that she had left the sandier ground, and was 
 almost upon the rocky foreshore again. 
 
 Recovering herself she stood, breathing a 
 little quickly, and trying to pierce the fog for 
 some faint glimpse of any landmark that 
 would give her her bearings. But all she 
 could see was the thick spirals of mist in her 
 immediate vicinity, wreathing about her like 
 the menacing tentacles of some huge, intan- 
 gible monster of the sea.
 
 26 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Her dismay returned. She dared not move 
 either one way or the other. She was con- 
 scious of feeling suddenly very cold; in spite 
 of her thick wool sports coat the damp mist 
 seemed to penetrate to her skin, and she 
 began to shiver. 
 
 Gradually it was dawning upon her that 
 her situation was desperate. There was no 
 hope of making herself heard however loudly 
 she might call. The island was deserted, and 
 dangerous, and very far from the mainland. 
 Nor was it likely that she would be missed, 
 at any rate for some considerable time, unless, 
 perhaps, by the fisherman from whom she had 
 hired the boat. 
 
 And it was more than likely that he would 
 conclude she had rowed along the coast, and 
 had pulled inshore as soon as she had realised 
 the fog was creeping upon her. Certainly he 
 would never imagine that, upon such a day 
 as this, she had been mad enough to row to 
 Ruff's Island. 
 
 Quite suddenly she was aware that her lips 
 were trembling, and bit them fiercely to still 
 them. Lee was no coward, but the prospect 
 of remaining in this one spot, powerless to 
 make any attempt to find shelter, waiting
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 27 
 
 shivering and sodden by the fog for the day 
 to come, was appalling. 
 
 She felt smothered, choked by the heavy 
 atmosphere, breathless. With each passing 
 moment she was beginning to be more and 
 more frightened. The thick silence oppressed 
 her, made her know for the first time the real 
 meaning of loneliness. 
 
 Perhaps for five minutes she stood thus, her 
 hands pressed hard against her breast, her 
 breath held, eyes straining into the vapour. 
 Then, so involuntarily that the sound of her 
 own voice scared and startled her, she gave 
 vent to a long, shrill, rather tremulous call. 
 
 Not that she had the faintest hope of mak- 
 ing any one hear; only the silence was already 
 becoming intolerable. The fog seemed to 
 beat her voice back upon her, but she uttered 
 the cry again and then stood suddenly tense 
 and very still. 
 
 For an instant, it seemed to her, another 
 sound followed upon it, indistinct, scarcely 
 audible above the monotonous sucking sound 
 of the waves among the rocks. With a quick 
 hope leaping up in her heart she called a third 
 time, less quaveringly now. 
 
 This time there was no doubt about the
 
 28 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 answering sound. It was a voice, a deep 
 voice, still muffled and distant, and Lee caught 
 a half-sobbing breath of relief. She pitched 
 her own voice now to a piercing " Coo-ee!" 
 This time there was no reply, and she waited 
 anxiously. 
 
 Then: 
 
 "Hallo-ee!" Lee started and turned her 
 head. The shout had sounded just behind 
 her, yet she could see no one. " Hallo, I say! 
 Where are you? Keep calling, will you as 
 loud as possible!" 
 
 The tone was at once cheerful and authori- 
 tative. It brought comfort with it, and relief. 
 Lee obeyed, facing towards the unseen speaker. 
 Then with an unexpectedness that made her 
 gasp he loomed up directly in front of her; a 
 hand gripped her arm. 
 
 " Good!" its owner declared with satisfac- 
 tion. " I did n't hope to get to you so soon 
 you must have been nearer the lighthouse 
 than I thought. Don't bother to talk yet. 
 Just grab hold of my arm and hang on. The 
 ruins are really quite close!" 
 
 Lee laughed a little hysterically. Not until 
 this moment had she guessed how desperate 
 had been her plight; the reaction from an
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 29 
 
 increasing an,d overwhelming dread to relief 
 and a sense of security was unnerving. She 
 clung with a desperate determination to her 
 rescuer's arm, trying not very effectually to 
 steady her voice as she answered him. 
 
 " I know. I saw them quite near to me 
 when the fog suddenly swept over everything 
 but unless you Ve got very remarkable 
 eyesight or a unique sense of direction, I don't 
 know how you 're going to find them." 
 
 She spoke in jerks, breathlessly. The man 
 peered at her for a minute through the fog 
 wreaths, then laughed, boyishly, reassuringly. 
 
 " Got a rope tied to the door, and round 
 my waist!" he explained. "Sense of direc- 
 tion is of no use in a fog like this nor is eye- 
 sight. What in the name of all that 's sensible 
 made you come out here on such a day?" 
 
 Lee laughed again. She was stumbling 
 along beside him, keeping fast hold of his arm 
 with both hands. 
 
 " I did n't guess there 'd be a real fog till 
 night and I did n't really mean to land at 
 first. Not but what " with a little shudder 
 " I 'm glad I did ! To be adrift at sea in an 
 open boat now would would be ghastly!" 
 
 She spoke through chattering teeth and
 
 30 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 blue lips. On no winter's day had she ever 
 felt so cold. And then, before he could reply, 
 a breath of hot air touched her face, a light 
 showed dimly directly in front of her. She 
 saw an iron-clamped wooden door, with a 
 rusty ring of a handle to which was attached 
 a rope, standing ajar before her. Beyond the 
 narrow opening was a glow of grateful 
 warmth and light the sound of snapping 
 twigs and crackling logs. Then a firm hand 
 was on her shoulder, beneath its pressure she 
 passed a shade uncertainly across the thresh- 
 old as the big door swung wider; then the 
 latch clicked, and in a moment the chill world 
 without was shut away from them. 
 
 With a sigh that was half a sob Lee stood 
 blinking dazedly in the centre of the queer, 
 rough room, conscious only at the moment of 
 the mellow embrace of the big fire. Then her 
 glance went to the man. 
 
 Unusually big and broad he looked in his 
 heavy, dripping oilskins, seeming to fill the 
 little room. He was not looking at her, but 
 busily unfastening the rope from about his 
 waist. This accomplished, he raised his head. 
 
 His glance flashed over her a keen, pierc- 
 ing, blue glance that made her flush a little,
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 31 
 
 while it seemed to note every detail of her 
 woe-begone appearance. 
 
 " You must be drenched through!" he com- 
 mented. Then he jerked his head towards a 
 gaudy, heavy, many-coloured blanket slung on 
 a rope across the other end of the room. 
 
 " I 'm afraid it J s rather primitive accommo- 
 dation," he said, " but it 's better than 
 nothing. And you don't want to lose any time 
 about getting out of those wet things if you 
 hope to avoid pneumonia. There 's a wooden 
 box with my kit such as it is in there. You 
 '11 find pyjamas and a bathrobe, and some 
 rough towels. You '11 feel better when you Ve 
 had a rub-down; and I '11 have some hot 
 tea all ready in five minutes." 
 
 He turned his back on her and began to 
 divest himself of his oilskins. 
 
 For just an instant Lee hesitated; then 
 with a murmured word of thanks she crossed 
 the room and passed behind the heavy 
 blanket. 
 
 She felt a little dazed now. The whole 
 thing was so unexpected, unreal, unusual. If 
 she had sought distraction from her thoughts 
 in setting out upon her voyage this afternoon, 
 she had certainly found it.
 
 32 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 This was decidedly an adventure, and a 
 little pink glow crept into her pale cheeks as 
 she hurriedly divested herself of her wet 
 things and rummaged in the plain deal box 
 that stood, with a candle upon it, beside a 
 narrow camp bed. 
 
 The colour deepened as, having arrayed 
 herself, she surveyed the result in the small, 
 cheap square of mirror on one of the rickety 
 walls. She presented an unusual and uncon- 
 ventional picture, the big striped bathrobe 
 wrapped closely round her over a suit of py- 
 jamas, and gathered at the waist with a long 
 cord. 
 
 She had rubbed her hair hastily dry, and 
 fastened it up anyhow at the back of her neck 
 with pins. Its smooth, sleek perfection of 
 outline was gone, it was rough and untidy, but 
 it was by no means unbecoming. Her eyes 
 widened as she looked at herself. Vaguely 
 she felt that she, too, had changed like one 
 who has stepped without warning out of the 
 everyday world into another, fantastic, more 
 than a little unreal. 
 
 It was difficult to believe that she was the 
 same Lee Dorice who had passed from the 
 rather overscented and untidy comfort of her
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 33 
 
 stepmother's room not much more than an 
 hour and a half ago. 
 
 Fear and excitement had made her eyes 
 look almost black; the unconventionality of 
 the situation, and her apparel, deepened the 
 rare rose in her cheeks. The tumble of night- 
 dark hair looked like a dusky halo about her 
 face. 
 
 But after a moment she turned, and, push- 
 ing aside the guarding blanket, stepped 
 quietly into the glow of firelight again. There 
 was nothing of hesitancy in her manner now. 
 She moved with her customary supple grace 
 and half-unconscious dignity, despite the fact 
 that her feet were bare. 
 
 The man was bending over the stove. He 
 glanced back over his shoulder, gave her one 
 penetrating, steady glance, then smiled at her. 
 It was a quick, boyish, pleasant smile, and 
 she found herself responding to it imme- 
 diately. 
 
 " Find everything you wanted?" he asked, 
 his attention on a big brown teapot, and Lee 
 nodded. 
 
 " I 'm very comfortable, and beginning to 
 feel deliciously warm. Only I 'm not quite 
 sure yet if I 'm awake or dreaming."
 
 34 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 "You 're awake all right 1" He set back 
 the kettle and carried the steaming pot to the 
 table. " You '11 realise it when you begin to 
 eat. I hope you 're hungry, because I gener- 
 ally combine tea and supper when I 'm leading 
 the simple life. It saves bothering about too 
 many meals." 
 
 " I 'm ravenous!" Lee assured him, and, 
 rising, came to the table at his quick gesture 
 of invitation. 
 
 She had recovered her poise and her assur- 
 ance, and moved naturally, betraying no self- 
 consciousness or awkwardness. She might 
 have been presiding at the tea-table in the 
 drawing-room at home, and a flicker of inter- 
 est and appreciation touched the man's eyes. 
 
 He had placed her before the cups, and 
 took the seat at her side. The meal he had 
 prepared was plain, but it was well cooked 
 and appetising thick rashers of rather fat 
 bacon, fried eggs, with butter and honey and 
 bread to follow. 
 
 They ate, both of them, hungrily and in 
 silence, absorbed in the important matter of 
 satisfying their appetites. Finally, with a long 
 sigh, Lee pushed her cup away with the uncon- 
 scious gesture of a child replete with good
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 35 
 
 things, and leaned back. Across the big 
 brown teapot their eyes met, and suddenly 
 they both laughed. 
 
 It was a merry, spontaneous sound that 
 made them, somehow, friends at once. The 
 man got up, found a tin of cigarettes and an 
 old pipe and came back to the table with 
 them. 
 
 For the first time, discreetly, Lee inspected 
 him closely. He was not nearly so big as he 
 had at first appeared in his heavy oilskins; 
 indeed he was thin to gauntness, and only a 
 little above the average height. But he was 
 muscular and well built, and he moved with- 
 out clumsiness. 
 
 His hair had been cropped uncompromis- 
 ingly close, but at the temples it showed a 
 tendency to curl, and was a crisp, fair brown. 
 
 He was deeply weather-tanned, but he had 
 little colour, and his cheeks were very hollow. 
 The eyes looking out from thin, fair brows 
 and lashes were an ordinary, clear blue, and 
 not striking except when he was roused to 
 interest and animation. 
 
 His features were clear-cut and well 
 modelled; there was strength and a certain 
 sweetness in the sensitive mouth; the square
 
 36 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 chin spoke of determination and power. On the 
 whole, she decided, he might quite easily be 
 described as good-looking, if not remarkably 
 so. 
 
 She watched him filling his pipe, pressing 
 the tobacco down with a very brown, capable 
 finger; as he looked up she smiled. 
 
 " Do you know," she said, " I am awfully 
 curious. I never knew this island was inhab- 
 ited." 
 
 He looked down again at the pipe, still 
 pressing the tobacco carefully. There was 
 the faintest line of a frown between his nar- 
 row brows. 
 
 " It was n't," he told her rather curtly it 
 seemed to her, " until I discovered it and 
 decided to play Robinson Crusoe." - 
 
 " But is n't it rather dull?" 
 
 For answer he waved his hand. On rough 
 shelves along the opposite wall there were 
 piles of books. 
 
 " One can never be dull with books and 
 the sea!" he told her, and she nodded in a 
 sudden, swift comprehension. 
 
 There was a short pause; then: 
 
 " But I did n't see you when, I landed," Lee 
 said.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 37 
 
 He grinned suddenly. 
 
 " I was alternately playing 'possum, watch- 
 ing you through the crack of the door, and 
 endeavouring to douse the light of a fire I 
 had only just succeeded in coaxing to burn. I 
 was afraid you 'd see the smoke. I assure 
 you your intrusion put me out a good deal." 
 
 Lee lifted her head quickly, and flushed. 
 He saw it, and made a little gesture. 
 
 " That sounds horribly inhospitable, does 
 n't it? And not very complimentary, per- 
 haps ; but one so seldom finds a place like this, 
 literally isolated from mankind, and I had 
 horrid visions of an inquisitive young person 
 poking round my laboriously constructed 
 camp, and going back to tell excitedly of her 
 discovery of a modern Robinson Crusoe on 
 shunned Ruff's Island. You won't, will you?" 
 
 His voice had softened, warmed to a half- 
 pleading, coaxing note. He added, as he met 
 her puzzled stare: " Give me away, I mean 
 tell folks I 'm camping here, and bring the 
 hordes of curious civilisation down upon me?" 
 
 He spoke lightly, but there was an under- 
 lying seriousness in his tone. His eyes were 
 upon hers rather intently. She frowned 
 slightly, and made a little gesture.
 
 38 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " Of course I won't, if you don't want me 
 to ! " she cried. Her eyes were a trifle puzzled. 
 
 He met them and smiled frankly. 
 
 "Thanks awfully! Somehow I guessed 
 you would n't if I asked you. You see, I 'd 
 hate to have to pack up traps and decamp in 
 a hurry. It 's very peaceful here." 
 
 " But " Lee's voice was astonished 
 " why ever should you?" 
 
 She broke off. Very slowly the expression 
 of her face changed. Suspicion dawned 
 behind the perplexity of her gaze, a faint 
 apprehension. She added, quickly: 
 
 " You don't mean you 're not hiding, are 
 you?" 
 
 Her companion's pipe had gone out. He 
 relighted it carefully. In the glow of the fire- 
 light his face was undisturbed; his eyes were 
 intent upon his task. He took a couple of 
 leisurely puffs before replying. 
 
 " I suppose that is about the size of it," he 
 admitted cheerfully. " One is apt to find too 
 much publicity too much of the limelight 
 a little trying at times." 
 
 Lee drew a long breath. She flushed again, 
 and the suspicion died out of her eyes. She 
 gave a quick little laugh.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 39 
 
 "Oh! I see!" she cried. "At least, I 
 think I do. You 're rather well known? a 
 celebrity, perhaps? " 
 
 She hesitated. The man shifted slightly in 
 his chair; his eyes were still fixed upon his 
 pipe-bowl. For the merest second his lip 
 twitched. 
 
 " Well yes. Pretty well known. I dare 
 say I might even claim a certain amount of 
 er notoriety. However " he shot a sudden 
 lightning, searching glance at her " it is 
 evidently not quite so far-reaching as I had 
 imagined. You don't know me." 
 
 Lee made a slight gesture. She looked 
 puzzled again. Her clear eyes rested on him 
 earnestly for a minute, then she shook her 
 head. 
 
 " No," she said, and there was a half-note 
 of apology in her tone. " I don't know you. 
 But then, you see, I never glance at society 
 journals, and very seldom look at newspapers. 
 Sometimes as long as a fortnight passes and I 
 don't see one. I 'm sorry " 
 
 The man got up quickly. The expression of 
 his face was almost of relief. He laughed 
 down at her, suddenly, gaily. 
 
 "I 'm not!" he asserted with emphasis.
 
 40 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " I assure you, it 's an immense pleasure to 
 find that one is just an ordinary, everyday 
 person for a change. I don't suppose you can 
 understand it " 
 
 "I can't!" Lee interrupted rather drily. 
 " You see, I 'm such a very ordinary, every- 
 day person myself " 
 
 This time it was he who interrupted, 
 
 "Not ordinary!" he said, and there was 
 a sudden something in his voice, in his brief, 
 sweeping glance that startled her, brought a 
 deeper flush to her usually pale face. He saw 
 it and turned away immediately, crossing to 
 the door and pulling it open. A whirl of 
 smoke-like, ice-coid vapour poured in, and he 
 banged it to quickly again. 
 
 "No chance of it clearing to-night!" he 
 announced; and fhen, at her dismayed excla- 
 mation, " I 'm most awfully sorry. But there 
 it is. I '11 do my best to make you as comfort- 
 able as I can, and it 's warm and dry here. 
 We '11 just have to make the best of a bad job, 
 and wait for the morning." 
 
 " But " Lee was on her feet now, a vision 
 of a scared Terry, an hysterical Mrs. Dorice, 
 and a shocked and scandalised community 
 assailing her mentally.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 41 
 
 Perhaps he read something of her thought, 
 for his lip twisted again, half cynically, half 
 humorously. 
 
 " There 's really nothing to worry about," 
 he assured her, breaking into her half-uttered 
 sentence. " Honest, I 'm not so bad as my 
 probable reputation; and as far as Mrs. 
 Grundy's cackle well, there can't be any, 
 can there? not if you keep your promise and 
 don't mention there 's an inhabitant on this 
 island." 
 
 Lee bit her lip, then dropped back into her 
 chair with an exasperated laugh. There was 
 something at once boyishly disarming and 
 amiably reassuring about him as he stood 
 before her, hands thrust into his pockets, his 
 fair head flung back. He smiled suddenly as 
 their eyes met, and she found it gave to him 
 an unexpected, sunny charm that was very 
 pleasant. 
 
 " It 's really pretty simple, is n't it?" he 
 proceeded. " You rowed out in this direction 
 got caught in a fog and sheltered in the 
 ruins. Straightforward enough story, don't 
 you know and no need to enlarge upon it. 
 Meantime " again he smiled " we '11 ignore 
 the awkwardness of the situation and just do
 
 42 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 our best to amuse each other. There are 
 heaps of things to do, primitive though this 
 little old shack appears. Cards chess 
 books and music." 
 
 He indicated a gramophone with a proudly 
 proprietorial wave of his arm, adding, with a 
 grin: 
 
 " We could even dance!" 
 
 Lee laughed in spite of her annoyance. 
 His matter-of-factness and her own sound 
 good sense did much towards restoring her 
 ruffled equanimity. The laugh cleared the 
 air. Her host nodded, pulled the chairs close 
 to the fire, and smiled down at her. 
 
 " Shall we talk first?" he asked almost 
 eagerly, and Lee laughed again. 
 
 Thereafter neither noticed the passing of 
 the hours. Lee forgot the strangeness of her 
 adventure, the grey world without, the aggra- 
 vations of the earlier day. She showed an ani- 
 mation which would have astonished even 
 Terry, and which made of her rather elusive 
 beauty a real and living thing. 
 
 They flitted from one subject of conver- 
 sation to another, idly, and for the most part 
 good-humouredly, though once or twice they 
 found themselves entering into an animated
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 43 
 
 discussion upon some book or picture, which 
 occasionally ended in controversy. 
 
 Lee was amused, the man evidently enjoy- 
 ing himself thoroughly. Later, when he had 
 made coffee and cut some thin sandwiches, 
 the conversation became more or less per- 
 sonal again. He drew Lee out more than she 
 realised. She touched briefly upon her happy 
 life with her father previous to his marriage; 
 she spoke of her loneliness since, the impos- 
 sibility of her position. She spoke affection- 
 ately of Terry, with an unconscious coldness 
 and restraint of MrsL Dorice. She forgot 
 this man was a stranger, only felt the warmth 
 of his sympathy. She fell silent for some 
 minutes; then stirred as he asked quietly: 
 
 " But you can't go on like this. You 're 
 wasting your years, your youth hardening 
 yourself. You '11 end by imprisoning your 
 soul, shutting up all that 's best within you 
 behind bars, and growing bitter!" 
 
 He spoke quickly, leaning forward. He 
 was oddly in earnest, for one who was so com- 
 pletely a stranger. Lee smiled. 
 
 " Surely you can break away?" he went on, 
 and she interrupted with a sudden hardness 
 in her voice.
 
 44 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " I made up my mind to, to-day! In the 
 onjy way I know how!" 
 
 " And that is?" 
 
 His eyes were earnest, questioning. Lee 
 met them, and smiled cynically. 
 
 " Marriage with the first eligible and really 
 worth-having man who offers himself!" 
 
 She flushed brightly a moment after she 
 had spoken the words, and bit her lip fiercely. 
 She was angry with herself for having spoken 
 so, with him for having drawn from her such 
 a confession. He stared at her for a moment, 
 then got up quickly. 
 
 " You could n't do that!" He spoke almost 
 roughly. There was angry distress in his 
 clear eyes. He went on quickly, rather dis- 
 connectedly: " I have n't seen many women 
 girls like you for for quite a goofr many 
 years. In fact I have n't seen much of 
 women at all. And I don't understand 'em. 
 But I do know you 're not that sort of girl." 
 
 Lee's chin tilted. She was still angry. She 
 felt suddenly resentful. Her voice had com- 
 pletely changed when she spoke again. It 
 was chill, no longer mellow. 
 
 " I am, all the same!" she retorted. " But 
 it 's scarcely a profitable discussion, is it?
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 45 
 
 Let 's talk of something else. About you. I 
 confess I 'm puzzled. I can't place your pro- 
 fession. You know an awful lot about books, 
 but I don't believe you write. Yet pic- 
 tures?" 
 
 She paused with wrinkled brows. He was 
 still standing; now he frowned, as if the sub- 
 ject jarred. But he answered quietly: 
 
 "I act!" 
 
 Something in his tone forbade comment or 
 further question. They drifted into imper- 
 sonal talk again; but once or twice, looking 
 at him, Lee was puzzled afresh. She had 
 imagined herself fairly familiar with the faces 
 of most actors of the day; but she was quite 
 certain this man's had never been among 
 those she had seen. Again, uncannily, he 
 seemed to guess her perplexity, for he broke 
 off in the middle of a sentence to say: 
 
 " I have not yet acted in England." And 
 added, so slowly, and with a deliberation so 
 peculiar that she looked at him quickly. " I 
 hope to, however almost immediately." 
 
 And then again he changed the subject. 
 Presently he rose and started the gramophone. 
 He stood beside it, watching the girl. Her 
 slim figure was relaxed in her chair, her head
 
 46 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 thrown back. The sleeve of the bathrobe 
 had fallen back, leaving her arms bare; he 
 could see the soft pulsing of her upflung 
 throat. 
 
 Her eyes were very deep and very dark; 
 a little of her rare colour still lingered in her 
 cheeks, and her brilliantly red lips were a 
 trifle apart. She was unaware of it, but her 
 hair had fallen loose. It rippled all about 
 her, silken, dense, wonderful. The man 
 caught his breath oddly as he looked at it, 
 and went an unconscious step nearer. At 
 the movement Lee looked up and met his 
 eyes. They were aglow, shining. 
 
 They held hers against her will; without 
 reason her heart began to beat. But she sat 
 very still, bathed in the firelight, and still 
 the languorous tune that he had chosen 
 throbbed on. ... 
 
 It was only for a minute, that meeting of 
 their glances. But to each it seemed many. 
 A spell seemed to be upon them neither 
 moved. 
 
 Then a log dropped, and Lee sprang to 
 her feet. " It 's it 's unconscionably late!" 
 she said rather stammeringly. "And I 'm 
 dead tired I think I '11 say ' Good-night '!"
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 47 
 
 His glance dropped to her lips. She was 
 standing with her hand on the curtaining 
 blanket, her hair all about her. Again, invol- 
 untarily, the man took a step forward. 
 
 " Good-night!" he echoed. His eyes were 
 still upon her mouth, and she blushed sud- 
 denly, flamingly, as though the glance had 
 been a caress. The next moment she was gone. 
 
 For several minutes he did not move. Then 
 the music jarred to a stop. He shut the 
 gramophone and came slowly back halfway 
 to the curtain. 
 
 " I want you," he said abruptly, " to tell 
 me something quite truly. Did you mean 
 what you said just now about marrying?" 
 
 There was an infinitesimal pause. There 
 was a look in Lee's eyes as she heard him 
 that was bewildered, and a shade scared. 
 Then she answered matter-of-factly, on an 
 unconcealed yawn. 
 
 " What a stupid question! Of course I 
 did! Good-night!" 
 
 "Good-night!" The man turned away 
 slowly. But there was no hint of disappoint- 
 ment in his tone, and after a minute, very 
 gently, he began to smile.
 
 48 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 The morning dawned clear as though fog 
 had never been. Lee, coming into the outer 
 room at breakfast-time, found her host flour- 
 ishing a frying-pan over the still brilliant fire. 
 He smiled upon her genially. 
 
 " Fried eggs and bacon again," he apolo- 
 gised. " But you won't mind if you 're as 
 hungry as I am." 
 
 Lee glanced at him quickly, a vague recol- 
 lection of something disturbing the night 
 before in her mind. She sat down relieved. 
 He placed her breakfast before her with 
 another flourish, and kept up a lively chatter 
 all through the meal. 
 
 Later he helped her into her boat, and, 
 pushing it out from the rocks, ran out into the 
 water knee-high. Then he stood, a hand on 
 either side of the little craft, holding it 
 steady. Lee smiled at him under her lashes. 
 
 " You Ve been very kind," she said. " I 
 really enjoyed my adventure. Perhaps 
 some day we shall meet again." 
 
 " Sure!" He spoke with a conviction that 
 took her aback. He was watching her lips 
 and trying not to let her see it. His lids were 
 lowered, and an odd light came and went 
 beneath them. Suddenly he leaned forward.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 49 
 
 Before Lee could stir, his mouth was pressed 
 fiercely, eagerly upon hers. As, outraged, 
 furious, she struggled free, he stood upright 
 and pushed the boat out to sea. 
 
 " Sorry!" he said, just a shade breathlessly. 
 " I 've no excuse to offer except that I 
 have fallen in love already!"
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 LEE made her explanations of what happened 
 curtly and briefly, ignoring alike Terry's tear- 
 ful relief and Mrs. Dorice's reproaches. She 
 caught an earlier train to town than she had 
 at first intended, and was almost feverishly 
 gay when she met Patty Clay. 
 
 At that lady's charming Surrey home she 
 did her utmost to eradicate all recollection of 
 Ruff's Island, her adventure, her night there, 
 and her rescuer's face completely and abso- 
 lutely from her mind. To this end she 
 unbent as she had never before unbent, she 
 was animated brilliant restless. She en- 
 snared and enchained, flirted and laughed 
 until Patty stared. 
 
 But she found the task she had set herself 
 no easy one. The memory of the caress of 
 the man's eyes, as much as that of his lips, 
 burned her. She was furious with herself and 
 a little frightened. 
 
 That kiss was the first she had ever known. 
 Her throat throbbed whenever she thought of 
 it, and though she would not admit it, beneath
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 51 
 
 her rage there was an odd, tingling sweet- 
 ness. 
 
 She knew a fierce self-scorn for her folly 
 that folly that allowed her to linger, even 
 against her will, on the memory. But she 
 knew too that the kiss had robbed her of 
 something, while it had given her something, 
 and that she would never be the same again. 
 
 A letter from Terry came at the end of the 
 first week. It was brief and characteristic. 
 
 DARLING, 
 
 We are back in town of course. Some one 
 mother knew had a flat to let furnished, cheap, 
 and she took it for six months. It 's very small, 
 all white enamel, pink roses, and smelling of mice. 
 Buster had a glorious kill the first night and ate 
 so many he was sick. I hate it being here, I 
 mean. 
 
 We Ve only been here three days, but mother 
 has, I feel sure, " got off " again! I know you 
 hate the expression, but it 's the only way to de- 
 scribe it. She met him the victim at some- 
 body's reception, and as he 's literally rolling in 
 money she appropriated him at once. Not that 
 he seemed averse. I never saw any one fall for 
 mother so quickly before. He 's called twice, and 
 is dining to-night and taking us us, my dear to 
 a theatre. His name 's Smithers, and he 's quite
 
 52 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 old. He stoops, and walks with a cane, and his 
 hand shakes when he lights a cigarette or cuts 
 up his food. He told mother he 's sixty-five, but 
 I say nearer seventy. He is really quite decent, 
 though, and has a scrumptious house ! Mother is 
 most elated, of course, and " my little girl's " me 
 until I feel like cussing! I do hope you won't 
 stay much longer it 's a perfect scream. 
 
 He 's promised me a red setter! He really 
 is n't a bad sort. Mother was quite excited to- 
 day because some one told her he 's practically a 
 millionaire. It appears he made all his money 
 out in Rio, or somewhere like that anyway, he 's 
 piles of it. Guess it 'd be a good thing for the 
 house of Dorice if he did come up to the scratch. 
 And I think he will. Otherwise he would n't hang 
 round as he does. 'Scuse the slang, I 'm bored 
 stiff. Come back soon. You did n't get a chill 
 on that awful island, did you? 
 
 Heaps of love 
 
 TERRY 
 
 P.S. Benny has fleas. 
 
 Lee shrugged, laughed, and put the letter 
 away. She did not want to go home, but she 
 knew she must, and she set to work feverishly 
 to make the most of her second week. 
 
 She danced, rode, fished, and golfed, and 
 when Patty saw her into the train at the end
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 53 
 
 of her visit she looked worn out. But she had 
 not succeeded in forgetting Ruff's Island. 
 
 For half her journey she sat thinking, while 
 her pulses tingled afresh and her throat con- 
 tracted. 
 
 Once she got up and stared at herself in the 
 strip of glass flanked by highly coloured pic- 
 tures of Haslemere. 
 
 " I hate him! " she said, aloud, and vi- 
 ciously. " I hate hate hate him! " 
 
 And then blushed as she had blushed that 
 night when he had looked at her lips. She sat 
 down hastily, wondering, in spite of her anger, 
 if she had named the right emotion. 
 
 At one of the stations nearing the end of 
 her journey a newsboy ran past. On the 
 poster in front of him were two glaring black 
 lines. 
 
 CARSON MURDER 
 CARSON BREAKS JAIL 
 
 Lee stretched out a hand and idly opened 
 the paper the boy thrust into it. As idly she 
 read the column on the first page. 
 
 Denham Carson, who was tried for the mur- 
 der of his wife at her apartments in New York
 
 54 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 five years ago, escaped from prison, we are 
 informed, some weeks ago. So far no trace has 
 been found of him. It is now believed that he 
 may have managed to get to England. We pub- 
 lish a photograph below. Carson is a millionaire, 
 and has many influential and wealthy frie 
 
 Lee's eyes drifted from the printed words 
 to the photograph below. She did not move, 
 but after a moment the paper slipped from her 
 hand, and she leaned back in her corner, her 
 handkerchief caught up against her lips. 
 
 From the floor the pictured face still smiled 
 at her. It was the same face that had smiled 
 at her, boyishly, genially, over a smoking fry- 
 ing-pan of eggs and bacon in the lighthouse 
 ruins on Ruff's Island! 
 
 For the remainder of the journey Lee sat 
 quite motionless, staring straight in front of 
 her. She was shocked beyond expression; 
 stunned. There was not one moment's doubt 
 in her mind that the man of Ruff's Island and 
 he whose portrait lay before her were one and 
 the same. 
 
 There could be no mistake no chance 
 likeness here. The same sensitive, half-hu- 
 morous mouth; the same level, lazy eyes, 
 mildly amiable, boyishly serene. The only
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 55 
 
 difference was that in the portrait the hair 
 was not so closely cropped. . . . 
 
 Lee shuddered suddenly, and her pupils 
 dilated. She understood now understood so 
 much! That unusually short hair the queer 
 choice of a dwelling, surely unnatural under 
 ordinary circumstances hi a man of his tem- 
 perament the open confession that her ar- 
 rival had disturbed him; his appeal, half jest- 
 ing, to her not to " give him away." 
 
 She moistened her lips; then rubbed her 
 handkerchief across them again. He had been 
 clever. Oh, yes; he had been very clever! 
 His whole manner had been so natural, so 
 frank. She herself had thrust the role of a 
 celebrity, modestly seeking immunity from 
 the occasionally embarrassing attentions of 
 an admiring public, upon him. His acceptance 
 of it had been inimitable. No one could have 
 harboured suspicion in the face of it. 
 
 She remembered his shrugging reference to 
 " the limelight," his lightning glance when he 
 had suggested she had no idea of his identity ; 
 his half-laughing, but evidently genuine assur- 
 ance that he was glad of it. She remembered 
 half a dozen other things which had been 
 without significance before, and bit her lip 
 till the blood came.
 
 56 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Presently she stooped stiffly and recovered 
 the newspaper. She avoided glancing again at 
 the photograph, but read the paragraph above 
 it with a sort of shrinking deliberation. 
 
 Denham Carson, who was tried for the mur- 
 der of his wife at her apartments in New York 
 five years ago, escaped from prison, we are 
 informed, some weeks ago. So far no trace has 
 been found of him. It is now believed that he 
 may have managed to get to England. We pub- 
 lish a photograph below. Carson is a millionaire 
 and has many influential and wealthy friends, all 
 of whom we learn believe in his innocence, or are 
 fully in sympathy with him. 
 
 The case roused considerable interest and 
 some of the scenes at the trial were almost unprec- 
 edented. Denham Carson from a boy has 
 always been a favourite, and his ill-advised mar- 
 riage to a girl of far lower station than his own 
 a very pretty model, Chrissie Grey, whom he 
 met at a friend's studio caused great consterna- 
 tion among his own people and his intimates. It 
 transpired at the trial that the marriage had not 
 been one of affection, at any rate on Denham 
 Carson's side. His own reluctant evidence at 
 his trial went to show that while he had admired 
 her and been foolishly attentive, he had meant 
 nothing more; but the girl was clever, turned 
 those attentions to account, contrived to get 
 them talked about very considerably, and
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 57 
 
 finally practically forced young Denham to marry 
 her. From the first it was not a happy union. 
 Mrs. Carson, though she had the wealth and 
 luxury for which she had yearned, was not 
 received well by Carson's friends, and found 
 herself painfully out of her element. She soon 
 tired and took to frequenting her old haunts anew. 
 Naturally Denham Carson objected to this, and 
 to the people whom she made her intimates. The 
 result was a separation, and Mrs. Carson took an 
 expensive apartment in the heart of New York. 
 She continued to get herself talked about, disre- 
 garding alike her husband's protests and appeals. 
 She got in with an undesirable set, and when her 
 name became coupled with that of a man of still 
 more undesirable reputation, Denham Carson 
 went in person to interview her. It was a stormy 
 interview, ending in a violent quarrel, which was 
 heard by a good many people in other apartments. 
 Carson had chosen the late evening for his visit, 
 and no one, apparently, saw him leave. Nor was 
 Mrs. Carson seen again that night. There were no 
 servants in the apartment at the time; she was a 
 difficult mistress to get on with, and generally 
 relied upon outside help, in spite of her means. 
 It was not until the following morning that she 
 was discovered by the janitor, who came to the 
 assistance of the woman who was working at the 
 apartment and who, in spite of repeated knock- 
 ing, had failed to gain admittance. 
 
 Mrs. Carson was still in evening dress, and
 
 58 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 was lying huddled on the floor. She was quite 
 dead. There was a livid bruise extending from 
 her temple to the cheek-bone, and which must, 
 according to medical evidence, have been caused 
 by a violent blow from a man's clenched fist. Also 
 the same evidence proved that she had been dead 
 for hours, probably since before midnight. 
 
 No one but her husband, Denham Carson, 
 was open to suspicion. He was arrested immedi- 
 ately and put on trial for his life. Circumstantial 
 evidence was dead against him. He declared that 
 when he had left her his wife had been perfectly 
 well, though still in a stubborn, angry mood. He 
 admitted that they had quarrelled; denied fiercely 
 that he had struck her. 
 
 Public opinion was divided. There was not 
 enough evidence to exact the extreme penalty; 
 but in the minds of a good many there was little 
 doubt that, in a gust of blind anger, he had struck 
 the blow which had killed Mrs. Carson. 
 
 He had already served five years of his sen- 
 tence when he made his sensational escape. Up 
 to the time of going to press no further particulars 
 have transpired. If 
 
 Lee put down the paper again with a long 
 breath. She felt sick, shaken. It was with 
 almost feverish relief that she alighted on the 
 platform at Waterloo. 
 
 Terry was waiting for her, the Pom under
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 59 
 
 one arm. Long-legged, untidy as ever, but 
 oddly arresting, she caught Lee's eye at once, 
 and she went forward with unwonted haste. 
 
 Never had the sight of Terry been more 
 welcome. She stood for ordinary, placid, 
 everyday things made the past feverish fort- 
 night and the day which had preceded it 
 seem like a nightmare. Her merry laugh even 
 helped to obliterate the horror of the para- 
 graph Lee had just read. 
 
 Terry greeted her with effusion, and, talk- 
 ing energetically, piloted her through the 
 stream of passengers. 
 
 " My dear! But it 's no end of a relief to 
 have you back! Positively, there is n't an 
 intelligent human to speak to among the 
 crowd mother contrives to collect about her! 
 Except old Smithers! He 's pretty decent 
 quite above the average. I like him!" 
 
 All this was breathless and exclamatory. 
 Occasionally she gave Lee's arm an affec- 
 tionate squeeze ; once she paused to admonish 
 the Pom, who was endeavouring to wriggle out 
 of her hold in his delight at seeing Lee; once 
 to pull up her stocking. She had a slight alter- 
 cation at the barrier concerning her platform 
 ticket which she had lost, which was term-
 
 60 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 inated by Lee impatiently paying the penny, 
 and bestowed a sharp but effective reprimand 
 upon an investigating youth who pulled the 
 dog's tail. 
 
 This necessitated her remaining behind for 
 a moment or two. Flushed but triumphant, 
 she caught Lee up at the entrance. 
 
 " Little sweep!" she exclaimed. " Said he 
 wanted to see if it was real Chicot's tail. I 
 guess he '11 know his own ear 's real enough 
 for an hour or so I tweaked it hard 
 enough " 
 
 "Terry! You" 
 
 " I 'm anything but ladylike ! I know it. 
 And I can't help it. In fact, I 'm rather glad 
 of it. Ladylike girls must have a devilish 
 dull time and, anyway, they 're pretty out of 
 date, are n't they?" 
 
 " I 'm afraid they are." Lee's tone was 
 unconsciously prim. 
 
 Terry pinched her arm and laughed. 
 
 " Dear old girl ! Don't look so severe. It 
 does n't really suit you a little bit. . . . Oh, 
 I was saying that old Smithers is a decent 
 sort, was n't I? He " 
 
 " Terry! Really ' old Smithers ' is scarcely 
 a graceful way of speaking of a person. You
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 61 
 
 are not a little girl now, you know, in spite of 
 Teresa's endeavours to keep up the farce that 
 you are. And " 
 
 "Suffering Moses!" Terry's voice was 
 plaintive; she " eyed " the other with ques- 
 tioning reproach. " What 's the matter with 
 you, Lee? He is old quite old and, any- 
 way, he can't hear me. By the way, we 're 
 driving back in his car or, rather, one of his 
 cars. He 's got about half a dozen This one 's 
 a beauty, and I 'm learning to drive it. Frost 's 
 teaching me." 
 
 " Frost?" 
 
 " Old Mr. Smithers's manservant. He 's 
 topping. Just like one of those you read 
 about or see on the stage. Very stiff and 
 straight, you know, and clean-shaven. And 
 perfectly wooden. I don't believe if he heard 
 the end of the world was approaching he 'd 
 move a muscle. Mr. Smithers has had him 
 for years he says he 's indispensable, quite 
 devoted, and the most efficient servant he 's 
 ever known. He certainly does know how to 
 do most things pretty well. He drives better 
 than Haines. That 's the chauffeur. But he 's 
 a good lot younger than Frost, and more reck- 
 less. Mr. Smithers says he thinks my powers
 
 62 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 of persuasion would be too much for him, 
 and he 'd take risks but he 's rather nice. 
 Haines, I mean though, of course, Frost is 
 a dear. Only you can't move him by a hair's 
 breadth. He takes his orders from Mr. 
 Smithers, and Mr. Smithers only " 
 
 She paused for breath. Lee's lip twitched. 
 There was something of bewilderment as well 
 as a faintly contemptuous amusement in her 
 eyes. 
 
 " You certainly seem to have become pretty 
 familiar with this Mr. Smithers and his house- 
 hold in a remarkably short time!" she 
 observed drily, and Terry humped an expres- 
 sive shoulder. 
 
 " Sure we have. I told you in my letter 
 he 's absolutely bowled over. Can't understand 
 it myself. Mother is n't a bit the type I 'd 
 have thought would appeal to him he 's one 
 of those old gentlemen you read about, you 
 know, Lee ' old school/ courteous, charm- 
 ing, for the most part, but with a rather fierce 
 manner, and inclined at times to become 
 explosive. Very white very bushy eye- 
 brows very stooped. Speaks slowly, delib- 
 erately almost hesitatingly. And simply 
 rolling in money. Of course mother 's all over
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 63 
 
 the place with excitement. Biggest catch 
 she 's landed yet if she pulls it off!" 
 
 She gurgled at Lee's protesting " Terry!" 
 and shifted Chicot to the other arm. 
 
 " Not that I have much doubt she will. He 
 must mean business or he would n't hang 
 round like he 's doing. He comes every day 
 and if he does n't come to us he takes 
 mother out somewhere. Most often he takes 
 both of us. He 's a brick like that. I Ve 
 never had such a scrumptious time theatres 
 flowers chocolates! And one or other of 
 the cars to take us. Mother '11 be a pudding 
 if she rides so much." 
 
 " But, Terry " Lee paused hesitantly. 
 Her eyes were troubled, perplexed. She 
 added a moment later: " It seems such an 
 extraordinarily sudden friendship intimacy. 
 Who is Mr. Smithers, anyway?" 
 
 Again Terry shrugged. 
 
 " / don't know. But he has all the neces- 
 sary credentials. You can bet your life 
 mother '11 see to that this time in fact, she 
 said as much, though she does n't talk to me 
 about things often. And then there are lots 
 of paragraphs about him in the papers. He 's 
 going all out to get himself talked about
 
 64 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 could n't help it, with so much money. Oh, 
 you need n't curl your lip, Lee. He 's no par- 
 
 venu." 
 
 Lee made a little impatient movement. She 
 did not answer, and a moment later Terry's 
 eager hand jerked her to a standstill before a 
 big chocolate car upholstered in soft fawn. 
 
 " I 'm driving!" she announced, " so Frost 
 came instead of Haines. Get in. I 'm going 
 in front." 
 
 The man opened the door, wrapped a thin 
 rug carefully about Lee's knees, and Terry, 
 depositing Chicot in her lap, whirled into her 
 seat before the wheel with a great display of 
 long black legs. Lee caught a glimpse of a 
 ladder in one silk stocking and a hole in the 
 heel of the other, then, before Frost was well 
 in his seat, the car jerked forward. 
 
 Terry's driving was decidedly erratic; but 
 at those moments when Lee fully expected 
 disaster Frost capably and silently took com- 
 mand. 
 
 The older girl, snuggled in a cushioned 
 corner with Chicot curled blissfully beside her 
 and occasionally licking her wrist, grew gradu- 
 ally conscious of a sense of soothed enjoy- 
 ment. It lulled her rasped memory of the
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 65 
 
 day's shock and her perplexity regarding this 
 new intimacy of Mrs. Dorice's alike. 
 
 A rare feeling of well-being was upon her. 
 The day was mellow, perfect, golden. The 
 big car, for the most part, slid on its way with- 
 out a jar. Frost's straight back and unwaver- 
 ing attention to Terry's manipulation of the 
 wheel inspired confidence. Lee ceased to 
 wonder if she was to meet a violent death 
 beneath the wheels of rear and advancing 
 traffic and gave herself up to enjoyment of the 
 easy, gliding motion. 
 
 For not the first time in her life she came 
 enviously to the conclusion that it must be 
 good to be rich as, evidently, this man who 
 owned the big chocolate car was rich. She 
 found herself wondering what he was really 
 like. Terry's descriptions, though occasion- 
 ally crude, were as a rule apt. And a faint 
 interest stirred Lee, even while she frowned 
 disapprovingly at the thought of her step- 
 mother's easy acceptance of a stranger's 
 favours. 
 
 She was intrigued by Terry's description of 
 Mrs. Dorice's new " victim." He might, 
 quite easily, be a rather attractive person, 
 though, she decided, it was more than possible
 
 66 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 that Terry, like her mother, was carried away 
 by the influence of Mr. Smithers's possessions 
 and amiable attentions. 
 
 It was not until an hour and a half later, in 
 her somewhat flamboyantly decorated room, 
 that she found her thoughts reverting to Den- 
 ham Carson. 
 
 It occurred to her, with a sudden startled 
 sense of shock, that it was plainly her duty to 
 tell of her meeting with him on the island. 
 And for a moment she stood, brush in hand, 
 her cloud of wonderful hair all about her, 
 staring with widening, dismayed eyes at her 
 reflection in the mirror. 
 
 Her breath caught, she recoiled in horror 
 from the mere idea of such a thing like a 
 flame the memory of that kiss of his burned 
 her. She dropped the brush and caught her 
 hands up to her face. 
 
 " I could n't! " she said, half aloud. " Oh 
 I could n't " 
 
 She stood for a long moment without mov- 
 ing, thinking deeply. When at last she let 
 her hands fall, her face was set, a little hard, 
 her mouth tightly closed. In those few mo- 
 ments she had faced the situation grimly, had 
 decided upon her course of action.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 67 
 
 Rightly or wrongly she had made up her 
 mind to remain silent as to the fact that she 
 had had a companion on Ruff's Island. From 
 this hour she meant to forget it, to forget 
 everything that had happened that night and 
 the following morning. She was determined 
 to put this man absolutely out of her thoughts 
 to forget his audacity and her own folly; 
 to kill, deliberately, inexorably, that faint, 
 insidious warmth of feeling which, against 
 her will, had been growing in her heart for 
 him. 
 
 With steady hands she coiled her smooth 
 hair about her head; carefully, judicially she 
 chose a gown. Perhaps she was a little paler 
 even than usual as she made her way out of 
 the room and along the narrow hall. But that 
 was all; there was nothing otherwise to show 
 that her customary serenity was in any degree 
 ruffled. 
 
 A little while ago she had peeped, unexpect- 
 edly, at a fresh page in the book of her life. 
 A brief page, rather dazzling, oddly alluring. 
 She sighed as she remembered and bit back 
 the sigh angrily. 
 
 To-night she had closed down that page, 
 for all time.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 LEE did not meet Jason Smithers until the 
 following day. She returned home to the 
 flat after a wearisome and lonely afternoon of 
 desultory shopping to find Mrs. Dorice, look- 
 ing absurdly young and quite bewilderingly 
 pretty, chattering to him vivaciously while 
 she dispensed tea. 
 
 A passing frown shadowed her good-humour 
 at Lee's entrance, and she performed the 
 necessary introduction with a rather impa- 
 tient note in her voice. The interruption was 
 not welcome. Mrs. Dorice's elation at this 
 man's persistent attentions was growing; 
 nevertheless the character of those attentions 
 left her just a shade puzzled. In her heart of 
 hearts she was bound to admit that she was 
 not really very certain what they might be 
 leading to. 
 
 Obviously Mr. Smithers found pleasure in 
 her society, liked visiting her and taking her 
 about. But his manner to her was never
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 69 
 
 anything but that of a greatly older man 
 enjoying the society of a much younger and 
 very pretty woman. Not by the greatest 
 stretch of her imagination could she construe 
 his attitude into that of a man inclining 
 towards amorousness. And she was puzzled. 
 At the same time, triumphantly aware of her 
 own attraction and unusually youthful charm, 
 she was growing gradually more and more sure 
 of her ability to bring things, in due course, to 
 a satisfactory climax. 
 
 Mr. Smithers was a very desirable parti. 
 He appeared to enjoy a large measure of 
 power as well as a more than usually large 
 fortune. He had not been in England any 
 length of time, yet he was already received 
 by a good many of the people who mattered. 
 The house that he had purchased was fur- 
 nished with a luxurious good taste; he did 
 not entertain largely, as yet, but he was 
 lavish, thoughtful, observant, and the machin- 
 ery of his household seemed to run upon oiled 
 wheels. 
 
 Another woman might have hesitated be- 
 fore accepting his attentions, his flowers, and 
 his dinners and lunches and theatres. But 
 Mrs. Dorice had no scruples in this respect;
 
 70 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 besides which, she declared later to Lee, it 
 was quite evident that he was persisting in 
 deepening the intimacy with some serious end 
 in view. Added to which he invariably 
 included Terry in the amusements he offered. 
 
 As she gave him her hand, Lee regarded 
 him closely, her direct gaze resting steadily 
 upon him. 
 
 She saw a man of medium height, who 
 looked shorter by reason of the pronounced 
 stoop of his somewhat thin shoulders. In his 
 face was the yellowish pallor of old age. His 
 hands were ivory white, big, and well shaped. 
 They shook a good deal, and he moved rather 
 stiffly with the aid of a long, gold- topped cane. 
 His hair was snow white and very abundant, 
 brushed straight back from his forehead, and 
 worn a little longer than was perhaps usual. 
 
 His brows were very bushy and very black, 
 but his close-trimmed, thick, pointed beard 
 was as white as his hair. He wore very 
 slightly smoked and heavily gold-rimmed 
 pince-nez, from behind which a pair of decep- 
 tively mild blue eyes looked forth. 
 
 He had a habit of blinking when speaking, 
 or when especially interested. He spoke with 
 a slight hesitancy that was at moments almost
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 71 
 
 a stammer, and his voice was a little harsh. 
 Later she learned that the mild eyes could 
 flash very fiercely should an order be dis- 
 obeyed or his will be crossed in even the 
 smallest matter. 
 
 She learned, too, that he was irascible, 
 irritable, fidgety, and more than a little dicta- 
 torial. At the same time he was decidedly like- 
 able. She decided that almost as soon as she 
 found herself seated in the chair he had pulled 
 forward for her on this first afternoon of their 
 meeting. 
 
 He had an old-world charm of manner, a 
 graceful, half -deferential courtesy in speaking 
 to all women that was refreshing and rather 
 delightful. She found herself talking to him 
 easily, as to an equal, and without restraint. 
 She observed with relief that he was a gentle- 
 man, and noted with still greater relief that 
 there was no maudlin leaning towards senti- 
 mentality in his attitude to her stepmother. 
 
 He was interesting to talk to, more inter- 
 esting than any person she had ever yet met 
 beneath her stepmother's roof. He excused 
 his ignorance of strictly topical affairs 
 through his having been out of England for a 
 considerable number of years, but assured
 
 72 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 her that he was rapidly making up for lost 
 time. 
 
 It appeared that he went everywhere with 
 untiring energy, and saw every play, worth 
 seeing or not. Discovering her real liking for 
 books, he begged her to visit his library, and 
 when she subsequently found herself within 
 it, Lee was roused to genuine enthusiasm. 
 
 It was a library such as she might have 
 dreamed of, but had never hoped to see. 
 Everything was there, old as well as the most 
 modern. She left the big, handsome house 
 impressed, and to Terry admittedly en- 
 vious. 
 
 But in Mrs. Dorice's pink-and-white draw- 
 ing-room she was occupied with studying the 
 man himself. To her own surprise he im- 
 pressed her very favourably. She herself was 
 aroused to a rare animation. It brought a 
 warm tint of colour to her cheeks, and an 
 added brightness to her grave eyes. 
 
 Terry, bouncing in presently, stared at Her, 
 then, subsiding into a chair, proceeded to drink 
 the tepid tea Teresa handed her and to feed 
 the Pom on cake. 
 
 " I Ve been trying out the new car," she an- 
 nounced with a little cheerful nod at Mr.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 73 
 
 Smithers. " I went with Haines, but Frost 
 insisted upon coming along too. Said those 
 were your instructions." 
 
 The old man glanced at her quickly and 
 quizzically through his glasses, then laughed. 
 
 " Quite so. Frost is a remarkably reliable 
 person. By the way, I told him to keep the 
 car here." 
 
 " It 's waiting the admired of the entire 
 neighbourhood! Every curtain in the lower 
 part of the building was disarranged as I 
 drove up. Haines hardly had the wheel once, 
 Mr. Smithers. He says he thinks I '11 be 
 expert in another week; only I 'm not quite 
 sure if Frost agrees." 
 
 She laughed and took another piece of cake. 
 
 " But I think he 's annoyed because in turn- 
 ing a corner I scraped a bit of the paint off her 
 side on the mudguard of a 'bus. The driver 
 swore furiously, and Frost opened and shut 
 his mouth like a fish. But Haines laughed. 
 Do you know, Mr. Smithers, I like Haines 
 awfully. Much better than Frost." 
 
 Mr. Smithers smiled. Before he could 
 answer Terry rattled on once more. 
 
 " Anyway, I have n't done much damage. 
 It 's really only a little scratch, so I hope you
 
 74 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 won't be angry when you see it. I really did 
 n't mean to be reckless, and I 'm ever so 
 grateful to you for letting me learn and giving 
 me such a rattling good time." 
 
 Her gay voice was suddenly earnest. She 
 looked up at the old man with frank, wide 
 eyes that had grown for a moment grave. He 
 took her small sticky hand and patted it. 
 
 " That 's all right, my dear. I 'm glad. 
 I 'm glad you 're getting on well and that you 
 like it. I like young people to be amused 
 just as I like a lot of youth about me." 
 
 He turned to Mrs. Dorice and Lee again. 
 
 " By the way, I have a box at the Majesty's 
 for to-night. Will you share it with me all 
 of you? I thought you might care to dine 
 first at the Ritz." 
 
 Mrs. Dorice stirred slightly. The faint 
 frown was back in her eyes again. 
 
 " It would be charming," she declared 
 quickly. " But, you know, Mr. Smithers, 
 you 're quite spoiling Terry she 's losing a 
 fearful amount of beauty sleep. And Lee 
 does n't very much care for theatres do you, 
 Lee?" 
 
 Lee's lips twitched for a moment, her soft 
 eyes darkened. Then she shrugged. But the
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 75 
 
 old man's eyes were upon her; he persisted 
 gently: 
 
 " I hope you '11 come," he said simply. 
 " It 's a very big box and I believe the show 
 is particularly good." 
 
 " Of course she '11 come!" 
 
 Terry whirled to her feet, nodding emphati- 
 cally, and completely ignoring her mother. 
 
 " We '11 both come, like a shot! It 's rip- 
 ping of you to ask us." 
 
 The old man's eyes were still on Lee. She 
 met them suddenly, and smiled. 
 
 " I shall love to come," she told him 
 quietly, and rose. 
 
 He bowed, and turned to Mrs. Dorice. He 
 murmured a few words in his odd, hesitating 
 way as she gave him her hand, held it for a 
 moment, then moved to the door. 
 
 Terry followed him. 
 
 " You really are a brick, you know," she 
 observed frankly. " I can't make out why 
 you 're so jolly decent to us all " 
 
 She broke off abruptly, standing awkwardly 
 on one leg and rubbing the other up and down 
 it, to the detriment of her silk stocking. 
 
 Mr. Smithers patted her shoulder pater- 
 nally.
 
 76 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " I think," he said, " it is you who are 
 ' jolly decent ' to me. I 'm a very old man, 
 you know, and not a very amusing one. It is 
 very delightful to have young people " his 
 courteous inclination of his white head very 
 decidedly included Teresa and she flushed, the 
 frown disappearing as if by magic " about 
 one. It is a long time since that pleasure has 
 been mine. I have especially of late years 
 been very lonely." 
 
 He looked away for a minute towards the 
 window. In his voice there was a note almost 
 of bitterness. Lee looked at him quickly; 
 Terry balanced herself on the other leg. 
 
 " But have n't you any one belonging to 
 you?" she demanded. " Have n't you ever 
 had any one?" 
 
 Jason Smithers brought his eyes back from 
 the darkening sky without and blinked at her. 
 
 " Never," he returned quietly. " Never 
 
 not any one that mattered." 
 
 .... 
 
 Some minutes later, leaning forward with 
 Terry to look down into the street, Lee saw 
 him moving stiffly across the pavement to the 
 waiting car, with Frost's hand under his 
 elbow.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 77 
 
 His voice, harsh, querulous, impatient, 
 came floating up to them. It rose once, 
 angrily. The rap of his cane on the kerb was 
 distinct. 
 
 Terry grinned. 
 
 " I expect he 's seen the scratch!" she said. 
 " And Haines is getting hauled over the coals 
 for not keeping a closer watch over me! " 
 
 Among her pink cushions Teresa stirred. 
 Her good-humour was fully restored; she eyed 
 Lee complacently. 
 
 " Well," she demanded, unconsciously 
 glancing towards a distant mirror and stretch- 
 ing up her throat. " What do you think of 
 him?" 
 
 Lee did not answer at once. She was watch- 
 ing the car drive away. Then she shrugged 
 and turned back into the room. 
 
 " I have n't," she replied, " seen quite 
 enough of him to be able to decide yet. But 
 he certainly does seem awfully kind-hearted." 
 
 Just before she had finished dressing that 
 evening, a maid came to her room with a great 
 box of flowers. Jason Smithers's card was 
 attached, and the girl drew a deep breath of 
 pleasure as she took the roses out. They 
 were deep and red and wonderful, and she
 
 78 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 held them for a moment against her face. 
 
 Then, after a moment's hesitation, she took 
 one from among them and fastened it to the 
 breast of her white gown. 
 
 From across the hall she could hear Terry's 
 and Mrs. Dorice's voices raised in altercation. 
 Teresa's was shrill; Terry's calmly deter- 
 mined. 
 
 " I can't help it. He asked me to go, too, 
 and I 'm going. He would n't have asked me 
 if he had n't wanted me. And, anyway, it 's 
 not my fault if I have n't any decent clothes 
 now, is it? If you 're ashamed of being 
 seen with me in my old ones well, you 'd 
 better get me some new. It 'd be worth 
 while if only to keep old Smithers well im- 
 pressed. Besides if you think I look too 
 shabby like this I '11 go and ask Lee to lend 
 me one of her white muslins. It 'd be too 
 long, of course, and I 'd look years older; 
 but" 
 
 Lee heard no more. Mrs. Dorice's door 
 shut; and half an hour later Terry, in over- 
 short skirts, as usual, but flushed with 
 triumph, was doing justice to Mr. Smithers's 
 excellent selection of a dinner.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 THAT night was the first of many such. Jason 
 Smithers was as persistent in his attentions 
 as ever; as eager to give the two girls a good 
 time as to amuse Mrs. Dorice. 
 
 And, while there were moments when she 
 chafed at his delay in making plainer his 
 intentions, Mrs. Dorice was very well content. 
 It was a content which had deepened since 
 one day he had begged for her advice con- 
 cerning the furnishing of certain rooms in his 
 big house. 
 
 " It 's too dull," he had declared in his 
 irascible way. " Because I 'm an old man the 
 people who did the whole place for me made 
 up their minds it should be without colour 
 sombre. That 's all very well up to a point, 
 but a woman would n't like it. She 'd want 
 something brighter gayer. I thought you 
 might help me." 
 
 Flattered and fluttered, Teresa had de- 
 clared herself delighted. Nevertheless, her in- 
 inclinations had been for a more expensive edi- 
 tion of her own present rooms pink-and- white
 
 80 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 chintzes and diaphanous hangings, and Mr. 
 Smithers had appeared dubious. 
 
 Later he had appealed to Lee. She had 
 frowned and shrugged, then laughed. Finally 
 she had looked at him very straightly. 
 
 " My dear Mr. Smithers, my taste and my 
 stepmother's are utterly opposed. Don't you 
 think that Mrs. Dorice would be able to help 
 you more effectively?" 
 
 Behind his smoked glasses Mr. Smithers's 
 eyes had blinked in complete perplexity. But 
 he had said no more. Nevertheless, Terry 
 brought the information that part of the 
 house was being redecorated. 
 
 " It 's ripping," she declared. " He showed 
 it to me. All soft pastel shades, and old oak 
 oh, and a lot of those pictures you were admir- 
 ing the other day, Lee. You 'd love it." 
 
 Thus a month slipped by, six weeks, eight. 
 Lee had learned to accept the old man now, 
 and to like him a little. He neither bored nor 
 annoyed her, and she went out of her way to 
 be nice to him. And then, one afternoon, she 
 came home to find the maids running about 
 with hot-water bottles and sal volatile, and 
 Terry, very red in the face, choking on the 
 threshold of her own room.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 81 
 
 " Gome in!" she gasped; then, as Lee fol- 
 lowed her wonderingly, dropped limply on to 
 the edge of the bed. " It 's all right. No 
 one 's ill. Only only mother 's had hyster- 
 ics" 
 
 She began suddenly to giggle helplessly, 
 heartlessly. She struggled manfully for com- 
 posure after a minute, and went on. 
 
 " And I don't wonder. You see Jason 
 Smithers came to-day. He asked to see 
 mother alone and and oh, Lee! it is n't 
 her he wants to marry at all/ It 's you!" 
 
 * 
 
 Lee grew slowly scarlet. For a moment she 
 stood, with eyes that had begun to sparkle 
 more than a little angrily, speechless. Then 
 she flung her muff and gloves on the bed and 
 began to loosen her furs. 
 
 " Really, Terry," she said sharply, " you 
 are getting absolutely incorrigible. Some 
 jokes are in exceedingly bad taste. Tell me 
 what is the matter with Teresa at once " 
 
 "I have told you!" Terry's tone was at 
 once injured and eager. " And I 'm not jok- 
 ing! It 's perfectly true every word of.it. 
 Mr. Smithers came this evening, and made 
 Teresa a formal proposal for your hand in the
 
 82 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 good old-fashioned style. Personally, I don't 
 see what she has got to do with it you 're 
 your own mistress but then Mr. Smithers 
 belongs to the old school, I suppose, and looks 
 upon her as your guardian. Anyway, there it 
 is. He wants to marry you, Lee. It is you 
 who have been the attraction all the time! 
 And even / thought that Teresa had added 
 another scalp to her belt. You see, he was so 
 so eager for our society long before you 
 came home. But apparently, there was 
 nothing in it unless " with another giggle 
 " he fell in love with your photograph. I 
 remember showing him a couple of snapshots 
 I took of you with your hair down " 
 
 She paused for breath as Lee made a sharp 
 movement. The colour was still in her 
 cheeks, but her eyes were startled now rather 
 than angry. Terry's tone carried conviction. 
 She no longer doubted the truth of her utterly 
 astonishing statement; and she felt for the 
 moment a little breathless, more than a little 
 dazed. 
 
 The thing was so sudden, so unlooked-for. 
 Like the younger girl, Lee had been convinced 
 that there was something deeper than mere 
 friendship prompting Jason Smithers's con-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 83 
 
 tinued attentions. But she had never for a 
 moment doubted that Teresa Dorice was the 
 magnet which drew him so frequently to the 
 flat. 
 
 Never for a moment had it occurred to her 
 that the old man's interest might be centred 
 in herself. She had learned to look for his 
 coming, to try to entertain and amuse him, 
 even to like him a little. She had found him 
 a by no means dull or stupid companion; had 
 discovered that their tastes in many things 
 were very similar, and that she could give 
 him real pleasure by listening while he talked 
 to her on various subjects, or in playing for 
 him occasionally a little of his favourite 
 music. 
 
 But she certainly had not guessed that his 
 courteous appreciation of her efforts to enter- 
 tain him had cloaked any warmer feeling. He 
 had never thrust his company upon her, had 
 claimed only a very little of her time, and had 
 apparently devoted himself to Mrs. Dorice. 
 So that Terry's news came upon her with a 
 shock that literally took her breath away. 
 
 She let her furs slide from her shoulders 
 and fall unheeded at her feet. Her thoughts 
 were chaotic; she was bewildered, half indig-
 
 84 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 nant, still faintly angry. Visualising Jason 
 Smithers, she told herself that the thing was 
 preposterous, absurd. He was an old man 
 so very much older than he desired, it would 
 seem, his acquaintances to believe him. She 
 remembered the stoop of his shoulders, the 
 unsteadiness of his hands, the stiffness with 
 which he rose and moved and in a quick 
 revulsion of feeling flung out her hands. 
 
 " It oh, I could n't!" she cried, and there 
 was almost horror in her tone. 
 
 Terry glanced at her and grinned. 
 
 " Bit of a staggerer, is n't it?" she de- 
 manded with relish; then added more slowly: 
 " And of course an opportunity in a thou- 
 sand." She grinned again. " I 'm quoting 
 mother. In her opinion, at any rate, Mr. 
 Smithers is the catch of the season, as it 
 
 were." 
 
 Again Lee's hands went out, then up to her 
 flushed cheeks. In spite of herself, the words 
 stuck. " An opportunity in a thousand ! . . ." 
 
 She moved sharply and turned away. As 
 she did so she met her own eyes in the little 
 oval mirror on Terry's dressing-table. Their 
 expression startled her, and a hotter flame ran 
 up over her face.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 85 
 
 Abruptly, vehemently she exclaimed: 
 
 " It 's quite out of the question impos- 
 sible! I I can't imagine how ever he could 
 have dreamed that I would even listen to 
 such a suggestion " 
 
 She spoke jerkily, more flurriedly than 
 Terry had ever heard her speak before. Out 
 of her vivid brown face the grin died sud- 
 denly; her eyes became thoughtful, oddly cal- 
 culating. For a moment she sat, hugging her 
 thin knees, watching Lee. Then she sighed, 
 shrugged, and got to her feet. 
 
 " That 's a pity," she observed. " There 
 are n't so many brilliant matrimonial chances 
 knocking about that one can turn 'em down. 
 Old Smithers is really an awfully decent sort. 
 Not a bit stingy, and not I should imagine 
 so frightfully hard to get on with. A bit 
 gouty and irritable, perhaps but one can't 
 have the earth with a fence round it, can one? 
 Not when it comes to marrying to get it, 
 anyway." 
 
 She paused to tilt her head sideways and 
 listen to the distant, querulous sound of 
 Teresa's slightly raised voice, and a flicker of 
 amusement crossed her impish face. 
 
 "Poor mother 1" she murmured, with un-
 
 86 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 wonted sympathy. " I should n't wonder if 
 she 's completely prostrated for nearly a 
 week! I 'm quite sorry for her. Or, perhaps, 
 to be really honest, I 'm sorry for myself. 
 I Ve been having a thundering good time 
 lately, and I suppose if the poor old chap gets 
 turned down I '11 have to say good-bye to it." 
 
 She sighed again, making a rueful grimace, 
 and after a moment followed Lee, slipping a 
 hand in the crook of her elbow as she stood 
 before the dressing-table. 
 
 " I suppose," she suggested tentatively, 
 " you could n't think it over? It never does 
 to decide hastily, you know. And you 'd have' 
 no end of a ripping existence, Lee. My mouth 
 waters whenever I look round that house of 
 his 'specially since he 's had it re-decorated. 
 Then the cars and he 's going to buy a 
 couple of riding hacks! Oh, Lord, Lee! It 
 ought to be easy enough to say ' yes.' Espe- 
 cially for you. You don't care tuppence for 
 men as men and it is n't as though you were 
 in love with any one else!" 
 
 Lee withdrew her arm so quickly that the 
 movement was almost violent. A startled 
 look swept her face her eyes widened for a 
 moment, darkened as if with a memory that
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 87 
 
 held more than a little of pain. During these 
 long weeks she had very deliberately put all 
 thought of the episode of Ruff's Island away 
 from her. But now Denham Carson's face 
 rose before her anew fiercely she bit the 
 lips upon which, once, his had lain. 
 
 Then, abruptly, she turned, gathering to- 
 gether her muff and the furs. 
 
 " No," she said, so decidedly that it would 
 seem she was striving to convince herself, 
 " it is n't as if I loved some one else " 
 
 She broke off as a maid appeared in the 
 doorway. She held a big salver on which lay 
 a small square envelope, and offered it to 
 Lee. 
 
 " From Mr. Smithers, miss," she said. " His 
 servant is here waiting for an answer." 
 
 For an instant, flushed, uncertain, Lee 
 hesitated; then she picked up the envelope 
 and tore it quickly open. Over her shoulder 
 Terry read it. 
 
 May I see you this evening after dinner, at 
 nine? Or if that is inconvenient, to-morrow at 
 noon? 
 
 J. S. 
 
 Lee folded it carefully and put it slowly
 
 88 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 back into its envelope. Terry opened her 
 lips as if to speak, then closed them again. 
 There was something in Lee's face that was 
 unaccustomed and rather subduing. 
 
 Lee spoke after a moment, deliberately, 
 quietly, though two bright spots of colour 
 flamed for a moment in her cheeks. 
 
 " Tell Frost," she said, " that I shall expect 
 Mr. Smithers at nine this evening."
 
 CHAPTER VH 
 
 LEE found the ensuing hours even more un- 
 comfortable than she had anticipated. Con- 
 trary to her expectations, her stepmother sent 
 a message demanding her immediate attend- 
 ance; and, somewhat reluctantly, but with 
 her head held very high, the girl made her 
 way down the narrow little hall, and into the 
 over-luxurious pink-and-white room in which 
 Teresa awaited her. 
 
 She was propped by innumerable pillows, 
 and looking, for once, a travesty of her usually 
 charming self. Her attack of hysterics had, 
 upon this occasion, been genuine and violent. 
 Her pansy eyes were almost hidden between 
 swollen lids, there was an ugly flush hi her 
 cheeks, and Lee, shutting the door gently 
 behind her, was conscious of a sharp sense of 
 recoil, of apprehension. 
 
 Mrs. Dorice was quite quiet again, but by 
 no means yet recovered from the ravages 
 caused by her outburst. At the sound of the
 
 90 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 shutting door she turned her head slightly, 
 and, as she met Lee's eyes, her lips twisted 
 sharply. 
 
 For a long moment there was silence. Lee, 
 outwardly cold, unruffled as ever, was aware 
 of an inward distress and embarrassment. She 
 would have given quite a good deal to be 
 spared the ordeal of interviewing Teresa at 
 this particular moment. She sighed a little, 
 and came a slow step farther into the room. 
 
 " You sent for me?" she said evenly, and 
 Teresa made a sudden, violent movement. 
 Again her lips twisted; abruptly she turned 
 on her side, leaning upon her elbow. 
 
 " Yes," she cried, her voice still husky from 
 the recent storm. " I sent for you. Jason 
 Smithers was here this evening. He " 
 
 "I know!" Lee spoke quickly, a faint 
 colour rising in her cheeks. " Terry told me. 
 I am awfully sorry." 
 
 There was a genuine regret in her voice 
 that seemed to goad Teresa. She laughed 
 shrilly, her eyes glinting between their swollen 
 lids. 
 
 " Don't be a hypocrite!" she retorted, and 
 added on a rising note of indignation " Oh, 
 you stand-off, touch-me-not girls! You 're all
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 91 
 
 alike as sly as they make them. You " 
 She broke off. Before the slow, growing 
 scorn of Lee's level gaze the accusation fell 
 somewhat flat. She was silent for a moment, 
 breathing quickly. She longed, viciously, to 
 make Lee smart even as she had smarted 
 during the last hour; her pride and self-esteem 
 had been seriously wounded; she had told 
 herself passionately that she had been made a 
 fool of, while in her heart of hearts she knew 
 that she had made a fool of herself. 
 
 Her supreme conceit had made her blind 
 to the reason for Jason Smithers's visits, she 
 had misread his courteous attentions, had 
 jumped at once to the conclusion that he had 
 succumbed to her fascinations. She had spent 
 days and weeks in self-satisfied dreaming, had 
 made dazzling plans for the future worse 
 than all, she had spent freely and recklessly 
 in an effort, by personal adornment of a more 
 than usually extravagant kind, to make herself 
 more than ever attractive. No wonder the 
 awakening had been bitter! 
 
 Characteristically she thrust the blame 
 upon Lee, instead of accepting it herself, even 
 while she found it impossible to cheat herself 
 into the belief that the girl had been any
 
 92 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 wiser regarding the old man's intentions than 
 herself. 
 
 After a moment, with an effort, she forced 
 herself to speak more quietly. 
 
 " Of course," she declared, " he is awfully 
 old, and very old men never know their own 
 minds two minutes together! You '11 find 
 it wiser to make up your mind without too 
 much dallying, Lee. He may want to back 
 out later on. Not " with another shrill 
 laugh " that being tied up for life to any 
 one quite so senile is altogether enviable, 
 when one comes to think about it! I can 
 imagine that Mr. Jason Smithers can be more 
 than a little trying on occasions. He 's pretty 
 peppery, at the best of times " 
 
 Lee interrupted deliberately. 
 
 " Are n't you taking a great deal for 
 granted?" she said. " I am not aware of 
 having said or done anything to give you the 
 impression that I have any intention of of 
 accepting this preposterous offer! I " 
 
 " But you are going to?" 
 
 Teresa's voice was sharp. She sat upright 
 among the cushions, and pushed the hair im- 
 patiently out of her eyes. 
 
 Lee looked at her in vague surprise, and,
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 93 
 
 reading the glance, Teresa flushed a little 
 more deeply. 
 
 "Of course you are!" she repeated. 
 " You '11 be crazy if you don't! " 
 
 Lee made a restless movement. 
 
 " I think," she cried, " that I should be mad 
 if I did! Why, it it 's unthinkable. Mr. 
 Smithers is almost old enough to be my grand- 
 father" 
 
 " Tclck! " Teresa scoffed. " I tell you it 's a 
 chance in a million! Besides " she hesitated 
 for a moment, and her eyes narrowed 
 " things can't go on here as they are. I can't 
 have you on my hands any longer, Lee. I 
 hinted as much before you went to Surrey; I 
 told you you 'd have to marry. I '11 speak 
 more plainly still to-night. You Ve got to 
 marry or or find somewhere else to go. I 
 simply can't afford to keep you or dress you 
 or have you hanging around. It 's no use 
 mincing matters. You 're in my way now; as 
 you yourself said, you '11 very soon be in 
 Terry's. There 's no room for the three of us 
 under the same roof, Lee." 
 
 She paused, eyeing the girl a trifle ner- 
 vously; then before Lee could speak she 
 added:
 
 94 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " Besides, you know, you said that the very 
 first proposal you might have, whoever or 
 whatever the man, you 'd accept." 
 
 Lee started. Her eyes had darkened. She 
 was no longer flushed, but very pale. Her 
 lips were pressed close together, and her 
 breath was not quite even. She was conscious 
 of a suffocating sense of bitter resentment 
 and of sudden, utter helplessness. The pride 
 in her cried aloud to her to take Teresa's 
 unexpectedly blunt ultimatum in the same 
 spirit in which it had been flung at her. Ex- 
 istence under Mrs. Dorice's regime had been 
 difficult since the moment of Tom Dorice's 
 death. Lee knew that after to-night it would 
 be impossible. She had endured dependence 
 upon her stepmother stoically until now; but 
 she could endure it no longer. Things had come 
 to a climax; the breach between them was 
 open now. Teresa had said in the heat of 
 the moment and the bitterness of her angry 
 disappointment that which she had only 
 hinted at before. But it was her concluding 
 sentence that seared her mind now, and 
 would not be denied. 
 
 Her thoughts leaped back to that other 
 interview, weeks old now to the defiant
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 95 
 
 promise which had been wrung from her by 
 the goad of Teresa's complainings. And a 
 vivid flush flamed up to her temples, to fade 
 leaving her paler than before. 
 
 Her own words seemed to flash before her: 
 " The very first man who asks me to marry 
 him, whoever he is, or whatever he is I '11 
 accept!" 
 
 She stood very still, staring back into 
 Teresa's eyes. For perhaps the first time she 
 fully realised the real meaning of Jason 
 Smithers's offer, and involuntarily she gasped. 
 Then, rather blindly, and without a word she 
 turned, and, wrenching open the door, went 
 swiftly out of the room.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 BUT when, more than an hour later, she stood 
 face to face with Jason Smithers, Lee was 
 perfectly composed. Whatever of agitation 
 she might have felt she successfully concealed. 
 She gave the old man a cool hand, and he held 
 it for a moment, blinking at her in his odd 
 way from behind the smoked glasses. 
 
 Lee met his glance straightly and in silence, 
 making no attempt to free her fingers. Pres- 
 ently he let them go, and the girl dropped 
 back into the chair from which she had risen. 
 
 " I was here this afternoon," Smithers said, 
 " but I did not wait to see you then, as your 
 stepmother seemed a little upset." 
 
 Lee was conscious of a momentary almost 
 irrepressible desire to smile. She said, after 
 a slight pause: 
 
 " She has a headache. She is lying down 
 now. But " the colour rose faintly in her 
 cheeks " she has told me the nature of your 
 interview with her." 
 
 Mr. Smithers looked relieved. 
 
 " I 'm glad of that," he said quietly. " It
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 97 
 
 simplifies matters for me and you will have 
 already had time to give my ah suggestion 
 some slight consideration." 
 
 " Yes." Lee's voice was quite expression- 
 less. She sat with her head slightly bent, her 
 hands clasped in her lap. 
 
 The old man peered at her, slightly frown- 
 ing. Behind his glasses his glance was more 
 piercing, and a great deal more anxious than 
 she knew. 
 
 He coughed gently. 
 
 " I ought, perhaps, to have approached you 
 on the matter before speaking to Mrs. Dorice. 
 But I belong to another generation, and have, 
 perhaps, rather old-fashioned notions. Re- 
 garding Mrs. Dorice as your natural guardian, 
 I thought best to make my offer through 
 her." 
 
 Lee half opened her lips, and her clasped 
 hands stirred slightly. But she remained 
 silent, and he looked at her tentatively. 
 
 " I felt, however," he proceeded, " that I 
 should like to have my answer direct from 
 you." 
 
 He moved a little nearer to her, and stood 
 above her, leaning rather heavily on his long, 
 gold-topped cane. Lee, rather abruptly, turned
 
 98 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 her face away. Only the stirring of the slen- 
 der, white, ringless fingers betrayed the fact 
 that she was not altogether as calm as she 
 would appear. Mr. Smithers's eyes rested on 
 them briefly, then lifted to the fine, soft curve 
 of her cheek. 
 
 " Before you give it," he went on slowly, 
 " I would like to say a few words to you which 
 possibly may influence your decision." 
 
 Lee bent her head. She felt the intentness 
 of his gaze, and was angry with herself 
 because of the deepening colour in her cheeks. 
 Her thoughts were still chaotic; her emotions 
 difficult of definition. 
 
 " Had I been even ten years younger," the 
 slightly hesitating voice went on, " I might 
 not have summoned sufficient courage to dare 
 so much or to hope at all. Because I should 
 not then have found it so easy to keep out 
 all question of sentiment. Ten years ago I 
 might have wanted more from you than you 
 would have been willing to give more than 
 just the joy of your youth near me, your com- 
 panionship. As it is " 
 
 He paused as Lee stirred sharply, and 
 looked down quickly at the hands upon his 
 supporting cane. They were even more un-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 99 
 
 steady than usual, and in the hidden eyes was 
 an expression which might have startled Lee 
 more than a little had she seen it. It passed, 
 and he went on quietly: 
 
 " As it is, you can if you will make the 
 remainder of my life less empty, and less 
 cold. I have a great deal that men envy me, 
 wealth, ease, comfort. But I want more. I 
 have wanted more all my life!" 
 
 His voice rose a trifle, grew less hesitant. 
 For an instant it was vibrant with an almost 
 passionate vehemence. He leaned a little 
 nearer, and Lee laid her hands rather nerv- 
 ously on either arm of her chair. She was 
 looking at him now, looking at him with a new 
 interest, intently. He caught the look and 
 held it. When he spoke his voice was re- 
 pressed, once more hesitantly gentle. 
 
 " I want companionship. I want youth to 
 watch, even if I may not share it. I want to 
 make real in a measure the dreams I 
 dreamed long ago; dreams of a home, and a 
 woman's presence to make it sweet. Above 
 all, I want an end to my loneliness." 
 
 He paused, but as Lee was about to open 
 her lips raised his hand. 
 
 " Wait. Let me finish. These things you
 
 100 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 can give me. No other woman could. Had 
 Fate been kinder " 
 
 He broke off. Lee, still watching him, was 
 rubbing her fingers up and down the arms of 
 her chair. 
 
 He bent suddenly and laid his hand over 
 one of hers. 
 
 " I have seen that you are not happy, Lee. 
 Had you been I might not have spoken at all 
 of my feeling for you. As it is it seems to me 
 that it is just possible you may bring yourself 
 to consent. As my wife you would know ease, 
 luxury, comfort. You would find yourself 
 honoured, guarded, and loved." 
 
 He tightened his fingers over hers as she 
 moved them sharply, and smiled for a minute, 
 oddly, whimsically. 
 
 " I am not breaking my promise and bring- 
 ing in sentiment. I am simply stating a truth. 
 I do love you, in my way. I am not fool 
 enough to make protestations of a lover's ado- 
 ration, any more than I am fool enough to 
 hope for more than just a little liking. But it 
 would make me happy to have the right to 
 have you constantly near me, to give you all 
 that I should like to give. You would, in 
 marrying me, sacrifice nothing but your free-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 101 
 
 dom. I should ask of you only comradeship, 
 a little of your time and a small share in some 
 of your interests. I should expect a faithful 
 honouring of the bond between us. In 
 return " 
 
 He paused again, straightening himself 
 rather stiffly. 
 
 " I think, in return, I could give you much 
 that your life has lacked. A home a real 
 home; a little of the gaiety and pleasure 
 that is due to you. In short, I would try to 
 make your bondage as bearable as possible, 
 though I am afraid you will find me pretty 
 exacting. I 'm peppery, and old and easily 
 irritated; I 'm gouty, and frequently grumpy; 
 I have n't much control over my temper, and 
 I like my own way. But I 'd try to make 
 you happy. I think that 's all." 
 
 He moved, still stiffly, away from her and 
 she watched him in silence, still, quite uncon- 
 sciously, rubbing her hands up and down the 
 arms of her chair. She was touched, stirred 
 by an odd flutter of compassion and sympathy. 
 His manner of dealing with the situation had 
 surprised and relieved her. She regarded him 
 with more of kindliness in this moment than 
 she had ever known for him before. And he
 
 102 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 had made her sorry for him. He was lonely; 
 and Lee understood loneliness. 
 
 Abruptly, impulsively, she got to her feet. 
 He turned at the movement and met her eyes. 
 Again the smoky blur of the glasses hid from 
 her their expression, but her face grew flushed 
 anew. Mr. Smithers smiled. 
 
 " Well?" he asked quietly. " Do you think 
 you can bring yourself to say yes?" 
 
 Lee stood very still. Troubled, undecided, 
 she stared back at him, weighing all that he 
 had said hesitating, shrinking bewildered 
 by her own unsure emotions. And then, 
 across the silence there came the distant 
 sound of Teresa's voice. It rose peevishly, 
 upon a complaining, plaintive note and Lee 
 drew a sudden, sharp breath. 
 
 Then, quickly, she crossed the room to 
 Jason Smithers's side. 
 
 " Yes/" she said.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 LEE married Jason Smithers one month later. 
 Somewhat to her astonishment, and not alto- 
 gether in accordance with her own desire, the 
 old man insisted upon a wedding of conven- 
 tional type. He explained somewhat drily 
 that while he did not desire a farcical " show," 
 he objected to an unnecessarily " quiet " cere- 
 mony. He was proud of his good fortune; 
 proud of the woman who was to be his wife; 
 he desired all the rest of the world that mat- 
 tered to be aware of it. 
 
 He upheld Terry in her insistence upon 
 acting as bridesmaid. He invited all such 
 friends and acquaintances as he had made in 
 England since his arrival. He made it plain 
 to Lee that he hoped to see her friends also, 
 and he was irascibly annoyed at her sugges- 
 tion that she should be married in a travelling 
 costume. 
 
 " Nonsense, my dear! " he urged. " You '11 
 make a charming bride a charming bride! 
 I want you to look the part!" 
 
 There had been a note of command beneath
 
 104 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 the courteous plea, which Lee had caught and 
 resented, without resisting. She had made no 
 further protest, but had shrugged and yielded. 
 
 Terry, observing her closely during that 
 month, had not quite known what to make of 
 her. Lee was, in some ways, considerably 
 changed. Undemonstrative as ever, she was 
 not so cold. It was as though the knowledge 
 that the time was near at hand when she 
 would, more or less, be her own mistress, had 
 thawed and softened her. 
 
 And since that interview with Jason Smith- 
 ers upon which he had made clear to her 
 his attitude towards her, and just how much 
 he expected at her hands, her regard for him 
 had deepened. 
 
 He never thrust himself upon her, but he 
 made it clear that she was always in his 
 thoughts, he was considerate, kindly, and care- 
 ful in no way to startle or distress her. The 
 relations between them grew solidly friendly 
 some time before the day upon which the 
 ceremony was to take place. 
 
 Terry came to the conclusion finally that 
 Lee was really happy, and marvelled there- 
 upon, at first in secret, then openly. 
 
 " I can't understand it!" she declared once,
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 105 
 
 when the wedding day was so near that the 
 little flat was in confusion and innumerable 
 bags and boxes littered Lee's room. " I think 
 I 'm the most surprised person of all! count- 
 ing Teresa out! I fully expected you to be 
 moving about like a martyr, colder and 
 silenter, and more stand-offish than ever! 
 I Ve imagined you walking up the aisle like a 
 marble image, and making your responses in 
 a voice that would freeze boiling lard! I Ve 
 even stayed awake at nights wondering if you 
 were fretting in that funny, chilly way of 
 yours. And here you are, laughing, criticising 
 gowns, making plans and trotting here, there, 
 and everywhere with Papa Smithers, for all 
 the world as though you really enjoyed it! I 
 believe you 're happy, Lee!" 
 
 Lee did not answer for a moment. Then, 
 suddenly and charmingly, she smiled. 
 
 " I 'm happier," she declared with convic- 
 tion, " than I Ve ever been since since my 
 father married. It 's almost as if I had him 
 back again." 
 
 " Humph! " Terry eyed her shrewdly, and 
 then grinned. " Poor old Smithy!" she cried 
 audaciously. " It strikes me he 's losing his 
 freedom to gain a daughter!"
 
 106 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 She saw Lee's quick flush, and, springing 
 up, flung an arm over her shoulders. 
 
 " There! Don't wither me, even if I 
 deserve it. I really am glad you 're feeling as 
 you do. You Ve had the very dickens of a 
 time with Teresa and Jason may be a bit of 
 a bear sometimes, but he 's got a jolly good 
 heart! You may count yourself lucky. And 
 he 's as generous as they make 'em. Lee, do 
 you know what my bridesmaid's present is? 
 A car of my own a Rolls-Royce! And 7 am 
 going to drive you down to Brookbridge for 
 your honeymoon and return under the escort 
 of the estimable Haines! How do you like 
 the idea?" 
 
 Lee shrugged, then laughed. Her eyes 
 warmed to a quick affection as they rested on 
 the flushed, freckled face. Then she slid 
 from beneath the encircling arm and began 
 taking down her hair. She did not answer, 
 and Terry proceeded, balancing herself on the 
 bed-rail and swinging her legs: 
 
 " He says he wants you to have me with 
 you quite a lot so you won't be lonely. And 
 the stables at Brookbridge are a dream 
 Jason 's never seen you on a horse, has he? 
 You '11 knock him endways when he does. 
 Dash! That 's Teresa"
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 107 
 
 She was gone with a grimace and a scowl. 
 Lee looked after her, then brought her glance 
 back to the mirror. 
 
 " Yes," she murmured, unconsciously speak- 
 ing aloud, " I really am happy! And I 
 think I 'm quite as surprised at it as is Terry! " 
 
 Terry, as chauffeuse, was in her element 
 upon the all-important morning of the wed- 
 ding. She whirled the newly married pair 
 down to the unpretentious but charming house 
 Jason Smithers had taken at Brookbridge, on 
 the fringe of the Surrey hills, in record time. 
 She chattered enthusiastically to the silent 
 Haines all through the journey, and, by some 
 miracle, succeeded in reaching her destination 
 with herself and her passengers unscathed. 
 
 She made up for their silence during 
 luncheon, spent an ecstatic afternoon in 
 the stables, enthused joyously over Lee's 
 new abode, and departed towards dusk. Lee 
 and she had taken tea in the latter's boudoir, 
 and for a little while after she had gone, 
 the older girl sat with half-closed eyes, trying 
 to realise that she had indeed burned her 
 boats behind her. 
 
 She had not seen Jason since lunch, when
 
 108 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 he had retired, on Frost's arm, to the library. 
 Now, as she dressed for dinner, she smiled to 
 herself half whimsically, yet with the shadow 
 of a frown between her brows. 
 
 She made a very careful toilet, pausing in 
 the middle of it to glance towards the window 
 at the sound of a car in the drive below. It 
 stopped at the house, and later she heard it 
 slurring away towards the gates of the short 
 drive. 
 
 When, presently, she descended the shallow 
 oak stairs she found Frost awaiting her. He 
 bowed, and made a little gesture towards the 
 dining-room. 
 
 " Dinner is served, ma'am," he murmured. 
 " Mr. Smithers desired me to tender you his 
 most sincere apologies, and to tell you that he 
 had been unexpectedly summoned to Oak- 
 bridge, a village only a few miles from here, 
 ma'am. The matter is important and cannot 
 be ignored, and he begs that you will under- 
 stand. He hopes to be home in a few hours, 
 but begs that you will not wait for him. Will 
 you take dinner now, ma'am?" 
 
 For a moment Lee stared, flushed, bewil- 
 dered, and utterly taken aback. She was 
 conscious of a strange mingling of chagrin,
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 109 
 
 anger, and amusement then, against her 
 will, she laughed. 
 
 She partook of her meal alone, but with 
 enjoyment. Her surroundings were delight- 
 ful, soothing, peaceful, and involuntarily as 
 she left the table and passed into the smaller 
 drawing-room, with its big hearth, she drew a 
 deep sigh that had in it an immensity of satis- 
 faction and appreciation. For an hour she 
 dreamed, for a little longer tried to read. 
 Then she went upstairs to her own apart- 
 ments. She lingered over her toilet, and it 
 was fairly late when at last she found herself 
 in bed, and with a tired sigh she fell almost 
 immediately asleep. 
 
 It was perhaps two hours later that she 
 awoke, clearly and abruptly, wide-eyed, and 
 with a queer consciousness of some disturbing 
 sound. She sat up among her pillows, listen- 
 ing. The sound came again the faint scrape 
 of a window gently shutting, that soft tread 
 of cautious feet past her door. She heard the 
 stairs creak heard a movement in the room 
 below her, and shivered suddenly, more from 
 excitement than fear. After an instant's hesi- 
 tation she glanced at the illuminated clock by 
 her side. It was three in the morning, and
 
 110 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 upon an impulse she slipped out of bed. There 
 was another stir from the room immediately 
 below her, and she stood for a moment 
 frowning. 
 
 Then, in the darkness, she felt for and 
 found a long silk wrapper, and, pulling it round 
 her, gently opened the door. Silently, swift 
 as a shadow, she ran down the stairs. The 
 room immediately beneath hers was, she had 
 already discovered, the library. She turned 
 towards it now. The door was partly ajar, 
 and a faint light shone through. 
 
 Again she hesitated, then moved lightly 
 across the hall till she stood on the threshold. 
 Very gently she pushed the door wider. By 
 one of the long windows a man was standing. 
 A cap was pulled down over his eyes, a long 
 coat hid his figure, but a swift, searching 
 glance told her that he was not Jason Smithers 
 or Frost. And, before she fully realised what 
 she was doing, she reached out and touched 
 the electric switch, flooding the room with light. 
 
 And then, with a smothered cry, she 
 dropped her arm. The man at the window had 
 turned sharply. In the dazzling glow from 
 the electric bulbs their eyes met, and Lee gave 
 a sudden, choked gasp.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 111 
 
 Under the cap-brim a very brown face 
 showed clear. A pair of blue, pleasant, star- 
 tled eyes met hers the eyes of the man of 
 Ruff's Island the eyes of Denham Carson, 
 the murderer.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 TERRY, whistling the " Wedding March " 
 shrilly and exuberantly, guided the big new car 
 skilfully through the tricksy lanes in the im- 
 mediate vicinity of Brookbridge, only slow- 
 ing the pace reluctantly when at length she 
 came into the more busy thoroughfares. 
 
 At her side, alert and watchful, Haines sat. 
 He made no attempt at interference; Terry 
 was already fully capable of managing any 
 car, and had proved an intelligent and apt 
 pupil of whom her teacher was openly proud. 
 If she possessed the fault of over-much daring 
 at times, Haines, being young and reckless 
 himself, condoned it secretly, though he made 
 a pretence at protest which deceived Terry 
 not at all. 
 
 Terry liked Haines. He was young, and 
 enthusiastic, and distinctly more human than 
 any of the other servants in the Smithers 
 menage. Indeed, there were times when she 
 quite forgot he was a servant. He could talk 
 interestingly upon other subjects besides auto- 
 mobiles and the way to drive them. Having
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 113 
 
 discovered this, Terry encouraged him to do 
 so, and found her enjoyment of her lessons 
 added to thereby. 
 
 In the commencement of those lessons, 
 Frost, wooden, silent and attentive, had inva- 
 riably accompanied them. During the last 
 month, however, the exigencies of the many 
 preparations for his master's coming marriage 
 had claimed him; a fact which Terry found 
 rather a relief. Frost was an excellent person, 
 but a trifle apt to insist deferentially upon his 
 master's instructions with regard to the daily 
 drive being carried out to the letter. With 
 Haines Terry knew that she could have her 
 own way entirely; nor did she fail to take it. 
 
 The excitement of Lee's approaching wed- 
 ding palled upon her very soon, and she took 
 advantage of it to enjoy more time with her 
 beloved animals, or in one or other of the 
 cars. If her absences grew longer, the fact 
 was unnoticed now. The hour's drive was 
 frequently lengthened to two, sometimes even 
 to three. Haines shared her love of animals 
 and out of doors. He became more and more 
 communicative, and achieved an unshakably 
 high place in her estimation when he pulled 
 the Pom through a serious gastric attack
 
 114 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 which Terry had distractedly decided would 
 prove fatal. 
 
 So that, on the whole, through this last 
 month Terry had enjoyed herself more than 
 ever she had in her life, and had known 
 more of companionship as well as of freedom. 
 
 To-night, except for her piercing, boyish 
 whistling, she was silent. She was absorbed 
 in recollections of the day's doings, more 
 especially of Mr. Smithers's stables. She 
 broke off in the middle of the " Wedding 
 March " to inquire of Haines if he had seen 
 them. 
 
 " The horses are gems!" she declared. 
 " Especially the red mare which is Miss Lee's 
 I mean Mrs. Smithers's. Lord! What a 
 very unattractive name Smithers is, to be 
 sure! Mine 's a black the one I 'm to learn 
 to ride on, I mean. I wonder who '11 teach 
 me. I 'm going back to Brookbridge in a 
 fortnight to stay for a while, you know." 
 
 " Yes, miss. Keep a little more to the left, 
 Miss Terry, there 's not much room just here 
 between the tram lines and the kerb 
 Steady!" 
 
 Terry had steered obediently but recklessly 
 to the left, with the result that her mudguard
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 115 
 
 came raspingly in contact with a lamp-post, 
 and Haines stiffened alertly in his seat. But 
 with a superb disregard of possible damage 
 the girl proceeded to guide the car on to a 
 more even course and went on. 
 
 " I only saw the head groom, and he does 
 n't look as though he 'd be a very inspiring 
 teacher! He looks like Lester in the Arca- 
 dians!" 
 
 Haines grinned. 
 
 " Yes, miss. But I expect I shall teach 
 you, miss. Mr. Smithers said something 
 about it only this afternoon. I Ve a pretty 
 fair knowledge of horses, and I think you '11 
 like the little black. She '11 carry you nicely." 
 
 " You!" Terry widened her eyes and peered 
 up at him as well as she might in the gather- 
 ing darkness. " Gracious! What a very 
 versatile person you are, Haines!" 
 
 She studied him with a new interest, ap- 
 provingly. In his neat chocolate livery, 
 sitting very straight and upright, he looked 
 wiry and capable, and rather remarkably 
 pleasant. He spoke again as she turned the 
 car into one of the wide roads crossing Ham 
 Common. 
 
 " If you 're meaning to drive through the
 
 116 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Park, Miss Terry, you '11 have to let her out a 
 bit. It 's longer that way, and I Ve got to 
 get back to Brookbridge to-night." 
 
 "To-night!" Terry's voice was a little 
 blank. " Why, Haines ! If you 're going 
 back to Brookbridge, how about my lessons?" 
 
 Haines was looking straight before him. 
 He spoke with well- trained expressionlessness. 
 
 " You '11 not be needing lessons any longer, 
 Miss Terry. It 's only practice you 're need- 
 ing now. And Butler is in charge of the town 
 garage. You '11 find him very efficient, 
 miss." 
 
 " But " She stopped abruptly, conscious 
 of and amazed at a disappointment out of 
 all proportion to its cause. Almost involun- 
 tarily she increased the speed, racing through 
 the silent park, and thrilling as the car leaped 
 forward. Mentally she decided unkindly to 
 give the estimable Butler, who was Scotch and 
 dour and cautious, a few sharp jolts. 
 
 They passed out of the park and reached 
 the ridge of Richmond Hill. Without slow- 
 ing up, she let the Rolls-Royce sweep giddily 
 down it, and drew up with a jar and a jerk 
 halfway along the narrow main street. A 
 newly decorated hotel in a short side street
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 117 
 
 flung inviting lights through the gloom. Terry 
 began to loosen her coat-collar, and free her- 
 self of the thick rugs about her knees. 
 
 " I 'm hungry," she announced. " I think 
 I shall have some dinner here, and go on to 
 town later, Haines." She wriggled free of the 
 rugs and made a movement to rise, then 
 stared With raised brows at the chauffeur as 
 he did not stir. " You can bring the car back 
 here in forty minutes," she added as she stood 
 up. 
 
 Raines's face was utterly blank. He looked 
 for a moment at her stupidly, as though he 
 had not heard aright. Then mechanically he 
 rose to let her pass him, but instead of de- 
 scending and opening the door for her, slid 
 into the seat which had been hers. As he 
 realised that she was quite in earnest, his eyes 
 changed a trifle, grew intent, hardened. 
 
 " Excuse me, Miss Terry," he spoke 
 quickly, with his habitual quiet deference, 
 " but I don't think you can do that. I mean 
 Mr. Smithers was very particular that I 
 should get you home and the car safely 
 garaged before " 
 
 " Hang Mr. Smithers!" Terry retorted 
 indignantly and inelegantly. " It 's nothing
 
 118 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 to do with him where I choose to dine or when 
 I get back. The car 's mine, anyway. While 
 you 're driving it, Haines, you '11 take my 
 orders." 
 
 There was a rather odd expression in 
 Raines's eyes as they rested on her. For all 
 her happy-go-lucky carelessness of conven- 
 tions and appearances, Terry could, when the 
 need arose, be very much upon her dignity. 
 She spoke now coldly, incisively; there was a 
 rebuke in her voice beneath which the chauf- 
 feur flushed. 
 
 He stirred a little uncomfortably. 
 
 " I 'm afraid," he said rather hesitantly, 
 and with real reluctance, " in in this partic- 
 ular case I can't, Miss Terry. Mr. Smithers's 
 orders were imperative to see you direct to 
 your home, and to return to Brookbridge at 
 once. Besides, he would be very much put 
 about at the idea of you dining alone in a 
 Richmond hotel, miss." 
 
 Terry began to lose her always somewhat 
 fiery temper. Two brilliant sparks of anger 
 lit her eyes. 
 
 " Mr. Smithers did not marry me as well as 
 my sister!" she retorted. " And because he 
 has given me a car and lent me his chauffeur,
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 119 
 
 he must not expect to either control my 
 actions or interfere with my inclinations 
 through that chauffeur. Open the door, 
 Haines, please." 
 
 Haines stooped forward and laid his hand 
 upon the door, but he did not open it. His 
 mouth was set obstinately, though his voice 
 was still deprecating when he answered her. 
 
 " I 'm sorry, Miss Terry. It 's imperative 
 I should get we should get to town as 
 quickly as possible. Besides which, I am, 
 up to a point, responsible for you. It would 
 be very undesirable for you to go into that 
 hotel alone. I er I could n't let you do it, 
 even apart from Mr. Smithers's orders." 
 
 " Let me do it!" With a sudden move- 
 ment, flushed, quivering, and more angry than 
 she remembered ever being, the girl stooped 
 and wrenched open the door. " I shall do 
 exactly as I please, Haines! The sooner you 
 understand that the better!" 
 
 She stepped out quickly, but the chauffeur 
 was quicker. His arm closed round her. 
 Before she realised it, she was lifted back into 
 the seat beside him, and at the same moment 
 the car leaped forward. She struggled, 
 passionately, furiously, but she was helpless.
 
 120 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Haines held her, driving with his left hand 
 until they were spinning rapidly along the 
 Kew Road. Then he released her. And as 
 she found herself free, Terry's rage flared, 
 utterly uncontrolled. Lifting her hand she 
 struck him with all her force across the face. 
 
 For just an instant the grey eyes, looking 
 straightly out from beneath the peaked cap- 
 brim, hardened to steel. But the set mouth 
 did not unclose, nor, for one instant, did the 
 strong hands upon the wheel waver. 
 
 At their destination he alighted swiftly, 
 opened the door, and drew the rugs from 
 about Terry's knees. As she stepped down 
 into the road he touched his cap silently, and 
 again her anger flamed. 
 
 " I will give my orders concerning the car 
 to Butler to-morrow," she said. " You, 
 Haines, have forgotten yourself unpardon- 
 ably." 
 
 Haines's finger went to his cap again. 
 
 " Yes, miss," he returned meekly, and re- 
 mained motionless as she turned away. 
 
 But her glance had caught the darkening 
 wheal across his cheek, and at the entrance 
 to the flat she hesitated. Then, impulsively, 
 she turned and went back to him. Her head
 
 was held high, her cheeks aflame, and her 
 eyes were brilliant and defiant. But they met 
 his levelly. 
 
 " So did I, Haines!" she said clearly. " I 
 beg your pardon!" 
 
 Haines's cap was swept suddenly to his 
 knee, revealing a curly fair head and a face as 
 deeply flushed as Terry's was pale. His own 
 eyes warmed, smiled. Beneath them Terry's 
 face grew unexpectedly hot. 
 
 "Forget it, miss!" said Haines. And for 
 many minutes after she had disappeared he 
 stood bareheaded by the car, his eyes on the 
 dark door that had swallowed her. 
 
 From among the spare rugs thrown loosely 
 on the seats inside the car something stirred 
 and a hand reached out stealthily to open the 
 door. A man, wearing a cap pulled low over 
 his eyes and a white muffler close up about his 
 chin, stepped silently out on the roadside. He 
 left the door swinging and moved rapidly away. 
 But at the corner of the street he looked back, 
 and chuckled. Haines was still looking at 
 the entrance to the flats with his cap hang- 
 ing loosely in his hand.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 BEREFT of the power of either speech or 
 movement, Lee stood staring dumbly into 
 Denham Carson's startled eyes. Her heart 
 was pounding wildly, suffocatingly; utter be- 
 wilderment was upon her. 
 
 For an instant Carson had been as taken 
 aback as she; but only for an instant. The 
 next he was at her side ; a long, strong brown 
 hand closed upon her wrist, pulling her 
 almost roughly across the threshold into the 
 room. Then he released her, the door was 
 jerked shut with a soft click, and he stood 
 facing her with his back to it. 
 
 Lee caught her wrap more closely round 
 her and laid a not very steady hand upon the 
 back of the nearest chair. Her lips were 
 trembling a little, her eyes were frightened. 
 They clung to the lean, brown face, rather 
 set now, and hard, searching, questioning. 
 Her breath still came rather gaspingly. 
 
 Denham Carson smiled suddenly that 
 quick, boyish smile which she had found so
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 123 
 
 disarming and so reassuring when first she 
 had seen it. It brought with it a poignant 
 stab of memory, and the colour flooded her 
 face in a hot wave. Some of the fear left her 
 eyes and a half-scornful anger took its place; 
 the soft lips shut abruptly in a straight line. 
 
 She was beginning to recover herself, and 
 she made a quick, half-nervous gesture, speak- 
 ing at last, rather jerkily. 
 
 " What does this mean?" she asked. 
 " What are you doing here? How did you 
 get here?" 
 
 Carson made a deprecating movement of 
 his broad shoulders. 
 
 " Through the upstairs hall- window, via 
 the verandah pillar and a remarkably strong 
 vinel The invitation was Impossible to resist. 
 I hoped I had not disturbed any one." 
 
 He was bewilderingly at his ease. His lack 
 of agitation increased her own, while it roused 
 in her a quick gust of anger. His effrontery 
 was astounding, and she reddened anew. 
 
 " I mean " she flung at him sharply 
 " why are you here?" 
 
 She spoke without lowering her voice, and 
 saw a faint shadow of apprehension cross his 
 eyes as he glanced behind him at the door.
 
 124 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Somehow it served to give her back a measure 
 of her composure. Turning, she crossed 
 slowly to the hearth. The electric bell was 
 within reach of her hand, and again the 
 flicker of apprehension showed in Carson's 
 eyes as they rested upon it. But he spoke 
 rather softly, quite without flurry or haste. 
 
 " Chiefly," he told her in answer to her 
 question, " in the hope of finding something 
 to eat and drink. I 'm rather thirsty, and 
 quite decidedly hungry. Fugitives from justice, 
 you know " his voice was light, but there 
 was a sudden bitter note in it " have a 
 fairly strenuous time on the whole! I Ve 
 found to-day in particular " he grinned 
 unexpectedly, with a gleam in his eyes that 
 was disconcertingly mischievous " even more 
 than usually exciting! There 's been mighty 
 little time to attend to the inner man, I 
 assure you. But then, that 's generally the 
 way at weddings, is n't it?" 
 
 Lee started and swung round. Her eyes 
 were very bright, and at something within 
 them something of shrinking with which 
 was mingled defiance Carson's smile died 
 abruptly. 
 
 "I don't understand!" The girl's voice
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 125 
 
 was halting, a little shaky. " You don't 
 you can't mean that you " She stopped. 
 
 Carson met her reluctant glance straightly. 
 His lips twitched again. 
 
 " That I witnessed the interesting cere- 
 mony? But certainly. I would n't have 
 missed it for the world! Human nature 's 
 odd, is n't it? There 's a certain fascination 
 hi looking on at another chap's good fortune 
 more especially when one 's utterly down 
 and out. I suppose that 's why gutter-kid- 
 dies always linger outside the most expensive 
 toyshops! Besides, I really did n't believe 
 you 'd do it! I thought you 'd funk at the 
 last minute ! " 
 
 Lee gasped. A sudden fierce anger blazed 
 in her eyes. 
 
 "How dare you!" she said in a stifled 
 voice. 
 
 Carson regarded her gravely. 
 
 " I did, really," he assured her. " Of 
 course, I have not forgotten what you told 
 me about yourself your life that night on 
 Ruff's Island, but I did n't credit you with the 
 courage to make a marriage so frankly mer- 
 cenary." 
 
 Lee's face went quite white. She reached
 
 126 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 out her hand impulsively behind her to the 
 bell then drew it back. She spoke after a 
 minute, coldly, very quietly. 
 
 " Your comments," she informed him lev- 
 elly, " are impertinence to which I have no 
 intention of listening! You have no right to 
 make them, or to criticise " 
 
 "Oh, but I have!" 
 
 Carson left the door suddenly and came 
 across to her. One hand was thrust idly into 
 his pocket, in the other he swung his cap. 
 The light shone upon his clean-cut head, the 
 hair no longer close-shaven, but grown to 
 abundance, boyishly curly. Lee rested her 
 eyes upon it, and turned them abruptly away. 
 Her heart was stirring strangely, her throat 
 contracted. For a moment it seemed as if 
 the scent of wood-smoke, and sea mist was 
 in her nostrils. 
 
 " I have the greatest right of all!" Carson 
 went on. " The right of a man who loves 
 you and who has been the first to kiss your 
 lips!" 
 
 He met the blaze of her startled, angry 
 eyes quietly, even seriously. His own looked 
 vividly blue bluer because of the deep tan 
 of his face and again, in spite of herself, in
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 127 
 
 spite of her indignation, Lee's heart fluttered 
 and stirred. 
 
 She was dumb for a moment; then she 
 flung out her hands. 
 
 "You 're mad!" she accused him. 
 
 He chuckled suddenly, amusedly. 
 
 " I 'm beginning to think I am! If I were 
 sane I surely should n't indulge in such ad- 
 ventures as weddings and wedding journeys! 
 But all dreamers of dreams and lovers who 
 are very much in love are mad, are n't they? 
 And I 'm both! I Ve had ample time for 
 dreaming, you know " rather grimly " and 
 the sweetest of them has been the dream of 
 riding at a dream woman's side on her wed- 
 ding day. Only " he shrugged, with a rather 
 twisted little smile "though the dream 
 materialised up to a point, circumstances 
 somewhat spoiled the illusion! Such a jour- 
 ney should be accomplished openly, not in 
 concealment." 
 
 " But " the question was wrung from Lee 
 in sheer amazement " you can't mean that 
 you came here with us in our car?" 
 
 Carson laughed. 
 
 " Why not? It was a big enough one in 
 all conscience! And simply piled with rugs!
 
 128 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Besides, Brookbridge is nice and out of the 
 beaten track, though quite conveniently close 
 to town." 
 
 He was leaning against the mantelpiece 
 now, very close to her. Instinctively, with a 
 breath-catching in her throat, she moved back 
 a little. Carson went on without appearing 
 to notice. 
 
 " You see, I was beginning to suspect that 
 I 'd been spotted in London. A sojourn in 
 the country or suburbs is desirable for a week 
 or so; and I knew I 'd never be suspected of 
 making a get-away in the company of the 
 newly married Mr. and Mrs. Smithers! I 
 reckoned on just glimpsing your new home, 
 and then wandering on across country some- 
 where. A garage is quite a comfy place to 
 take a nap in, I assure you, and on the whole 
 I Ve had quite a pleasant time. Only " 
 he laughed again, low in his throat " I 'd 
 forgotten my appetite ! I like food, and I Ve 
 had precious little all day! You can under- 
 stand now the temptation of that open hall 
 window!" 
 
 Lee stirred, but she did not speak. He 
 went on, conversationally. 
 
 " In a house like this I knew there 'd be
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 129 
 
 sure to be biscuits and drinks around in either 
 dining- or smoking-rooms and even Osbornes 
 appeal to a desperately hungry man. Of 
 course there was a risk but seeing you has 
 made that more than worth while!" 
 
 The lightness, almost flippancy, of his 
 voice changed to an unmistakable sincerity. 
 Under his steady gaze Lee's dropped. She 
 was shaken and bewildered, and completely 
 at a loss how to act; she found the whole 
 situation increasingly difficult to cope with. 
 Carson's serious declaration of feeling had 
 invested it with a new significance. 
 
 Her own feelings were chaotic. She should 
 have known for him shrinking, horror, even 
 fear, as well as anger. Yet she was conscious 
 of none of these things not even, at this 
 moment, the anger. His voice and words 
 had touched some strange chord in her heart, 
 had again thrust memories poignant and 
 undeniably sweet upon her. She felt in the 
 steady regard of those blue eyes the same 
 mute caress that she had known in it that 
 night upon Ruff's Island was aware of the 
 same flame of emotion beneath it. 
 
 The silence between them lasted a long 
 time. Carson broke it.
 
 130 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " Well?" he asked. His voice had changed 
 again, was curt, rather sharp. Lee looked 
 up, and as their eyes met he straightened him- 
 self. " What are you going to do?" he added. 
 " You know who I am now, of course. You 
 know that I 'm hiding from justice. The 
 hand of every man is against me, the brand of 
 Cain upon me. You 've only to touch that 
 bell and bring your servants upon us. I 
 should n't attempt to escape, since I know I 
 should n't have a chance. Or you can let 
 me go." 
 
 Lee drew a quick, almost painful breath. 
 Her face was pale now, her eyes uncertain. 
 She stood with her fingers locked tightly to- 
 gether up against her throat, her lower lip 
 held close between her teeth. 
 
 Again Carson spoke. 
 
 " It may influence your decision if I tell 
 you that I am absolutely innocent of the 
 crime that has been laid at my door. Of 
 course you may not believe me. There is no 
 reason why you should." 
 
 He paused. Once more Lee drew a deep 
 breath. Her eyes were upon his, searching, 
 earnest. He met them levelly, steadily 
 and suddenly she let her hands fall. Yet
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 131 
 
 still her whole attitude was one of indecision. 
 
 Carson made a sudden, shrugging move- 
 ment of his shoulders. 
 
 " Or," he asked, " did I dare too much at 
 the moment of good-bye on Ruff's Island? 
 Was my offence so great that you are unable 
 to resist sinking mercy beneath a desire for 
 revenge?" 
 
 He watched the colour flood her cheeks, 
 mounting to the very temples, sweeping even 
 over the white throat. Then, meeting the 
 flash of her eyes, in which there was a queer 
 hurt as well as resentment, he flung wide his 
 hands in a gesture of appeal and apology. 
 
 " Forgive me," he begged, and there was 
 a new, warm, husky note in his voice. " That 
 was a hateful thing to say!" 
 
 Lee did not answer him. Very quietly she 
 brushed past him and moved to the door. 
 But even as she reached the threshold, she 
 stopped abruptly. From somewhere outside 
 there came the sound of steps on the gravel, 
 the muffled sound of voices. Through the 
 narrow parting of the heavy blinds there 
 flashed a light. Somewhere in the house itself 
 there was a stirring. 
 
 Lee let her outstretched hand fall, and
 
 132 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 swung round, gasping. Denham Carson, 
 grim-lipped, had already sprung for the win- 
 dow; but the girl stayed him with a quick, 
 low cry. 
 
 " No no! Whoever is out there is on the 
 drive and they Ve got a light. They 'd 
 see you you could n't get away!" 
 
 Her voice was shaking. Carson, halting, 
 turned to her slowly. His face was very 
 white; his eyes were aflame. 
 
 " Damn!" he whispered, very softly, just 
 above his breath. Then he lifted his arms 
 and let them fall limply. The gesture was 
 eloquent of hopelessness; beneath the gleam 
 of his blue eyes there was a bitter despair 
 that made Lee put her hand quickly to her 
 throat. Then, suddenly, she reached out 
 behind her and turned the knob. Her own 
 eyes were as brilliant as his now, her lips 
 were quivering. 
 
 " Go this way!" she commanded impera- 
 tively. " Upstairs! There are no servants in 
 this wing not even my maid. You can get 
 out through my room it 's just above this 
 and there 's a balcony outside the window 
 that runs all round the wing! Be quick!" 
 
 She pulled the door open as she spoke.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 133 
 
 The light flooding from the room showed the 
 shallow, thickly carpeted staircase. Steps 
 sounded in the house, but they were distant; 
 the swinging light from without shone 
 through the crack in the curtain again. In a 
 flash Carson had passed her, and as she heard 
 him running up the stairs she leaned for a 
 moment weakly against the door. 
 
 But she had no time for analysis of either 
 her actions or her feelings. The steps outside 
 were close to the window now. Those within 
 the house were hurrying nearer to the room. 
 
 For an instant Lee hesitated, then she 
 crossed the room and pulled aside the cur- 
 tains. 
 
 A moment later she had unlatched the 
 window. One of the grooms came forward 
 eagerly, then drew back at sight of her, 
 making a quick salute, just as Frost came 
 hurrying into the room. 
 
 Lee was conscious of a swift relief at sight 
 of him. The groom spoke quickly, almost 
 apologetically. 
 
 " Beg pardon, ma'am but we thought we 
 heard some one monkeyin' round outside the 
 stables and then we saw the lights down 
 here an' came along "
 
 134 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 He met Frost's eye and paused. Lee 
 laughed a little shakily. 
 
 "I heard a sound, too!" she explained. 
 " That 's why I came down! I was frightened 
 but if there was any one here he they 
 must have gone before I got down. I " 
 
 She broke off. Frost's quiet eyes were 
 upon her. They were as expressionless as 
 ever, yet somehow she felt herself flushing 
 slowly, guiltily, beneath them, while she was 
 impelled away from the window and towards 
 the door. 
 
 Frost made a slight inclination of his head. 
 His voice was reassuringly respectful when he 
 spoke. 
 
 " I think there is no need for alarm, ma'am. 
 I will see to it that the house is thoroughly 
 searched as quietly as possible. Mr. Smith- 
 ers is a trifle unwell, ma'am, and is only just 
 gone to sleep; it would be better not to 
 disturb him. You can leave things quite 
 safely with me, ma'am." 
 
 Lee accepted the information gratefully, 
 and hurried out of the room. She was tingling 
 all over, still bewildered, scared, and more 
 agitated than she had ever been in her life. 
 At the open hall window she paused, leaning
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 135 
 
 against it for a moment and drinking in 
 thirstily the crisp, cold air. 
 
 She was utterly weary, the whole day had 
 been trying in the extreme, and her head was 
 throbbing painfully. In spite of the cold the 
 night air was refreshing, and she was too 
 restless to go to bed too uncertain of how 
 Denham Carson had managed to make his 
 escape. 
 
 She waited, drooping against the casement, 
 by the window, listening to the murmur of 
 voices below stairs, watching, presently, the 
 firefly-like flicker of lanterns across the lawns 
 and through the shrubberies. From some- 
 where on the distant road there came the 
 slurring hum of a car an owl hooted sleepily. 
 
 At last, with a little sigh, and shivering, she 
 straightened herself. Softly she padded up 
 the remaining stairs and along the corridor to 
 her room, groping for the handle. 
 
 As she passed through the door and closed 
 it behind her, she stifled a sudden cry and 
 stood rigid. At the farther end of the room, 
 by one of the windows, a shadowy figure 
 stirred. Denham Carson's voice, whispering, 
 reassuring, came through the darkness; in a 
 moment she found him at her side.
 
 136 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " Hush! It 's all right!" he declared. " I 
 could n't go not till I 'd seen you again. I 
 want to know why you Ve done this for me?" 
 
 Lee gave a smothered exclamation. 
 
 " But you are utterly mad!" she whispered 
 back fiercely. 
 
 She started away as she felt his hands grope 
 for hers, but he was too quick; his fingers 
 closed tightly about her wrists. She strove 
 for a second to free herself, then stood very 
 still. 
 
 Carson bent his head down close to hers. 
 
 " Why did you?" he asked. " Why did 
 you?" 
 
 She caught the insistence of his voice, a 
 throbbing note of passion in it; her captured 
 hands were touching his breast, and she could 
 feel the beating of his heart beneath them. 
 
 She stood for a moment thus, her head flung 
 back, her lips apart. Then she wrenched 
 unexpectedly free. She was trembling a little, 
 and in the darkness her eyes shone strangely. 
 For a few, pulsing seconds she did not speak. 
 It was as though she found great difficulty in 
 choosing her words; when they came, it was 
 haltingly, a trifle breathlessly: 
 
 " Because," she said, and flung an arm
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 137 
 
 towards the window, " I suppose / am mad, 
 too! Now go!" 
 
 In the darkness Carson laughed. There 
 was something in the sound that made Lee 
 catch her hands up to her face, even though 
 she knew he could not see her. Through her 
 interlaced fingers she saw the indistinct figure 
 lean towards her. 
 
 " That 's not the only reason," he asserted 
 confidently; and laughed again an odd, low, 
 gentle laugh that still had in it something of 
 triumph. 
 
 Then he straightened himself, moved away 
 from her, and a moment later stood silhouet- 
 ted against the window. He pushed it open 
 soundlessly, and stepped over the low sill. 
 From the other side he leaned back into the 
 room. 
 
 "This is n't 'good-bye,' you know!" he 
 told her, with that audacious assurance which 
 was, to the girl, alike baffling and bewilder- 
 ing. " We 're going to meet again!" 
 
 The window slid down softly; from beyond 
 it came a muffled " good-night " that Lee 
 sensed rather than heard. The silhouette 
 wavered, and was gone. 
 
 Lee stood without moving, her hands still
 
 138 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 laced across her eyes. But they were wide- 
 open eyes, in which there was flickering a 
 wholly new expression a wonder, a fear, and 
 a wild unrest. 
 
 The comfortable serenity which had grown 
 up within her during this last month was 
 gone. Her cool satisfaction with her changed 
 lot was no more. The blood was surging 
 hotly through her veins; her heart was leap- 
 ing. Even she herself did not know what 
 the medley of emotions in that heart spelled. 
 She dared not ask. 
 
 It was not until she had stood so long that 
 she began to sway that she moved at last. 
 Then, rather stumblingly, she felt her way to 
 the bed and flung herself down across it, 
 catching her long hair across her eyes so that 
 they still were hidden.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 LEE came down to breakfast the next morn- 
 ing looking listless, and with a faint shadow- 
 ing beneath her eyes. Her usual delicate 
 pallor was accentuated, her manner nervous. 
 Her sleep had been fitful, troubled, and she 
 still felt shaken, bewildered, and vaguely ap- 
 prehensive. 
 
 She found her husband awaiting her, and 
 she greeted him with an unaccustomed awk- 
 wardness which made her feel absurdly young 
 and gauche. She bit her lips as he took her 
 outstretched hand into his and bowed over it 
 in his odd, old-fashioned, courteous way, 
 striving after the composure which so seldom 
 deserted her. 
 
 For the first time since he had asked her to 
 marry him she was conscious of being averse 
 to, almost resentful of, his touch. The knowl- 
 edge of the tie between them seemed sud- 
 denly to loom up before her, oppressive, even 
 menacing. Yesterday her bonds had lain 
 upon her lightly; to-day the world was 
 changed. 
 
 She knew it even while she refused to face
 
 140 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 the knowledge, and as Smithers released her 
 hand she drew a deep, long breath of relief 
 and dropped somewhat limply into the chair 
 opposite that which Frost was carefully 
 arranging for his master. 
 
 She glanced at the man quickly. Deft, 
 capable, unobtrusive, he had a hand beneath 
 his master's elbow and was lowering him into 
 his seat. It struck Lee with sudden force how 
 stiff and slow of movement Jason Smithers 
 was; she was aware almost of a pang of dis- 
 may. Somehow she had not seemed to notice 
 it very much before: if she had it had not 
 affected her in any degree personally. 
 
 With the passing of weeks and the new 
 interest and excitement which had been 
 crowded into her days, the memory of the 
 few brief hours on Ruff's Island with Denham 
 Carson had worn fine. There had been no 
 one with whom to contrast Jason Smithers. 
 Now there was. Once more Carson had been 
 hurled into her life, as it were, out of a clear 
 sky. Once more the impression of his vivid 
 personality was strong upon her. Once more 
 the queer, quick charm of his smile, the boy- 
 ish straightness of his eyes dominated her 
 thoughts.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 141 
 
 Just what his appeal was to her she did not 
 know. Certainly, in part, it was his youth, 
 his strength, his virility. For the rest 
 
 She jerked herself away from her own 
 thoughts with a startled upward glance as Jason 
 Smithers's voice came to her. He was peering 
 at her through his smoked spectacles, blinking 
 quickly. 
 
 " I hope you were not disturbed last night," 
 he said. " Frost tells me there was a scare 
 burglars, or something of the sort; that you 
 were alarmed?" 
 
 His tone was at once irritable and solici- 
 tous. Lee, after that first quick glance, 
 applied herself to the task of pouring coffee, 
 and did not look up again. She answered a 
 little hurriedly. 
 
 " I 'm afraid I was in a measure responsible 
 for the scare. I thought I heard a noise 
 downstairs and came down I expect my 
 switching on the lights made the men think 
 there was something wrong here at the house. 
 Was there " she forced herself to ask the 
 question steadily " any one, after all?" 
 
 Mr. Smithers stirred the coffee Frost set 
 beside his plate, and looked up at him. 
 
 "Well, Frost?"
 
 142 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " We did not find any one, sir. It is quite 
 probable that a tramp sheltered in the garage 
 or stable loft, and slipped out when he 
 thought there would be no one about. I feel 
 convinced there is no cause for further appre- 
 hension, sir," 
 
 Again Lee's lashes lifted, and she gave the 
 servant a quick look from under them. His 
 face was as expressionless as his voice, and 
 his attention was entirely with his master. 
 Once more Lee experienced a feeling of relief, 
 and relaxed, leaning back comfortably in her 
 high oak chair. Mr. Smithers blinked at her 
 benignly. 
 
 " I hope you feel satisfied on that point, 
 my dear?" he observed, and she started, 
 making a quick gesture. 
 
 " Quite," she assured him, with a rather 
 nervous laugh. 
 
 He nodded, then dismissed Frost. With 
 the quiet closing of the door Lee's uneasy 
 shyness returned to her. She dreaded, sud- 
 denly, and for the first time, being alone 
 with him. She was conscious of a distressing 
 sense of guilt, of deception; and while she 
 felt his eyes upon her face she avoided meet- 
 ing them.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 143 
 
 For the first part of the meal the conversa- 
 tion was brief. Mr. Smithers applied himself 
 heartily to his breakfast, and when he spoke 
 it was upon quite ordinary subjects. Lee 
 answered him monosyllabically and ate 
 scarcely anything, though she drank two 
 cups of coffee thirstily. 
 
 With the toast and marmalade the old man 
 gave her more of his attention. He looked 
 at her, and at the untouched food on her 
 plate, and a little frown brought his shaggy 
 brows together. 
 
 " You 're looking pale," he told her, " and 
 you Ve eaten nothing. I suppose you were 
 more scared and upset last night than you 're 
 willing to admit!" 
 
 His tone was testy; she felt the penetra- 
 tion of his gaze, though she could scarcely see 
 his eyes behind the smoked glasses, and she 
 stirred beneath it distressfully. 
 
 " Indeed, no 1 " she hastened to assure 
 him. " But I have rather a headache this 
 morning. It it has been a crowded month, 
 you know and yesterday was a rather try- 
 ing day. Even you " she forced herself to 
 look at him, and smile faintly " were over- 
 done, it seems. Frost told me you were not
 
 144 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 well. I 'm sorry, and I hope you were n't 
 disturbed. I 'd no idea even that you had 
 returned." 
 
 " God bless the girl!" Smithers's voice was 
 still more testy, and he applied marmalade 
 liberally to his toast and butter with shaky 
 fingers. " What sort of hours do you think 
 I keep? I only drove into a neighbouring 
 village to see a man on business going 
 abroad to-day, or something of the sort, so 
 could n't wait. I was back soon after you 
 went to your room. I did n't let you know, as 
 I 'd a touch of gout and I 'm devilish irritable 
 when I 'm not up to the mark. By the way, 
 I hope Frost made my excuses adequately? 
 You must have thought my leaving you to 
 dine alone last night was rather extraordi- 
 nary. It occurred to me afterwards that I 
 ought to have explained matters myself 
 that you might be offended?" 
 
 He peered at her somewhat anxiously, and 
 again Lee's nervous hands fluttered out in a 
 hurried movement. 
 
 " But of course not!" she declared. " Frost 
 made things perfectly clear, and I quite 
 understood." 
 
 Mr. Smithers beamed.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 145 
 
 " That 's very sweet of you." He reached 
 across the table and patted the slender hand 
 upon which the little gold circle gleamed so 
 newly. It twitched slightly, but she did not 
 draw it away, and after a moment the old 
 man withdrew his own to make a second raid 
 upon the marmalade pot. 
 
 " What are your plans for to-day?" he 
 asked presently, and Lee shook her head. 
 
 " I don't know. I had n't thought. Per- 
 haps if you don't mind I 'd like to ride 
 this morning. That red mare is perfectly 
 beautiful. I did not see you after our visit 
 to the stables yesterday to thank you. I 
 you 're too good to me!" 
 
 Her soft voice took a sudden new warmth; 
 she leaned forward, involuntarily stretching 
 her hand towards him. A second time Mr. 
 Smithers laid his own upon it. He was smil- 
 ing, but there was a note of seriousness in his 
 tone. 
 
 " I could n't be. I want you to be happy, 
 Lee really happy! I want you to live your 
 life as nearly as possible as if you were free. 
 Above all things " very earnestly " I want 
 you never to to regret!" 
 
 Lee did not answer immediately. The con-
 
 146 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 sciousness of guilt, of deception, was upon 
 her anew; and she was deeply touched. When 
 at last she looked up there were tears in her 
 eyes. She tried to speak, but found it, at that 
 moment, impossible to frame words that 
 were suitable. , Her husband spared her the 
 necessity. With a final pressure he relin- 
 quished her fingers and leaned back in his 
 chair. 
 
 " There, there! That 's all right, my dear! 
 We '11 quit being sober till there 's need for it 
 which I sincerely hope there never will be. 
 Ride, by all means; and don't let me keep you 
 if you Ve finished your own breakfast. I 
 like to read my paper over my last cup of 
 coffee. I expect I shall have got through 
 with the news by the time you 're ready to 
 start. I '11 like to see how the mare carries 
 you." 
 
 He passed his empty cup to Lee as he 
 spoke. It rattled in the saucer, and watching 
 the white, unsteady fingers, the girl knew a 
 fresh pang at the recurring signs of age in 
 this man; a fresh, faint dismay a sense of 
 oppression. 
 
 She filled the coffee-cup in silence, and, ris- 
 ing, came with it to his side, setting it down
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 147 
 
 beside his plate. Her own mood bewildered 
 her. A warm gratitude towards him for his 
 kindliness, his understanding, and the quiet 
 tact with which he had made more easy this 
 first embarrassing meal together in newly 
 intimate surroundings warred with a rising 
 revolt an almost overwhelming desire to 
 escape, to undo that which she had done. 
 
 It would pass presently, she knew. But 
 it frightened her while it lasted. She had not 
 expected to feel like this ; she had dreamed of 
 no stirring of regret. But the events of the 
 preceding night had changed her outlook 
 upon the future. In spite of her fierce efforts 
 to forget him, Denham Carson's face kept 
 rising before her eyes his last words seemed 
 to ring in her ears: 
 
 " This is n't ' good-bye/ you know! We 're 
 going to meet again!" 
 
 She turned rather abruptly towards the 
 door, pausing the next moment as Smithers 
 spoke. 
 
 " Frost has put the papers at your end of 
 the table, my dear. Will you give them to 
 me before you go?" 
 
 Lee reached out a long arm for them and 
 picked them up. But she did not give them
 
 148 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 to him. Instead she stood quite still, even as 
 she had stood once before, staring at black 
 headlines above a familiar photograph and 
 Denham Carson's name. 
 
 For an instant her vision blurred; her 
 heart leaped, then seemed to grow still. 
 Breathlessly, utterly forgetful of Jason Smith- 
 ers's presence, of what he might think, she 
 began to read. 
 
 DENHAM CARSON IN LONDON 
 
 Denham Carson, the American murderer who 
 escaped recently, and who was believed to have 
 contrived to make his way to England, was seen 
 twice in London yesterday. The first occasion 
 was in the morning, in a quiet street backing a 
 square of fashionable houses. A working-man 
 passing him was struck by his likeness to the 
 photograph of Carson published in the various 
 newspapers some weeks ago. ; Unfortunately the 
 man did not attempt to detain him, but went in 
 search of a policeman, and in spite of the fact 
 that there was one quite near, upon their return 
 there was no trace of the wanted man. It is 
 something of a mystery how he contrived to 
 get out of sight so quickly, as the street is a 
 long one, with the very high walls of the outer 
 premises of the square houses upon one side, in 
 all of which the gates were found to be securely
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 149 
 
 locked, and a row of smaller houses upon the 
 other. The street was almost empty at the time, 
 and no one else appears to have noticed Carson. 
 But the workman's description tallies absolutely 
 in every detail with that of the murderer, and 
 there is little or no doubt that it was he. ... Later 
 he was recognised by several people at a popular 
 restaurant; but again contrived to get out and 
 away before an alarm was given. And again it 
 would appear that there was something of a 
 mystery in his complete disappearance. Accord- 
 ing to all statements he was not recognised until 
 leaving the restaurant, although he had made no 
 attempt at all at disguise. He walked out of the 
 place so quietly that no one realised he was gone 
 until it was too late. Once outside he seemed 
 to vanish. The police, however, are hopeful of 
 tracing him and effecting his arrest within the 
 next twenty-four hours 
 
 " What in the world is the matter, child?" 
 Jason Smithers's voice, a shade brusque and 
 impatient, roused Lee violently to a realisa- 
 tion of her surroundings. With a little gasp 
 she thrust the newspapers into his out- 
 stretched fingers. 
 
 " I why, nothing " she steadied herself 
 for a moment with her hand against the 
 table's edge. " I was just interested " 
 
 She knew that she spoke shakily, and that
 
 150 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 her face was white. Jason, however, paid no 
 heed. With the paper held close to his eyes 
 he was reading the paragraph she had just 
 perused. 
 
 " Humph! The Carson case cropped up 
 again!. . . By Gad! But it 's outrageous! 
 Outrageous, the way the police let a man walk 
 away right under their noses! Dunderheads, 
 that 's what they are! Drivelling dunder- 
 heads! If they had n't been utterly incompe- 
 tent they 'd have arrested him before he 'd 
 been in England two days! Disgraceful, I 
 call it! No protection in the arm of the law 
 at all!" 
 
 He thumped the paper violently with an 
 indignant hand, glaring at Lee truculently. 
 She looked at him vaguely, only half compre- 
 hending what he was saying, but feeling 
 grateful for the explosion in that it gave 
 her time to recover herself. Smithers, labo- 
 riously continuing the paragraph, snorted 
 anew: 
 
 " ' Hope to effect an arrest within twenty- 
 four hours,' indeed! I should hope so, too!" 
 
 Lee turned away rather abruptly, crossing 
 to the hearth. Her face had hardened ever so 
 slightly, her eyes were grown brighter.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 151 
 
 Vaguely, within her, some instinct of defence 
 was rising. 
 
 She spoke quickly, almost before she quite 
 knew what she was about to say: 
 
 " But, perhaps he is not guilty " 
 
 Her voice came faintly. Mr. Smithers made 
 an abrupt movement that sent a fork clatter- 
 ing to the ground, and laid down his news- 
 paper. His face was curiously blank; his 
 tone so sharp when he spoke, that Lee started. 
 
 " Not guilty! Good Gad, Lee! What are 
 you talking about? He 's been tried, has n't 
 he? And imprisoned? As far as I can make 
 out it 's by the merest miracle he escaped the 
 extreme penalty! Not guilty? What the 
 devil else should he be?" 
 
 " There was no real proof " 
 
 Again something within her drove her, 
 unwillingly, to a defence of Carson that was 
 half defiant. 
 
 Mr. Smithers thumped the table vigorously. 
 
 " God bless my soul, Lee! Are you going 
 to tell me that you 're in sympathy with the 
 fellow?" 
 
 His voice was profoundly shocked. Lee, 
 flushing deeply, let her hands fall to her sides 
 and turned slowly to face him. Her eyes
 
 152 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 looked unnaturally dark and troubled, but 
 they met his steadfastly. 
 
 " As much," she declared quietly, " as I am 
 in sympathy with any creature that is 
 hunted! I don't ride to hounds, you know, 
 for that reason!" 
 
 She was crossing the room as she spoke. 
 As she passed him she stooped to pick up the 
 fork, and smiled at him half wistfully, with 
 a sort of faint apology. Mr. Smithers cleared 
 his throat with unnecessary noise, and blinked 
 rapidly. 
 
 " God bless my soul!" he ejaculated. And 
 again, as the door closed upon her " God 
 bless my soul!"
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE days that ensued were peaceful, very 
 pleasant, and altogether uneventful. For the 
 first week Lee was jumpy, nervous, and not 
 quite herself. She had endured a greater 
 strain than she had guessed; the effect was 
 not easy to shake off. She knew a tremor 
 every evening and morning that she picked 
 up a newspaper; but the Carson affair was 
 soon relegated to the background and other 
 interesting events placed before it, so that 
 gradually she mentally relaxed. 
 
 In a little while she found it possible to 
 appreciate and enjoy her new position. For 
 the first time since Tom Dorice's death she 
 was really free; for the first time in her life 
 every luxury that any woman could desire 
 was hers. 
 
 Resolutely she turned her face to the future 
 and strove to forget the past that past in 
 which Denham Carson had played a part. 
 But there were moments when she knew that 
 she never could forget.
 
 154 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Perhaps because of this, and a sense of 
 guilt that still lingered, she gave Jason Smithers 
 a good deal more of her time and company 
 than otherwise she might have done. At first 
 he had appeared surprised, then flattered and 
 pleased. He roused himself to enter into her 
 moods and the spirit of her desires with an 
 eagerness which touched and warmed her 
 heart towards him. 
 
 There were nights, in the pink glow of 
 candles and firelight, with just Frost in 
 attendance at the table when the halting hesi- 
 tancy left his speech, his stooped shoulders 
 seemed to straighten, and his eyes to gleam 
 in defiance of the smoked glasses that blurred 
 them; nights when he renewed a little of that 
 lost youth of his which he had so reluctantly 
 let go; nights when, over a perfectly served 
 dinner, he recalled interesting stories to tell 
 her, or discussed with her their favourite 
 books, and later, alone in the drawing-room 
 with her, sat in the shadows while she played 
 to him, and sometimes sang, in her throaty, 
 sweet, rather weak voice. 
 
 There were mornings when he watched her, 
 with a wistfulness she sensed, riding away on 
 the red mare down the drive; and late, misty
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 155 
 
 afternoons when he walked with her, stiffly, 
 under the dripping trees. 
 
 An intimacy grew between them which even 
 the girl found more than merely pleasant. 
 It was comforting to be loved and cared for. 
 It reminded her of the glad old days when 
 she and her father had taken their pleasures 
 together. She knew something of the same 
 warmth of well-being now. 
 
 Jason Smithers needed her. He gave her 
 much, but she returned it with her constant 
 companionship, her sweetness, and her youth. 
 She had swept his days bare of loneliness; as, 
 curiously enough, he had swept hers. 
 
 Only on occasions now did she think of the 
 ties which bound her with shrinking. For 
 the most part they lay lightly upon her; and 
 at all times Jason Smithers 's affection was 
 unobtrusive. It was not difficult to be happy 
 under such circumstances, and when, a week 
 later than had been expected, Terry came to 
 them for her visit, she found Lee with 
 brighter eyes and pinker cheeks than she had 
 ever known her. 
 
 She regarded her for a few minutes consid- 
 eringly, then came quickly across to her 
 where she sat, knees hunched, slim arms
 
 156 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 encircling them, upon a squat, puffed satin 
 and brocade cushion before the glowing log 
 fire, and stooping laid two firm brown hands 
 upon her shoulders. 
 
 " Lord, Lee! " she ejaculated, with a greater 
 depth than usual in her gay voice, " but it 's 
 good to see you again especially looking as 
 you are now! It strikes me that being Mrs. 
 Jason Smithers has done you good!" 
 
 Lee coloured a little, but her eyes smiled. 
 Terry gave her an ecstatic squeeze. 
 
 " Then things really are working all right?" 
 she demanded. " You 're still happy have 
 n't begun to to be sorry?" 
 
 There was the faintest note of anxiety in 
 the young voice; the red-brown eyes were 
 mercilessly searching. For one brief second 
 Lee turned her own away from them; unex- 
 pectedly the memory of Denham Carson 
 stirred and shook her. A sharp pain that was 
 almost physical stabbed at her heart and was 
 gone, followed by a surge of remorse that was 
 almost tenderness as she thought of the queer, 
 crotchetty old man who was her husband. 
 
 Slowly, resolutely she met Terry's gaze, 
 and her lips lifted in a fine, faint smile that 
 was not without sweetness.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 157 
 
 " No," she said and believed honestly 
 that she spoke the truth " I have n't begun 
 to be sorry!" 
 
 Terry let her hands fall and drew a long, 
 deep breath. 
 
 " Cheers! I 'm no end glad, Lee!" 
 
 She straightened herself, stretching. Lee's 
 eyes grew at once soft and grave as they 
 watched her. Long-limbed as ever, and as 
 carelessly garbed, Terry yet seemed to have 
 subtly altered. The too thin limbs were ever 
 so slightly rounder, her movements not so 
 awkward. Lee got up rather abruptly, and, 
 following her as she moved restlessly round 
 the room, linked a hand in her arm. 
 
 " You really ought to have different dresses, 
 Terry!" she exclaimed. "I thought I 
 hoped Teresa " She paused, biting her lip 
 vexedly. 
 
 Terry grinned. " Would spend some of the 
 money you Ve been sending her on my ward- 
 robe?" she interpolated swiftly. " Guess 
 again, honey! And don't forget that each 
 inch on my skirts adds a year or so to mother's 
 age!" 
 
 She pirouetted cheerfully before a long 
 mirror, adding as she did so:
 
 158 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " And mother 's having a gorgeous time 
 just now. You Ve been much too generous, 
 Lee. She does n't deserve it, and it only 
 encourages her extravagance. But she certainly 
 is enjoying herself. She 's taken to enter- 
 taining quite a good deal, and is always 
 collecting new people about her. . . . But 
 you really ought n't to do it, Lee. She 's 
 such an ungrateful little cat!" 
 
 She let her fanning skirts settle about her, 
 and laughed at Lee's half-startled, half- 
 reproving expression. 
 
 " But I don't want to shock Smithy, or 
 scandalise Frost, so I '11 let down my evening 
 frock a couple of inches. By the way, I 
 suppose Haines is still here?" 
 
 The tone was disinterested, but a deeper 
 rose burned for a moment in her cheeks. Lee 
 nodded. 
 
 " I don't know what Mr. Smithers would 
 do without Frost and Haines! I think he 
 would feel utterly lost." She laughed, and 
 Terry gave a sigh of satisfaction. 
 
 " That 's a good thing that Haines is here, 
 I mean. You see, I Ve a horrible suspicion 
 that Toby, the terrier, has mange, and if so 
 he '11 have to be isolated, poor dear, and I 'd
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 159 
 
 like Haines to look after him. If you don't 
 mind " she glanced at the clock " I think 
 I '11 slip along with him to the garage at once 
 there 's half an hour before dinner." 
 
 She was gone with her whirlwind impet- 
 uosity; to reappear as dinner was announced 
 still surreptitiously battling with the fasten- 
 ing of her belt. 
 
 Her toilet had obviously been hastily made, 
 and the front of her frock was decidedly 
 longer than the back; but she was flushed 
 and smiling, and unusually bright-eyed. 
 
 She had found Haines, and, superbly ignor- 
 ing the incidents of their recent drive to town, 
 had immediately enlisted his sympathy and 
 services for the terrier. After which she had 
 made a brief inspection of the little black mare 
 awaiting her in the stables, and had returned 
 to the house only a few minutes before the 
 dinner hour. 
 
 Jason Smithers greeted her warmly, and 
 throughout the meal she chattered gaily and 
 unceasingly, with an animation which seemed 
 to have increased even since her arrival. Over 
 the prospect of her riding lessons she waxed 
 especially enthusiastic, and drifted from this 
 subject to a collection of droll descriptions
 
 160 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 of her various adventures in driving the big 
 Rolls-Royce. 
 
 " I don't know what I should do without 
 it!" she declared. " Butler looks after it for 
 me, of course, but I never take him out with 
 me now if I can help it except at night. He 's 
 so awfully Scotch, is n't he? I don't believe 
 he 's ever exceeded the speed limit in his 
 life!" 
 
 She paused to make a hearty attack upon 
 her sweet, then went on: 
 
 " I drive perfectly, now. And it 's awfully 
 handy having a car when one is perpetually 
 having guests. Patty Clay asked us down 
 soon after your wedding, Lee. Rather decent 
 of her, was n't it? She had a new man there 
 an American awfully nice chap!" 
 
 The pink deepened hi her cheeks; a pair 
 of mischievous dimples came and went. 
 
 " We 've seen quite a good deal of him 
 since. He was only at Patty's for a week-end 
 visit, and he drove back to town with mother 
 and me." 
 
 She dimpled again, and Lee looked at her 
 for a moment searchingly. Terry caught the 
 glance, and blushed. 
 
 " I rather like him," she confessed candidly.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 161 
 
 " He 's a sport, and never treats me like a 
 kid. We Ve had some ripping runs in the car 
 together Butler 'd have had heart-failure if 
 he 'd been with us!" 
 
 Jason Smithers chuckled, blinking across at 
 her indulgently. Lee looked a little thought- 
 ful. Terry was the least shade self-conscious, 
 and she had never seen her so before. It 
 startled her; made her realise how nearly 
 across the border of womanhood the girl was. 
 
 " What sort of boy is he?" she asked 
 gently; and Terry frowned. 
 
 " He is n't a boy. He is n't even really 
 young perhaps forty, mother thinks. May- 
 be a bit more." 
 
 Lee checked a smile and a sigh. Smithers, 
 meeting her glance, passed a rueful hand 
 across his thick white hair. Terry proceeded 
 volubly. 
 
 " He 's fearfully attractive. I 'm not in- 
 terested in men as a rule, but he 's different. 
 He 's remarkably handsome, and, I should 
 think, as rich as you are!" This to Smithers. 
 She added, pulling grapes from their stalk, 
 and eating them childishly, stones and all, 
 " His name is Roland Gish! What on earth 's 
 the matter?"
 
 162 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Frost, in the act of handing coffee which 
 had been ordered at the table, caught his 
 elbow sharply against his master's chair. 
 There was a tinkle of silver, a soft crash of 
 one of the shell-like cups on the thick carpet, 
 a startled mutter of apology from the man. 
 
 Lee glanced apprehensively at her husband. 
 He had not moved, and a deep frown was his 
 only indication of displeasure. She noticed 
 that his usually unsteady fingers were clasped 
 firmly upon the stem of his wineglass. 
 
 Terry, bewildered by something in his ex- 
 pression that was not merely annoyance at 
 Frost's clumsiness, exclaimed: 
 
 " Why? Have you heard of him? Do you 
 know him?" 
 
 Very slowly Mr. Smithers brought his 
 glance back to her face. He did not even 
 look at the distressed Frost. 
 
 " I do not know him," he returned. " But " 
 he lifted his glass and deliberately drained 
 its contents " yes. I have heard of him! "
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 TERRY'S riding lessons commenced the next 
 day, and proceeded highly satisfactorily. 
 Haines was, she discovered, a superb horse- 
 man as well as a careful and efficient 
 instructor. 
 
 At the end of a week the paddocks were 
 forsaken for the roads. Terry, absolutely 
 in her element, glowed with enjoyment and 
 enthusiasm. Haines, who was her attendant 
 always, and who had apparently utterly for- 
 gotten the Richmond incident, appeared to 
 know even more about horses than he did 
 about cars. 
 
 Upon reflection Terry decided that he 
 seemed less like a servant. In his riding kit 
 he might very easily have been a man of her 
 own world; and perhaps it was this which 
 caused her subtly to change her attitude 
 towards him. On horseback, out in the sting- 
 ing freshness of the open, it was difficult to 
 remember that they were not equals. Terry 
 did not try. She was perfectly content with
 
 164 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 things as they were, and was enjoying her- 
 self immensely. 
 
 Three weeks later, when Christmas was 
 almost upon the world again, Teresa Dorice 
 wrote to her stepdaughter. She commenced 
 with trivialities, finishing characteristically: 
 
 ... I shall be all alone at Christmas, and 
 this flat, though convenient ordinarily, is too 
 small for any sort of entertaining. I suppose you 
 will have a house-party? If so, can I come and 
 bring one or two people with me? I Ve heard 
 such a lot about Brookbridge, and of course I 
 want to see your home there. . . . Let me know 
 quickly, as I shall have to arrange things accord- 
 ingly. I hope you 're not spoiling Terry. . . . 
 
 Lee went in search of her husband and put 
 the letter into his hand. He looked up at her 
 after he had perused it, raising his brows. 
 
 " You must do exactly as you like," he told 
 her. " I shall be delighted, of course, to wel- 
 come Mrs. Dorice and any friends she cares 
 to bring, if you wish it, too. Personally, I 
 like a houseful at Christmas, and there is 
 plenty of room here." 
 
 He gave the letter into her hand, holding 
 it for a moment in a warm clasp. He sat in a 
 deep leather armchair before the fire, his long
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 165 
 
 cane propped beside him, a book on his knee. 
 It struck the girl suddenly that he looked 
 very lonely, and her eyes softened. He met 
 their glance and smiled. 
 
 " You 're quite happy?" he asked, and she 
 made a quick movement of assent. 
 
 " I should be very ungrateful and hard to 
 please if I were not!" she said gently. She 
 did not try to disengage her hand, and after 
 a moment he lifted it and held it against his 
 cheek. Then, with a sigh, he let it go. 
 
 Lee looked down at him gravely. Upon an 
 impulse, colouring faintly, she asked: 
 
 " You are, too? I mean I want to feel 
 that I have not failed you in any respect 
 that" 
 
 " I 'm happier," Smithers interrupted and 
 the hesitant voice was suddenly firm and very 
 deep " than I ever hoped I could be!" 
 
 There was a sincerity in his tone that 
 brought the colour again to Lee's face, a 
 brightening of relief to her eyes. She dwelt 
 no further on the subject, and stood beside 
 him speaking for a few minutes of quite ordi- 
 nary things. But before she left him she laid 
 a slender hand lightly, half caressingly, upon 
 his shoulder.
 
 166 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 She wrote to Teresa that night, stating her 
 accommodation for guests and the number 
 she was already inviting, with the assurance 
 that Mrs. Dorice and any friends she cared to 
 bring would be welcomed whenever she chose 
 to come with them. 
 
 Two days later, following a belated tele- 
 gram, Mrs. Dorice arrived. Two women and 
 a man were with her, Patty Clay, a girl whom 
 Lee had met at the latter 's house, and a man 
 whom she had never seen before. 
 
 He was a rather big man, well dressed, 
 immaculate, and decidedly handsome in a 
 dark, clean-shaven, rather heavy way. He 
 had splendid teeth and an ingratiating man- 
 ner, and bowed before Lee with a smiling 
 air of deprecation as Teresa airily presented 
 him. 
 
 " This is Mr. Gish, Lee. I expect Terry 
 has spoken to you of him. He has only 
 recently come to England, and has n't very 
 many friends as yet. He was contemplating 
 a horribly lonely Christmas, so I brought him 
 along!" 
 
 Lee, giving Gish a cool hand, was aware of 
 a sudden, sharp movement behind her, and, 
 looking back over her shoulder, saw her hus-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 167 
 
 band half rise, then drop back into his chair 
 again. His face was in the shadow, but there 
 was a curious rigidity about him that she 
 could not fail to notice. Remembering his 
 odd manner when Terry had mentioned Gish 
 before, she proceeded to present the younger 
 man to him a shade uneasily. 
 
 Smithers acknowledged it with an unsmil- 
 ing, courteous bending of his white head. His 
 hands were occupied in fumbling for his cane. 
 Behind his smoked glasses Lee saw a momen- 
 tary quick gleam of unwonted keenness. 
 Then, rosy, bright-eyed, and tempestuous 
 Terry whirled into the room, and with a 
 squeal of delight precipitated herself upon 
 Roland Gish. 
 
 "What an utterly ripping surprise!" she 
 exclaimed. Then, having greeted her mother 
 and the other two women, she flung her hard 
 little hat into a chair and herself into another. 
 " I simply must have my tea before I get out 
 of this habit!" she declared; and with some- 
 thing like relief Lee moved to her place to 
 dispense it. 
 
 She was puzzled, and, watching Terry and 
 Gish, not altogether satisfied. She noticed 
 that Jason Smithers was watching them too,
 
 168 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 and she frowned faintly as her white fingers 
 moved among the cups. 
 
 " Do you ride?" Terry was asking, over 
 her second cup of tea. Gish looked at the 
 glowing face and slender figure in its neat 
 habit, and, courageously ignoring a certain 
 stiffness of his limbs, nodded. Terry beamed. 
 
 " You must come out to-morrow. This 
 country is lovely. We went quite a distance 
 to-day, up over the hill and past the woods. 
 Do you know, there 's the quaintest little hut 
 right in the middle of those woods! Quite a 
 rough place, but furnished; and it looks as 
 though it had been lived in quite recently. 
 Haines did n't want to stop and investigate 
 for some reason, but I made him. I can't 
 imagine who could choose such a lonely spot 
 and, anyway, they must be trespassing. 
 All that is your property, is n't it?" 
 
 She turned to Smithers. His hand shook 
 more than ever as he set his tea-cup down, 
 and he looked at Lee with a frown. 
 
 " Too much sugar, my dear I '11 have 
 another cup! Yes, Terry, the wood is my 
 property. The hut is occasionally used at 
 night by one or other of the gamekeepers." 
 
 He turned to Mrs. Dorice with a courteous
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 169 
 
 question, and Terry gave her attention once 
 more to her tea and Gish. 
 
 Later, visiting Toby in his cosy quarters 
 in the garage, she found Haines dressing him. 
 He looked up eagerly. 
 
 " He 's almost well now," he told her. 
 " You '11 be able to have him with you in a 
 week, I expect." 
 
 "Good!" Terry bent to pat the terrier's 
 head. " You 're a wonder, Haines. Oh, by 
 the way you won't need to ride with me 
 to-morrow. Mr. Gish rides, and will be com- 
 ing with me we '11 want the horses about 
 eight. I want to show him. What is the 
 matter, Haines? You look as if you 'd swal- 
 lowed a peppermint ball!" 
 
 Her tone was aggrieved as well as startled. 
 Haines looked as she had only seen him look 
 once before, and instinctively she drew back. 
 
 " Gish I" he repeated slowly. " Not Roland 
 Gish?" Then, as she nodded, staring 
 blankly: " Good God! Do you mean to say 
 that Roland Gish is here staying up at the 
 house?" 
 
 Terry reared her small head aggressively. 
 
 "Really, Haines! And why not?" 
 
 " Why not!" Haines choked, then he flung
 
 170 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 away, taking a couple of swift strides towards 
 the door. " Good God! Why not? Because 
 he 's a rotten cad a bounder a cur! Because 
 he 's got one of the worst reputations of any 
 man in the whole of the United States! 
 Because he is n't fit to breathe the same air 
 as decent men and women! God! And he 's 
 under Jason Smithers's roof! talking of 
 riding with you " 
 
 He stopped abruptly. His face was suffused 
 with dark blood, his eyes aflame. Abruptly, 
 before she realised it, he laid his two hands 
 upon her shoulders holding her in a grip of 
 steel. 
 
 " See here," he said hoarsely, ignoring her 
 furious effort to free herself, and the indigna- 
 tion of her face, "let me see Roland Gish 
 within two yards of you and and I '11 break 
 every bone in his abominable body!" 
 
 He loosed her, breathing hard. Then, 
 stooping, he gathered up Toby and strode to 
 the narrow stairway leading to the rooms 
 above. Halfway up he looked down at her. 
 
 " Don't forget! " he said, in an odd, strained 
 sort of way as though he still found self- 
 control difficult. "I mean it!" 
 
 And was gone.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 IT was characteristic of Terry that she hesi- 
 tated not a moment in going to Jason Smithers 
 with her complaint against Haines. Boiling 
 over with indignation and a sense of outrage, 
 she felt that she hated the man and hoped 
 vindictively that his master would make him 
 smart for his intolerable impertinence. 
 
 How had he dared, she demanded furiously 
 of herself, to speak to her so to treat her 
 as though he was her equal? She could feel 
 the touch of his strong hands upon her 
 shoulders still as she precipitated herself into 
 Mr. Smithers's presence, and shrugged them 
 violently, disgustedly, as if to rid herself of it. 
 
 Lee was with her husband, and listened, 
 shocked and bewildered, to her stepsister's 
 storm of words. But the old man himself 
 heard her with unruffled equanimity. 
 
 He was silent for a moment or two when 
 she had finished. Lee, watching him a little 
 anxiously, could make nothing whatever of 
 his expression, yet she somehow felt that in- 
 wardly he was not so composed as he would 
 appear. He met her dismayed glance, and
 
 172 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 smiled at her. Then he looked again at 
 Terry. 
 
 " Is that all, child?" he asked, in his in- 
 dulgently gentle way, and Terry made a wide, 
 fierce gesture. 
 
 " All/" she exploded indignantly. " Is n't 
 it enough? Because Haines is an old and 
 trusted servant of yours is he to indulge in 
 insufferable liberties and offer gross imper- 
 tinences to your guests? How dare he criti- 
 cise people who are under your roof or my 
 actions? Because you allow him to swank 
 about doing nothing most of the time for all 
 the world as if he were a gentleman " 
 
 "Terry!" 
 
 Lee's voice was gentle, but it held a note 
 of quiet command that checked Terry in spite 
 of her rage. 
 
 Mr. Smithers coughed slightly behind his 
 hand. One might almost have suspected that 
 he smiled, but his tone was absolutely serious 
 when he spoke. 
 
 " Perhaps," he said in his courteous way, 
 " you will find Frost for me, Terry, and tell 
 him to send Haines to me here immediately 
 after dinner." 
 
 Terry opened her lips, looked at him, and
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 173 
 
 closed them again. Still flushed, she made for 
 the door, but paused as Smithers's voice spoke 
 her name again. 
 
 "Terry!" There was an unaccustomed 
 note of incisiveness in his usually hesitant 
 tones that made both girls look at him quickly. 
 " A moment, my dear." 
 
 He leaned slightly forward, meeting the 
 impatient questioning of the still brilliant red- 
 brown eyes, smiling into them benignly. 
 
 " I don't wish to appear fussy, but if you 
 ride with Mr. Gish to-morrow instead of with 
 Haines, I want you to wait until Lee finds it 
 convenient to accompany you. I suppose I 
 am old-fashioned, but I like young women 
 and girls to be somewhat strict in their observ- 
 ance of the conventions. And Mr. Gish " 
 
 He paused, drumming long white fingers on 
 the arm of his chair. 
 
 Terry flung up her head resentfully, but 
 he gave her no time to frame the retort hover- 
 ing on her lips. 
 
 " Mr. Gish is, of course, a friend of your 
 mother's and for the moment my guest. At 
 the same time, if my memory serves me 
 rightly, he has ah the reputation of being 
 rather more of a man of the world than er
 
 174 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 I consider quite desirable in an intimate 
 acquaintance of a very young girl. That is 
 all. I feel quite sure you have too much com- 
 mon sense to bear me any malice for my plain 
 speaking which, after all, must be forgivable 
 in an old man." 
 
 He blinked at her benevolently, nodded in 
 kindly dismissal, and after a brief instant of 
 hesitation the girl passed out of the room, still 
 flushed and in silence. 
 
 As the door closed upon her, Lee went 
 quickly to her husband's side. She, too, was 
 a little flushed, her soft eyes troubled. 
 
 " I 'm awfully sorry," she declared distress- 
 fully; " I had no idea of whom Teresa would 
 choose to bring with her. If I had I 'm afraid 
 I should not have interfered. I Ve never 
 even heard of Mr. Gish before." 
 
 The old man lifted one of the slender hands 
 and patted it reassuringly. 
 
 "Tut! tut! There is nothing to bother 
 your pretty head about, my dear nothing at 
 all. It is unfortunate that young Haines let 
 his feelings carry him away I must, of 
 course, speak to him seriously about it. As 
 to Gish" 
 
 He paused, and again Lee was aware of a
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 175 
 
 certain stiffening of his body, a subtle altera- 
 tion of his expression. Her eyes deepened to 
 anxiety. 
 
 " Is he is n't he the sort of person one 
 ought to know?" she asked; and added, with 
 faint exasperation, " I 'm afraid Teresa really 
 is dreadfully casual in her choice of acquaint- 
 
 ances " 
 
 Her husband did not answer at once. He 
 was looking straight before him, and while he 
 still held her hand the caress had gone from 
 his touch. It was unconsciously hard ; he gave 
 the impression of being tense with a curious 
 restraint. He spoke quietly enough at last. 
 
 " Had I been aware of Mrs. Dorice's inten- 
 tion of bringing him here, I should have 
 suggested the selection of another guest in 
 his place. As it is " Lee felt the thin, white 
 fingers tighten with unexpected strength over 
 hers " as it is, under the circumstances, and 
 since he is our guest, we must make the best 
 of it. And now let us talk of something 
 else. I want you to come to me when you 
 are dressed for dinner, before you go down. 
 Frost will tell you when I am ready." 
 
 Lee said nothing further on the subject. 
 They talked desultorily for a few minutes
 
 176 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 before she went to her own room. Smithers 
 appeared quite unruffled, and some of her 
 own anxiety subsided. She dressed quickly 
 and came to him again at Frost's summons. 
 
 He had already dressed, and was standing 
 leaning on his long cane. With his white 
 hair he made an impressive figure, despite his 
 bowed shoulders and the continual shaking of 
 his hands, and the girl, meeting his eyes, 
 smiled at him involuntarily. 
 
 She herself looked more lovely than she 
 guessed. She was wearing white, and was 
 without ornament of any sort. Smithers's 
 eyes flickered as they rested on her, and he 
 slipped a hand suddenly into his pocket. 
 When he drew it forth a long string of pearls 
 hung, gleaming mistily in the candlelight, 
 from his fingers. 
 
 Lee had halted on the threshold. The old 
 man came to her slowly, in his stiff way, the 
 hand holding the pearls outstretched. 
 
 " My Christmas present, Lee," he said. 
 And added, simply, but with a warm satisfac- 
 tion in his tone that brought the rose flooding 
 to her cheeks, " I 'm glad you 're wearing 
 white!" 
 
 He threw the string of pearls lightly over
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 177 
 
 her small head as he spoke, and she drew a 
 quick breath as their warmth touched her 
 skin. For an instant they faced each other, 
 quite silent. 
 
 The old man spoke pleasantly. 
 
 " I hope you '11 like them. They are his- 
 toric none of your modern stuff." 
 
 Lee was weighting the chain in her hands. 
 She looked up with misty eyes, her cheeks 
 still rosy. 
 
 " You 're far too good to me! " she declared. 
 " You give me so much that it makes me feel 
 unfair." 
 
 Her husband's eyes went from her face to 
 the white, bare shoulders. A dull flush crept 
 into his cheeks; for a moment, behind his 
 glasses, she saw his eyes gleam. Then his 
 outstretched hand went out and closed upon 
 her arm above the dimpled elbow. He held 
 her gently, looking down at her. When he 
 spoke it was a shade jerkily. 
 
 " You 're very beautiful, Leel ..." He 
 drew her suddenly closer to him. " If I were 
 a younger man I 'd give all the years of my 
 life to making you love me. . . ." 
 
 Lee did not move, but the rose faded from 
 her face, her eyes darkened.
 
 178 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 A little abruptly Smithers released his hold, 
 and she moved quickly away from him, her 
 hands still clasping the pearls. He followed 
 her presently and stood just behind her. 
 
 " I 'm sorry," he said; " I have made you 
 angry." 
 
 The girl shook her head quickly. Then with 
 an effort, she faced him, meeting his eyes. 
 
 "Of course not!" she declared with an 
 attempt at lightness that was not very suc- 
 cessful. " I I should be foolish if I were 
 angered at so pretty a compliment!" 
 
 He looked at her oddly from behind his 
 glasses, but he did not answer her smile. 
 
 " I want to be sure of that!" he told her 
 quietly, and there was a sudden vibrant wist- 
 fulness in his voice that caught at her heart- 
 strings. 
 
 She stood looking up at him for a moment, 
 uncertain, hesitant. Then a quick tenderness 
 that held in it much of pity welled up into her 
 eyes. 
 
 Impulsively she answered: 
 
 " You can be sure. . . ." And, as impul- 
 sively, she reached up a long, white young 
 arm and, circling his neck, drew his face down. 
 For just one fluttering instant cool, unimpas-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 179 
 
 sioned lips touched his cheek. Then, at the 
 sound of voices without, she turned quickly 
 aside and moved towards the door. 
 
 At it she paused and looked back at him. 
 In one hand, caressingly, she held the pearls. 
 She looked down at them, and up again, 
 smiling. 
 
 " They 're lovely!" she declared softly, and 
 was gone. 
 
 Mr. Smithers stood without moving. He 
 had not altered his position when Frost came 
 to him quietly from the dressing-room beyond. 
 Nor did he look round. But he spoke after a 
 moment, testily. 
 
 " Frost," he said, with an irritable jerk of 
 his stooped shoulders, " Haines is a fool! A 
 damned fool! . . ." 
 
 He paused for a moment, and straightened 
 himself stiffly. Under his shaggy white brows 
 he glared at himself frowningly in the candle- 
 lit mirror. His cane had fallen to the ground. 
 Frost picked it up and gave him a sharp 
 glance. 
 
 " A damned fool!" Mr. Smithers repeated; 
 and added, with a sort of grim impatience, as 
 he took the cane from the man's hand, " And 
 so am I!"
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 IT was perhaps not surprising that Lee found 
 her role as hostess of a large house-party a 
 more difficult task than at first she had imag- 
 ined it would be. Her guests in the main were 
 well chosen, and appeared to be enjoying 
 themselves. But Roland Gish's presence, and 
 Terry's defiant attitude, had struck a jarring 
 note. 
 
 Lee was disturbed, despite her outward 
 serene composure. Nor, it seemed to her, did 
 the atmosphere grow clearer as time went on. 
 Of necessity Terry had obeyed her host's 
 desire in respect of her rides with Gish; never- 
 theless, she was continually in his company, 
 seemed, indeed, to take pleasure in it, and to 
 encourage his decidedly marked attentions. 
 
 Lee did not like Roland Gish. Still less 
 did she like a certain possessiveness in the 
 way he sometimes looked at Terry. 
 
 At the same time, in fairness, she could not 
 feel wholly out of sympathy with the girl.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 181 
 
 Observing Gish carefully, she was bound to 
 admit that the man was good-looking, pleas- 
 ant, and possessed of a breezily jolly manner 
 which was not without fascination. 
 
 Lee felt an impatient, rising anger against 
 her careless, butterfly stepmother. She had 
 always been hopelessly indiscriminate in her 
 haphazard collecting of chance acquaintances. 
 Before it had not mattered so much; now 
 Terry was growing up and Terry was im- 
 pressionable. 
 
 She voiced something of this, impulsively, 
 to Mrs. Dorice a few days later. She had 
 been riding with the two a somewhat silent 
 and unobtrusive, but none the less observant, 
 chaperon. On the ride homeward the two 
 had almost seemed to forget her presence. 
 Terry, a vivid picture of youth and health and 
 elfin loveliness, was provocative, alluring; the 
 man's manner towards her was caressing, 
 more than ever possessive. 
 
 These things had troubled Lee. Still more 
 was she troubled by an incident which 
 occurred just after they had entered the drive 
 gates. Haines, walking, was coming towards 
 them. Terry was so intent upon something that 
 Gish was telling her that she had not even
 
 182 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 seen Haines. But Lee, glancing at him with a 
 little nod of greeting, was shocked and 
 startled by the expression of his face. 
 
 In a flash it had seemed to her to change. 
 For an instant suffused with dark, angry 
 blood, it grew immediately very white a very 
 passion of anger and resentment and dislike 
 showed in it, and Lee, riding up quickly 
 abreast of the other two, frowned. 
 
 She liked Haines well enough, but to-day 
 she felt really angry, resentful of his resent- 
 ment, puzzled and annoyed at his manner. 
 He certainly was showing presumption that 
 amounted to impertinence, she told herself, 
 and she carried her ruffled sense of the fitness 
 of things into her stepmother's presence. 
 
 She found that lady half drowsily consum- 
 ing cigarettes, in a delightful negligee before 
 an enormous fire. She looked up, raising her 
 brows at Lee's somewhat unceremonious 
 entry. 
 
 " Hullo?" she greeted lazily; and added, 
 after a keen glance at the other's flushed 
 face: " Anything up? You look bothered." 
 
 Lee did not answer at once. She came 
 slowly across the room, pulling off her gaunt- 
 lets. Then rather abruptly, she asked:
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 183 
 
 " Teresa, is Mr. Gish staying for the whole 
 of your visit?" 
 
 Mrs. Dorice stared. " My dear girl, I 
 suppose so I asked him for the whole of it. 
 Why?" 
 
 Lee looked down at her dusty boots, then 
 up, suddenly and directly, into her step- 
 mother's eyes. 
 
 " I hoped he was n't," she said quietly. 
 " For one thing, Mr. Smithers does not like 
 him; nor do I. I believe from what I have 
 heard that he is not altogether a desirable 
 acquaintance." 
 
 " Really!" Mrs. Dorice sat up with a jerk. 
 
 Lee brought her brows together, making a 
 little impatient movement. 
 
 " I 'm sorry, Teresa. I have not forgotten 
 that Mr. Gish is our guest, or that I asked you 
 to bring whom you pleased. I know nothing 
 about him personally; I know, too, that prob- 
 ably you know as little. . . . You never do 
 know very much about the friends you make, 
 Teresa. Generally it has n't mattered. This 
 time it does." 
 
 She was still looking levelly into Mrs. 
 Dorice's eyes, and she went on deliberately 
 before the other could voice a protest.
 
 184 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 "I mean because of Terry!" 
 
 " Because of Terry? " Mrs. Dorice's 
 voice was shrill. Then she began to laugh. 
 " My dear Lee! What bee have you got in 
 your bonnet now?" 
 
 Again Lee made a movement of her 
 hands. 
 
 " Mr. Gish," she said quietly, " Is paying 
 Terry far too much attention." 
 
 Teresa gasped. For a moment she seemed 
 bereft of speech. Then she pushed her 
 cushions away from her and got to her feet. 
 
 " I guess you 're crazy, Lee!" she retorted. 
 " I never heard that a man worth what 
 Roland Gish is worth could pay a girl too 
 much attention! Unless " with another 
 shrill laugh " you 're under the impression 
 that those attentions are not serious. Be- 
 cause I can assure you that they care. I 
 know the signs. Besides, he has as good as 
 said so to me." 
 
 Lee's fine brows contracted. 
 
 " It is the fact that he 's serious that 
 troubles me!" she returned. " Terry 's far too 
 wholesome and sensible to be carried away by 
 a mere flirtation. As it is oh, Teresa!" 
 
 She stretched out a slim hand in sudden
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 185 
 
 appeal to the other woman, her beautiful eyes 
 very earnest, very troubled. 
 
 " Can't you see that it 's all wrong!" she 
 went on swiftly. " Terry 's so young. And 
 Mr. Gish is a man of the world a man 
 whose whose reputation is not altogether 
 enviable. Who " 
 
 " That 's enough!" Mrs. Dorlce's voice was 
 harsh, her pansy eyes agleam, her face unbe- 
 comingly flushed. " I don't know if you 're 
 aware of it, but you 're positively insulting 
 not only to Mr. Gish, but to me. I can tell 
 you I 'm getting sick, sorry, and tired of your 
 airs, anyway! It was bad enough when I had 
 to put up with them. Now I don't and I 'm 
 not going to. It strikes me that old Grandpa 
 Smithers has succeeded in making you an 
 even greater prig than you were before. . . ." 
 
 Lee's face flushed hotly at the sneer. She 
 opened her lips quickly, then closed them 
 again and, turning on her heel, moved to the 
 door. Teresa's voice followed her. 
 
 " Terry 's old enough to know her own 
 mind, anyway. And if Roland Gish wants to 
 marry her and she '11 have him, I should feel 
 inclined to go down on my knees and thank 
 the good Lord for it! Terry has looks of a
 
 186 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 sort, but she 's not a girl to appeal to every 
 man, and I certainly never hoped I 'd get her 
 off my hands so early. See here, Lee," the 
 shrill voice sharpened and grew hard, " I 
 don't want any interference from you. I 
 won't put up with it!" 
 
 Lee did not answer. Outside in the wide 
 corridor she stood for a moment uncertainly. 
 From the hall below there came the sound of 
 laughter and voices. Slowly she moved to 
 the stairs, and, standing against the oaken 
 bannisters, looked down. Tea-tables were 
 being set before the huge hearth. Terry, 
 still in her habit, was standing at Roland 
 Gish's side, her face uptilted, eyes and mouth 
 mischievous and mirthful. The man was 
 looking down at her with veiled eyes, and Lee 
 studied him, earnestly. 
 
 From this distance he looked debonair, 
 handsome, rather attractive a fine figure of 
 a man in his riding kit. But she remembered 
 his eyes, and certain lines of dissipation about 
 a mouth that was very hard and even cruel 
 when it did not smile, and she drew a long 
 sigh. 
 
 She wondered, in troubled fashion, what 
 there was actually against the man. For a
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 187 
 
 moment she was almost tempted to seek 
 Jason Smithers and ask him. So far some 
 unexplainable instinct had withheld her from 
 doing so. She had sensed that, always, in 
 Roland Gish's presence her husband had 
 not been himself that he had restrained his 
 feelings with an effort that was almost violent, 
 and she had hesitated to add to an agitation 
 at which, she knew, he would not, for the 
 world, have had her guess. 
 
 Now, as she prepared slowly to go down- 
 stairs, a step sounded behind her and she 
 looked round. 
 
 Frost stood at her elbow. 
 
 " If you please, ma'am, Mr. Smithers would 
 like to speak to you in his room. He has been 
 indisposed since luncheon, ma'am a return 
 of the gout, I think." 
 
 Lee turned back at once, a real sympathy 
 in her eyes, a little of anxiety. Frost opened 
 the door of Jason Smithers's room for her and 
 disappeared. Smithers was in a deep chair 
 at the shadowy end of the room, his foot 
 propped up. She went to him quickly, laying a 
 light hand upon the long, nervous one on the 
 chair arm. 
 
 She felt it quiver for an instant, then, to
 
 188 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 her surprise, he jerked it almost violently 
 away. He spoke abruptly, irritably: 
 
 " Don't! I hate being touched when I 'm 
 ill! This damn gout " The words ended in 
 an inarticulate growl. 
 
 Lee let her hand fall and stood waiting. 
 
 " I 'm sorry," the old man said after a 
 moment, still testily, but with faint contrition. 
 " But it 's damnable being tied here by the leg! 
 Damnable, to watch youth all about one and 
 to and to feel a cripple. . . . There, child! 
 Don't take any notice of me. I 'm like a bear 
 with a sore head. Did Frost tell you I want 
 you to do something for me?" 
 
 Lee shook her head. Smithers moved his 
 swathed foot gingerly, and swore softly, apol- 
 ogising an instant later. 
 
 " I 'm a grumpy old curmudgeon, child! But 
 I hate inaction. . . . Now, then. I was 
 going into Brookbridge village this evening 
 after dinner meeting the nine o'clock from 
 London. There '11 be one of my men of busi- 
 ness on it with some important papers devil- 
 ish important papers that I ought to deal 
 with to-night. I could send Frost for them, 
 but I dare n't can't spare him when I 'm like 
 this. And my man will only give them up to
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 189 
 
 a responsible person. Will you go? Haines 
 will drive you, and bring you straight back, 
 so you '11 be quite safe." 
 
 For an instant she saw his eyes glint was 
 conscious of an odd, suppressed eagerness in 
 his voice. 
 
 Then she laughed. 
 
 " But, of course I '11 go! I I 'm only too 
 glad to be able to do anything for you 
 that is of the slightest help." 
 
 She spoke shyly, half stammeringly. 
 Smithers looked up at her, and away rather 
 quickly. He spoke almost brusquely. 
 
 " Good!" He leaned slightly farther back 
 into the shadows. " Haines will be waiting 
 with the car at eight-forty; that will give you 
 plenty of time. You '11 be back before your 
 guests have time to miss you. Give the papers 
 to Frost. I don't want, on any account, to be 
 disturbed again to-night. Before you go, just 
 touch the bell, will you?" 
 
 Lee obeyed in silence. She felt herself 
 dismissed, and flushed slightly at his almost 
 churlish tone. But there was nothing of re- 
 sentment in her heart: it was so seldom that 
 the old man showed her anything but a charm- 
 ing courtesy and consideration, and she was
 
 190 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 conscious of a little pang of pity for him as 
 she looked back from the doorway. 
 
 It was not until she was at the dinner table 
 that she remembered she had wanted to ques- 
 tion him concerning Roland Gish. 
 
 Later, in the wide hall, Terry pirouetted 
 round her while Frost, wooden and deft as 
 ever, put Lee into a huge fur coat. 
 
 " Why did n't you tell me you were going 
 before, Lee?" she demanded. " I 'd have 
 driven you myself. Now I Ve just promised 
 Mr. Gish to tell the cards for him! . . ." 
 
 Frost had opened the door. The headlights 
 of the big car shone blindingly. Haines, erect, 
 stood beside it. Lee merely laughed and 
 passed out, but Terry ran on to the step after 
 her, a white, radiant little figure in the mellow 
 glow from the hall. 
 
 "Ugh! But it 's cold. You '11 be half 
 frozen when you get back. . . . Why, it 's 
 freezing. ..." 
 
 She had slipped and recovered herself as 
 she spoke. Lee, bundled in her furs, looked 
 up. Haines was already in his seat, but he 
 did not start the car. He, too, was looking up 
 towards the group on the steps and his face 
 was white, set, and very grim.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 191 
 
 Roland Gish had caught Terry as she 
 stumbled. He kept his hand upon her arm, 
 familiarly, smiling down at her reassuringly. 
 For one instant Haines sat quite still. Then 
 he started the car with a jerk so violent that 
 it flung Lee forward. 
 
 He raced the machine down the drive and 
 out of the gates. In the highroad he slowed 
 up a little, and, without turning round, he 
 spoke: 
 
 " Say, Mrs. Smithers there 's something 
 I Ve got to say to you, right now if you '11 
 listen." 
 
 Lee, startled, surprised, looked up. She 
 could see his profile faintly, hard and set. 
 For a moment she hesitated, then she bent 
 her head. Haines drew a long breath and 
 guided the car expertly round a dark corner. 
 
 " I want to know " he said slowly, very 
 deliberately " if you can't take a hand and 
 do something to stop that affair between 
 Gish and Miss Terry before it 's too late? 
 I guess, if some one don't I '11 have to."
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 FOR the space of some seconds, utterly taken 
 aback, Lee remained dumb. Then she 
 stiffened among her furs, turning eyes of 
 amazed indignation upon the grimly set pro- 
 file of the chauffeur. 
 
 " Really, Haines! You 're forgetting your- 
 self unpardonably! I am not accustomed to 
 discussing either my sister's or my guests' 
 affairs with my servants." 
 
 There was icy rebuke in her voice, and 
 Haines flushed dully, but for a moment met 
 her eyes steadily. Then he took one strong, 
 nervous hand off the wheel to make a swift, 
 sweeping gesture. 
 
 " I guess we '11 cut that out. I have n't 
 always been a servant, and I 'm not meaning 
 to take liberties. This thing 's serious deadly 
 serious. It seems to me you 're the only 
 person I can appeal to. Your sister 's heading 
 for disaster and certain damnation and I 
 reckon there is n't any too much time to pull 
 her upl"
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 193 
 
 Again his hand swept out violently. Again 
 his eyes flashed a glance into hers, only now 
 they held a desperate appeal. 
 
 " For God's sake, Mrs. Smithers, let me 
 say what I Ve got to say, and take it in the 
 spirit in which it is meant. I tell you, I know 
 what I 'm talking about. I know Gish!" 
 
 Lee heard his teeth grit for an instant, the 
 harsh breath he drew through them. Gasping 
 a little, she relaxed. She was utterly bewil- 
 dered, but her sense of outrage and resentment 
 was fast slipping from her. There was a 
 deadly earnestness about the man at her side 
 which impressed her strongly; vaguely she 
 realised that he was speaking as one of her 
 own kind might have spoken, also she was 
 aware of a subtle change in his tone and his 
 accent. She spoke abruptly: 
 
 " You are an American?" 
 
 Haines looked round at her quickly, then 
 away to the road ahead of them. She fancied 
 that he hesitated before replying, but when 
 he did it was tersely. 
 
 " Yes. And, as an American, I know a 
 good bit more about Gish and his reputation 
 than folks over here. He 's an out-and-out 
 rotter, a wrong 'un to the core. He is n't fit
 
 194 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 to breathe the same air as a decent woman. 
 His touch would pollute the lowest!" 
 
 He drew a hard breath that was almost a 
 gasp and stopped. Lee stirred among her 
 furs uneasily, but she no longer sought to stay 
 him. Her eyes were fixed upon his face but 
 dimly discernible save when they passed a 
 light; her hands were clasped tightly in her 
 lap. / 
 
 " He 's rich; but the way he 's made his 
 money would n't bear investigation. I guess 
 he 's ruined more lives and wrecked more 
 homes than any man of his time. If you folks 
 could know him for what he really is know 
 one half of what he 's done you 'd hound 
 him out of society, back to the scum where he 
 belongs. I 'm speaking strongly, but I know 
 what I 'm talking about. He wants shooting 
 like a dangerous, unclean beast!" 
 
 Lee gasped anew. Her eyes were wide and 
 dark with anxiety and a growing horror. 
 Haines was labouring under very strong emo- 
 tion; every harshly uttered word carried con- 
 viction, and with a sudden feeling of sickness 
 she thought of Terry. Impulsively, almost 
 pleadingly, she leaned forward. 
 
 Haines!" He turned, and she went on 
 
 u
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 195 
 
 quickly, with quivering lips. " Oh Haines! 
 Are you sure? Sure that it 's the same man 
 sure that he he 's really what you say ?" 
 
 " Sure!" Haines laughed hoarsely. " I 'm 
 sure, all right. I ought to be. See here " he 
 slowed the car suddenly and bent forward 
 " you Ve heard of the Denham Carson case, 
 have n't you?" 
 
 Lee's heart leaped to her throat; involun- 
 tarily she shrank back. Haines went on 
 rapidly, without appearing to notice. 
 
 " You know that Denhara Carson spent 
 years in prison for the murder of his wife. 
 Well, Gish was the man who was responsible 
 for putting him there! Carson was a fool he 
 got himself entangled with a girl he did n't 
 care a cent about. He let her blackmail him, 
 and instead of buying her off he married her. 
 It was a bad marriage a sad marriage. The 
 girl was n't much good, and she was weak as 
 water. Gish came along, and turned her 
 head. It was Roland Gish whose name was 
 coupled with hers. It was because of that 
 Carson went to see her that fatal night the 
 night of the murder. He 'd stood for a good 
 deal, had Carson, like the chivalrous, quixotic 
 fool that he was but he could n't stand for
 
 196 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 that. He went to tell her she 'd got to give 
 up Gish or he 'd bring an action for divorce. 
 . . . You know what happened." 
 
 Lee did not answer. She had turned her 
 fur collar up about her face as if to hide its 
 deadly pallor, and the hands that held it were 
 trembling. A little way ahead of them 
 gleamed the station lights. She saw them as 
 through a mist, heard Haines's voice as if from 
 a great distance away. 
 
 " That 's one of the things Gish did yet 
 here he is, an honoured guest fooling round 
 that kid sister of yours. Oh, my God!" 
 
 They glided through the station gates. 
 Haines wrenched the wheel round, brought 
 the car to the platform entrance, and stopped 
 the car. He sprang out, and as he opened the 
 door for her the lights shone full upon his 
 face. Looking down at it, Lee forgot herself, 
 and the shock the mention of Denham Carson 
 had given her. It was drawn and strained 
 and white, and there was that in the clear 
 eyes so nearly like agony that she gave a 
 little, startled murmur. 
 
 " You you '11 do something?" Haines 
 asked. " You '11 stop this damnable thing 
 going any further? Terry will listen to you
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 197 
 
 believe you only she 's such a kid! " 
 His voice broke oddly. The roar of the 
 approaching express sounded suddenly. Very 
 slowly Lee stepped out of the car. Her eyes 
 were still on his, in them was a startled ques- 
 tion, a deep distress. He met them and smiled 
 a crooked little smile. 
 
 " She 's always been Terry to me in my 
 heart!" he said simply. " I 've a man's feel- 
 ings and she twisted me round her little 
 finger from the very first. I love her 1"
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 LEE collected a thick packet, sealed and 
 securely tied with red tape from a little, be- 
 spectacled, deferential man, who accepted her 
 assertion that she was Smithers's wife without 
 question, with her explanation of the latter's 
 absence. In less than five minutes she was in 
 the car again, rolling homeward through the 
 frosty night. 
 
 She did not speak to Haines, but now and 
 again she glanced at him with troubled eyes. 
 Beneath her perplexity and distress, her hor- 
 ror at what he had told her of Gish, she was 
 conscious of a new interest in him. The way 
 he had told his story had made an odd appeal to 
 her. And for the first time she realised that, 
 whatever the circumstances of his entering 
 her husband's service, he was, most distinctly, 
 not of the ordinary servant class. 
 
 Nevertheless, she was dismayed and per- 
 turbed to a degree at his declaration of his 
 regard for Terry. She was so occupied with 
 the whole problem that she did not notice the
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 199 
 
 gradual slowing down of the car until it came 
 to a sudden, jerky halt. 
 
 Then she looked up quickly. Haines was 
 still sitting with his hands on the wheel. It 
 struck her vaguely that he showed no surprise, 
 but after a moment he got out. She sat while 
 he made his investigations, glancing about 
 her. They were, she discovered, on the nar- 
 row road leading through the woods. The 
 trees reared themselves bleakly on either side 
 of it, stretching skeleton branches against the 
 shimmering dark. 
 
 Haines straightened himself presently, and 
 came back to her, a spanner in his hand. 
 
 " Engine trouble," he explained briefly. 
 " She won't budge another inch. It looks like 
 I '11 have to cut along back to the garage and 
 fetch another car. We '11 have to tow this 
 one home." 
 
 He glanced about him, swinging the span- 
 ner, and added, in answer to her dismayed 
 exclamation: 
 
 " I won't be long; but maybe you 'd best 
 take shelter in that hut down there." He 
 pointed suddenly to a hollow clearing below 
 them on their right. A faint light showed, as 
 from a half-hidden window. " Gamekeepers
 
 200 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 use it sometimes at night one of them will 
 be around somewhere sure, so you '11 be quite 
 safe and warm. I '11 see you down." 
 
 Lee hesitated for an instant, frowned, and 
 shrugged. She pulled her furs closer about 
 her and stepped into the slippery road. Haines 
 steadied her as they made their way through 
 the bracken. There came no answer to his 
 knock when they reached the hut, and he 
 lifted the latch and pushed the door open. 
 
 Lee, pausing on the threshold, glanced 
 about her. A hurricane lamp hung from a nail 
 on the wall, there were a few glowing embers 
 in a rough hearth, and the faint odour of to- 
 bacco-smoke hung about. Haines crossed to 
 the fire, poked it, glanced about him and 
 sniffed. 
 
 " One of the keepers here to-night, sure," 
 he told her easily. " He '11 probably be back 
 in a few minutes. I '11 get back quick as I 
 can." 
 
 He passed out and closed the door behind 
 him. Lee heard him crashing his way through 
 the bracken, then silence fell again. For 
 several minutes she stood looking about her, 
 with but a faint curiosity. Her thoughts were 
 far away, her mind wholly occupied with
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 201 
 
 the unexpected conversation with Haines 
 with Terry, and with the man who was still a 
 guest beneath her roof. 
 
 At thought of him she shuddered. Then, 
 moving nearer the fire, she slipped her furs 
 from her shoulder, and, throwing them over 
 the back of the wooden chair, sat down. 
 
 She did not hear a sound behind her, did 
 not know that she was not alone, until a hand 
 touched her arm, a voice spoke her name, very 
 low, but with a familiar intonation, a vibrant, 
 quivering eagerness that brought her leaping 
 to her feet, trembling all over. 
 
 "Lee!" 
 
 With the light of the hurricane lamp shining 
 down full upon him, Denham Carson stood 
 above her. And, even as she cried out, his 
 arms went about her. Into his eyes there 
 leaped a sudden fierce, hot passion. Helpless, 
 she found herself caught, and held close so 
 close that she could feel the thick beating of 
 his heart. Then his lips found hers.
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 INSTINCTIVELY, almost wildly, Lee had strug- 
 gled to free herself. But with the meeting of 
 their lips she became still, as though, suddenly, 
 her strength had left her. She lay passive in 
 Carson's hold, with closed eyes, and as at last 
 he straightened himself, her head drooped 
 limply forward against his shoulder. 
 
 She was pitifully white; so white that he 
 gave an exclamation of mingled remorse and 
 anxiety, tightening his hold upon her. 
 
 " Lee!" 
 
 His voice was infinitely gentle, held at once 
 remorse and a caress. At the sound of it a 
 shuddering breath left her lips her slender 
 body quivered. Impulsively Denham Carson 
 stooped his head and rested his cheek against 
 her soft hair. 
 
 " What a fool I am! " he said, in fierce self- 
 condemnation. " What a thoughtless fool 
 to frighten you so! Lee you 're not going 
 to faint?"
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 203 
 
 She stirred anew at that, caught desperately 
 at her self-control, and, straightening herself, 
 drew back. He did not try to hold her, but 
 let his arms drop to his sides and stood looking 
 at her. A little of the eager light had died out 
 of his face, the vividly blue eyes looked 
 troubled. Lee met them and the colour flooded 
 into her pale cheeks. Involuntarily she 
 lifted one hand, pressing the back of it against 
 those trembling lips his kisses had bruised 
 and scorched. 
 
 Yet the eyes that looked back into his 
 were neither angry nor resentful. They held 
 only a shrinking bewilderment and a rather 
 piteous questioning. 
 
 " No no ! " she answered his question me- 
 chanically; and added: " But I don't under- 
 stand! How did you come here ?" She broke 
 off. 
 
 Carson replied swiftly, almost curtly: 
 
 " I Ve been here all the time. Stumbled 
 across this place that night you remember 
 and stayed here ever since. I Ve kept a 
 good lookout, of course the keepers don't 
 come here often, and other folks scarcely ever. 
 It has n't been difficult to dodge them. And 
 it 's as good a place as any to hide in. Besides "
 
 204 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Lee looked away quickly from the deepen- 
 ing warmth of his eyes " I wanted to be 
 near you! I had to be!" 
 
 Lee drew a long breath, and smote her 
 hands together softly, despairingly. 
 
 " Oh," she whispered shakily, " but you 're 
 quite mad quite mad!" 
 
 Carson laughed. It was a wholesome, 
 hearty, boyish sound that filled the whole 
 cabin. 
 
 " Sure! And so you Ve told me before! As 
 I think I told you on another occasion most 
 men who are very much in love are more or 
 less mad! . . ." 
 
 " Don't!" 
 
 She turned sharply away, reaching out for 
 her coat. But Carson stood between her and 
 the door, and he did not move. After a mo- 
 ment, weakly, she let her hand fall. Carson 
 swept his glance over her, from the averted 
 head and delicate profile to the absurd gold 
 brocade slipper that she was tapping nerv- 
 ously on the uneven boarding of the rough, 
 bare floor. The line of her long throat, the 
 drooping, slim shoulders and slender arms 
 shone warmly white in the leaping firelight. 
 Impulsively he went a step nearer.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 205 
 
 " I must," he said very low; and now there 
 was in his voice a hoarse note of passion that 
 made her fling him a swift, panic-stricken 
 glance. " I must! I do love you, Lee I Ve 
 loved you ever since that night on Ruff's 
 Island. . . ." 
 
 His outstretched hand touched her arm. 
 She caught her breath sharply, shaken by the 
 rising tempest of her own emotions. She was 
 incapable of very clear thought. She only 
 knew that beneath the deepening note of pas- 
 sion in his voice her heart was stirring and 
 throbbing wildly. She longed to break away 
 from his touch, to rush out into the night; but 
 she had to stay. She wanted to close her 
 hands over her ears and shut away the mad- 
 dening tenderness of his voice; but she had to 
 hear. 
 
 She knew, too, that presently she would 
 despise herself for her weakness, would lash 
 herself with scorn for her yielding. At the 
 moment the personality of the man dominated 
 her utterly that, and something that was 
 growing and strengthening irresistibly within 
 herself. 
 
 " I had to be near you, Lee ! " Carson spoke 
 again, his voice shaken, his eyes beginning to
 
 206 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 glow anew. " Call it madness, folly, what you 
 will I could n't go away. I had to see you 
 sometimes hear your voice. . . . But being 
 near has made it harder to keep silent. God ! 
 How I Ve longed to say a little of what is in 
 my heart for you! How I Ve longed to be 
 with you alone to hold you close to me ... 
 to kiss your lips!" 
 
 His fingers fastened upon her arm above 
 the dimpled elbow, tightened there, tensely. 
 His breath came unevenly, his voice was 
 husky. 
 
 " Above all," he went on, " how I Ve longed 
 to hear you say that you care, too! That you 
 love me, Lee that you love me!" 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 The word was a choked cry. She wrenched 
 her arm free and shrank back. There was 
 something of the wildness of desperation in 
 her eyes, the terror of a snared bird. To Car- 
 son it was a revelation that sent the blood 
 pounding hotly to his temples, and set him 
 shaking suddenly all over. Upon her little, 
 piteous cry there followed a silence that was 
 painful in its intensity. Carson broke it. He 
 spoke haltingly, stumblingly, yet on a quiver- 
 ing, rising note of triumph and eagerness.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 207 
 
 " You do love me, Lee! . . . Oh, my God, 
 girl! I Ve hoped it hoped it with every 
 heartbeat, every fibre of me but I could 
 never be really sure! And I Ve got to be 
 sure, Lee I Ve got to be sure. . . ." 
 
 His hands were outstretched to her, sup- 
 plicating. His lips were unsteady, his eyes 
 ablaze. 
 
 " Say it, Lee ! " he urged again. " Lee 
 Lee! . . ." 
 
 His arms closed about her, but she strug- 
 gled free, thrusting him away from her, 
 stumbling back against the wooden chair and 
 dropping into it weakly. She held one white 
 arm upflung across her eyes, as though to shut 
 away the flame of his. Then suddenly she let 
 it fall, and, turning her face against the thick 
 fur of her coat, began to cry helplessly. 
 
 " I ought to hate you! " she wailed. " But 
 I can't! I can't. . . ." 
 
 * 
 
 Minutes later she stirred, sighed, and sat 
 upright. Denham Carson was kneeling at her 
 side, his face hidden against her knees. His 
 arms were about her. At her movement he, 
 too, stirred and looked up. There was a light 
 in his face that made her catch a sharp breath
 
 208 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 and brought the blood flooding pitilessly up 
 over her throat and cheeks in a rose-red wave 
 that burned to her temples. 
 
 Even as she made an instinctive, panicky 
 gesture to thrust him from her there came 
 from without the faint note of a motor-car 
 horn. Lee stiffened where she sat; then with 
 a little gasp she strove to get to her feet. 
 
 " It 's Haines ! " she whispered, as Carson's 
 arms refused to unclose. " You you must 
 get away, quickly oh, quickly!" 
 
 She was on her feet now, and the man rose 
 with her. 
 
 He still held her, his eyes clung to hers. 
 His lips were not altogether steady. 
 
 " I Ve got to talk to you, Lee ! " he whis- 
 pered back, huskily. " There are things I 
 must say to you. . . . Promise you will come 
 here again, soon?" 
 
 The sound of the horn had ceased. Follow- 
 ing it came the unmistakable hurry and 
 stumble of heavy steps among the frosty 
 bracken. 
 
 Carson bent his head lower. 
 
 " Promise!" he urged. " Promise!" 
 
 Lee's lips were trembling. She closed her 
 eyes desperately against the pleading in his.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 209 
 
 When she opened them again, they were dark, 
 almost tragic with suffering and unwilling sur- 
 render. 
 " I promise!" she said.
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 LEE, her huge fur collar hiding all of her face 
 save her unnaturally wide eyes, delivered the 
 packet of papers into Frost's hands, and, 
 avoiding those rooms in which her guests were 
 congregated, went swiftly to her own. 
 
 Dropping into a chair, she sat staring at the 
 shadows in the faintly firelit darkness. She 
 had forgotten that she might be missed down- 
 stairs, had forgotten her husband, Terry, and 
 Haines . . . everything save Denham Car- 
 son's presence, the strength of his arms, and 
 the touch of his mouth upon hers. 
 
 She was stripped bare, to-night, of all pre- 
 tence, face to face with that truth which she 
 had refused to acknowledge, which she had 
 hidden half guiltily, but of which she had been 
 aware as long ago as that misty morning when 
 she had rowed herself away from Ruff's Island. 
 
 It was a truth that left her dazed and numb, 
 while it dominated her. She had forgotten the 
 black shadow that hung over Denham Carson. 
 She felt only as though the flame of his pas- 
 sion still enwrapped her, waking answering
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 211 
 
 fires within her own soul unsuspected, fierce 
 fires that left her trembling and afraid. 
 
 She loved Denham Carson. She made no 
 longer any attempt to deny it, or to thrust the 
 knowledge from her. And presently, with a 
 long, shuddering sigh that was almost a moan, 
 she turned and laid her forehead wearily 
 against the silken cushions piled about her. 
 
 Here Terry found her twenty minutes later. 
 
 The girl dashed in with her usual impetuous 
 lack of ceremony, halted with a little excla- 
 mation at finding the room in darkness, then, 
 as Lee stirred and looked up, went towards 
 her quickly. 
 
 " I thought I heard the car come back. . . . 
 Why, Lee! How queer you look!" 
 
 She had switched on the light, and stood 
 frowning questioningly into the other girl's 
 face. Lee covered her eyes. When she let 
 her hands fall a moment later, she had re- 
 covered much of her calmness, and answered 
 quite quietly: 
 
 " Do I? ... It was bitterly cold, and the 
 car broke down. I hope I have n't seemed 
 very neglectful I '11 come down in a minute." 
 
 She put a nervous hand against her temples, 
 and Terry, still frowning, swung herself on to
 
 212 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 the broad back of the brocaded chesterfield. 
 
 " Much better get into something warm and 
 cosy and stay here! " she advised. " They 're 
 all playing cards or dancing in the music-room 
 you won't be missed. 'Sides, I want a quiet 
 chat with you, Lee. I never seem to get you 
 alone lately." 
 
 Lee sank back again among her cushions. 
 She shrank from the thought of going among 
 her guests in her present mood; yet she was 
 glad not to be alone. With an effort she con- 
 centrated her thoughts upon Terry and her 
 chatter, brought her mind back to the problem 
 of the girl and Roland Gish and Haines. 
 
 Terry now was swinging one slim, silk- 
 stockinged leg and looking into the fire with 
 a rather odd expression in her eyes. She was 
 still chattering, but fitfully, and with more 
 than her usual inconsequence. Lee watched 
 her with a shadow creeping into her face. 
 After a moment she spoke, a little hesitantly. 
 
 " Terry I want to say something to you. 
 It it 's about Mr. Gish." 
 
 Terry looked up quickly. A little colour 
 had crept into her cheeks, the expression of 
 her eyes was defensive. 
 
 " I hope it 's something nice! " she returned,
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 213 
 
 her clear young voice faintly shrill. " I like 
 Roly Gish quite a good deal." 
 
 Lee's fine brows met. A sudden distaste 
 tilted her lips upward ; the shadow in her eyes 
 deepened. 
 
 " I 'm sorry," she said steadily, " to hear it! 
 I don't. And it seems to me Mr. Gish's 
 feeling for you is more than liking." 
 
 Terry slid down from her perch and moved 
 slowly on to the hearth before Lee's chair. 
 Her brown head was flung up, her usually 
 merry mouth was a trifle compressed. 
 
 " You 're not being very nice, Lee! . . . 
 What if it is?" 
 
 Lee got up. Her eyes met Terry's steadily. 
 
 " Just that he will try to make you think 
 that your feeling is the same that you love 
 him. You don't love him, Terry?" 
 
 Despite the note of anxious interrogation 
 the words were uttered rather in assertion 
 than question. Terry wriggled a pair of slim 
 shoulders impatiently. 
 
 " But," she declared cheerfully, " I do!" 
 
 There was no tremor in the clear voice, no 
 added colour in the healthy, pretty face. The 
 red-brown eyes were wide, unembarrassed. 
 Lee looked deeply into them for several sec-
 
 214 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 onds, and an oddly tender smile curved her 
 mouth. 
 
 "Oh, Terry! You child. . . . You only 
 know how to spell love as yet. ..." 
 
 Terry wriggled her shoulders again. 
 
 "You 're being very horrid!" she com- 
 plained. " I thought you 'd be sympathetic 
 though, of course, I can't help seeing that you 
 don't care about Roly. I don't know why 
 he 's quite the nicest man / 've ever met." 
 
 " Good Heavens!" There was that in Lee's 
 tone that sent the half-defiant complacency 
 out of Terry's face, brought her glance flashing 
 to the troubled one above her. " The man 's 
 impossible!" Lee went on abruptly. "His 
 attentions are are an insult. . . ." 
 
 "Leel" 
 
 " It 's true. Had I guessed just what kind 
 of man he was I would n't have received 
 him. I can't imagine how Jason let me! 
 even hospitality has limits. And Roland Gish 
 is is. . . . Oh, I don't want to talk about 
 him. But I Ve learned enough about him to- 
 night" 
 
 "To-night?" Terry's brows flashed up. 
 
 Lee made a quick gesture, blundered on, 
 off her guard, and stopped with bitten lip.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 215 
 
 " Haines told me about him " 
 
 "Raines!" There was a choked fury in 
 Terry's voice. Her eyes were ablaze, her face 
 quite white. Words, for the moment, were 
 beyond her, and Lee flung out her hands in a 
 quick movement of distress. 
 
 " Terry! Oh, my dear, you don't suppose I 
 would have listened if if I had n't known 
 that he was speaking the truth. ... I Ve 
 been afraid for you ever since Teresa brought 
 the man here. I knew from Jason he was not 
 was not a desirable acquaintance. I begged 
 Teresa to" 
 
 " I Ve heard enough ! " Terry's voice, hard, 
 inflexible, struck coldly across the stammered 
 words. She swung round, white skirts fanning 
 about her, white face set, and moved to the 
 door. As she wrenched it open, she glanced 
 back over her shoulder, eyes smouldering. 
 
 " Roland Gish asked me to marry him to- 
 night," she said. " I 'm to give him my answer 
 to-morrow. I shall say yes!"
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 THE formal announcement of her daughter's 
 engagement to Roland Gish was made trium- 
 phantly by Teresa Dorice as early as the lun- 
 cheon hour next day. She was almost trem- 
 bling with excitement; Roland Gish wore an 
 air of deep satisfaction, and Terry, finding 
 herself the centre of attraction and some one 
 to be envied and congratulated, was in almost 
 boisterous good spirits. 
 
 Only Lee, sitting apart, stunned and dumb 
 and immeasurably distressed, detected a cer- 
 tain hardness in her laughter sometimes, a 
 glint of defiance in her eyes. But it was ob- 
 vious that she was more than content, and 
 that Gish's loverlike attentions really pleased 
 and flattered her. 
 
 For Lee that luncheon seemed interminable. 
 The chatter and laughter, the gay badinage, 
 made her wince and bite her lip, and it was 
 with a long sigh of relief that she escaped at 
 last. 
 
 Jason Smithers was still confined to his 
 room, and she found Frost waiting with a
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 217 
 
 message from him asking her to go to him at 
 once. As she passed into her apartments he 
 spoke her name sharply, hoarsely. 
 
 "Lee!" 
 
 The girl started, looking at him with a 
 sudden little flicker of bewilderment in her 
 eyes. She had never heard him speak quite 
 like that before, the whole tone of the hesi- 
 tant, rather quavering voice had subtly al- 
 tered. 
 
 " Lee! Is this thing true that Terry has 
 promised to marry that to marry Gish?" 
 
 Again Lee shot him a half-puzzled glance. 
 He was leaning forward, his white hands grip- 
 ping the arms of his chair, and was evidently 
 labouring under a stress of great emotion. She 
 bent her head slowly, without speaking. 
 
 " Great God!" Smithers made a movement 
 as if to rise, and checked himself. " But it 's 
 unthinkable! It must not be! That man 
 and a child like Terry! That" 
 
 " Hush!" She went nearer to him quickly, 
 really alarmed at his manner. She added 
 quietly, rather hopelessly: " I wish I had 
 known as much about Mr. Gish a short time 
 ago as I do to-day. At least I could have 
 undeceived Terry "
 
 218 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 She hesitated, unconscious of the note of 
 reproach in her voice. 
 
 Smithers stirred and reached out a hand 
 to her. His lips twitched. 
 
 " I was a fool!" he said. " A selfish fool! 
 I ought to have thought " 
 
 He stopped rather abruptly; then added: 
 
 " But something must be done. Terry must 
 not take so terrible a step. The man is 
 unspeakable the utterest cad!" 
 
 " I know!" Lee's voice was weary. " But 
 Terry won't believe it. It would need some 
 time and a considerable amount of proof to 
 convince her or other people that he is 
 anything but what he appears. And any 
 attempt at interference would only precipi- 
 tate matters. If we are to prevent this mar- 
 riage, we shall have to go to work carefully." 
 
 Her husband opened his lips and closed 
 them again. Lee, standing beside him, pro- 
 ceeded to sketch briefly her interview of the 
 night before with Terry. Smithers listened 
 without comment, sitting with his chin 
 dropped forward, frowning fiercely. 
 
 " I blundered hopelessly," Lee added mis- 
 erably. There was a sound of tears in her 
 voice and he stirred uneasily.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 219 
 
 " It was not your fault, child! If it comes 
 to that, it is I who am to blame for the whole 
 wretched business. . . . But it '11 be all right. 
 I '11 do my utmost to make it right." 
 
 Lee made a gesture of her hands and let 
 them fall. For several minutes there was a 
 troubled silence. Lee broke it, irrelevantly. 
 Smithers had turned his face slightly to the 
 light and she could see him more clearly. 
 
 " Have you knocked yourself?" she asked. 
 " There 's such a brown mark on your fore- 
 head there!" 
 
 She laid a finger lightly on the spot. 
 Smithers started almost violently, then un- 
 expectedly reached up and caught her hand, 
 drawing it down over his eyes, holding the 
 pink palm close against his lips. 
 
 For an instant Lee stood motionless. Then 
 with a choked cry she snatched her hand 
 away. Her face was flaming; the memory of 
 last night of Denham Carson seared her. 
 Smithers's caress had brought back anew a 
 suffocating consciousness of guilt of wrong- 
 doing. An overwhelming shame and self- 
 scorn scourged her. 
 
 " Why, child!" 
 
 She heard her husband's voice, suddenly
 
 220 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 gentle, as she caught her hands up over her 
 hot face. Then, in the other room, a step 
 sounded on the threshold Frost coughed dis- 
 creetly; and, precipitately, Lee turned and 
 fled. " 
 
 Lee spent a wretched, unrest ful hour in 
 her own room. Later, making her way list- 
 lessly to the stairway, she encountered Teresa 
 Dorice at her room door. Her eyes were hard 
 and bright with anger; the unbecoming flush 
 that temper brought was hot in her cheeks. 
 Behind her Terry was standing. She, too, 
 was flushed, her mouth mutinous, her eyes 
 aflame with defiance. It needed but one glance 
 at both of them to tell Lee that something 
 had put Teresa out seriously, and that Terry's 
 inflammable temper had been fanned to fur- 
 nace heat and was wholly dominating her. 
 Interrogative, distressed, she paused, and 
 Mrs. Dorice lifted a clenched hand in which 
 was a crumpled note. 
 
 " I suppose," she said thickly, " this is your 
 doing!" Then, as Lee stared, "Read it! 
 Roland has just sent it up to us!" 
 
 Silently Lee took the paper and read:
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 221 
 
 Mr. Smithers regretfully requests Mr. Roland 
 Gish to make it convenient to leave Brookbridge 
 to-night. Mr. Gish's notoriety in the United 
 States of America has become known to Mr. 
 Smithers, which will doubtless be sufficient ex- 
 planation of his seeming inhospitality. . . . 
 
 As silently Lee gave the note back. The 
 distress in her eyes deepened; she looked 
 almost appealingly at Terry. But Teresa 
 spoke before the girl could. 
 
 " I '11 never forgive you for this, Lee 
 never! I Ve got a good deal piled up against 
 you, anyhow, and this about makes the limit! 
 And I '11 take care I get even with you for it 
 somehow, some day and with that inter- 
 fering, domineering, senile caricature of a hus- 
 band of yours! . . . For the rest, you might 
 as well know that when Roland leaves here 
 it will be to make arrangements for an im- 
 mediate marriage! Terry and I join him as 
 soon as we hear from him that he has the 
 licence! . . ." 
 
 Her voice caught and broke hysterically. 
 Terry, with a not too gentle hand, pulled her 
 back into the room. Lee, white-lipped but 
 composed, passed on, and down the stairs to 
 her waiting guests.
 
 222 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 When, some time later she was about to 
 return to her room to dress for dinner, a serv- 
 ant came so ft- footed to her side. 
 
 " Haines is in the library, ma'am. He 
 wishes to know if it will be convenient for 
 you to speak to him for a moment." 
 
 Lee started. She had nearly forgotten 
 Haines. For an instant she hesitated, then 
 she nodded. 
 
 " Thank you. I will go to the library now," 
 she said. 
 
 She found the chauffeur standing by the 
 uncurtained windows staring at nothing. As 
 he turned to her, the look in the boyish face 
 made her cry out in quick pity and distress. 
 He appeared years older, his mouth was 
 twisted and grim, his eyes haggard. 
 
 "Haines!" She uttered the word breath- 
 lessly. " Don't don't look like that! . . ." 
 
 She broke off. In a few long strides he had 
 reached her side. His lips were twitching un- 
 controllably. 
 
 " It 's true, then?" His voice seemed to her 
 to hold a savage accusation. 
 
 She threw out a protesting hand. 
 
 " Yes." Her voice shook a little. Again 
 she found herself disregarding this boy's
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 223 
 
 position in her household, and speaking to 
 him as to an equal. " Terry has consented 
 to marry Mr. Gish. Mr. Smithers has, I 
 am afraid, precipitated matters by intimating 
 that he finds Mr. Gish an unwelcome and un- 
 desirable guest. ... He has already left." 
 She hesitated, turning her eyes from his face, 
 and added: " I understand that he is making 
 preparations for an an immediate marriage. 
 Terry and Mrs. Dorice say that they are join- 
 ing him in a few days." 
 
 " My God!" Haines recoiled as though she 
 had struck him. Then he reached forward 
 and caught her wrist. " Do you mean to say 
 she knows knows the sort of man he is, and 
 still cares enough " 
 
 " Cares I" Lee faced him again, her head 
 flung up, her voice and eyes half scornful. 
 " Cares! I tell you, Terry no more knows 
 what caring means what it is to love than 
 the veriest baby. She 's infatuated, flattered. 
 Men have treated her like a child or a school- 
 girl hitherto. He does n't. If she 's in love 
 at all, she 's in love with love ! " 
 
 Her breath caught, but she went on again 
 before he could speak, passionately, tensely: 
 
 " She 's a child a headstrong, wild, impres-
 
 224 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 sionable child. When she gets angry, she 
 loses all sense of balance and she 's angry 
 now! Angry at interference angry at what 
 she looks upon as your impertinence in intrud- 
 ing upon her affairs. . . . Oh, I muddled 
 tilings wretchedly last night, Haines. I tried 
 to make her see the truth. And I failed igno- 
 miniously. Between us we Ve flung her into 
 the man's arms. And there 's nothing I can 
 do nothing anybody can do!" 
 
 She threw her hands wide, despairingly, and 
 let them fall. Her eyes were almost as tragic 
 as his own. 
 
 " Whatever she is told of him now," she 
 went on, " she will refuse to believe . . . 
 even if she listens. And she is beyond forcible 
 restraint neither I nor my husband have any 
 power over her. She has her mother's approval 
 and sanction." 
 
 She stopped. Haines had turned his back 
 on her and was staring out of the window at 
 nothing again. She saw that his hands were 
 clenched and trembling at his sides. 
 
 " God! " he whispered " I wish I 'd broken 
 Gish's back the day he came here ! He deserves 
 it. First Carson's life ruined and now " 
 
 He broke off abruptly, swinging round. His
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 225 
 
 eyes were on her face. Something in their 
 gaze, something earnest, inexplicably pitying 
 and understanding, startled her. With his 
 next words her heart leaped, and seemed to 
 stop beating. 
 
 " Carson 's a white man all through!" he 
 said. " He would n't strike any woman 
 like they said he did! . . ." 
 
 He turned away again. Lee moved to a 
 chair and sat down weakly. Without looking 
 at her Haines said: 
 
 " For Terry's own sake if I need it may 
 I rely on a little of your help?" 
 
 Lee answered him with stiff lips. " What 
 do you mean?" 
 
 There was an attempt at hauteur in her 
 manner now, but there was terror too ter- 
 ror of what he might know, what his words 
 implied. He sensed it and came quickly back 
 to her. His young face was changed he 
 smiled suddenly, rather wonderfully, and 
 again with that strange, subtle suggestion of 
 understanding. Then it hardened again, the 
 mouth grew grim. 
 
 "Just that Terry has got to be saved!" 
 he answered simply. And added, while she 
 waited, dumb:
 
 226 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " I guess after all it 's up to me to take 
 a decisive hand in the game!" 
 
 There was something in his voice that 
 brought her glance quickly to his face a deep 
 warmth, a grim determination, a little of 
 something oddly exulting. . . . 
 
 He met her eyes and smiled. The smile 
 was quite without mirth, but it brought a 
 blue flame to his own eyes that made her 
 blink. He was already at the door. In sud- 
 den apprehension Lee checked him. 
 
 " What are you going to do . . . ?" 
 
 He looked back. The flame was still in 
 his eyes. 
 
 " Employ the methods of the uncivilised 
 and primitive male!" he told her; and went.
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 A COUPLE of afternoons later, as Lee sat list- 
 lessly turning the pages of a book after lunch- 
 eon, her maid came to her with a note. 
 
 " A boy from the village met Frost and 
 gave it to him, ma'am. He said there is no 
 
 answer." 
 
 Lee took the flimsy, cheap envelope with 
 its awkward pencilling of her name, and 
 opened it. Upon the half-sheet of note- 
 paper it contained was written the one word: 
 
 "Come!" 
 
 For a long time Lee sat very still. A wild 
 surge of mingled resentment and longing 
 beat up within her suffocatingly. The long- 
 ing conquered. Despising herself for her 
 weakness, conscious of an ever-increasing 
 sense of guilt, she got into out-of-door apparel 
 hurriedly, without summoning her maid, and 
 went out. 
 
 As she hurried down the drive, she told 
 herself rather piteously that she must make 
 Carson understand that this sort of thing 
 could not go on ... must not go on. But,
 
 228 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 once more in his presence, the adoration of 
 his eyes caressing her, fanning anew the flame 
 of this new-found love of hers, her determina- 
 tion weakened. There was appeal in her 
 protests rather than decision, and he swept 
 them ruthlessly aside. 
 
 " I Ve got to see you sometimes," he told 
 her. " It may be wrong mad what you 
 will, but it 's got to be. I 'm going to steal 
 some hours of sweetness from life, Lee, what- 
 ever the consequences. . . . Unless you come 
 to me here, it will end in my seeking you! " 
 
 But she had cried out at that, in a panic 
 of dismay. 
 
 " No, no! Oh, you must not. . . . You 
 might be seen. You would be jeopardising 
 your freedom every moment!" And had 
 added, miserably " But it is wrong, this, 
 Denham all wrong! I feel despicable 
 wicked ashamed ! " 
 
 The vivid blue eyes had softened to an 
 infinite tenderness. 
 
 " Poor little girl! Oh, my dear, if any one 
 is doing wrong, it is I. But we can't help 
 where we love, Lee ! And I ask of you but an 
 occasional hour of your time the sound of 
 your voice and the touch of your hands of
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 229 
 
 your lips to remember and dream about!" 
 
 And then, a moment later, he had flung 
 away from her, his face fallen into haggard 
 lines, the blue eyes very tired. 
 
 " God! If I were only free!" he had cried. 
 " Free to move among my fellow-men ... it 
 would all be so different, Lee!" 
 
 The girl had shaken her head a little 
 drearily. 
 
 " It could not be different. You are for- 
 getting my husband!" 
 
 She had felt his eyes on her then, with 
 something in their depths that puzzled her, 
 that she could not fathom. He had answered 
 very quietly: 
 
 " No. I am not forgetting your husband! " 
 
 There had been the same puzzling quality 
 in his voice. But he had said no more. 
 
 As, later, she had come homeward up the 
 drive, her stepmother had watched her idly 
 from a window. 
 
 " I sometimes think Lee 's crazy!" she ob- 
 served to Terry, who was shaking raindrops 
 energetically from a yellow tarn. " Fancy let- 
 ting a wretched begging note drag her to the 
 village on a day like this!" 
 
 " Lee did n't go to the village," Terry inter-
 
 230 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 polated. " I saw her in the woods from the 
 upper road when I was exercising the dogs 
 quite a way in them near the keeper's hut. 
 . . . Bother! I believe this tarn 's spoiled!" 
 
 " But her maid said " Teresa was begin- 
 ning, and shut her lips abruptly upon the 
 words. She watched Lee thoughtfully until 
 she was lost to view, and there was a new, odd 
 little look of speculation in her pansy eyes 
 that might have startled Lee considerably had 
 she seen it. 
 
 That surreptitious meeting with Denham 
 Carson was not the last, in spite of Lee's 
 desperate resolutions. The heart-hunger she 
 had come to know, and her fear that Carson 
 might do something reckless in an effort to see 
 her if she did not go to him, were stronger 
 than her sense of wrongdoing, of infidelity. 
 
 More sensitive than even those who thought 
 they knew her intimately would have guessed, 
 Lee was beginning to suffer intolerably. She 
 avoided Jason Smithers now as painstakingly 
 as, only a few weeks back, she had endeav- 
 oured to give him as much of her company 
 as he desired. Whenever she was with him 
 she was conscious of a suffocating feeling of 
 constraint. His every kindly word was a stab
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 231 
 
 that made her wince inwardly. It was with 
 secret relief that she found that he still kept 
 to his own rooms save for a couple of hours 
 in the very early middle day. The old pleas- 
 ant, even happy intercourse with him was no 
 longer possible, and, wretchedly, every day 
 she told herself that the situation was getting 
 beyond her. 
 
 The house-party had broken up a few days 
 after Gish's departure. The attitude of both 
 Mrs. Dorice and Terry towards her was frigid, 
 and added to her discomfort, while her anxiety 
 concerning Terry's future was still acutely 
 real despite her own problem. 
 
 A little over a week later, Mrs. Dorice an- 
 nounced that she and Terry intended ter- 
 minating their visit the following day, adding 
 that they had heard from Roland Gish that 
 his affairs were smoothly settled. 
 
 Lee accepted the information without com- 
 ment, and with an inward consciousness of 
 utter impotence, and of vague discomfort 
 under Mrs. Dorice's unusually intent gaze. 
 More than once, of late, she had caught her 
 stepmother looking at her with an expression 
 in her eyes that had made her vaguely uneasy, 
 though she could not have said why.
 
 232 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 They were in the hall after lunch when 
 Mrs. Dorice made the announcement. Lee 
 was silent. Jason Smithers, leaning rather 
 more heavily on his cane than usual, expressed 
 his regret at losing them in his customary 
 courteous way. Frost was hovering near by 
 ready to assist him to his room. Terry was 
 reading the daily newspaper. She flourished 
 it suddenly. 
 
 " I wonder," she said, " if we 're ever going 
 to hear the last of this wretched Carson case! 
 Here 's some more about it again." 
 
 Lee grew white. It seemed to her minutes 
 before the idle young voice went on: 
 
 " It seems they Ve found another clue, or 
 something." 
 
 " Clue!" Mr. Smithers's tone was irritably 
 belligerent. "Only a clue! Why the deuce 
 don't they find the man!" 
 
 Terry shrugged. " It 's nothing much, any- 
 way. Only that, it appears, the apartment 
 where Mrs. Carson was murdered has been 
 shut up since, and only recently re-let. The 
 new tenants, in cleaning up, have found the 
 half of a man's cuff-link wedged between the 
 floor boards close to the hearth, just where 
 Mrs. Carson had been found lying. There
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 233 
 
 seems to be a theory it snapped off her assail- 
 ant's cuff when he struck her, fell on the 
 boards, and was trodden between them by 
 the people who found her, unnoticed. The 
 link is described as a particularly fine piece 
 of jade hand-carved in the form of a perfect 
 elephant evidently Indian. They but I 
 don't suppose you want to hear any more." 
 
 She tossed the paper down. Mr. Smithers 
 clicked his tongue against his teeth testily. 
 Frost's hand was on his arm. Lee saw him 
 glance at the man with something of question 
 before they moved to the stairs. Then she 
 turned wearily away. 
 
 At the door of his apartments Mr. Smithers 
 halted and jerked his elbow from Frost's hold. 
 
 " What the devil 's the matter with you?" 
 he began, and paused. Frost's wooden coun- 
 tenance was twitching, his eyes unnaturally 
 bright. He answered, stammering: 
 
 " I valeted Mr. Gish when he was here, sir. 
 He had jade cuff-links among his things, 
 carved like elephants. And my God, sir! 
 one was broken the other half was gone ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 TERRY, wandering to the garage to collect 
 Toby for his afternoon scamper with the other 
 dogs, encountered Haines upon the threshold. 
 He was examining one of the closed cars 
 which he had either just brought in or was 
 about to take out, but he was not in livery, 
 though he wore his goggles pushed up over 
 the peak of his soft cap. 
 
 He looked up briefly, touched his cap, and 
 returned to his work as Toby came scamper- 
 ing eagerly down the narrow stairs from the 
 quarters above. Terry had hesitated and 
 drawn back on catching sight of Haines; she 
 recovered herself instantly, and bent above 
 Toby with a slightly heightened colour and an 
 air of nonchalance which she did not really 
 feel. Indeed, she was conscious of an odd and 
 disturbing flutter of her pulses as she met the 
 honest, quiet gaze the man turned upon her. 
 She was, to her own bewilderment, by no means 
 at her ease. Inwardly she raged at herself for 
 her folly. She had already voiced to Lee and 
 to her mother her opinion that the chauffeur
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 235 
 
 should have been summarily dismissed for 
 his impertinence; but this evening there was 
 that in the way he looked at her that was 
 oddly disturbing. It made her feel somehow 
 defensive and guilty. 
 
 She was selecting one of Toby's collars from 
 among the many varied ones that, with their 
 accompanying leashes, hung above his basket, 
 when Haines abruptly spoke. 
 
 He had passed across the threshold, leaving 
 the car, now purring softly, outside, and had 
 drawn one of the doors slightly to behind 
 him, obviously to prevent Toby dashing exu- 
 berantly past him. 
 
 At the sound of his voice, Terry wheeled, 
 then stood still. His face was quite without 
 expression, but his eyes shone. 
 
 "Is it true," he asked, without preamble, 
 " that you are going to marry Roland Gish?" 
 
 Terry gasped, strove for a crushing retort, 
 met those shining, steady eyes, and answered, 
 against her will: 
 
 "Yes!" 
 
 Haines leaned a broad shoulder against the 
 lintel of the unclosed, heavy door, and thrust 
 his hands deep into his pockets. His eyes did 
 not leave her face.
 
 236 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 " I want you," he said quite calmly, " to 
 alter that decision!" 
 
 Again Terry gasped, and now the angry red 
 flamed high in her cheeks, her eyes were flash- 
 ing. 
 
 "This is intolerable! . . . Your audacity 
 is only equal to your impertinence, Haines! 
 You you " she broke off, breathless, im- 
 potently furious before his unshaken quiet. 
 " What do you mean by it, I say? What " 
 
 Haines 's mouth twitched faintly at the 
 corners. He held the passionate indignation 
 of her regard levelly, answered as levelly: 
 
 " That I love you. . . ." He took his hands 
 out of his pockets and came a step nearer to 
 her. 
 
 " I 'd rather see you dead," he went on, 
 and now his voice was vibrant with repressed 
 passion, "than sullied by that man's touch! 
 ... I 'd rather die for you, here and now, 
 than let you go on with this criminal folly 
 that you are contemplating! It 's not even as 
 if you loved him! You don't! You 're not the 
 sort who loves easily. Oh " he drew a long 
 breath, straightening himself suddenly and 
 standing upright " I know!" 
 
 He flung his hands wide, passionately. His
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 237 
 
 face shone whitely against the growing dusk 
 without. His nostrils were ever so slightly 
 dilated, his eyes burning. 
 
 " You 're a baby. You don't know what 
 love means. . . . You '11 never know if you 
 go to a man like Roland Gish to teach you!" 
 
 Terry opened her lips and closed them 
 again. Toby, panting, ears cocked, circled 
 round her, occasionally sniffing at the collar 
 in her hand. Outside the thrumming purr of 
 the big car seemed to grow louder. Above 
 it Haines's voice rose again, vibrant once 
 more, almost savage in its intensity. 
 
 " Only it 's not going to be. I tell you, 
 it 's not going to be!" 
 
 Terry found her voice at last. It rose 
 shrilly, almost hysterically. At the rasp in it 
 Toby stopped gambolling and slid hurriedly 
 to the shelter of his basket. 
 
 " You " she choked back her fury, 
 steadied herself. " And who 's going to 
 prevent it?" 
 
 " I am." Haines's hand flashed out suddenly 
 and closed about her wrist. He jerked her 
 close to him, holding her fast. " I tell you," 
 he added thickly, " I love you! . . ." 
 
 In the shadows Terry's eyes were momen-
 
 238 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 tarily like live coals. She brought the heavy 
 brass and leather dog-collar down with all 
 her force across his forearm, so that with an 
 involuntary cry of pain he unloosed his fingers 
 and let his arm fall. 
 
 " Love!" the girl raged. " The love of a 
 paid servant a a " 
 
 She got no further. Haines wrenched the 
 collar from her hand, drew her close again. 
 His breath came quick and fast, the savage 
 passion of his grip numbed her. As she 
 strained against him, he brought his lips 
 roughly, bruisingly, against hers. 
 
 " The love of a man " he cried hoarsely. 
 " Oh, my girl my girl ! The love of a 
 mate! . . ." 
 
 He let her go as quickly as he had caught 
 her. Breathing heavily, he stood against the 
 door again, his hands fumbling at the thick 
 woollen scarf about his throat. He dragged 
 it suddenly down as Terry made to pass him, 
 and an instant later its folds were about her 
 face. . . . 
 
 In the shadows, shivering, Toby yelped a 
 piteous protest as Haines swung the girl, 
 struggling, off her feet. In the far distance a 
 stableboy whistled cheerily. A persistent yap-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 239 
 
 ping of an impatient Pom came from some- 
 where in the low-lying house. 
 
 Presently the big car outside the garage 
 ceased to purr and began to throb. Then, 
 silently, smoothly, headlights challenging, 
 dazzling, like the eyes of some monster of the 
 night, it glided down the drive and out into 
 the highroad. 
 
 Against the cushions within, very pale, very 
 still, and unexpectedly small and childish, 
 Terry lay.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 IT was close upon the dinner hour when Toby 
 called attention to his mistress's continued 
 absence. In her room the Pom had long since 
 barked himself hoarse and had curled himself 
 up in a chair, reproachfully resigned to an 
 unusual neglect. 
 
 Toby, collarless and whining, had circled 
 the grounds and house for nearly two hours 
 before he finally made his way within. Mrs. 
 Dorice and Lee came together down the stairs, 
 and the dog precipitated himself upon them 
 eagerly. 
 
 Lee stooped to pat him, then glanced about 
 her quickly. 
 
 " Why where is Terry?" she asked. 
 " Toby has n't got h'is collar on, and she 
 generally takes him straight to the garage." 
 
 There was a faint, puzzled apprehension in 
 her tone. Mrs. Dorice shrugged. 
 
 " She 's in her room, I suppose. Probably 
 Toby slipped out after her." 
 
 Lee, still caressing the whining dog, ac-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 241 
 
 cepted the explanation, but the uneasiness 
 deepened in her eyes. She was quick as Terry 
 herself to understand a dog's moods, and 
 Toby's manner was unusual. It was not until 
 dinner was announced, and Terry did not 
 appear, that Teresa, too, showed surprise. 
 
 " Where on earth can she be?" she ex- 
 claimed, adding: " Now I come to think of 
 it, she went to fetch Toby, but I did n't see 
 her come back for the other dogs, and that 
 wretched Chicot was yelping in her room for 
 hours, it seemed to me." 
 
 Lee did not answer, but ran lightly up the 
 stairs and on to Terry's room. Chicot yelped 
 with delight as she entered, and Toby, still 
 whimpering at her heels, rushed in eagerly. 
 But, save for the animals, the room was 
 empty. 
 
 " Where is she?" Lee heard Teresa's voice, 
 querulous and bewildered, at her elbow. 
 
 She shook her head, a grave disquiet in 
 her eyes. 
 
 " I don't know. . . . She can't have come 
 in since she went to fetch Toby. I '11 send 
 down to the garage. Haines has charge of 
 Toby, and since the dog is loose Terry must 
 have been there."
 
 242 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Something in her voice made Teresa look 
 at her quickly, and frown. Lee's face was a 
 little pale; it wore a startled look which the 
 older woman found perplexing. But she made 
 no comment until an answer came to Lee's 
 message. One of the chauffeurs brought it, 
 standing awkwardly before the two women. 
 He had himself seen Miss Terry on her way 
 to fetch the dog, but he had not seen her 
 since. He had been surprised to find the dog 
 loose about the yards later, especially as he 
 was collarless. 
 
 There he paused and hesitated. 
 
 Lee looked at him searchingly. 
 
 " But Haines had charge of the dog!" she 
 said. " Surely he would know if Miss Terry 
 took him out with her as usual, and if so in 
 which direction she went?" 
 
 The man shifted from one foot to the other 
 a trifle uneasily. 
 
 " Haines is not in the garage, ma'am. We 
 can't find him anywhere, and one of the men 
 says he saw him driving Miss Terry's car out 
 of the drive gates a couple of hours or more 
 ago. He has n't come back yet leastways 
 Miss Terry's car is n't garaged." 
 
 Lee's breath caught suddenly. A bewil-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 243 
 
 dering suspicion was dawning at the back 
 of her mind. She flung a swift glance of dis- 
 may at Teresa, then said quietly: 
 
 " Thank you. Probably Miss Terry decided 
 to go for a spin at the last moment instead 
 of taking the dogs out. . . . There may have 
 been some trouble with the car. ... In any 
 case, let me know as soon as Haines returns. 
 Thank you that is all." 
 
 The man touched his cap and departed. 
 Lee, outwardly quite composed, passed on into 
 the dining-room. 
 
 Teresa, exclamatory and indignant, fol- 
 lowed her. 
 
 "Terry really is impossible sometimes!" 
 she declared; then, catching sight of Lee's 
 face, stopped. The rest of the meal was par- 
 taken of in silence, but when the servants 
 were gone, she looked suddenly, shrewdly, 
 across into Lee's eyes. 
 
 " Do you know anything more about this, 
 Lee?" she demanded, and knew, by the girl's 
 quick start, her heightened colour, and startled 
 glance, that the shot had struck home. Never- 
 theless, Lee's voice was quite steady, a little 
 contemptuous when she answered. 
 
 " Only as much as you do!" She returned
 
 244 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 the other's keen regard composedly. " Why 
 should you think otherwise?" 
 
 " I don't know." Teresa's voice was edged, 
 her pansy eyes were narrowed. " Only it 
 seems queer, rather Terry going off joy- 
 riding like this, especially with Haines, whom 
 she can't tolerate. . . . Besides, you Ve got 
 a sort of funny expression, you know." 
 
 Lee jerked back her chair and rose. Her 
 eyes were scornful. 
 
 "You are absurd! Terry '11 probably be 
 back in a few minutes now, half-starving, and 
 quite oblivious of time!" 
 
 But her voice lacked conviction. Her eyes 
 remained troubled, and Raines's words of a 
 night or two ago were still ringing in her ears. 
 
 The evening passed restlessly for both 
 women. By bedtime Teresa was on the verge 
 of hysterics. 
 
 " Terry must be quite mad!" she wailed. 
 " These pranks were bad enough before, but 
 now. . . or maybe there 's been an accident. 
 Lee, for Heaven's sake, can't you do some- 
 thing send some of the men to look for 
 them? I believe you 're remaining inactive 
 on purpose because you don't want Terry 
 to marry Roland Gish. . . ."
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 245 
 
 The shrill voice ceased before the sudden 
 flame of Lee's eyes. The girl said quietly 
 after a moment: 
 
 " If inaction on my part would bring about 
 a break in that direction, I would not lift a 
 finger!" 
 
 She turned away as she spoke, but Teresa 
 caught her wrist. 
 
 " I believe you do know something!" she 
 cried. " My Heaven, Lee! If so if to-night's 
 doings are in any way your work you '11 be 
 sorry for it. And I can make you sorry, 
 don't forget that. I 'm not blind, you know " 
 there was a queer, ugly sneer in the words 
 " and I know a good bit more than perhaps 
 you think I do ! " 
 
 Lee's expression remained unaltered. She 
 freed her wrist and passed on into her own 
 room. But, once inside, she leaned for a 
 moment limply against the panels of the door, 
 her face very white, her eyes dark with appre- 
 hension, Teresa's venom-pointed words sing- 
 ing maddeningly in her ears.
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 LEE scarcely slept that night. With her 
 letters her maid brought her a message. 
 Terry's car had been found in the village 
 garage, where, according to the proprietor, 
 Haines had left it the previous evening. Noth- 
 ing at all had been seen of Terry. Haines 
 had taken a drink in the village inn, and had 
 gone. 
 
 Lee rose listlessly, dressed, and made her 
 way to Teresa's room. A maid informed her 
 that Mrs. Dorice could see no one, as she 
 was suffering from acute nervous headache, 
 and quite prostrate. Lee left the message, 
 partook of a scant and solitary breakfast, and 
 drifted afterwards to her husband's rooms. 
 
 Here Frost informed her that Mr. Smithers 
 had not enjoyed a good night. He was sleep- 
 ing still, and did not wish to be disturbed at 
 all during the day. 
 
 Lee, with Toby at her heels, went out. It 
 was a clear morning and mild, and she stayed 
 until luncheon-time. The conviction was 
 growing upon her that Haines was responsible 
 for Terry's disappearance, and, while she was
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 247 
 
 genuinely distressed and anxious, she felt cu- 
 riously disinclined to do anything further, to 
 take other steps than she had already done. 
 
 In the early afternoon a thumbed envelope, 
 upon which her name was scrawled illiter- 
 ately, was brought to her. The sight of it 
 brought her heart leaping to her throat and 
 the startled blood to her cheeks. 
 
 She opened it reluctantly. Teresa Dorice 
 was with her, and Lee knew that the pansy 
 eyes, a little narrowed, very hard, were upon 
 her. 
 
 The note was the same as a former one. 
 Just the one word " Come," but underlined 
 this time. Lee tore the paper into shreds 
 with fingers that shook, and rose. 
 
 " I have to go out," she said. " I expect 
 I shall be back by tea-time, but don't wait for 
 me." 
 
 Mrs. Dorice merely nodded. But as Lee 
 reached the door she said, casually: 
 
 " To the village?" 
 
 " Yes." Lee's tone was absent, yet rtervous. 
 Already her mind was with Denham Carson, 
 her pulses stirring at the knowledge of their 
 coming meeting. Ten minutes later she went 
 swiftly down the drive. Teresa, from the
 
 248 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 morning-room window, watched her thought- 
 fully. Then she rose, went leisurely to her 
 room, and made an unusually quiet walking 
 
 toilette. 
 
 .< 
 
 With the first touch of Denham Carson's 
 hands about hers, nervous, tense, painfully 
 hard, with the first glance into vivid blue eyes 
 that were literally blazing with excitement, 
 Lee knew that he was labouring under an 
 emotion that had shaken him to the depths. 
 
 "Lee!" 
 
 The whisper of her name was hoarse. He 
 dragged her across the threshold, and banged 
 to the door. Still holding her, he went on, 
 jerkily, breathlessly: 
 
 " Lee! I had to see you! Oh, girl! It may 
 be there 's just a bare chance of finding 
 the truth of of Chrissie's murder! . . ." 
 
 He stopped abruptly as Lee drew a quick 
 breath, recoiling. Some of the light faded out 
 of his face; he released her hands and stood 
 back. For a moment he was silent, regard- 
 ing her intently. Then he went on more 
 quietly. 
 
 " I Ve never spoken of that to you. Not 
 directly. Somehow, I Ve never dared to.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 249 
 
 I Ve dreaded breaking the magic spell. . . . 
 Only, after the way you helped me that night 
 it seemed to me that that you might have 
 found it in your heart to to give me the 
 benefit of the doubt. I 'm innocent, Lee!" 
 
 " Don't!" Lee made a half-appealing, per- 
 emptory gesture. Her face was white. " I 
 have hardly thought about that, save in 
 connection with the danger of your position. 
 I have only remembered that you are you " 
 
 Her voice caught. With a quick movement 
 he gripped her shoulders and swung her round 
 to face him. 
 
 " Oh, girl! But you believe me?" 
 
 She lifted wide, troubled eyes to his, 
 searched them deeply, earnestly, then gave a 
 tired, half-sobbing sigh. 
 
 " I think " she said, with a twisted, rather 
 pitiful smile " that I should believe any- 
 thing that you told me." 
 
 Carson drew a long breath and let her go. 
 For a while he did not speak. Then he went 
 on, the note of excitement creeping into his 
 voice again. 
 
 " You know the wretched story. My mar- 
 riage was a failure from the beginning. I 
 was a quixotic young fool, or I would never
 
 250 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 have allowed myself to be led into it. There 
 was no question of love! Chrissie was not, 
 never could have been, the sort of woman I 
 could love. . . . Afterwards, in the ghastly 
 days that stretched to years I made a dream- 
 woman to love. Lee . . . the dream- woman 
 materialised that night on Ruff's Island 
 with the first touch of your hand, the first 
 glance into your eyes." 
 
 Lee stirred, but she did not speak. From 
 the bracken without there came a faint sound. 
 Each glanced at the narrow window, but the 
 sound was not repeated, and Carson went on. 
 
 " That night on Ruff's Island! I shall never 
 forget it, Lee! All the starved heart of me 
 became awake and ravenous for the love it 
 had been denied, then! I sat that night, while 
 you slept and the grey dawn came, thinking 
 thinking thinking. I 'd laughed at men who 
 loved at sight before. I knew that night that 
 there was nothing to laugh at. There was 
 fire in my blood every pulse ached for you 
 I don't know how I let you go ! " 
 
 Again the bracken whispered and stirred 
 beneath a passing wind the branch of a tree 
 cracked, but neither heeded now. 
 
 The sound came again, fainter, more dis-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 251 
 
 tant. Back towards the upper road, through 
 the bracken and the tree-trunks a figure 
 moved, shadowy, indistinct, and finally dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 In the silence of the hut Carson's voice rose 
 again. He smiled. 
 
 " I 'm letting memories carry me away . . . 
 forgetting the future! Lee, you Ve seen the 
 papers you Ve seen the discovery of a man's 
 broken cuff-link? Its description?" Again, as 
 she nodded, his nervous brown hand gripped 
 her arm. " Lee those cuff-links were Roland 
 Gish's!" He jerked to a stop, hesitated, and 
 went on. " Don't ask me how I know. I do 
 know! And Roland Gish was the man who 
 was instrumental in taking my in taking 
 Chrissie from my home, in bringing scandal 
 on our name. Roland Gish fascinated her as 
 I could never have done. He made her love 
 him as he had made a dozen other women love 
 him and cast her aside as he had cast the 
 others. Or was about to. I warned her of 
 that, that night when I was there I tried to 
 show her the true character of the man. I did 
 not know how far things had gone between 
 them I did not ask. But she would not listen 
 she raged at me like a tigress. I guessed
 
 252 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 then, if I had never guessed before, how 
 utterly and completely the man held sway 
 over her that it was too late to hope for even 
 an outward semblance of reconciliation be- 
 tween us. I left her then." 
 
 He paused and took a few strides the length 
 of the narrow room, speaking again as he did so. 
 
 " It 's funny but I never thought of Gish 
 In connection with her death. Like the world 
 I only connected him with her inasmuch as he 
 was getting her talked about and as only 
 one of the reasons for our quarrel. Until last 
 night, when I learned that the cuff-link was 
 his" 
 
 " Last night? " Lee looked startled, but 
 he brushed the interruption aside. 
 
 " Gish had assumed no greater importance 
 in the ghastly affair. But now now" he 
 halted before her again, and his breath came 
 quickly " I Ve begun to wonder. Gish must 
 have been there in the apartment with her at 
 some time he might even have been there, 
 in hiding, during our interview and quarrel. 
 If so if so, Lee, why should they not have 
 quarrelled too? God knows, it 's only a sur- 
 mise but a drowning man clutches at straws, 
 however frail! "
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 253 
 
 Lee's eyes widened in horror, and something 
 of his own excitement. " You mean? . . ." 
 
 " That the blow that killed Chrissie was 
 struck brutally, without deliberation, in the 
 heat of ungoverned passion. I did not strike 
 that blow. There was only one other with 
 whom she could have quarrelled violently. 
 That other was Gish. I know more of him 
 now through hearsay than I did five years 
 ago. His methods with women, and other- 
 wise have become notorious. They have al- 
 ways been brutal." 
 
 Lee drew a brief mental picture of her 
 erstwhile guest suave, debonair, altogether 
 charming. She remembered her impression of 
 the lines about his mouth, the look in his eyes, 
 and shuddered. She waited silently for Car- 
 son to go on. 
 
 " Even now," he proceeded, " no suspicion 
 of him would have crossed my mind, if it had 
 not been for Harry " 
 
 He stopped short. Lee looked at him again 
 searchingly, questioningly. He met her glance 
 and smiled faintly. 
 
 " It does n't matter now but he 's one of 
 the two truest friends a man ever had! He, 
 and one other, gave up five years of their
 
 254 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 lives in working for my liberty. . . ." Again 
 his lips twitched. " But for those two I should 
 never have gained it, or kept it a day ! I owe 
 everything to them." 
 
 Lee moistened lips that had become a little 
 dry. 
 
 "But Gish!" she whispered. " How 
 what grounds " She broke off. 
 
 Carson shrugged and then squared his 
 shoulders. His eyes looked tired suddenly, a 
 little bleak. 
 
 " I don't know. I Ve got to leave the rest 
 in Harry's hands. The waiting suspense 
 will be damnable, of course." His eyes met 
 hers, deepened and glowed. " Were it not for 
 you" he whispered, " I 'd give myself up 
 again risk all for the chance of voicing my 
 own suspicions. But for your sake for the 
 sake of our joint happiness I dare n't!" 
 
 He swung away from her again, and stood 
 staring out of the window. She heard him 
 speaking presently, just above his breath. 
 
 "I Ve been a fool! Worse than a fool! 
 I 'd no right to do what I have done no right 
 to involve you in this no right to take from 
 you what I have. I Ve been a selfish, unthink- 
 ing brute . . . but, my God! Lee! If this
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 255 
 
 means freedom permanent, unshadowed 
 freedom think! Think what it means to 
 you to me! Think of the happiness that 
 lies ahead of us!" 
 
 He faced her again and came towards her, 
 but with a cry Lee drew back. There was 
 bewilderment in her eyes, shrinking some- 
 thing of fear. 
 
 "Don't!" she said just above her breath. 
 " Oh you don't know what you are saying! 
 You have forgotten " 
 
 " I have forgotten nothing!" His hands 
 were on her shoulders again, he drew her 
 close, and his touch seemed to burn. " Oh, 
 sweetheart it 's just come to us so strangely 
 that made of me the mad, reckless fool that 
 I have become, and the happiest man on God's 
 earth! I can't give it up I can't I can't!" 
 
 He held her close, his lips very near to hers, 
 but with a smothered cry she pressed her 
 hands against him, thrusting him from her. 
 
 "You don't know what you are saying!" 
 Her face looked suddenly white and pinched, 
 her lips were trembling. " You have forgot- 
 ten! . . . Whatever the future holds for you 
 it can make no difference! Our ways have 
 got to part and soon."
 
 256 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 His hands went out to her again, but she 
 evaded them, trembling, but holding him away 
 with a piteous courage. 
 
 " Denham! It 's got to be. I Ve known it 
 from the beginning. I Ve hated myself for 
 coming here for taking your love for giv- 
 ing you mine ! " The red flamed in her cheeks 
 and died again. " I could not help that 
 loving you, and being loved, I mean. But I 
 ought to have been stronger I ought never 
 to have yielded; I ought to have put you 
 utterly out of my life. Oh, I Ve been wrong 
 disloyal a traitor " 
 
 "Lee!" Distressed, infinitely gentle, his 
 voice quieted the torrent of her words. She 
 met his eyes for a flickering moment eyes 
 remorseful, troubled and looked away in a 
 blinding rush of tears. "Lee! It has been 
 my fault all of it. Oh, child I Ve scarcely 
 thought what it must have meant for you. 
 I Ve remembered only that I love you that 
 you love me that you are mine " 
 
 " No no ! " There was desperation in Lee's 
 voice. With an immense effort she steadied it, 
 facing him now, her hands against her breast, 
 very still. " We Ve got to say * good-bye ' 
 to-night. It it is has been wrong from the
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 257 
 
 beginning. It can't go on we 're neither of 
 us strong enough " 
 
 She choked and stopped. Carson took a step 
 nearer. 
 
 " Is anything in life," he asked, " stronger 
 than love?" 
 
 For a long moment she met his eyes, pite- 
 ously, yet steadfastly. Then she flung her 
 hands wide. 
 
 "Only fidelity!" she said. And then: 
 " Oh, don't you understand? That old man 
 that poor old man! He loves me in his 
 way. He believes in me. He gave his honour 
 into my hands he trusts me! Trusts me 
 oh, God!" 
 
 Her voice broke on a storm of tears. Car- 
 son caught her hands and held them against 
 his breast. The light in his eyes was strange, 
 very wonderful. 
 
 " Lee!" 
 
 Through the rain of her tears Lee looked 
 up at him. 
 
 " You '11 let me go?" she said. " Oh my 
 dear! It 's not that I do not care more than 
 ever words of mine can say! But you '11 
 forget you must forget. . . ." 
 
 She stopped. The man drew her nearer.
 
 258 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 The look in his eyes calmed her suddenly. 
 
 " I '11 let you go," he answered. " But I '11 
 not forget. I never could forget, because 
 oh, Lee! I love you more to-night than ever 
 before! . . ." 
 
 He released her and stepped back. Blindly 
 she turned to the door. He did not move, and 
 with her hand on the latch she paused and 
 looked back. 
 
 " Good-bye!" she whispered. 
 
 Carson smiled. It was an oddly radiant, 
 very wonderful smile. But he answered 
 gravely: 
 
 "God bless you!"
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 TERRY stirred among unaccustomed coverings, 
 coughed, and sat upright. There was a sing- 
 ing in her ears and her head ached heavily. 
 She felt a little sick, and utterly bewildered. 
 Then, as her vision cleared, she gasped. She 
 was in a rather stuffy room, in which the 
 odours of coffee, wood, and oil mingled a little 
 suffocatingly. Matting was upon the floor, 
 beaded curtains covered the absurd windows. 
 Before a fire of damp logs Haines squatted, 
 trying to make toast. 
 
 For a moment Terry stared at him dazedly. 
 Then, as recollection dawned upon her, she 
 flung aside her coverings and sprang to her 
 feet. Giddy, she caught at a chair, and Haines, 
 dropping the toasting-fork, leaped up. 
 
 Through the hazy mingling of smoke and 
 oil fumes they stared at each other. Terry 
 tried to speak and coughed instead. Her face 
 looked pinched and small in the lamplight, 
 and Haines turned abruptly to where a coffee-
 
 260 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 pot was steaming, caught up a cup, and, filling 
 it, handed it to her. 
 
 " Drink it as it is," he ordered. " It '11 pull 
 you round." 
 
 Almost mechanically she obeyed, giving the 
 cup back into his hands with a little grimace. 
 Then she straightened herself. 
 
 " Where am I?" she demanded, and Haines, 
 gathering up the toast and fork, and settling 
 himself on his heels again, answered: 
 
 " Island down Thames. One of those 
 fashionable places in the summer-time bun- 
 galows and all that. Just at present quite 
 deserted. Towing path on one bank closed 
 temporarily to the public owing to damage by 
 floods. Other side private woods of an estate 
 all tangled vegetation lately uncultivated. 
 Might easily be in mid-Pacific. Have some 
 more coffee?" 
 
 Terry steadied herself and let go of the 
 chair. Her face was still white, but her be- 
 wildered eyes had begun to burn. 
 
 " You brought me here?" She spoke low, 
 but her voice rasped on the silence. 
 
 Haines carefully turned the toast. 
 
 " Yep." His tone was nonchalant. 
 
 Terry's teeth clicked.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 261 
 
 " How?" 
 
 Haines grinned, but there was no accom- 
 panying amusement in his eyes. Under their 
 lowered lids they were shadowed, as if with 
 faint shame, yet unwavering. 
 
 " Brute force, in the beginning aided by a 
 little chloroform and a woollen scarf. After- 
 wards it was n't difficult to administer the 
 right sort of dope, enough to keep you quiet 
 on the run down here. And, by the way, we 're 
 not likely to be traced or followed. I parked 
 a car ready for emergencies in the coppice 
 back of the inn at Brookbridge. Trespassing, 
 of course, but could n't help that. Pretty 
 dark when we got that far, and most of the 
 village congregated at the bar. ... It only 
 took a minute to lift you from one car to the 
 other. Ran yours down to the village garage 
 ran back to the inn and had a drink then 
 came along on here. Very simple, really, 
 though, of course, a bit melodramatic rather 
 like a movie stunt! " He did not look round. 
 
 Terry was quivering with rising anger, but 
 she had heard him in grim silence. She asked 
 now: 
 
 "Why?" 
 
 Haines set the slice of toast on a plate,
 
 262 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 buttered it, and brought it to her. He filled 
 her cup with coffee, added milk and sugar, 
 and pulled up a chair. 
 
 " You 'd better eat before I tell you. It 's 
 midnight, and you missed tea and dinner. 
 You '11 be feeling a bit shaky." 
 
 Terry sat down. Her limbs were trembling 
 and she still felt sick. She swallowed the toast 
 at first with difficulty, but ate the second piece 
 he gave her. With renewed strength her 
 anger flamed higher. 
 
 " Why?" she said for the second time. 
 
 Haines looked at her, and away again. He 
 opened a packet of cigarettes, selected one, 
 and leaned forward to put the packet on her 
 knee. Then he tilted his head back into 
 shadow and spoke. 
 
 " There 's a parson about half a mile from 
 here. I Ve got a marriage licence in my 
 pocket. I love you. I Ve wanted you. It 
 seemed to me there was only one way of 
 making sure of saving you from that from 
 Gish! As I say, I love you a lot more than 
 you can ever understand. It seemed to me 
 even with the odds against me I could make 
 you care a little too." 
 
 Terry gave vent to an exclamation so pas-
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 263 
 
 sionately scornful that he winced, but he went 
 on imperturbably: 
 
 " You see, you 're not quite the ordinary, 
 conventional girl. There 's a heap more in 
 you. And, as a consequence, you need han- 
 dling differently. And " he drew a slow 
 breath " I 'm thinking you could love mighty 
 wonderfully." 
 
 He paused. Terry sat speechless. Haines 
 relighted his cigarette and went on. 
 
 " Even if you loved Gish, I should have 
 acted just the same. But you don't thank 
 God!" He stirred suddenly and sat upright. 
 " My first intention when I began to plan 
 this was to bring you here, and to keep you 
 here until you consented to marry me. It 's 
 not such a far-fetched notion as it sounds, you 
 know. I may be just a chauffeur, Terry a 
 servant in your eyes. But I 'm not exactly 
 poor I could keep a wife in a fair amount of 
 comfort, even luxury " he grinned for a mo- 
 ment in the shadows " and I 'm as decently 
 bred as most of the men you accept as equals. 
 Even if I were not, I 'm a man and I Ve got 
 a clean record and my love for you is the 
 biggest thing that has ever happened in my 
 life."
 
 264 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 His voice shook for an instant. He got 
 rather abruptly to his feet and stood above 
 her. In spite of herself, something in his tone 
 impressed Terry, held her silent. 
 
 " It seemed to me that, even if you hated 
 me at first for what I Ve done, once you be- 
 longed to me once I had a right to guard you 
 and look after you I could teach you differ- 
 ently. I hoped it 'd be that way, anyhow." 
 
 The girl stirred, opened her lips, and closed 
 them again. 
 
 " You see, I figured it out that you 'd have 
 no choice but to marry me. Folks '11 all know 
 you came away with me. At least, they will 
 by to-morrow evening. I sent a wire to Brook- 
 bridge from a village we passed on our way 
 here, saying so. And I meant to keep you 
 here until you realised you 'd have to con- 
 sent." 
 
 " You utter cadi" Terry's voice rose shrilly 
 on a hysterical note; she sprang to her feet 
 and stood facing him. " Oh, you cad! I 'd 
 never consent. Compromised or not, I 'd 
 never consent. I 'd rather go through life 
 with my reputation in tatters than consent! 
 What then?" 
 
 Haines's face whitened, his nostrils were
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 265 
 
 dilated. He was still quiet, but there was a 
 rising note of passion, fiercely controlled, in 
 his voice a passion overwhelming, inexor- 
 able, before which Terry involuntarily re- 
 coiled. He spoke without trying to soften the 
 brutality of his words. 
 
 " I 'd keep you here, say, two weeks to try 
 and persuade you. After that well, I Ve 
 resorted to primitive methods in metaphori- 
 cally knocking you on the head and carrying 
 you off. I don't suppose, if you tried me far 
 enough, and since I mean to have you, I 'd 
 hesitate to resort to a primitive form of mar- 
 riage ceremony!" 
 
 Terry stood suddenly very still. Her face 
 burned red, then went white. Of a sudden, 
 beneath that which she saw in his eyes her 
 high courage deserted her. With a sound half 
 a sob, half a moan, she dropped into her chair 
 and sat huddled. 
 
 Haines waited for a minute, then went on: 
 
 " But something has happened which has 
 made me decide to drive a bargain with you. 
 Listen. You Ve heard of the Carson murder. 
 Well, something has just come to light which 
 has given me a jolt that I can lay my hand on 
 the real murderer. I can't take my suspicions
 
 266 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 to the police. They 'd probably laugh at me, 
 the evidence is so slender. Or, if they investi- 
 gated, the murderer would get wise and clear 
 out. It 's clearly a case for bluff. And it 
 came to me, driving you here, that you are the 
 one to work that bluff." 
 
 He reached out suddenly and caught her 
 wrist. " See here, kid. If you '11 come with 
 me as soon as we can get going to-morrow, to 
 Roland Gish, and say to him what I tell you 
 to say I '11 take you safe back to Brook- 
 bridge afterwards, and no one will be the wiser 
 about to-night. Now listen some more." 
 
 Steadily, clearly, while she stared, he spoke 
 a few sentences. As he finished, she sprang 
 to her feet, catching her hands over her mouth 
 to stifle a scream. 
 
 " No no! Oh it is n't true I could n't 
 " she stopped. 
 
 Haines's eyes were merciless. 
 
 " We '11 soon have proof of the truth," he 
 said. "And you know the alternative! 
 You '11 come?" 
 
 Terry let her hands fall and drew a deep 
 breath. Her face was deadly pale. 
 
 " Yes," she said weakly, " I '11 come."
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 TERRY found herself driving into London by 
 noon the next day. She was large-eyed, very 
 quiet, and utterly subdued. For the first time 
 in her inconsequent life she had been forced 
 face to face with reality in the raw with 
 something of tragedy and, incidentally, with 
 the fact that life is not always merely a game. 
 
 She was palpably nervous. She had been 
 badly frightened there is nothing more ut- 
 terly terrifying than a sense of one's own utter 
 weakness in the hands of either Fate or man 
 and she was still suffering from the effects 
 of shock. 
 
 Once or twice, under her lashes, she looked 
 at Haines, sitting unresponsive and grim- 
 lipped at the wheel. He had given her no 
 explanation of his part in the Carson affair 
 she was altogether bewildered, and nearer, at 
 moments, to tears than she had ever been in 
 her life. But what perplexed her most was 
 that she was not nearly so angry with Haines 
 as she ought to be.
 
 268 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 It puzzled her. It set her thinking. Not 
 long ago, she decided, she had liked Haines, 
 quite a good deal distinctly more than she 
 was in the habit of liking servants; indeed, 
 more than she generally liked most people. 
 He had seemed such a very mild-mannered, 
 obliging person. . . . 
 
 She looked at him again, and a little flame 
 of colour rose in her cheeks. Now, she de- 
 cided, with a complete change of mood, she 
 hated him! Then she became subdued again, 
 a little sick, more than a little frightened. 
 
 Haines forced her to have lunch in a pleas- 
 ant, unpretentious restaurant. He sent in- 
 numerable telephone messages, and got up 
 once from the table to join a couple of very 
 ordinary neatly dressed men who had taken a 
 seat, halfway through the meal, at a neigh- 
 bouring table. 
 
 When he came back to her, he ordered wine 
 and forced her to drink a glass. He had not 
 spoken throughout the meal, except to ask her 
 what food she would like. 
 
 While she ate, Terry was asking herself 
 where her spirit had gone, why she did not 
 spring up and rush out of the restaurant, and 
 make her own way back to Brookbridge.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 269 
 
 Perhaps it was the occasional flicker she 
 saw in Haines's eyes when he looked at her 
 perhaps that in her heart of hearts she knew 
 a greater respect for him than she had known 
 for any man in her life, that prevented her. 
 
 And when at last she found herself entering 
 the hotel in which Roland Gish was staying, 
 she turned to him piteously, appealingly, her 
 lips moving mutely. He laid a hand over hers 
 then, holding it fast, and the look in his eyes 
 was oddly warm. 
 
 " It 's all right," he said. " You 're think- 
 ing me a brute a beast I know. It 's a 
 cruel ordeal. . . . But it 's for your own good, 
 kid. And for the whitest man who ever 
 walked. ... Go to it, kid, and don't funk. 
 We shall all three be in the anteroom quite 
 close." 
 
 He indicated two men who stood near by, 
 the same men who had come into the restau- 
 rant a little while previously. Then he urged 
 her towards the lift. The two men went on 
 up the stairs. 
 
 Terry passed in to the tiny anteroom that 
 separated the sleeping-apartments from the 
 others, and knocked at one of the doors. 
 Roland Gish himself answered it, stared for
 
 270 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 an instant unbelievingly, then, with a cry of 
 delight, drew her inside and shut the door. 
 
 Haines went into the anteroom immedi- 
 ately; the two men, entering the corridor from 
 the stairway, hurried to follow him. Within 
 the room, Gish was shaking Terry's hands up 
 and down delightedly. 
 
 "Oh, girl! What a surprise ! You wicked 
 kid what does it mean? Just had a frantic 
 letter from your mamma saying you 'd dis- 
 appeared was just preparing to come racing 
 down to Brookbridge to join in the search. 
 What 's the big idea, baby? And where 's my 
 kiss?" 
 
 Unexpectedly Terry had recovered her poise 
 and her courage. A curious excitation was 
 flowing through her, strengthening her. She 
 looked at Gish with new eyes, calculatingly, 
 questioningly and wondered at her own lack 
 of emotion. 
 
 Then she drew her hands from his and 
 stepped back. 
 
 " I came," she told him levelly, repeating, 
 in her own words, the substance of what 
 Haines had told her she was to utter, " to tell 
 you I am not going to marry you!" 
 
 For a moment Gish stared. Then he gasped.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 271 
 
 "For the love of Mike!" he uttered. 
 " Why?" 
 
 Terry put out the tip of a pink tongue and 
 moistened her lips. She returned his aston- 
 ished gaze levelly. 
 
 " Because," she said, mechanically, almost 
 parrot-wise, " I know you for what you are 
 because I know that you are a murderer! The 
 murderer of Chris sie Carson!" 
 
 She never forgot the look that leaped into 
 Gish's eyes. Horror, dread, something bestial 
 in its fear. She recoiled from it shuddering, 
 and cried out as she found his hands upon her 
 wrists. 
 
 " You " Gish's voice was thick. He was 
 utterly off his guard ; he had lost his head and 
 his nerve alike. He shook the girl furiously. 
 " How do you know? " 
 
 He choked. Terry looked down at her 
 bruised wrists, and up into his eyes. Oddly 
 enough she was no longer afraid, only sick to 
 the soul of her with the horror of a creeping 
 certainty. 
 
 " Everybody knows or will know. 
 They Ve discovered that the broken cuff-link 
 was yours they Ve been making inquiries. 
 You were seen going into her apartment that
 
 272 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 night coming out after Denham Carson 
 left. . . ." 
 
 In the anteroom Haines breathed hard. She 
 had learned her lesson well, was playing her 
 part as he had never hoped she would do. 
 With sudden violence Gish flung her hands 
 from him. His lips were twisted back over 
 his teeth in a snarl. 
 
 " That 's a lie! No one could have seen 
 me! ... I was there when she came in. I 
 got out through the window by the fire- 
 escape. It was pitch-dark, and there was n't 
 a soul about. Besides, I did n't kill her! She 
 nagged at me, stormed raved said that 
 Denham Carson had told her I 'd be through 
 with her. I only hit out at her and she fell! 
 God! You little she-devil! Who are you 
 what are you what 's been your game all this 
 time? . . ." 
 
 Again in the anteroom Haines drew a deep 
 breath. One of the men ceased writing in a 
 flappy notebook with a very stumpy and blunt 
 pencil. The other opened the door. 
 
 Haines caught Terry as she stumbled 
 towards him. Without looking back, he lifted 
 her, carried her down the stairs, past the 
 startled groups in the vestibule, and out to
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 273 
 
 the car. As it slid away through the traffic, 
 he held her, limp, half fainting, very close to 
 him. 
 
 " Oh," he whispered, almost sobbingly, 
 " but it was an inspiration! Seventh sense 
 second sight anything you like! Oh, baby! 
 But you Ve got pluck! You pulled it through! 
 Oh, kiddy kiddy! How I love you!" 
 
 The culminating excitement had been too 
 much for Terry. Unresisting, with Haines's 
 cheek against hers, she burst into a storm of 
 tears.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 LEE was in a far too restless mood when she 
 left Carson to go immediately home. When 
 she did, she went directly to her own rooms. 
 It was close upon the dinner hour, and, too 
 weary to dress, she sent her maid with an 
 apology to Mrs. Dorice, and ordered a light 
 meal to be brought to her. 
 
 She scarcely tasted it, however, and sat 
 before the uncurtained windows staring out 
 towards the woods. A little later her maid 
 brought her a message. Mr. Smithers had 
 dined, and would like to see her in his own 
 rooms for coffee. For a moment Lee hesitated, 
 an excuse hovering on her lips. Then she 
 changed her mind, slipped from her wrapper 
 into a long black tea-gown, and went softly 
 along the corridors to where her husband 
 awaited her. 
 
 There was an ache in her heart when she 
 thought of him, an almost passionate desire 
 to make up to him for her failing in allegiance
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 275 
 
 towards him ... and yet she dreaded the 
 touch of his hand. 
 
 She went to him across the candlelit, lux- 
 urious room with shadowed eyes, that met his 
 with an effort, and dropped immediately. But 
 while he greeted her with his customary kind- 
 liness, his manner was absent and he was rest- 
 lessly fidgety. 
 
 " I thought you 'd be wondering if I had 
 taken root here!" he observed with a faint 
 chuckle. " I 'm afraid I 'm getting lazy 
 make a touch of gout an excuse for shirking 
 my duties. . . . Frost, who the devil is that 
 knocking at the door?" 
 
 The manservant moved quickly across the 
 room. Lee watched him with a vague con- 
 sciousness that there was something unwont- 
 edly restless in his manner, too, and dropped 
 into a chair at Smithers's side. 
 
 Frost came back. 
 
 " A message from Mrs. Dorice, sir. She has 
 had a message from Miss Terry she wishes 
 to speak to madam at once. . . ." 
 
 He looked at Lee. She half rose, and sat 
 down again as Smithers made a gesture. But 
 before he could speak, the door was pushed 
 wide, and Teresa stood on the threshold. In
 
 276 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 her hand was an orange envelope; her pretty 
 face was suffused with unbecoming colour, and 
 she was breathing jerkily. 
 
 Her eyes sought Lee's, and grew venomous. 
 
 "This came hours ago!" she announced. 
 She flourished a pink slip of paper almost 
 wildly, adding: " That fool of a maid of yours 
 forgot to give it to me until now. , . . Read 
 it!" 
 
 Lee took it mechanically; read mechani- 
 cally. 
 
 Terry came away with me. Quite safe. 
 
 HAINES 
 
 She opened her lips and closed them again, 
 crushing the paper in her hand. Her husband 
 sat upright. Mrs. Dorice laughed hysterically. 
 With a vicious movement she slammed the 
 door to behind her and advanced into the 
 room. She did not glance at Smithers, her 
 eyes were on Lee. 
 
 "That 's your doing!" she said tensely. 
 " Oh, don't deny it! You Ve had a hand in 
 this all along have been against Terry's mar- 
 riage all along! And I suppose you think 
 you Ve won. Perhaps you have, but mark 
 you this! it 's not going to benefit you any. I
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 277 
 
 told you I 'd be even with you if you inter- 
 fered that I 'd make you smart. . . ." 
 
 She gulped, gasped, and flashed a look past 
 the girl at Smithers. 
 
 " So I will!" she went on thickly. " I 11 
 make you sorry, Jason Smithers, that you 
 were ever fool enough to marry her trust her 
 believe in her!" 
 
 Lee half rose. Her face was white, she had 
 caught an unsteady lower lip between her 
 teeth. Smithers's hand on her arm restrained 
 her. He sat upright in a curious, effortless 
 way and leaned towards Mrs. Dorice. 
 
 " I think," he said mildly, " that you are 
 over-excited forgetting yourself. . . ." 
 
 He did not finish. Teresa's rage broke 
 bounds. She advanced upon them, a quiver- 
 ing little figure with clenched hands and burn- 
 ing cheeks. 
 
 " Forgetting myself! . . . It 's your 
 wife who has been forgetting herself, Jason 
 Smithers! You may be blind, but I 'm not! 
 I Ve watched her watched her model visits 
 to the village that have ended in wanderings 
 in the woods yonder. ... I Ve seen her 
 meetings with her lover in that keeper's hut 
 of yours. . . . I Ve heard their love-making
 
 listened to their reminiscences of other 
 meetings. . . ." 
 
 " Teresa!" 
 
 Lee's voice was a choked cry. Teresa 
 looked at her and laughed. 
 
 " Ruffs Island!" she mocked brutally. " So 
 that 's where you were that night months 
 ago before you joined Patty Clay! With this 
 man who has followed you here . . . who " 
 
 She stopped short. Jason Smithers had 
 risen. With a gesture of his hand he dis- 
 missed Frost to the inner apartment. Then he 
 laid it on Lee's arm. At his touch she swung 
 round, facing him, her head flung back, her 
 face deadly white, her lips quivering piteously. 
 
 " Oh" she whispered. " Oh it 's true! 
 I can't hope to make you understand. I 
 can never hope to make you understand any- 
 thing but that! That it 's true! I oh, please 
 believe this I 'm sorry, sorry, sorry! Not so 
 much for myself, for what I Ve done but 
 for you! Because I Ve failed you failed 
 you miserably, pitiably after your trust in 
 me" 
 
 Her voice broke. Upon her arm Jason 
 Smithers's hand tightened its grip. Before 
 she could open her lips again, he spoke.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 279 
 
 "I know!" he said very gently. "Oh, 
 my dear, I know. I have known all along. 
 . . ." He was standing above her, unusually 
 upright, the stoop gone from his shoulders, 
 the hesitancy from his voice. He went on, 
 very quietly: " I know everything your 
 temptations your pluck above all, I know 
 the depths of your loyalty to myself! " 
 
 He laid his other hand upon her shoulder, 
 and turned her about to face him, holding her 
 fast. 
 
 " Oh, Lee ! If there is any one to blame 
 any one who should feel shame it is I! I 
 think knowing you as well as I do I ought 
 to have been honest with you. And yet I 
 dared not! For your own peace of mind I 
 dared not." 
 
 He stopped. Upon the panels of the door 
 there came a faint rap. Mechanically, staring 
 from one to the other, Teresa Dorice opened 
 it. A servant handed her a telegram. Lee 
 was conscious of the sudden stiffening of 
 Smithers's body as Mrs. Dorice held the 
 orange envelope towards him he advanced 
 with outstretched hand, no longer halting, no 
 longer bent. 
 
 He, too, read the message aloud.
 
 280 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 Gish confessed to Chrissie's murder this morn- 
 ing. Arrested. Bringing Terry straight back 
 to Brookbridge. 
 
 HARRY 
 
 " My God!" Smithers's lips were twitching. 
 He turned to the bedroom door. " Frost " 
 he called, shakily, yet with a strength in his 
 voice, a depth and warmth and vibrant clarity 
 that held Lee dumb where she stood. 
 "Frost" 
 
 Lee saw the old servant run forward, saw 
 the meeting of his hand and his master's, and 
 put her hands for a moment against her 
 temples. She felt shaken, dazed, utterly bewil- 
 dered. The voice that had spoken a moment 
 ago was a voice long grown familiar to her 
 familiar, and dear. Fascinated, swaying a 
 little, she stood watching. Jason Smithers 
 was pumping Frost's arm up and down with 
 the energy of a schoolboy. 
 
 " Frost!" she heard him say again, " I 'm 
 free! Oh God! I 'm free! . . ." 
 
 And then he turned suddenly and looked 
 at her. He took a step nearer and his hands 
 went out to her. His voice when he spoke 
 was very deep, not quite steady, infinitely 
 tender.
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 281 
 
 "Oh sweetheart!" he whispered; and, 
 shutting her eyes with a strangled, frightened 
 sob, Lee saw a narrow, smoky, wooden room 
 a pair of vividly blue, passionate eyes a 
 brown, eager face. She heard the whisper of 
 the bracken in the wind, the occasional snap- 
 ping of a twig. . . . 
 
 "Sweetheart!" Strong arms gathered her 
 suddenly close. " Don't you understand? It 
 has all been a masquerade a mad, cruel mas- 
 querade. ... 7 am Denham Carson 1"
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 IT seemed to Lee hours before that loved 
 voice Denham Carson's voice spoke again. 
 Weakly she struggled back from the dark 
 mists that had suddenly enveloped her. Teresa 
 had disappeared. Beyond closed doors she 
 heard the sound of Frost's agitated footsteps, 
 pattering up and down. 
 
 Reluctantly she lifted her eyes. Strong 
 arms were round her still as she stirred, 
 Carson's vivid blue gaze met hers. As she 
 struggled to free herself, he held her close, 
 pressing her head with one strong hand 
 against his shoulder. 
 
 The room was still shadowy, with shaded 
 candles and faint firelight to illuminate it, 
 but she could see him clearly. His face was 
 no longer deeply brown, but white palely, 
 almost tiredly white, as Jason Smithers's had 
 been. Her bewildered glance, straying past 
 him, went to a little heap upon the floor beside 
 him a lot of white hair, a pair of smoked, 
 horn-rimmed glasses a long cane. . . . 
 
 With a sudden movement she withdrew
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 283 
 
 herself from his hold and pushed him away 
 from her, her eyes searching his, unbelieving 
 still. 
 
 "Denham! . . ." 
 
 Her voice broke. There was almost terror 
 in the pitifully bewildered gaze. 
 
 The man caught her hands close and held 
 them against his mouth. 
 
 " Little girl!" he whispered. " Oh little 
 girl I . . ." His own voice caught. "Will 
 you let me tell you everything from the 
 beginning?" he asked. 
 
 He went on, not waiting for her reply, still 
 kneeling beside her: 
 
 " It has all been extraordinarily simple 
 after the first. And yet the difficulties have at 
 times seemed insurmountable. . . . You called 
 me a madman once, Lee. I think I have been 
 a madman ever since the day that, after five 
 years of prison, I tasted freedom. And 
 after I first met you!" 
 
 He was silent a moment. Lee did not 
 move. She was asking herself, rather dazedly, 
 if she herself was quite sane. 
 
 " Harry Haines he 's my cousin, you know 
 managed my escape; at least, as far as 
 outside influences were concerned. Money
 
 284 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 enough of it can work wonders, sometimes. 
 But it took five years! And all through those 
 five years he stuck to it he and Frost. I 'd 
 never hoped. . . . But one day I found 
 myself free. . . . We went half round the 
 world on a tramp steamer chartered by Harry 
 and picked up at San Francisco before we 
 touched an English port. And then I had to 
 lie low. It was suspected that I had come to 
 England. We had not thought of a suitable 
 or adequate disguise. We discovered Ruff's 
 Island or, rather, Harry did by a fluke, 
 and I hid there. And then you came." 
 
 He paused for a moment, kissed her hands, 
 and went on slowly. 
 
 " You told me all about yourself your 
 life. And as you know I loved you from 
 the very first minute. I suppose I was mad. 
 Frost said I was Harry railed at me. But 
 I had my way. I could n't lose sight of you. 
 ... I became Mr. Jason Smithers, and 
 again through Harry's influence, unguessed 
 made acquaintance with your stepmother. . . . 
 My intention then was just to see something 
 of you, to be near you, to make life easier if 
 I could. I had no idea how long my disguise 
 would go unchallenged, unsuspected. When
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 285 
 
 you did not penetrate it, I began to really 
 hope! And yet I was afraid of a slip a 
 mistake." Again he paused, his lips twitched 
 suddenly, humorously: " I Ve never heard of 
 any insanity in my family, but I think I 
 must have been insane when I conceived the 
 idea of marrying you Harry nearly had 
 hysterics, and Frost fairly foamed at the 
 mouth. I saw the danger and the folly of the 
 thing myself, but I could n't resist. I had 
 to have you be sure of you! I utterly forgot 
 what it would mean to you if I should be 
 found out caught 1 I Ve been a brute, Lee, 
 all round a brute." 
 
 Lee stirred, but she did not speak. He went 
 on: 
 
 " You were so sweet. . . . The game was 
 damnably difficult to play, sometimes. I had 
 not realised what being under the same roof 
 would mean! I had to sham illness most of 
 the time to contrive to talk to you in shad- 
 owed rooms to avoid the sunlight and the 
 open day. It would not have been so bad if 
 you had not found me downstairs upon the 
 first night. . . ." 
 
 Again Lee stirred. Her wide eyes asked 
 a bewildered question. He answered it, half
 
 286 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 laughing, yet with a shadow of recollection in 
 his eyes. 
 
 " I had to be seen in London the whole 
 thing was a huge bluff to keep suspicion from 
 me as Jason Smithers. I let myself be seen 
 a few hours before the wedding. When I 
 told you that I had journeyed here to Brook- 
 bridge in your car it was, of course, true only 
 it was as Jason Smithers. And, while Jason 
 Smithers was here, at Brookbridge, able to 
 prove an alibi, 'I had to keep up the bluff by 
 being seen again in London at night. Haines 
 drove Terry back. I was hidden under the 
 rugs in the back of the car. I had a nasty 
 moment in Richmond when Terry wanted to 
 stop, but it was all right, and we went on. I 
 slipped out while Harry Haines was unloading 
 her at Mrs. Dorice's flat. ... He picked me 
 up in a different car later and exceeded the 
 speed limit getting me back here. I had to 
 get in by the window as Frost had left the 
 door locked and you caught me. ... I '11 
 never forget that night, Lee!" 
 
 Lee put her hands over her eyes. " It 's all 
 like some mad, fantastic fairy tale," she whis- 
 pered, " a nightmare movie show. Is it 
 true?"
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 287 
 
 " True enough. I recognised the truth when 
 I had to live near you and never touch you, 
 feel your tenderness, and dare no answering 
 caress! ... I had to love you, make you 
 love me. And so I made you come to me, 
 there in the woods. . . ." 
 
 He rose slowly, lifting her to her feet. 
 
 " It was a brutal thing to do. ... The 
 whole thing was cruel, to you; madness for 
 myself. It could not have lasted. You would 
 have had to find out the truth sometime 
 my own strength would not have been great 
 enough to go on with the deception. And 
 then Gish came. . . . Gish! . . . and Frost 
 had recognised those cuff-links! God! What I 
 don't owe him and Harry! ..." 
 
 Lee put her hands to her eyes again, and 
 let them fall. He drew her close, bending 
 his face against her hair. 
 
 " Frost's ' brown ' make-up was difficult to 
 get off, sometimes," he laughed. " Do you 
 remember when you asked the other day if 
 I had knocked my head? But it helped in 
 the disguise prison life leaves the skin 
 bleached like that of an old man. ..." 
 
 He drew her still closer. 
 
 " But I 'm not old! " he whispered vibrantly,
 
 288 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 
 
 eagerly. " I 'm not old, thank God! I don't 
 know how this will end, Lee. There '11 be 
 a little while of parting publicity talk! 
 But Harry says Gish has confessed, has been 
 arrested. It will mean in the end free- 
 dom." He turned her face suddenly up to 
 his. " And love!" he added. 
 
 Lee drew a long breath. 
 
 "Is it real? , . ." she asked again 
 doubting, dazed. 
 
 The man laughed suddenly, clearly, boy- 
 ishly, and in the bedroom old Frost stopped 
 walking frenziedly up and down and smiled. 
 
 " It 's real enough!" Denham Carson said. 
 He lifted her hand and touched the slender 
 band of her wedding ring. " You married 
 Jason Smithers, sweetheart. But does it occur 
 to you that " he watched the flame of red 
 that swept her face and laughed again, 
 tenderly this time " that you 're my wife!" 
 
 Perhaps an hour later the throb of a motor 
 sounded from without. His arm about her, 
 Carson drew Lee to the window. There was 
 a full moon, and the lights of the house illu- 
 mined the drive. 
 
 They saw Haines jump down from the
 
 THE FUGITIVE MILLIONAIRE 289 
 
 driver's seat and lift Terry out. Toby, 
 shrieking joyous welcome, raced to meet 
 them. They stooped to pat him, and Terry's 
 body swayed towards Haines's. He drew her 
 steadyingly to her feet, and for a moment it 
 seemed as if her head rested against his 
 shoulder. 
 
 Carson's grip tightened upon Lee. He 
 chuckled. 
 
 " Good old Haines," he said. " He 's scored 
 another win!" 
 
 THE END
 
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