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 BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 THE INIMITABLE MRS. MASSINGHAM. 
 
 THE WILFUL WAY. 
 
 THE PALACE OF SPIES. 
 
 THE QUEEN CAN DO NO WRONG. 
 
 THE DEAD MAN'S GIFT. 
 
 A MASTER MARINER. 
 
 THE MILITARY ADVENTURERS OF HINDUSTAN. 
 
 A KING'S HUSSAR. 
 
 A FREE LANCE IN A FAR LAND. 
 
 A FURY IN WHITE VELVET. 
 
 A SCOURGE OF THE SEA. 
 
 FACTS AND PHANTASIES OF A FOLIO-GRUB.
 
 - 
 
 TO DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 

 
 TO DEFEAT THE ENDS 
 OF JUSTICE 
 
 ,v 
 
 HERBERT COMPTON 
 
 AUTHOR OF 'THE INIMITABLE MRS. MASSINGHAM," ETC. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 CHATTO & WINDUS 
 
 1906
 
 All Rights Reserved.
 
 a*j. 
 
 6&*- 
 
 Stack 
 
 trmex 
 
 f*- 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 - CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. TWO SHATTERED LIVES - - Q 
 
 II. THE PERSONAL EQUATION 2O 
 
 III. FOILING THE TRACK - 33 
 
 IV. HIS EXCELLENCY FALOON ' " 45 
 V. LILY WILLIS - 56 
 
 VI. A PLEASANT ENTR'ACTE - 67 
 
 VII. A PERIL OF THE SEA 79 
 
 VIII. DARK WATERS - QI 
 
 IX. RESCUED ! - 103 
 
 X. HIS HIGHNESS - - 114 
 XI. THE RANEE ROSALIE - 125 
 
 XII. PRENEZ GARDE ! - 137 
 
 XIII. A VILLAINOUS PROPOSAL - - 149 
 
 xiv. A WEEK'S REPRIEVE - 161 
 
 XV. A POISONED CUSTARD APPLE - - 172 
 
 XVI. FIGHT AND FLIGHT ! - - 184 
 
 XVII. DERELICT IN THE DESERT - 197 
 
 XVIII. A DESPERATE PLIGHT - 2O8 
 
 XIX. INTO THE DARK UNKNOWN - - 2l6 
 
 XX. THE CAMP IN THE DESERT - 223 
 
 XXI. IN THE NAME OF THE LAW - - 232 
 
 XXII. OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE - - 242 
 
 XXIII. A WORD ABOUT RICHARD - - 253
 
 viii. CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 XXIV. THE CLAIM OF BLOOD - 264 
 
 XXV. THE LAW ON THE SUBJECT - - 274 
 
 xxvi. EDITH'S STORY - - - 282 
 
 xxvii. EDITH'S STORY INTERRUPTED - - 291 
 
 XXVIII. LILY WILLY-NILLY - - 298 
 
 XXIX. CLEARS UP THE MYSTERY - - 306
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 TWO SHATTERED LIVES. 
 
 SHE stood surveying herself critically in her 
 cheval glass and leisurely putting the last 
 
 touches to her evening toilet. The picture was 
 as charming as man could wish. And of a truth 
 Edith Carew desired to appear very charming this 
 evening to one particular man who was going to 
 escort her to a dance given in honour of their en- 
 gagement, which had just been announced. 
 
 It had created the greatest interest amongst her 
 circle of friends. For six months past two brothers 
 Richard and Robert Fawcitt had been paying 
 attentions to Miss Carew. Both were devoted 
 admirers, and yet their rivalry had not affected their 
 devotion to one another. It had been predicted their 
 brotherly love could not stand the test, and that 
 they would fall out over her. The prediction proved 
 false. Richard, the elder, when he realised that his 
 brother was the favoured man, accepted the situa- 
 tion. A sigh, a shake of the hand, and " God bless 
 you, Bob," was all that passed between them. And 
 the day after this story opens Richard Fawcitt was 
 starting for a trip to the West Indies, in order that 
 he might forget Edith if he could. 
 
 Edith was thinking of this, and of Richard, not 
 unkindly, as she surveyed her tall, handsome figure 
 
 B
 
 io To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 and her beautiful face framed with a wealth of dark 
 hair that was a glory to gaze upon. Had there 
 been no Robert Fawcitt but there ! speculations 
 on the negative are vain, and with a sigh and a 
 " Poor dear Dick," she dismissed them, and won- 
 dered what Robert would think of her to-night. 
 
 " I think he will be proud of me, and I think 
 he ought to be," was her final judgment of the picture 
 in the cheval glass. " I am very glad I am not 
 ugly. And I do hope that the voyage will do Dick 
 good, and that he will not forget me. I should not 
 like Dick to forget me. 1 ' 
 
 Again she gave a half-sigh. Then, looking at 
 her watch, " If lovers are punctual, Robert ought to 
 be here in a quarter of an hour. If they are ardently 
 impatient he might be here now ! " 
 
 At this moment there came a knock at the door, 
 and the maid entered with a telegram. Edith 
 opened and read it; "Met with a misfortune. Come 
 to my house instantly. Mention it to no one. Robert." 
 
 For a moment a feeling of faintness overcame 
 her, but summoning her self-control, she read the 
 message again, and turned to the maid. 
 
 "Alice, call a hansom," she said in a voice that 
 concealed her anxiety. The maid left the room and 
 Edith, after scenting her handkerchief, and slipping 
 a bottle of smelling salts into her pocket, went down 
 to the drawing-room, where her aunt was sitting. 
 
 " Robert has telegraphed to say he is delayed, 
 aunt ; so I shall drive to Mrs. Hood's and ask her to 
 take me to the Musgrave's. Can I do anything for 
 you before I go ? " 
 
 " How has Mr. Fawcitt been delayed ? " asked 
 the old lady with mild surprise and curiosity in her 
 benevolent features. 
 
 " He does not say ; I will let you know to- 
 morrow morning. Good-night," said Edith, as the
 
 Two SHATTERED LIVES n 
 
 sound of a cab drawing up to the house was heard, 
 and kissing the old lady, she departed. 
 
 " You need not wait up for me, Alice," she said 
 to the maid. " I have got my latchkey, and I may 
 be late. Tell the driver to go to Mrs. Hood's." The 
 hansom drove off, but directly they were out of sight 
 of the house, Edith re-directed the man to Robert 
 Fawcitt's address. 
 
 "Met with a misfortune; mention it to no one." 
 What did it mean ? What could have happened. 
 She racked her brains, and tried to dispel the un- 
 defined fear that seized her. When at last the 
 hansom drew up at its destination, she sprang out, 
 paid her fare, and was about to ring the bell, when 
 the door opened, and she saw Robert Fawcitt 
 shrinking back into the shadow behind it, his head 
 enveloped in a bandage, and his left arm in a sling. 
 He motioned her to be silent. 
 
 " Oh, Robert ; what has happened ? You are 
 badly hurt?" 
 
 He caught her by the wrist, and whispered, in 
 an agitated voice, "Come into my study. I will tell 
 you. Do not make a noise." 
 
 They entered, and he closed the door, Then, 
 with a sudden access of despair, " Edith," he cried, 
 " I have sent for you, to tell you that something has 
 happened which will part us for life." 
 
 " What do you mean ?" she gasped. " Part us 
 part us ! Oh, Robert!'' and she flung her arms 
 round his neck and kissed him, in a panic of surprise 
 and agitation. 
 
 " For God's sake, don't," he cried, weakly, as 
 he strove to push her back. Don't make it harder. 
 I have strung myself up to it." 
 
 "To it! To what? Tellme!' : 
 
 " I do not know how to tell you. It is too 
 terrible."
 
 12 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " Tell me instantly. Do you think anything can 
 make any difference in my love for you ? The truth 
 cannot be so terrible as this suspense." 
 
 He disengaged her, for she was still clinging to 
 him, and fell back a step or two, holding out his 
 hands with a gesture to keep her off. Then, turning 
 his head aside, in a sort of shamed despair, he said, 
 " I have killed my partner Strickland !" 
 
 Edith heard the words, and saw his despairing 
 demeanour ; saw, heard, and realised. And then she 
 began to sway slightly, and her eyes travelled to the 
 couch. But, the next moment, it was into Robert's 
 arms she threw herself, with the wail of a stricken 
 woman. 
 
 Long moments passed in silence; moments into 
 which were concentrated the bitter agony of two 
 shattered lives. 
 
 "Tell me everything," she murmured at last. 
 " I think I can listen." 
 
 He led her gently to the couch. She would have 
 drawn him to her side ; but he resisted ; and, in the 
 end, he was kneeling before her, as one who makes 
 some dread confession. 
 
 "Tell me everything," she repeated, bending 
 over him, and stroking his forehead with her gentle 
 fingers. " My poor, poor Robert." 
 
 " Strickland was a villain," answered Robert, 
 without any trace of passion. " I discovered it to- 
 day. He has ruined the firm, and reduced me to 
 beggary. I waited for him this evening, and we 
 fought." 
 
 " You fought ? Then, it was an accident ?" she 
 exclaimed. 
 
 " He attacked me but there are no witnesses 
 to prove it. I lost my head when when it was over. 
 I have done and said mad things." In his despair, 
 and remorse, he buried his face in her lap. She bent
 
 Two SHATTERED LIVES 13 
 
 down and whispered into his ear, begging him to be 
 brave, and not to give way. His weakness made her 
 strong ; she assumed the lead, questioned him, and 
 drew his story from him. 
 
 " Strickland did not turn up at the office this 
 morning, but sent a telegram, to say he was ill. 
 About noon, there came an express letter for him ; 
 ' and, although it was marked ' Private * as it was 
 also marked ' Reply urgent ' I opened it. It 
 revealed to me the fact that he had been engaged in 
 the most ruinous speculations, in which he had 
 pledged the firm's credit. I went immediately to the 
 writer of the letter a stockbroker and heard from 
 him such a story of reckless, secret speculation and 
 folly as can scarcely be credited. It meant absolute 
 ruin to the firm. Perhaps, I have been to blame. I 
 have been neglecting my work these last two happy 
 months." 
 
 Edith drew a short breath of pain. Then she 
 took his hand in hers and kissed it, with mute 
 eloquence. 
 
 " I am a beggar," he said. 
 
 "No, no ! Not while I have a penny. All mine 
 is thine. You know that, Robert ; you know that." 
 
 He fluttered his hand in negation. ' Then, in 
 response to the expectant look upon her face, he con- 
 tinued his narrative. 
 
 " I drove to Strickland's private residence. They 
 told me he had started for the office, as usual, this 
 morning, and was perfectly well. And they added 
 that he had taken his valise with him, saying he 
 was going down to the seaside for the week-end. 
 
 " Returning to the office, I forced the lock of 
 his private desk. There I discovered a pocket-book, 
 full of bank-notes and securities, the latter including 
 many which I believed to be safely deposited in the 
 custody of our bankers. That took me to the bank,
 
 14 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 where I learnt the worst. Strickland had drawn out 
 everything this morning. By what stupid oversight, 
 or accident, he had left his pocket-book in his desk 
 at the office, I cannot conceive. But there it was, 
 and a brief examination of its contents convinced me 
 that he would he must return for it. The question 
 was when ? Probably after business hours. I 
 determined not to leave the office until the building 
 was finally locked up at 10 o'clock. 
 
 " I called the clerks together, and told them all 
 that I had discovered ; and I made a sort of speech, 
 denouncing Strickland, and vowing that I would be 
 even with him yet. I have only a vague recollection 
 of what I raved, but I know there were all sorts of 
 mad predictions and wild threatenings. My words 
 will be remembered and brought up against me." 
 
 He passed his hand over his wounded forehead 
 as though his brain were tortured, and he could not 
 remember the sequence of events. 
 
 Edith was marvellously calm now. She seemed 
 to gather courage as he lost his. It was clear that, 
 in his present shattered state of nerves, everything 
 depended upon her. Woman-like, flight was the 
 first idea that suggested itself. She determined to 
 urge, and aid him, to escape. 
 
 "Robert," she said, "precious time is passing. 
 Be brave, and tell me what is to be told. We have 
 to act." 
 
 He glanced at her, questioningly ; and it was 
 evident he was struck by the phrasing of her words. 
 It would be too much to say that hope returned to 
 him ; but there was a recovery in his voice, as he 
 continued his story. 
 
 " The clerks left at five o'clock, and I pretended 
 to leave, too, locking the office on the outside with 
 my private key. A little later, I crept back, let my- 
 self in quietly, and crouched, on the watch, behind
 
 Two SHATTERED LIVES 15 
 
 the door of our inner office, close to where the 
 electric switch is placed. Half an hour later, there 
 was a faint click at the door, and Strickland stole in. 
 I feared he might turn on the light; but the villain 
 was too cunning for that. He carried one of those 
 little electric hand-lights, giving just a gleam, which 
 pierced towards the direction of his desk. He had 
 left the door open, and it hid me from his line of 
 sight. Drawing out his keys from his pocket, he 
 fumbled at the lock. The next moment, he realised 
 that the drawer had been forced; and an involuntary 
 exclamation of anger escaped him. With a press of 
 my finger, I flooded the room with a blaze of light, 
 and stepped forward. 
 
 " ' Hullo !' he cried, trying to brazen it out. 
 ' You here, Fawcitt ? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, to catch you,' I retorted. 
 
 " His hand flashed into his pocket; and, without 
 another word, he sprang upon me with a life- 
 preserver. 
 
 " What followed happened in seconds. Strick- 
 land aimed a blow at me, and I protected myself 
 with my left arm. Another blow I partially warded 
 off; but it reached my forehead, and brought blood. 
 That maddened me. He attempted to escape 
 dashed towards the door. I tripped him up, 
 wrenched the life-preserver from his hand, and 
 brought it down, crash, upon his skull. There was a 
 dreadful thud, and he rolled over on the floor. One 
 look at his face, and I dropped the weapon. Oh, 
 my God, shall I ever forget ? I had killed him." 
 
 He broke away from Edith, rose to his feet, and 
 began pacing the room. But she was by his side in 
 a moment, comforting and soothing him. 
 
 With an effort, he continued his narrative. " I 
 staggered to my feet, extinguished the electric light, 
 locked the door, and fled. Not until I got outside
 
 16 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 did I realise how severely I had been wounded. 
 People stared at me ; and, glancing down, I per- 
 ceived blood streaming over the front of my clothes. 
 I hailed a hansom, and ordered the man to drive to 
 the nearest doctor. The cold air revived me a little ; 
 and, by the time he pulled up, I was in sufficient 
 command of myself to realise the gravity of my 
 position and answer the doctor's questions." 
 
 " Is your arm broken ?" asked Edith, in great 
 concern. 
 
 " No ; only fractured. It ought to be right in 
 about a month, the doctor said. But I have a nasty 
 wound on my forehead. Another half-inch, and 
 Strickland would have been the murderer !" he said, 
 with a ghastly attempt at a smile. 
 
 " Hush ! It was a fair fight." 
 
 " Before Heaven, a fair fight ! but I cannot 
 prove it. And I was still so dazed at the doctor's 
 that I fear I spoke foolishly. He asked me all sorts 
 of questions, and I concocted an imaginary story of 
 having been assaulted and robbed by a gang of 
 roughs. He wanted me to stay, but I said my wife 
 would be anxious ! I was in a panic, and invented 
 replies, and they will rise up against me." 
 
 "Oh, Robert, Robert!" 
 
 " I was dazed, I tell you. I am dazed even now. 
 And, when I reached home, there was Mrs. Strong, 
 my housekeeper, who came fussing around me, the 
 inquisitive old bore, wanting to know what had 
 happened, and how it had happened, and where it 
 had happened, and when it had happened. I told 
 her the same story, with variations." 
 
 "And where is Mrs. Strong?" 
 
 " Gone to bed, and the girl, too. She retired in 
 a state of hysterics. I burst out at her, in the end, 
 and she probably thinks I am drunk."
 
 Two SHATTERED LIVES 17 
 
 " Robert, when when will it be discovered ?'' 
 asked Edith, clasping her hands, frantically. 
 
 " I do not think before to-morrow morning, 
 when they go in to clean up the office." 
 
 " Have you formed any plan of escape ?" 
 
 He shook his head, moodily. " None. I do not 
 seem to be able to collect my ideas, and think. 
 But," he added, in a brighter voice, and tapping 
 the breast of his coat, " I have got the pocket- 
 book, and there is a large sum of money in it. 
 Of course, I must catch one of the midnight 
 trails. But I could not leave without telling you, 
 Edith." 
 
 " Leave, Robert injured like this ?" cried Edith 
 " You are not fit to go by yourself. Oh, let me 
 think ! It is so sudden, so dreadful ! What can I 
 do ?'' She pressed her hands to her temples, and 
 tried to concentrate her ideas. 
 
 Robert glanced at the clock. " I have money, 
 and ten hours' start. If it were not for this blow on 
 the head " 
 
 " You have money, and ten hours' start." she 
 echoed, still pressing her hands to her temples. 
 " Oh, much, much can be done in ten hours, with 
 money. How much have you got, Robert?" 
 
 He drew a pocket-book out, and emptied its 
 contents upon the table. A paper remained, stuck 
 in one of the compartments. 
 
 " Hullo ! " he exclaimed, " what's this ? I did 
 not see this before. A letter for 'Darcy Barrington.' 
 Who is he ?'' 
 
 He extracted the contents of the envelope, and 
 examined them. " Why, here is a steamer ticket for 
 Port Said, made out in the name of Darcy Barring- 
 ton. Whew ! Mr., Mrs., and Miss Darcy Barring- 
 ton ! What does the covering letter say ?" He 
 glanced through it rapidly. " The cunning rogue.
 
 i8 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 He had his plans all cut and dried. It is clear 
 vvhere he was going to." 
 
 Edith was examining the envelope. It was 
 addressed to "c/o Mr. Snell, Suffolk-street," and 
 she asked, " Who is Mr. Snell ?" 
 
 "Snell? Snell? Why he is Strickland's 
 tobacconist. Ah, I see. He took his passage under 
 a false name, and had the tickets sent to Snell's 
 address. But who are Mrs. and Miss Barrington ? 
 Why did he take passages for three persons ? " asked 
 Robert, perplexedly. 
 
 Edith's sharp, womanly wit had already solved 
 the riddle. "The family is imaginary," she declared, 
 with conviction. " This was a cunning ruse to hood- 
 wink pursuit. A fugitive does not incommode him- 
 self with two ladies. There might have been one, 
 but two never! And, Robert see, see, the steamer 
 sails to-morrow. Here is a means of escape ready 
 to your hands." 
 
 He took the papers from her and read them 
 again carefully. " By heaven you are right," he 
 cried. " A ticket taken before before to-night. 
 Taken in a false name, and sent to a false address. 
 It is a miracle ! It is the hand of Providence ! 
 The ticket the name reaching me just at this 
 moment ! But," he checked himself, " suppose 
 the woman, the women are up at Liverpool waiting 
 for him ? " 
 
 " They cannot sail without the ticket, and 
 certainly will not sail without him. If there is a risk, 
 you must face it. It is trivial compared to to the 
 other risk." 
 
 He stood looking at her, bewildered and incred- 
 ulous. Then a revulsion of feeling overcame him, 
 his eyes began to waver, hi hands to beat the air, 
 and Edith realised that he was on the point of 
 fainting.
 
 Two SHATTERED LIVES 19 
 
 She guided him to the couch, applied her 
 smelling salts to his nostrils, and fanned him. In a 
 little while he recovered. 
 
 " Forgive me," he whispered. " I felt dizzy and 
 overcome. I thought I saw hope." 
 
 "There is hope," she cried insistently. " More 
 than hope." 
 
 He shook his head sadly. " I was not thinking 
 of mere escape. It was of you I was thinking. What 
 are life and liberty worth to me without you ? " 
 
 She gazed at him tensely for a moment, with a 
 great love in her eyes. 
 
 " Robert come with me to to your brother's." 
 
 " To Dick ? Oh, no no. Not you and I to 
 Dick. Edith, you know he loves you. He gave you 
 up to me." 
 
 " I know," she answered, colouring, " your 
 brother loves me. I will rely on that love. I I 
 have an idea in my mind to save you ; only I dare 
 not make the decision myself. I can trust Richard. 
 Richard is a true man, a strong man. Richard shall 
 decide. Come with me to Richard."
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE PERSONAL EQUATION. 
 
 J7 DITH and Robert hailed the first cab they met, 
 JL_J and drove to the top of the street in which 
 Richard Fawcitt's flat was situated. There 
 they alighted and made their way to the building on 
 foot. " I will prepare him," said Edith. " You 
 must not be seen entering. Walk up and down here 
 in the shadow, and I will come for you." 
 
 She rang the bell, and a woman answered the 
 door. " Which is Mr. Fawcitt's flat ? " she asked. 
 
 " The top but one, ma'am. I will show you up." 
 
 " There is no occasion ; I will find my way. I 
 want to see him before he sails to-morrow." She 
 drew out her purse, slipped a florin into the woman's 
 hand, and ran upstairs. 
 
 A couple of portmanteaux, ready for removal, 
 stood by Dick's open door. She caught sight of him 
 standing in front of the fireplace of his sitting-room. 
 He was lost in a reverie, gazing into the fire, and his 
 handsome, clean-shaven face was sad as the flames 
 flickered upon it. Entering without his hearing, she 
 stole to his side and called him by his name. 
 
 He turned with a start and recognised her. 
 " Edith ! " he exclaimed in a tone of incredulous 
 amazement. 
 
 She held up a warning finger, cautiously closed 
 the door, and moved towards the table in the centre
 
 THE PERSONAL EQUATION 21 
 
 of the room. Her face was pale and her eyes haggard. 
 She did not know how to begin. Her cloak slipped 
 from her shoulders and disclosed her evening cos- 
 tume, and the lamplight gleamed on her fair white 
 shoulders. 
 
 Dick was astounded. She was the last person 
 in the world he expected in his rooms to-night. 
 
 At last she broke the silence ; " Are you alone ? " 
 
 " Yes ; what is it, Edith ? " he asked in a 
 whisper as low as her own. 
 
 "An awful thing has happened. Oh, Dick, 
 Robert is in desperate danger, and you must help 
 and advise me ! " 
 
 " Robert in danger ? " he cried. " What do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 " Mr. Strickland has ruined him. It was dis- 
 covered to-day, and they came to blows." 
 
 " I hope Bob thrashed him well ? " 
 
 " Oh, don't, don't ! Robert has killed him ! " 
 
 " What ! Killed him! " was all Dick could gasp. 
 
 " Killed him," repeated Edith, breaking down 
 and sobbing. " They had a fight, and Robert has 
 been injured. Oh, Dick, Dick, what shall I do ? " 
 And she flung herself into a chair and gazed piteously 
 into his face. 
 
 " Where is Bob ? " 
 
 " He is outside. I was afraid the housekeeper 
 might see and recognise him. I will go and bring 
 him if you will keep the front door open." 
 
 They descended the stairs noiselessly, and Dick 
 let Edith out, and waited. The shock of this 
 appalling news was terrible. Robert, his brother, 
 who was engaged to Edith, had killed his partner ! 
 It changed the whole scheme and current of their 
 lives. 
 
 Footsteps sounded, and his brother and Edith 
 came in. Without a word they ascended the stairs,
 
 22 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 entered Dick's flat, and gathered round the table. 
 
 " You have heard, Dick ? " said Robert, in a 
 hollow voice. 
 
 " Is it true ? Have you " his lips refused to 
 frame the words. 
 
 " It is true," said Robert, with the brevity of 
 despair. " Will you help a murderer to evade the 
 law?" 
 
 " Help you, Bob ? Help my brother ? Do you 
 think I could desert you, and and Edith ? " cried 
 Dick, impulsively. 
 
 " Dear Dick," whispered Edith, gratefully. " I 
 told Robert so. I knew you would help. All is 
 arranged, and you " 
 
 "All is arranged ? " queried Dick, incredulously. 
 
 " Listen," said Edith. " First to Robert, and 
 then to me. There is no time to lose. Quick, 
 Robert ; tell Dick everything." 
 
 " Yes, that is necessary. Tell me everything." 
 
 Whereupon Robert related his story briefly, 
 whilst Edith stood by Dick, fathoming the workings 
 of his mind and watching the pathetic eagerness in 
 his handsome eyes. 
 
 When his brother had finished, Dick stood cogi- 
 tating for some minutes. Then he said, decisively : 
 
 " You ought to face it out, Bob. If you fly you 
 convict yourself." 
 
 " Face it out ! " cried Bob. " I can't. I have 
 engulfed myself. I threatened to kill him twenty 
 times to my clerks, to the bank manager, to that 
 broker. There is my hat ; I have left that in the 
 office. I have told people I was assaulted and robbed 
 by a gang of roughs. I have laid a circumstantial 
 track of guilt behind me. I am enmeshed. How 
 can I explain ? " 
 
 " And how can you escape ? You are a marked 
 man with your head in that bandage and your arm
 
 THE PERSONAL EQUATION 23 
 
 in a sling. You advertise yourself wherever you go. 
 It would be safer to hide than to try and run for it." 
 
 " Hide ! Where ! There is no hiding in London," 
 declared Robert, hopelessly. 
 
 Again Dick cogitated. " There are Armstrong's 
 rooms upstairs. He is abroad, and I have charge of 
 his keys. It might be possible " 
 
 " Oh, no, no ! " broke in Edith, affrighted at the 
 suggestion. " It would be madness. Here is escape 
 open to Robert. He will want looking after, care, 
 nursing, his injuries attending to " 
 
 " And who is going to do all this ? " asked Dick, 
 starting. 
 
 " Who else but I ? " cried Edith. 
 
 "You! Impossible!" exclaimed Dick, falling 
 back in dismay. 
 
 " Never ! This is a new idea. I had no sus- 
 picion of this when Edith asked me to come to you, 
 Dick," cried Robert, hastily. 
 
 " It is why I have brought you here, Robert." 
 Edith told him ; " to make Dick persuade you." 
 Then turning to Dick, " He is not fit to go by 
 himself. I can be Mrs. Barrington at least, at least, 
 I can be his sister, Miss Barrington. Oh, Robert, 
 let me go with you, my darling. Let it be for better 
 or for worse ! " She moved quickly to his side, 
 devotion and yearning in her eyes. " You want me 
 Robert, and I can save you. I WILL save you. Let 
 me come." 
 
 There was a pathetic earnestness in her appeal, 
 and it was followed by a pregnant silence. The 
 brothers stood apart, not daring to look at one 
 another; and Robert began to tremble visibly. 
 Edith turned to Dick. 
 
 " Dear, dear Dick, persuade him ! You have 
 only to say the word and he will be guided." 
 
 Dick was very pale. It was a monstrous self-
 
 24 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 sacrifice she proposed. He made no reply. Edith 
 moved closer to him. 
 
 " If you love me, Dick, help us to go together." 
 
 Dick glanced at his brother, and saw that he 
 was wavering. 
 
 He attempted to temporise. The decision lay 
 with him alone. He could see that in Robert's 
 haggard eyes, now wistfully searching his. 
 
 In the minds of both the brothers, unconsciously, 
 the same thought was framing itself; if Edith 
 accompanied Robert, he would marry her; if she 
 stayed behind, they would never marry ; and they 
 both looked to Dick to make the decision for them. 
 So he temporised. 
 
 " Let us consider matters," he found himself 
 suggesting mechanically. " Let us argue you have 
 got off safely and reached some foreign port. What 
 are you going to do then ?" 
 
 " There are several places where one can start a 
 new life." 
 
 " What places ? " 
 
 " I was reading the other day of the Seychelle 
 Islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean where a 
 steamer calls only once a month. You can get there 
 from Bombay. There is a fortune to be made 
 in vanilla. A little capital is all that is needed." 
 
 " Could you get there ? " 
 
 " Yes. And I have capital." 
 
 " Oh, let us go to the Seychelles," pleaded 
 Edith, impulsively. " Some beautiful tropical island 
 away in the middle of the sea. It would be Heaven 
 after this dreadful night. Let us go and lose ourselves. 
 Oh, Dick, dear Dick, consent to it and help us ! " 
 
 Dick looked keenly at Robert and waited for 
 him to speak ; waited until he did speak. 
 
 " Dick," cried the wretched man at last, " I am 
 not a murderer. I killed this man, but it was in fair
 
 THE PERSONAL EQUATION. 25 
 
 self-defence. Only I cannot prove it, and the law 
 will hold me guilty, and hang me. Morally I am 
 not less worthy of Edith than I was yesterday. If 
 if I get to the Seychelles, what would Edith ? ' 
 He came to a lame halt, and looked timorously 
 towards her. 
 
 " He has only me left, Richard," she cried. 
 "'You stand between your brother and death, or at 
 least a life worse than death. I tell you I can save 
 him. I have confided in you, trusted in you. Speak ! " 
 
 The perspiration stood in beads on Richard's 
 brow. He saw things shaping themselves as they 
 should not be shaped. He had but to say, " No, 
 this shall not be ! " and Edith would be spared. But 
 then Robert had won her from him ; was he, who 
 had lost her, to pronounce their separation ? Would 
 it be duty or desire that prompted him ? That was 
 what it came to when he searched his naked soul. 
 There was the Personal Equation, and in fear of its 
 influence he allowed his judgment to be warped. 
 
 At last he spoke. "Go together" was all he said. 
 
 Edith came towards him, and putting a hand, 
 one on each shoulder, lifted up her face and kissed 
 him. " To the end of my life, dear Dick, I will pray 
 God to bless you for this. Look at him," she 
 whispered, as Robert sank weakly upon the couch, 
 " I must go with him. He may break down at any 
 moment. It is a matter of life and death." 
 
 " Go together," repeated Dick. 
 
 There was an accent of finality in his tone, and 
 Edith accepted it as such. And now she changed 
 from the pleading to the practical woman. " What 
 is the time ? " she asked. 
 
 " It wants a quarter to eleven." 
 
 " And the trains for Liverpool ? " 
 
 " It is too late for the midnight one. There is 
 one at five."
 
 26 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " I will go home and change my dress and get a 
 few things, and be back by midnight. Robert," 
 she whispered, bending over him, " I will save you. 
 Be brave, my Robert. We will go together you and 
 I to those beautiful islands. We will be happy yet." 
 
 And the next instant she was gone. 
 
 Silence followed her departure. Dick's eyes 
 were fixed on his brother, who had not attempted to 
 rise from the couch. He presented a sombre picture, 
 his head bound up in a black silk scarf, and his black 
 beard, trimmed in neat, naval style, completing the 
 funereal framing of his colourless cheeks and lack- 
 lustre eyes the picture of a man dazed and 
 demoralised. 
 
 " Robert ! " 
 
 " Hullo ! " the response came in a dull, leaden 
 voice. 
 
 Dick stepped to a side table, poured out a glass 
 of brandy, and carried it to his brother. " Drink 
 this, Bob." 
 
 Robert gulped it down and rose from the couch. 
 " Dear old Dick, I knew you would stick by me ! I 
 am all right again now. I felt half moribund 
 till you gave me that brandy. I can go through with 
 it. You must give me some clothes ; and this beard 
 of mine I will shave it off. No one will be able to 
 recognise me then. Confound this arm, I forgot 
 that ! You will have to be barber, Dick ! " 
 
 They passed into the adjoining room. Dick lit 
 candles, and seated Robert in a chair before the 
 mirror. 
 
 " What a wreck I look," ejaculated Robert. 
 
 " Never mind what you look. Don't look ! Hold 
 your chin up," said Dick, beginning his task with a 
 pair of scissors. 
 
 There was a short silence, broken only by the 
 snip, snip.
 
 THE PERSONAL EQUATION. 27 
 
 " What a woman Edith is !" burst from Robert, 
 reflectively. " Did you ever hear of such a noble, 
 devoted woman, Dick ?" 
 
 Dick did not answer the question, but proceeded 
 with his task. Five minutes passed without a word 
 spoken. Then, as the idea occurred to him, he said, 
 " We must make some arrangements for communi- 
 cating, Bob. Are you going to Bombay ? " 
 
 " Yes, I think so. So far as I can foresee at 
 present." 
 
 " You must adopt a name ; don't stick to Bar- 
 rington longer than you can help. Choose a new 
 name now." 
 
 " Will ' Bolt ' do ?" asked Robert, with a feeble 
 smile. 
 
 " Yes. You are ' Bolt ' ' Robert Bolt, care of 
 Cook & Sons, Bombay.' Remember that. Make 
 arrangements for letters to be forwarded. It may be 
 a long time, for I shall not write until I get to 
 Jamaica." 
 
 " Are you going abroad now, Dick ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is best I should go. They might come 
 here to ask questions, and an empty flat is the best 
 answer. If I put off my departure, they might think 
 it was connected with you. Everyone knows I am 
 sailing to-morrow." 
 
 "Then, how shall I communicate with you, Dick ?" 
 
 Dick cogitated. " It won't do for you to write 
 to me here, or even to write to me by my proper 
 name. They may watch for letters. Look here; 
 you address your letters to ' Richard Lock, care of 
 Armstrong,' in the flat above. I will arrange that 
 they are forwarded." 
 
 He broke off, and surveyed his brother's face. 
 
 " There, I don't believe Edith will know you, 
 when she comes back. Now, let me bandage your 
 forehead again, Bob. Is it very bad, old chap ?"
 
 28 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " It's awfully bad. I get a dizzy sensation every 
 now and again, and feel as though I were floored. I 
 would give a thousand pounds to be safe on the 
 steamer. Suppose suppose I jack up, Dick ?" he 
 asked, faintly. 
 
 " Suppose nothing of the sort. It's buck up, 
 you must." 
 
 " Yes, I must. Give me another glass of brandy, 
 Dick," said Robert, making no attempt to rise from 
 the chair. 
 
 Dick brought him one, and looked at him, keenly 
 and calculatingly, as he drank it off. 
 
 " Dick, suppose I jack up ?" repeated Robert. 
 " Suppose, suppose I collapse. What would happen 
 to Edith ?" 
 
 " Don't put that question to me, Bob." 
 
 " But I must, Dick, I must." 
 
 " Edith says she can save you. She knows the 
 task the risk. She has accepted it." 
 
 " Tell me the exact risk to her. I am not clear 
 in my head. I know your opinion ; you think I 
 ought not to allow her to come with me. But she 
 wants to; and, if she didn't, it would cut me off from 
 her for ever. You see that, Dick, don't you ? Cut 
 me off from her for ever !" 
 
 " For ever," echoed Dick. 
 
 " My God ! I cannot stand that thought," cried 
 Robert. " She is my only hope. She says she can 
 save me." 
 
 Dick was busy, packing clothes into a valise for 
 his brother, and bent down, to hide his troubled face. 
 For he was ashamed to think that Robert could do 
 this thing. And then he heard his brother's voice, 
 questioning him again. 
 
 " What would happen, if if we do not get 
 clear, Dick ? If I broke down ? If we missed the 
 steamer ? If if we were taken ?"
 
 THE PERSONAL EQUATION 29 
 
 " Edith would be an accessory after the fact," 
 replied Dick, decisively ; " she would stand in the 
 same dock with you." 
 
 " No, no, no !" cried Robert, stung to the quick 
 by the obvious reply. " You misapprehend. I am 
 not a murderer. We fought fair. He attacked me 
 first. What I did was in self-defence." 
 
 " It would be too late for explanation, if you 
 and Edith were apprehended in flight together. The 
 time to explain is now. The time to save Edith is 
 
 now. The time to prove yourself a man " he 
 
 broke off, with a choke of stern repression, and 
 gulped down the bitter words on the tip of his tongue. 
 
 Robert sat listening, with a scared and agitated 
 face, and, when his brother stopped, midway, in his 
 speech, rose from his chair and approached him. 
 Dick faced round ; and, for a moment, they stood, 
 confronting each other with a tragic intensity of 
 demeanour and expression. 
 
 " Dick," implored Robert, in a tone of human 
 appeal, " tell me what my duty to Edith is. I know 
 you love her, Dick. Loving her, and knowing what 
 this decision means to her and to me on your 
 sacred honour, tell me, what is my duty towards 
 Edith?" 
 
 Dick moistened his lips. 
 
 " You press me too hard," he said ; " you 
 introduce the personal equation " 
 
 " It is the dominant equation," whispered 
 Robert, and waited. 
 
 " Do you wish me to answer you ?" 
 
 " I insist upon your answering me. I call upon 
 you my brother, and my rival to answer me, as 
 man to man." 
 
 " Your duty to Edith is to leave her, and never 
 see her again until you are purged of this stain." 
 
 Robert's face grew grim. With a smothered
 
 30 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 curse, he passed into the sitting-room, whither Dick 
 followed with the valise. Striding to the table, 
 Robert poured out half a tumbler of brandy, and 
 gulped it down. 
 
 "And you," he cried, in a tone of contained irony, 
 turning on Dick, "what is going to be your duty to 
 Edith ?" 
 
 Under his sombre bandage, his eyes gleamed 
 fiercely, and his shaven face was as pallid as death. 
 There was a newly-awakened distrust in his ex- 
 pression, and it touched his brother to the quick. 
 
 " My duty to Edith is to remember that she is 
 my brother's wife until death." 
 
 " Even though we are not married ?" 
 
 " Until death," repeated Dick, with an air of 
 finality. 
 
 " It is beyond human power where a man 
 loves a woman," declared Robert, impetuously. " If 
 I go alone, it is giving her up to you." 
 
 " You wrong me foully," cried Dick. " You 
 wrong and insult her and me, Robert. It was the 
 knowledge that I love Edith, and my loyalty to you, 
 that extorted from me an assent to her proposition, 
 against my better judgment. And for you you do 
 not love her. You cannot love her, or you would 
 never allow her to make this sacrifice." 
 
 " I do not love her ! " echoed Robert, with a 
 hysterical laugh ; " and you do ! I see the under- 
 current of reasoning the comparison you would 
 draw in your soul. You would have me leave her, 
 because I am so unworthy to you who are so 
 worthy. You would have me not see her again until 
 I am purged of this stain, which you know can 
 never be. You would separate us. You would 
 shatter our lives. And in time in time " 
 
 "Stop, stop," cried Dick. "Do not try me 
 beyond endurance. It is clear that you know nothing
 
 THE PERSONAL EQUATION 31 
 
 of the moral law which is stronger than the written 
 code." 
 
 " But the law of circumstance is stronger than 
 all." 
 
 " For such a creature as you it is. You prove it 
 by your action at this hour. But the moral law 
 compels where the written laws cannot only that is 
 beyond your comprehension. There is a limit which 
 conscience imposes on our acts." 
 
 " There is no limit in love," declared Robert, 
 with sweeping conviction. 
 
 " Not in such love as yours," blazed out Dick, 
 suddenly, no longer able to master his feelings. 
 " Yours is but a pretence of love. Love, forsooth ! 
 It is selfishness and cowardice that could drag Edith 
 into this deadly peril. There is no moral restraint 
 for such a nature as yours. It is beyond your com- 
 prehension. You cannot understand me. I tell you, 
 that if you spare Edith this sacrifice, you place 
 between her and me an obstacle insuperable. You 
 would make her my sister." 
 
 " No, no," retorted Robert, shaking his head. 
 " There is only one way to make her your sister : 
 one safe way, one legal way!" Then, as he saw 
 Dick turn aside anguish-stricken, a sudden wave of 
 repentance surged over him, and he cried out, " Oh, 
 Dick, she is all I have left in the world. See, the 
 clock is five minutes to twelve. She is due ; coming 
 of her own free will and wish. Do not stand 
 between her and me ! And oh, Dick, forgive me if 
 I have said anything I ought not to have said. 
 Remember there is but this one star of hope 
 in all the black firmament that now shadows my 
 life ! " 
 
 Wheels sounded from the street ; a cab drove 
 up, and Dick lifted the valise. 
 
 " I keep my promise," he said, " but when you
 
 32 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 have passed out of this house, I shall cease to regard 
 you as my brother." 
 
 He stepped to the door, but even as he did so, 
 a bitter cry burst from Robert. He fell back on the 
 couch, and Dick heard the words : 
 
 " I can't do it, Dick. I can't do it. Bring 
 Edith up."
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FOILING THE TRACK. 
 
 THE SS. Thessaly, outward bound for Calcutta, 
 was anchored in mid-stream off Birkenhead, 
 waiting for her pilot. It was within a quarter 
 of an hour of her advertised time of sailing. 
 
 A little launch came puffing up with the last of 
 her passengers, and amongst them a clean-shaven 
 man, with his head bandaged and his left arm in a 
 sling. There was a newsboy on the launch who 
 carried a bundle of the early editions of the Liverpool 
 papers. The man with the bandaged head bought 
 one, and was soon intently absorbed in its pages. 
 On reaching the steamer, he folded the paper, slid it 
 into his breast-pocket, ascended the gangway with a 
 rather dull, invalid air, and made straight for the 
 cabins. 
 
 " Let me see, sir," said the steward, to whom 
 he presented his ticket. " One gent and two ladies. 
 Ah, yes ; ladies in No. 17 and you next door. 
 Where's the ladies' luggage, sir ?" 
 
 " My mother and sister have been prevented 
 from sailing," explained the passenger, who was 
 booked under the name of Barrington. " We had 
 a motor smash, and they're coming overland, and 
 will join me in Egypt. I wish I could have post- 
 poned my own journey ; but my business is 
 urgent."
 
 34 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 In the hurry and bustle of departure, the 
 explanation was a little long and superfluous. 
 
 " I suppose you'll take the empty cabin, sir ?" 
 asked the steward. 
 
 " Certainly, as I've paid for it." 
 
 " Where's your baggage, sir ?" 
 
 " I've only this valise." 
 
 The steward placed it on the settee, in the 
 cabin, and turned to go ; but Mr. Barrington 
 detained him. 
 
 " Look here, steward, I'm a very bad sailor. 
 You must look after me. I don't suppose I shall 
 show my nose on deck this side of Gibraltar. Here's 
 a sovereign for you" (he slipped one into his hand) 
 " and there'll be another at the end of the voyage. 
 I am going to turn in at once, for I feel a bit of a 
 wreck." 
 
 " Thank you, sir. You shan't want for my best 
 attention. I'll just settle my other passengers, and 
 come back and make you comfortable." 
 
 Left to himself, Mr. Barrington locked the door, 
 undressed, and lay down in his berth, having pre- 
 viously deposited a bulky pocket-book under his 
 pillow. Then he opened out the evening paper again, 
 and carefully read and re-read the following para- 
 graph : 
 
 " SENSATIONAL TRAGEDY IN THE CITY 
 
 OF LONDON. 
 " (From Our Own Correspondent.) 
 
 " At seven o'clock this morning, the caretaker 
 attached to the offices of Messrs. Strickland and 
 Fawcitt was horrified to discover the body of Mr. 
 Strickland lying on the floor of the inner office, with 
 his head shockingly mutilated. The unfortunate 
 man was still breathing, and was at once removed 
 to the hospital, where he is reported to be slowly 
 sinking. There seems to be little doubt but that he was
 
 FOILING THE TRACK 35 
 
 the victim of a murderous attack. It is alleged that 
 he had a quarrel with his partner, Mr.Robert Fawcitt, 
 yesterday, and a hat, belonging to the latter gentle- 
 man, was found on the floor of the office. Mr.Fawcitt 
 returned to his residence last night, with his head 
 enveloped in bandages and his arm in a sling, and left 
 shortly afterwards, and has not since been heard of." 
 
 " Still breathing," murmured Mr. Barrington, 
 to himself. " Not a murderer yet. Only guilty of 
 assault until he dies." 
 
 He appeared to derive a spurious consolation 
 from the reflection, for he repeated, 
 
 "Not a murderer yet." And added, "I'll 
 never look at another paper. I'll live in the 
 knowledge that the last I heard of Strickland, he 
 was alive." 
 
 He lay a-thinking, with a troubled look on his 
 handsome face, until the thud of the revolving screw 
 aroused him to the fact that the Thessaly was starting. 
 Just then came a knock at the door. Hastily hiding 
 the paper, he clambered out of his berth, unlocked 
 the door, and the steward entered. 
 
 " And now, sir, what can I do for you ?" 
 
 " I want to send a telegram off." 
 
 For a reply, the steward produced a form. 
 
 " Pilot won't leave till the evening, sir. There's 
 plenty of time." 
 
 " I shall probably be sea-sick then, so I'll write 
 it now," was the reply, as Mr. Barrington filled in 
 the form with the message ; 
 
 "All well. Splendid steamer. Carry out pro-, 
 gramme. Ever yours till we meet. Robert." 
 
 And he addressed it to Miss Edith Carew, at 
 her home. 
 
 " See that is sent off, steward." 
 
 " You're looking mighty bad, sir ? Wouldn't 
 you like to see the surgeon ?"
 
 36 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " No, no," came the hurried answer, rather 
 testily spoken. " I am only a bit sore and shaken. 
 Don't make a fuss about it. I don't believe in 
 doctors, and certainly not in ship's doctors. None 
 of them for me ! You know what I told you. You've 
 got to look after me. Don't let anyone else bother 
 me." 
 
 " Very good, sir," answered the steward, with 
 the accommodating civility of his class, as he with- 
 drew. 
 
 " And now for a week on the flat of my back !" 
 groaned Mr. Barrington, with a grimace. " I wonder 
 how many of those cursed papers there are on 
 board. What a confounded bit of bad luck !" 
 
 To make his enforced retreat harder to bear 
 the weather was beautifully fine, and the sea as calm 
 as a mill-pond during the whole of the first week, 
 during which time Mr. Barrington never stirred out 
 of his cabin. For a couple of days he lived on the 
 slops that compose the dietary of an invalid, until a 
 sense of starvation supervened ; and then he 
 demanded ordinary food, and much of it, and aided 
 its digestion with several cigarettes. Which being 
 observed, the doctor and purser came to pay him a 
 formal visit on the fifth day the former to see what 
 was the matter with him ; the latter to ask for his 
 ticket. He declined the attentions of the one, and 
 satisfied the requirements of the other ; and dis- 
 missed them both with a few brusque, grumpy 
 words, delivered from the depths of the bedclothes, 
 as of a man outraged in his own castle. 
 
 " What a surly brute," commented the doctor, 
 as they left the cabin. " I believe he's shamming. 
 The steward tells me he eats four square meals 
 every day, and smokes a dozen cigarettes !" 
 
 " He's a mysterious Johnny," was the purser's 
 verdict. " Booked two women with him, and they
 
 FOILING THE TRACK 37 
 
 haven't come, and he has made no application for a 
 rebate of passage-money !" 
 
 " I'll have him out of that cabin," said the 
 doctor. " If he doesn't get up to-morrow, I'll give 
 orders for it to be scoured out the next day. It's not 
 wholesome." 
 
 Sanitation was the doctor's province ; and, two 
 days later, he issued the order, which had the effect 
 of compelling Mr. Barrington temporarily to 
 evacuate his cabin, whether he wished to do so or 
 not. As a fact, he was mightily glad to get up on 
 deck, where his sudden appearance created some 
 sensation ; for the very means the " eccentric 
 recluse" as he had come to be called had selected 
 to avoid notice, had exercised just the opposite effect, 
 and he had become an object of curiosity. 
 
 The character for surliness, which the doctor 
 and purser had given him, did not encourage anyone 
 to address Mr. Barrington, who was left severely 
 alone, in the isolation he had courted. But, at the 
 same time, he was painfully aware that he attracted 
 a good deal of observation and remark, as he paced 
 the deck uneasily, and endeavoured to put on an 
 unconscious air. It made him feel very uncom- 
 fortable, and he retreated to his cabin again as soon 
 as it was ready for him. 
 
 The next morning, the Thessaly was timed to 
 arrive at Algiers, where it was going to coal ; and 
 the conversation at dinner, which Mr. Barrington 
 attended for the first time in the saloon, was all 
 about going ashore. Parties were being made up, 
 and plans discussed, and everyone seemed happy 
 and cheerful, saving himself. He felt in a particularly 
 gloomy mood when he went up on deck, after the 
 meal, to smoke a solitary cigar in the dark. 
 
 The spot he selected was just aft of the smoking 
 saloon, one window of which was open ; and, as he 

 
 38 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 sat there, he could catch fragments of the conversa- 
 tion from within. Suddenly, he heard a voice, 
 asking, 
 
 " Hullo, where did this turn up from ?" 
 
 "What is it, Mac?" 
 
 " Why, the Liverpool evening paper of the day 
 we sailed ! The very latest news, by George ! Let's 
 see what the telegrams say." 
 
 And then, to Mr. Barrington's horror, the 
 speaker began to read aloud an account of the 
 assault on Mr. Strickland ! 
 
 Mr. Barrington rose from his seat, stealthily 
 moved a step nearer the window, and peeped in. 
 Half-a-dozen men were collected round the one who 
 was reading the account, somewhat dramatically. 
 And when he came to the passage about Mr. Fawcitt 
 having his head enveloped in bandages, and his 
 arm in a sling, a man, with an aggressive red beard, 
 broke in, 
 
 " By jingo ! Bandaged head ! Arm in sling ! 
 Why, we've got all that on board ! That's our ' Man 
 of Mystery !' " 
 
 There was a loud laugh at the suggestion, which 
 was taken as a joke, much to Mr. Barrington's relief. 
 
 " You keep an eye on him, when he lands at 
 Port Said, Sinclair," said a young subaltern, who 
 was shuffling a pack of cards. " Perhaps there will 
 be a reward out for him dead or alive, oh !" 
 
 " You bet I will," said Sinclair. " He's tickled 
 my curiosity. I came aboard with him in the 
 launch, and it struck me there was something fishy 
 about the man then. I shouldn't be a bit surprised 
 if he was doing a skedaddle. He just disappeared 
 from sight, like a rat, when we got on board, and I 
 never clapped eyes on him again till to-day. And 
 the doctor says he's been no more ill than I 
 have ! "
 
 FOILING THE TRACK 39 
 
 " Come along, and let's start a game of Nap," 
 called out another man, impatiently ; and the paper 
 was tossed aside, carelessly. 
 
 But Mr. Sinclair took the trouble to possess 
 himself of it, and put it in his pocket, with a knowing 
 shake of his head. 
 
 Mr. Barrington waited to hear and see no more. 
 He backed away cautiously from the window, and 
 stole down below, to his cabin, with an unconcealed 
 air of agitation. There, he locked the door, and sat 
 down on the settee in anxious cogitation, whilst he 
 mopped the perspiration that was beading his fore- 
 head. In his mind was photographed the picture of 
 the man with the red beard, pocketing that Liverpool 
 paper a man who lived at Port Said. 
 
 The next morning early the Thessaly reached 
 Algiers where the passengers were allowed four 
 hours ashore. Everyone went, but everyone did 
 not return. One passenger was missing Mr. 
 Barrington. 
 
 He saw her depart, and no sooner was she out 
 of the harbour than he went on board a small 
 steamer which was sailing that afternoon for 
 Gibraltar. From her deck he watched the Thessaly 
 until she was hull down on the horizon, con- 
 gratulating himself on his escape. As it happened, 
 at the very moment he was doing so, a cablegram 
 was being handed to the superintendent at Scotland 
 Yard acquainting him of a suspicious passenger on 
 board the Thessaly, who was booked for Port Said 
 under the name of Darcy Barrington. The sender 
 strongly suspected he was Robert Favvcitt, the 
 assailant of Mr. Strickland, and suggested that a 
 detective should be despatched overland to meet the 
 steamer at Port Said, and the message concluded 
 with a short description of Mr. Barrington's personal 
 appearance.
 
 40 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 Wherefore it was a happy thing that Mr. 
 Harrington had not only departed the Thessaly, but 
 this mundane life as well, for the gentleman who 
 subsequently stepped ashore at Gibraltar, with his 
 arm in a sling and his head in bandages, and who 
 had no luggage with him, was no longer Mr. 
 Barrington. The circumstances of his arriving in 
 such a casual and incomplete style caused him to be 
 regarded with some suspicion when he engaged a 
 room at the hotel, but he airily explained matters by 
 saying he had missed his steamer at Algiers, owing 
 to a carriage accident in one of the ramshackle 
 vehicles of the place, when he was out driving to see 
 the various sights. In proof of which he pointed to 
 his arm and bandaged head, and relieved himself of 
 some exceedingly strong language about Algerian 
 Jehus. 
 
 Then he went on to explain he was on his way 
 to Calcutta and must get there within a certain time, 
 which left it out of the question for him to stay at 
 Algiers; so he had taken a steamer that was just 
 starting for Gibraltar in the hope of catching the 
 P. and O. mail boat. And he wound up by tendering 
 a ten-pound note to the hotel keeper, which was the 
 very best introduction that worthy could desire. He 
 was accordingly welcomed as a guest, and wrote his 
 name in the hotel book as " Septimus Strickland ! " 
 
 It was an audacious move, and yet in its way a 
 stroke of genius. The idea of a murderer in flight 
 assuming the name of the man he had murdered 
 was something outside the realms of probability. 
 Notwithstanding it was about the safest one such an 
 unfortunate wretch could assume, if he had the 
 nerve to carry it off. 
 
 In this particular instance it was necessity rather 
 than any excess of nerve which compelled the ex- 
 pedient. In that pocket-book of which mention has
 
 FOILING THE TRACK 41 
 
 been made, there were circular notes to the value of 
 several hundred pounds drawn in Mr. Strickland's 
 name, and these had to be negotiated. So it resolved 
 itself into a case of personating Mr. Strickland or 
 losing the major part of the capital which was so 
 essential to a fugitive in flight. 
 
 The first thing to do was to create confidence, 
 and this is easily done if you can afford to be a little 
 lavish. Mr. Strickland changed one of his notes 
 for ten sovereigns and twenty half-sovereigns, and 
 proceeded to invest them, This took the form of 
 tossing them about. Four half-sovereigns to as many 
 beggars, as many to servants in the hotel for trifling 
 services ; a couple of pounds to the hotel guide, who 
 took him the round of the shops to get a new outfit. 
 Gold here, gold there, gold everywhere where silver 
 in small pieces would have been ample. By night 
 he had squandered the most of his twenty pounds 
 in backsheesh, and provided himself with an expen- 
 sive outfit, but in the hotel they were talking of him 
 as the " Rich Englishman," and he could have got 
 credit all over Gibraltar ! 
 
 The P. and O. steamer was expected the second 
 day after his arrival, and he went to the office and 
 purchased a ticket for Calcutta, the guide thought 
 but it was really only for Malta. The guide 
 was a very civil and obsequious fellow, whom 
 Mr. Strickland had christened Don Quixote. Mr, 
 Strickland went nowhere without Don Quixote, who 
 was an exceedingly communicative individual, and 
 gave the widest circulation to all that Mr. Strickland 
 told him. Thus it soon came to be generally under- 
 stood that Mr. Strickland was the head of one of the 
 richest mercantile firms in Calcutta, and something 
 not far removed from a millionaire. In fact Don 
 Quixote told the bank manager at Gibraltar as much 
 when Mr. Strickland sent him to that individual to 
 
 D
 
 42 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 inquire when it would be convenient for him to call 
 and change some circular notes. Having thus paved 
 the way, he drove to the bank and presented his 
 notes in such a nonchalant manner that you would 
 never have suspected he had been rehearsing the 
 scene in the privacy of his bedroom for a couple of 
 hours that morning. And so that little difficulty 
 was got over. 
 
 The next day the steamer arrived, and Mr. 
 Strickland paid his bill and drove down to the quay 
 to embark. But when he arrived there he re- 
 membered he had left some documents in the drawer 
 of his bedroom at the hotel, and sent Don Quixote, 
 whom he could not get rid of, back for them, with 
 promise of a five pound note if he brought them 
 before the steamer sailed. The guide hurried back 
 to the hotel, and Mr. Strickland engaged a boat and 
 pushed off. 
 
 As it threaded its way through the crowded 
 shipping he asked many questions about the different 
 steamers, especially about one called the H umber 
 Maid, which was flying the Blue Peter and just about 
 to weigh anchor for Bombay, as he was told. 
 
 They were passing under its stern, when, 
 without rhyme or reason, Mr. Strickland, who was 
 steering, put the boat's head about, and made for 
 the gangway. " Wait for me," he cried to the boat- 
 men, and in another moment was on board. 
 
 A couple of sailors were engaged in putting on the 
 hatches. "Do you carry passengers ? " he asked them. 
 
 "We carry three, but we're not a passenger boat." 
 
 " Who's the person to apply to for a passage ? " 
 
 " Why, the old man. That's him swearing on 
 the bridge." 
 
 Mr. Strickland made his way to the officer 
 indicated, politely doffed his hat, and came to the 
 point at once.
 
 FOILING THE TRACK 43 
 
 " Can you give me a passage to Bombay ? " 
 
 The sudden request startled the Captain not a 
 little. He took a good observation of Mr. Strickland, 
 formed an opinion about him, and answered his 
 question by asking another. 
 
 " And who might you be ? " 
 
 " I'm a traveller. I've got to get to Bombay. 
 I was going to sail by the P. and O., but she's full up." 
 
 " Hey," said the Captain, " Full up ? Well I'm 
 full up, too." 
 
 " You've only three passengers." 
 
 "They've chartered the whole of the accommo- 
 dation." 
 
 "See here, I'll give you fifty pounds for a passage." 
 
 The Captain seemed impressed. " Fifty pounds, 
 hey ? But we're just weighing anchor. I can't stop 
 for your baggage." 
 
 " Its alongside." 
 
 "That so! Well if you've got your money as 
 handy as your " 
 
 " Here's my passage money," said Mr. Strickland, 
 pulling out a bundle of notes and tendering the 
 amount due. 
 
 " My, my ! " ejaculated the Captain in undis- 
 guised admiration, " You does do business slick. 
 What might your name be ? " 
 
 " Robert Bolt." 
 
 " Bolt hey ! You're not making a bolt of it, 
 are you ? " 
 
 " Didn't I tell you I wanted to sail by that P. 
 and O. boat?" cried Robert indignantly. "If you're 
 not satisfied " 
 
 " Say no more, say no more," broke in the 
 Captain, "Bo'sun, sling the gentleman's traps aboard. 
 New passenger." 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir." 
 
 " And see here, Mister," went on the Captain
 
 44 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 apologetically to Robert Bolt, " We've got the Great 
 Panjandrum aboard, and I'd sooner you didn't go 
 aft till we're out at sea. It'll take a bit of fixing as 
 I'll explain by-and-by." 
 
 " Right you are," acquiesced Robert, quite ready 
 to make himself accommodating in his satisfaction 
 at having secured the passage. 
 
 Meanwhile Don Quixote having possessed him- 
 self of the valuable documents which the Rich 
 Englishman had left behind him, hurried back to 
 the mail steamer, joyfully anticipating his five pounds 
 reward. But on getting aboard there were no signs 
 of his amiable and generous employer. He searched 
 the steamer high and low, and instituted a hundred 
 enquiries, but to no purpose, and in the end he was 
 compelled to depart, mournful and disappointed, 
 when the steamer started. 
 
 Returning he took the liberty to examine the 
 valuable documents he had been despatched so 
 urgently to recover. They appeared to be singularly 
 commonplace in their nature, being nothing more or 
 less than receipted bills for purchases made at 
 Gibraltar, and there dawned upon Don Quixote the 
 idea that he had been befooled. On reaching the 
 jetty he made enquiries from the boatmen, and dis- 
 covered Mr. Strickland had boarded the outward- 
 bound tramp steamer which had just dropped her 
 pilot in the offing. 
 
 The guide was quite nonplussed. This Rich 
 Englishman, who showered gold with such profusion, 
 taking passage in a common canal tramp ! What 
 could it mean ? 
 
 He could not understand, but it brought him to 
 the conclusion that Mr. Strickland was an exceed- 
 ingly mysterious gentleman, and he would remember 
 him for many a long day by reason of that five 
 pound note !
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HIS EXCELLENCY FALOON. 
 
 AND now," said Captain Crake, as soon as the 
 Humber Maid was set on her course, " we'll 
 go aft and see about berthing you." 
 
 He dived into the chart room, changed his coat, 
 spruced himself up a bit, as a man does before he 
 enters superior company, and lead the way down the 
 ladder of the bridge. 
 
 " They're very tip-top folk," he whispered ; 
 " Connected with Kings. Gent's a General. They 
 call him ' His Excellency.' One's got to dip the flag 
 to him. Remember that. He's a fair whacker if 
 the wind don't serve a fair whacker ! " 
 
 They reached the poop, where sat a group of 
 passengers, a gentleman and two ladies, under the 
 lee of the deck-house. Of the three the gentleman 
 rilled the eye completely, to the exclusion of every- 
 thing else, so superlative was his aspect and outline. 
 He was rotundly stout, and emphasised his bulk by 
 the eccentricity of his costume which, at the first 
 glance, suggested an Oriental origin. Upon his head 
 was a fez, and on his feet, cocked prominently upon a 
 camp stool, a pair of red Turkish slippers, with the 
 toes turned up like rolls of curly bacon. His gilt- 
 buttoned coat suggested some species of military 
 uniform ; his waist was encircled by a cummerband, 
 profusely embroidered with gold, and his white 
 trousers were as capacious as pyjamas. He might
 
 46 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 have been costumed for a comic opera, so bizarre 
 was his get-up. 
 
 His facial attributes were quite in keeping with 
 his sartorial eccentricity and presented a novelty of 
 design. His scarlet face coincided with a pompous 
 and choleric expression, but his little light bluey-grey 
 eyes were reminiscent of a rather stale whiting's. 
 His nose was of the order called bottle, and from 
 his upper lip dangled and drooped limply down 
 to his coat lappel, an enormous whitey-yellow 
 moustache. 
 
 Robert Bolt had just time to take these points 
 in superficially, when Captain Crake introduced him. 
 
 " General and ladies may I presume ? A new 
 passenger," he waved his hand rather disparagingly 
 in the direction of Robert, and proceeded, " Mr. 
 Robert Bolt His Excellency General Ferdinando 
 Faloon, Commander - in - Chief and Confidential 
 Adviser to his Majesty the Rajah of Ramjugger. 
 Mr. Robert Bolt the Miss Faloon, sister to His 
 Excellency the General Ferdinando Faloon. Mr. 
 Robert Bolt Miss Willis, neice to His Excellency 
 the General Ferdinando Faloon." 
 
 Robert met with a compound reception. His 
 Excellency looked aghast, the Aunt gloomy, and the 
 niece glad. But he had no time to diagnose the 
 attitude of the ladies towards him because his whole 
 attention was absorbed by the General who, rising 
 to his feet with the laboured deliberation of a re- 
 cumbent bull-buffalo, drew forth a red bandana 
 handkerchief and proceeded to flog the air with it, 
 like a Spanish matador. 
 
 "A new passenger ! Impossible! " he exclaimed, 
 pompously. " I cannot permit this intrusion on my 
 privacy." He shoo'd his bandana in the direction 
 of Robert much as he might have done at a blue- 
 bottle fly. " When I engciged your saloon acconi-
 
 His EXCELLENCY FALOON 47 
 
 modation, Captain Crake, it was on the distinct 
 understanding that it was exclusively reserved for 
 my suite." 
 
 The Captain put on a propitiatory air. " Why, 
 so you did, your Excellency, so you did. But this 
 here's been quite an accident. Mr. Bolt came 
 aboard like a flying fish, just as we were tripping 
 anchor. And he put it so sudden and so so strong, 
 that I couldn't refuse him a passage. The claim of 
 humanity, Your Excellency the claim of humanity." 
 
 The General emitted a snort. " It's a breach of 
 contract," he declared, waving his bandana like a 
 battle-flag, " a gross breach of contract. I shall 
 report it to your owners, Captain Crake. I was 
 never so humiliated and scornfully treated in a long 
 and honourable military and political career ! " And 
 he turned majestically round and tramped to the 
 other side of the deck, his toes very much turned 
 out, and his demeanour that of a bearded Pasha. 
 
 Captain Crake tugged Robert by the sleeve. 
 " You take the tiller and luff," he whispered. " I 
 leave it to you, Mister, to get me out of this. Let 
 the old grampus blow himself out, and then tell him 
 your grandfather was Prime Minister of Honolulu or 
 Foreign Secretary of the Fiji Islands. Luff and 
 bluff and he'll haul down his bandana and be 
 drinking four to one by sunset." And with a 
 respectful naval salute to the ladies the Captain 
 retired to the bridge. 
 
 Robert felt far from comfortable. His Excellency 
 on the other side of the deck was engaged in irascible 
 flag-flapping, and Robert did not conceive it an 
 appropriate moment to try pacification. So he 
 turned his attention to the ladies. The elder one 
 was angular, prim and withered, and apparently 
 about fifty years of age. She sat very erect on her 
 chair, giving the impression of having swallowed a
 
 48 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 stair rod. As she caught Robert's eye she dropped 
 her own, pursed her lips, and concentrated her 
 attention on some knitting she was engaged in. If 
 anything this added to her unattractiveness. 
 
 So Robert shifted his glance to the girl. She 
 was pretty, plump and petite, with a blonde pink and 
 white complexion and lovely golden hair. Her face 
 was frolicsome, only just at present there was a 
 pout of disapproval on it, and Robert feared it was a 
 protest against his intrusion. He was conscious of 
 not cutting a very captivating figure with his arm in 
 a sling and his head bandaged, 
 
 "I am extremely sorry " he began with an 
 apologetic bow to the Aunt. 
 
 "Captain Crake should have obtained His 
 Excellency's sanction," she said, icily. " My brother 
 chartered the saloon of this steamer. His Highness 
 insisted on it. The etiquette of the Royal Court 
 demands exclusiveness." 
 
 " I deeply deplore " Robert attempted to 
 continue, with diplomatic humility. 
 
 Again Miss Falcon cut him short. " My niece, 
 the Ranee Rosalie, will be prejudiced by the cir- 
 cumstances if information of it should reach her 
 Kingdom. The etiquette of Oriental Royalty is more 
 exacting than that of Spain, Austria or Russia." 
 
 Robert was fogged, and ventured an inter- 
 rogatory glance at Miss Willis. 
 
 " My sister is Queen of Ramjugger," she ex- 
 plained. " We are going out to pay her a visit. She 
 is called the ' Ranee Rosalie.' " 
 
 " Indeed !" exclaimed Robert. " And where 
 might ' Ramjugger ' be ?" 
 
 At the first sound of conversation, the General 
 abandoned his isolation, and joined the group. 
 
 " ' Ramjugger,' sir," he broke in, " is in India. 
 It is the ' Kingdom of Repose.' ' Ram,' repose,
 
 His EXCELLENCY FALOON 49 
 
 ' jugger,' land of. The Royal dynasty of Ramjugger 
 is the oldest in the world. His Highness is descended 
 from the Sun." 
 
 He waved his bandana familiarly, but respect- 
 fully, towards that luminary, through the awning. 
 
 " And I thought men were descended from 
 monkeys !" protested Robert, as one receiving in- 
 struction. 
 
 " It is possible some upstarts are," said the 
 General, nastily. " But, in Ramjugger, they trace 
 their pedigree back to the Sun Gods." 
 
 He removed his fez, and began to mop the very 
 baldest head Robert had ever seen one which 
 created a wonder, that a man, who could grow such 
 a profusion of hair on his lip, should be so devoid of 
 it on his skull. Having polished his cranium until it 
 shone like a roc's egg, His Excellency continued : 
 
 "Ramjugger is the centre of the extensive and 
 glowing land of Rajputana the Home of Chivalry 
 and Glory ! I am the Rajah's Commander-in-Chief. 
 Also, his Confidential Adviser. In short, I run his 
 Kingdom for him." 
 
 " I am honoured to meet so distinguished a 
 personage," said Robert, by way of observation. 
 
 " I have remodelled the Ramjugger army on 
 modern lines," went on the General, obviously eager 
 to advertise himself. " Horse, Foot, and Artillery, 
 including an Elephant Battery, a Camel Battery, a 
 Mule Battery, and a Coolie Battery. When we fire 
 a General Salute, the Rajah's ancestors in the Sun 
 can hear it. The Army I have the honour to command 
 has never known defeat since the stormy days of 
 Tamerlane. Its annals of Heroism, Conquest and 
 Victory extend back to the Childhood of the 
 World." 
 
 " Your Excellency impresses me," said Robert, 
 as seriously as he could.
 
 50 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " My brother impresses everyone," put in Miss 
 Faloon, tartly. " He is one of the Rulers of India." 
 
 This flattering tribute pleased the General, who 
 ran his fingers down his moustachios. " I am the 
 Power behind the Throne of Ramjugger," he de- 
 clared, majestically, and proceeded to light a very 
 strong, evil-looking, black cigar, whilst Robert looked 
 at him critically, trying to gauge his man. 
 
 "The Rajah," went on His Excellency, waving 
 his cheroot like a joss-stick, " is a Ruler of the 
 highest Rajpoot caste. The Rajpoots regard their 
 ladies much as we do angels. The Fair Sex have 
 apartments to themselves. They are not supposed to 
 mingle with males. They are treated like Goddesses. 
 My niece the Ranee Rosalie is the Queen of 
 Ramjugger, and the head of female society there. 
 My sister and Miss Willis are going to pay her a 
 visit. They have to conform to the customs of her 
 Kingdom, It was by the particular command of the 
 Rajah that I chartered the entire passenger accom- 
 modation of this steamer. His Highness insisted on 
 the seclusion and privacy which I tried to secure for 
 the ladies. It is a slur on the arrangements which 
 he commanded for the journey, that their privacy 
 has been broken into by h'm a stranger. His 
 Highness will probably make it the occasion of a 
 diplomatic representation to the Government of 
 India. You look astounded, sir ? If you knew the 
 native attitude towards ladies of high degree, you 
 would understand the serious nature of the obliga- 
 tions imposed upon me to carry out His Highness's 
 orders in their integrity." 
 
 " In proceeding to such an exalted sphere of 
 life," chimed in Miss Faloon, scratching her nose 
 with a knitting-pin, " we have to respect the etiquette 
 of the East, and conform to the customs of an 
 ancient land, where ladies are so reverently esteemed
 
 His EXCELLENCY FALOON 51 
 
 that it is a breach of good manners for men to look 
 at their faces ! Far more so to address them. It is 
 something stricter than the sanctity of the -Convent 
 which surrounds my sex in the Orient." 
 
 The elderly lady delivered herself of these select 
 sentiments with the pride of a Princess and the 
 frigidity of a Lady Superior. 
 
 At this point, Miss Willis, who had been 
 fidgeting about a good deal on her chair, broke into 
 the conversation with a sudden, impetuous 
 audacity. 
 
 " Stuff and nonsense, Auntie ! I'm not going 
 to be shut up like a nun ! I wrote and told Rosie 
 so. I'd like to see her husband shut me up ! I'd 
 box his ears for him so there !" 
 
 " Lily !" exclaimed her aunt, amazed, and 
 shocked beyond expression by this mutinous outburst. 
 
 " Lilian !" roared the General, flourishing his 
 bandana, as though he would stifle her under its 
 ample folds. 
 
 " Oh, you may say what you like ; but I am 
 sick of it all ! I'm sick of the voyage, and this stuff 
 and nonsense about being worshipped and secluded, 
 and not allowed to speak to anybody. I mayn't 
 speak to the ship's officers. They mayn't come to 
 this part of the deck. I mayn't go forward ! And 
 this horrid, dull, slow old tub, that only goes about 
 five yards an hour good gracious me ! I shall be 
 ripe for the grave before the voyage is over. And 
 
 when we do get a passenger " She stopped 
 
 awkwardly, as she caught Robert looking at her, in 
 amused admiration of her revolt. Then, at a loss 
 how to finish her sentence, she jumped up and ran 
 into the deck-house. 
 
 " Disgraceful," ejaculated Miss Faloon, rising to 
 follow her. " I think Lily must have taken leave of 
 her senses."
 
 52 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 "Scandalous!" declared the General. "Wants 
 a whipping a good whipping, and I hope you'll 
 administer it, Belinda. You see, sir, what comes of 
 your intrusion. You've raised a rebellion. Did you 
 hear her say she would box His Highness's ears ? 
 Do you know, that would be considered Treason 
 High Treason in Ramjugger?" 
 
 " Faith," laughed Robert ; " if you call that 
 High Treason, your Monarchical institutions in 
 Ramjugger must be exceedingly dickey i I don't 
 wonder at any young girl jibbing at the idea of 
 being shut up like a nun." 
 
 "You don't understand the East," fumed the 
 General ; " you have no veneration for the pride and 
 prejudices of a prehistoric people. You are a mere 
 mushroom, sir ! " And His Excellency grew purple 
 in the face with concentrated indignation. 
 
 A retort rose to Robert's lips, but, remembering 
 the sufferance of his position he gulped it down. 
 " You are not very complimentary," he protested, with 
 a light laugh as he proceeded to fill a pipe; "nor do I 
 think you are justified in making such a remark." 
 
 " I have made a life-long study of the manners 
 and customs of the natives of India." 
 
 "And are you going to adapt them to an English 
 school-girl ? " asked Robert, describing Lily as she 
 appeared to him. 
 
 " She is the sister of the Ranee Rosalie who 
 has to give the tone to the female society of Ram- 
 jugger. We have been trying to make her realise 
 that. She has got to be subdued and sobered ; to be 
 trained to an appreciation of the exalted sphere she 
 is going to enter. She is too giddy and frivolous ; 
 she lacks dignity and reserve. Behaviour like her's 
 would imperil her character for respectability in an 
 Oriental court. School girls can cause scandal, sir, 
 can cause scandal ! We were getting her under
 
 His EXCELLENCY FALOON 53 
 
 control, and you burst in upon us and cause this 
 rebellious commotion ! Box His Highness's ears ! 
 Good heavens ! It is only one step removed from 
 beating him with a slipper ! " 
 
 " Beating him with a slipper ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir. Perhaps you don't know that is the 
 greatest insult you can administer to a native of 
 India that and knocking his turban off, which 
 would be the result of a box on the ears. Conceive 
 my feelings if I saw His Highness's jewelled 
 turban struck from his royal head by my own 
 flesh and blood! And I believe the rebellious young 
 thing is capable of doing it ! We were just reducing 
 her to discipline, and here you come and hang me, 
 sir ! but I'd like to pitch you overboard ! " 
 
 " Confound it, what have I to do with your 
 niece's revolt ? " 
 
 " Your presence, sir, encourages her. I've had 
 to have the mates and engineers forbidden the poop. 
 They filled her head with the most insubordinate 
 ideas. I I won't have her making casual acquaint- 
 ances so there ! " And the General glared at 
 Robert as though he suspected him of the most 
 diabolical intrigue. 
 
 " I couldn't help the Captain introducing me," 
 said Robert. 
 
 " The Captain had no right to do it. He had 
 no right to give you a passage. This poop deck is 
 mine. It is purdah." 
 
 " What the deuce is purdah ? " 
 
 "Purdah is a curtain, sir. It comprehends 
 privacy, seclusion and immunity from male intrusion. 
 The Mahommedans call it the Harem, the Hindoos 
 the Zenana. It shuts out everyone but husbands, 
 fathers, uncles, and elder brothers. Strangers shot 
 at sight if they attempt to gain admittance. That's 
 what ' Behind the purdah ' means. And you've
 
 54 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 pushed through my piirdah, sir. It is insufferable. 
 It destroys the discipline I have been inculcating. 
 And that wild, giddy girl was quite handful enough 
 before you came." 
 
 " You're incomprehensible," said Robert. " De- 
 stroy discipline ! What the dickens have I got to do 
 with the discipline of your niece ? " 
 
 " You've thrust your society upon us ; isn't that 
 enough ? " demanded His Excellency. 
 
 " If you call taking a passage for Bombay 
 ' thrusting my society upon you ' ? " 
 
 " What else is it ? This is my poop deck, my 
 saloon, my ship. I've paid for the whole accom- 
 modation. You've no right to be here. In India, 
 sir, if you tried to get behind the purdah of any 
 respectable native you'd be sent to prison. It is a 
 criminal outrage. This is the purdah of His Highness 
 the Rajah of Ramjugger. These ladies are his 
 relatives. Miss Willis is his sister-in-law. A peculiar 
 sanctity attaches to a sister-in-law in Ramjugger. 
 By heavens, sir, your presence here is an outrage ! 
 What will the Rajah say ? He will be furious. He 
 has paid for the privacy of his purdah and he doesn't 
 get it." 
 
 " You flummux me," said Robert ; " What are 
 you driving at ? " 
 
 " If you've got any decency in you, you'll go 
 forward and mess with the officers." 
 
 " I'll be hung if I do," said Robert. " I've paid 
 fifty pounds for my passage, and I'm not going to 
 stew in those stuffy cabins by the engines." 
 
 " I'll report the Captain to his owners," said the 
 General, brandishing his bandana, " the rascal that 
 he is ! " 
 
 " Do as you please." 
 
 " And if I see you talking to my niece, sir, I'll 
 I'll I'll lock her up in her cabin."
 
 His EXCELLENCY FALCON 55 
 
 " I don't want to talk to your niece." 
 " But she'll want to talk to you. She wants to 
 talk to everybody," spluttered His Excellency, 
 impotently. " And I won't have her making casual 
 acquaintances. That's why I chartered the steamer. 
 It was His Highness's particular command. He will 
 be shocked and scandalised. It will be a stain upon 
 his treatment of the ladies of his family. People 
 will say he was too mean to charter a steamer for 
 them ! For the aunt and the sister of the Queen of 
 Ramjugger !" 
 
 " Pooh, pooh, pooh," pished Robert, pre- 
 posterously, who was getting impatient of the 
 conversation. " Enough, sir. I won't interfere with 
 your niece. All I want is to get settled down in my 
 cabin. You leave me alone and I'll leave you alone," 
 he added, as he turned to enter the deck-house. 
 Whereupon His Excellency, with a haughty snort, 
 plumped down into his chair again, and called out 
 to the steward to bring him his brandy and some 
 soda water.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 LILY WILLIS. 
 
 OTWITHSTANDING the unpropitious nature 
 IN of his welcome, Robert was mightily satisfied 
 to find himself upon the Number Maid. For 
 the first time he felt free clear adrift from all 
 touch with the past. The chasm between him and 
 that fatal encounter was complete, and he could 
 contemplate his surroundings with calm and un- 
 suspicious eyes. 
 
 His Excellency and Miss Faloon ignored him, 
 and Lily Willis did not put in an appearance again 
 till dinner, when she was shepherded to the table, 
 and from thence to the deck by Miss Faloon as 
 though she had been a state prisoner. There she 
 was allowed an hour's constitutional exercise, and 
 then sent to her cabin. Meanwhile the General 
 applied himself to potations of brandy and water, 
 and to smoking many foul, black cigars, and about 
 eight o'clock emerged on deck with unsteady steps, 
 and stood lurching and trying to balance himself by 
 the wheel, whilst Miss Faloon discreetly withdrew. 
 It was clear he was a hardened toper, and Robert 
 wondered whether it was consciousness of his own 
 weakness that made him so angry at having his 
 purdah intruded upon. 
 
 Exclusiveness on board a steamer where there 
 are only four passengers berthed in one small deck- 
 house, grouped in a limited poop and bound to 
 mingle at meals four times a day, is a little difficult
 
 LILY WILLIS 57 
 
 to maintain. Once established on board, Robert 
 pervaded the atmosphere much as an unwanted 
 passenger does that of a railway compartment. His 
 Excellency and Miss Faloon had, perforce, to make 
 the best of his company, and the common amenities 
 of mealtimes compelled a tardy recognition of his 
 presence which was unavoidable. For the first two 
 days they tried to guard Lily and isolate her, but she 
 was too mercurial and impulsive to be kept, hour 
 after hour, in a chair by her aunt's side. The tax 
 was too great on the prim, elderly lady, who had 
 come to that age when peace and quiet are appre- 
 ciated. As for the General he was stout, the sea air 
 was soporific, and he slumbered much. And he went 
 to bed drunk every evening. The gilt faded off that 
 bombastic fraud under the effects of more intimate 
 acquaintance, and proved him mere gingerbread 
 underneath. He grew loquacious in his cups and 
 belittled himself. The third night Robert had to 
 assist him to his cabin. 
 
 His talk was ever of Ramjugger ; amusing at 
 first, but it soon palled. Miss Faloon retained her 
 frigid demeanour, and sought to crush Robert by 
 frequent references to " His Excellency " and " my 
 niece, the Ranee Rosalie." She never spoke without 
 drawing those titled personages into her speech. 
 She was a simple-minded woman, really, and be- 
 lieved all her brother told her. She was dazzled 
 with his descriptions of the Rajah's Court, and 
 flattered with the idea of its etiquette in relation to 
 her sex. She had felt the pinch of poverty, and 
 known what it was to meet with scant respect ; and 
 the prospect of living in a palace, and being 
 treated with distinction and deference, turned her 
 head. 
 
 As for Lily, after the humiliation of the first 
 day had expended itself in a pretty pout, she
 
 58 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 recovered her wonted spirits, and was soon joining 
 in the meal-time conversation with her eyes and 
 smiles, if not with her voice. She lived in con- 
 siderable awe of her uncle and, indeed, was heartily 
 frightened of him when he was " in his cups " bu4, 
 as Robert soon perceived, she had pretty well her 
 own way with her aunt. There was a bright cheer- 
 fulness and engaging candour about Lily that did 
 Robert good, and carried him out of his thoughts. 
 They soon came to be good friends in that silent 
 way which begins many friendships. To him, she 
 appeared only an attractive child more by token of 
 her childish face than her years. And, although she 
 thought him very old who had yet to reach thirty 
 she also thought him very nice, because he was so 
 polite to her at table, and treated her like a grown- 
 up young lady, which she aspired to be. And thus, 
 despite the edicts of the General, and the promises 
 of Robert to respect the purdah, he and Lily were 
 soon on the high road to become friends. 
 
 It was on the third day after leaving Gibraltar 
 that Lily broke from the fetters of restraint, and 
 appeared on deck, one morning, before breakfast, 
 and greeted Robert with a smiling " Good morning," 
 which plainly extended an invitation for the pleasure 
 of his company. Five minutes later, you might have 
 thought them old acquaintances, by the freedom 
 with which they were laughing and chatting, as they 
 paced the deck. 
 
 " You have not told me anything about your 
 sister, the Ranee," said Robert, presently. He was 
 not without curiosity on the point. " How did she 
 come to marry ?" 
 
 " My uncle invited her to keep home for him a 
 year ago. And then the Rajah fell in love with her, 
 and she married him." 
 
 " And is she happy ? "
 
 LILY WILLIS 59 
 
 Lily opened her childish, blue eyes very wide. 
 
 " Of course, she is ! She has everything to 
 make her happy. The most beautiful jewels, two 
 palaces, horses and carriages, heaps of money, and 
 a Court of her own. What more can a girl dream 
 of?" 
 
 " But her husband isn't he a black man ?" 
 asked Robert, rather distastefully. 
 
 " Why, of course, he's not white. But, then, 
 he's devoted to her. And he would be very hand- 
 some if he were not so fat. Fatter than uncle, to 
 judge by his photograph ! But, then, Rajahs are 
 always stout, uncle says. All rich and respectable 
 men in India have to be stout." 
 
 " Your uncle appears a very remarkable man," 
 suggested Robert, more in reference to His 
 Excellency's eccentricity of appearance than to any 
 shining virtues he displayed. 
 
 " He is," acquiesced Lily. " He has done 
 wonderful things." 
 
 " Indeed. I should like to hear about him." 
 
 " He went out to India as a schoolmaster. 
 Whilst so employed, he joined the volunteers, and 
 became fascinated with the military profession. 
 Then he obtained the appointment of tutor to the 
 Rajah of Ramjugger, who was a boy. The Rajah 
 grew very fond of him, and it made all the other 
 European officials jealous, and they schemed 
 together, and uncle lost his appointment. They 
 tried to make out that he spoiled the Rajah, who 
 was only fifteen years old then. However, His 
 Highness never forgot uncle ; and, when he suc- 
 ceeded to the throne, two years ago, he sent for him, 
 and gave him a state appointment. And now, next to 
 the Rajah, uncle is the greatest man in Ramjugger." 
 
 " A very extraordinary career, truly. And your 
 father ?"
 
 60 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " My father and mother are both dead. They 
 died when Rosie and I were children, and Aunt 
 Belinda brought us up. We owe everything to her, 
 for it wasn't till two years ago that uncle began to 
 help us." 
 
 " How long has he been in England ?" 
 
 " Only two months. He had to come home, to 
 bay a lot of things for the Rajah. We have a 
 hundred tons of cargo on board for Ramjugger. 
 And then uncle proposed we should go out and 
 spend the winter with Rosalie." 
 
 " I thought you said she wrote to you to come ?" 
 
 " She never writes to us, because letter-writing 
 by princes and princesses is against royal etiquette 
 in India. Really high-born ladies are not supposed 
 to be educated. It is considered vulgar ! Isn't that 
 a funny idea ? If you are educated, you must pretend 
 not to be ! " 
 
 " And you never hear from your sister ?" asked 
 Robert, in considerable surprise. 
 
 " Oh, yes. We hear often. She has a secretary. 
 But the letters are so funnily worded, in the most 
 grandiloquent, courtly language. Rosie signs them 
 with a seal. Uncle says that is the rigid rule for 
 royal persons, and she would be demeaning herself 
 if she wrote with her own hands, which is common 
 people's work only. You see, she is married to a 
 very high-caste Rajah ; and, although she is a 
 Christian, she has to act and behave as though she 
 were of his caste, and keep up her dignity as his 
 Queen." 
 
 " Most extraordinary," ejaculated Robert. 
 " Quite incomprehensible to me !" 
 
 " That is what it seemed to us at first, until 
 uncle explained it. He says Rosie leads a most 
 delightful, luxurious life. There is no wish or whim 
 of hers that is not fulfilled. And her jewellery !
 
 LILY WILLIS 61 
 
 Oh, Mr. Bolt, she has enough to cover her ! When 
 she has got them on, she's all jewels !" And Lily's 
 eyes sparkled at the dazzling picture her imagination 
 conjured up. 
 
 " Are you looking forward to your visit ?" 
 
 " I should just think I am ! I haven't been 
 thoroughly happy since Rosie left, and I'm just 
 dying to see her again. And I'm to have as many 
 horses as I want, and to go riding, and hawking, 
 and gazelle-hunting only I don't think I should 
 have the heart to see the dear little things hurt ! 
 and sailing on the Rajah's private lake. And he will 
 give me lots of jewels, because that is an Indian 
 custom. And perhaps I shall be made Lady-Colonel 
 of one of his cavalry regiments ! Uncle is going to 
 try. It is the greatest compliment a Rajpoot can 
 pay a lady. In their history, they had Princesses 
 who fought like Boadicea and Joan of Arc." 
 
 " And what about the shutting-up, and the 
 seclusion from male society ?" 
 
 " I'd like to see anyone try to seclude me !" 
 cried Lily, shaking her golden curls, and looking as 
 defiant as a ruffled canary. " Rosie may do as she 
 likes perhaps she is obliged to obey now that she 
 is a real Queen. Of course, she has her duties and 
 responsibilities. But I am only going out on a visit, 
 to enjoy myself. Shut me up, indeed ! They'd better 
 try !" 
 
 She faced round at Robert, and drew her pretty 
 petite figure up to its full height, and cocked her chin 
 contumaciously. It was a delightfully round, creamy 
 little chin, Robert thought. She was all confidence, 
 sparkle, and gaiety, anticipating her jewels, and her 
 cavalry regiment, and the manifold delights and 
 pleasures that had been promised her. A very child 
 artless, innocent, and captivated with fairy tales, 
 or what sounded like them.
 
 62 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " And your sister, Rosalie is she as pretty as 
 you ?" 
 
 " As pretty as me !" echoed Lily, opening her 
 blue eyes wide with surprise, not unmixed with 
 pleasure. 
 
 " Is she like you ? " 
 
 " Oh, no. She is dark, like our father was. I 
 am my mother's daughter. You would never think 
 Rosie and I were sisters." 
 
 " And how much older is she than you ? " 
 
 " Two years. She's just twenty." 
 
 " Two from twenty leaves eighteen. I should 
 never have guessed you were more than sixteen. You 
 are so petite and gay and giddy ! " said Robert 
 jocularly. 
 
 " Indeed ! I think you're very cheeky ! I'm 
 grown up," she retorted, pretending to frown. 
 
 " Then I apologise. Only I can't imagine how 
 you manage to retain your blythe, light spirits with 
 such a grim old lady for an aunt always after you ! " 
 
 " Oh, Auntie is not so very grim," denied Lily, 
 smiling. " Only she has got her head turned with 
 all this coming grandeur, and thinks it the correct 
 thing to assume a stiff and starched manner. Uncle 
 is a very great and celebrated man in India, you 
 know. They fire cannons to salute him in Ramjugger. 
 And he has guards round his house, which is a castle. 
 Of course Auntie will be a sort of Dowager Queen. 
 She has a purple silk dress in the heavy luggage in 
 the hold, made especially for her to wear on State 
 occasions. She has become quite stand-offish to 
 strangers lately. She wanted me to be the same to 
 you, but " 
 
 " But ? " 
 
 " Well, am I ? " asked Lily archly and charm- 
 ingly- 
 
 "Indeed you are not. But perhaps you should be."
 
 LILY WILLIS 63 
 
 " Oh, I couldn't be. Not when people are nice. 
 It isn't my nature. And, besides, it was so awfully 
 slow on board, not being allowed to speak to the 
 
 officers. And so " She smiled at Robert with 
 
 an engaging, half-childish candour. 
 
 And he smiled, too. The smile that the bright 
 prattle of a child brings to men's faces. " I hope it 
 will all come true," he said, "cavalry regiment 
 and all." 
 
 " And the jewels," she added eagerly, " don't 
 forget the jewels." 
 
 " And the jewels," he echoed, his smile fading 
 away. She was too childish and innocent for jewels, 
 which are meant for women of a maturer age than 
 Lily Willis, and of riper experience of life. 
 
 Their further conversation was interrupted by 
 the appearance of the General who came on deck 
 in a dramatic dishabille. He gave a quick glance at 
 Lily. " Your aunt wants her early tea," he said, " go 
 and take it to her cabin. You seem to have forgotten 
 what I told you, Lilian," he added, "about ladies not 
 being allowed on deck before eight o'clock." 
 
 Lily gave a pout of disapproval, as she dis- 
 appeared through the doorway, and the General 
 joined Robert. 
 
 " Have a cheroot ? " he asked, and proffered one 
 of his black, pungent ones which filled the air with 
 acrid fumes. Robert declined politely, and passed to 
 windward. 
 
 " What's my niece been saying to you ? " asked 
 the General. 
 
 " She has been telling me about her sister the 
 Ranee." 
 
 " Ah, lucky girl, her sister. Played her cards 
 well. Has more sense in her little finger than Lilian 
 has in her whole head ! She has got the Rajah under 
 her thumb, and if she only had a son to succeed to
 
 64 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 the throne she could make herself Queen Regent of 
 the Kingdom, and rule the country like the old 
 Dowager- Empress of China. And she will, too ; 
 she's a very ambitious, strong-minded young woman." 
 
 " Indeed. But how does she overcome the 
 limitations of the seclusion of her sex, which you tell 
 me is the custom out there ? " 
 
 " The Anglo-Saxon character, sir, can make 
 itself dominant amidst Hindoo surroundings under 
 any circumstances. The disabilities of the sex do 
 not affect the influence that can be exerted by a clever 
 woman. On the contrary they are often convenient ; 
 they keep the woman out of action, and leave her 
 cool and undisturbed for direction. She is like the 
 officer in the conning-tower of a man-of-war; she 
 doesn't fire the guns, but she directs them to be fired, 
 and being out of the hurly-burly of the deck, she can 
 see clearer and more calmly than the combatants." 
 
 "Are there many guns to be fired ? " 
 
 " In a native court there is a constant campaign 
 going on a compaign of intrigue." 
 
 " Intrigue is a comprehensive word." 
 
 "And a comprehensive thing. It includes every- 
 thing from scheming to secure a smile to plotting to 
 poison a prince." 
 
 " Hardly a pleasant atmosphere for an English 
 girl?" 
 
 " It has its compensations. Wealth, luxury, 
 power," said the General, flourishing his cigar. "The 
 Ranee Rosalie has more social and political power 
 than any queen in Europe." 
 
 " You surprise me," said Robert. 
 
 " India is a land of surprises for the European, 
 even as it is a land which the European has taken by 
 surprise," rejoined the General, epigrammatically. 
 " And the most surprising thing of all is the position 
 of the Englishman in India."
 
 LILY WILLIS 65 
 
 " Does that include your own position ? " 
 
 " It does, sir," said the General, swelling out his 
 chest. " I may say my position is unique. No one 
 thought w T hen Ferdinando Faloon went out to India 
 as a cadet twenty years ago that he would rise to be 
 the Commander-in-Chief of the most warlike race in 
 the East. Not to mention Confidential Adviser to 
 the oldest and proudest dynasty in the great Aryan 
 family." 
 
 " And how did you manage it ? " asked Robert, 
 curiously. 
 
 " I make bold to say by my merits, sir. By 
 keeping a high ideal in front of me. By not swerving 
 from the path of rectitude and duty. Moral influence 
 linked to physical energy has been the secret of my 
 success. Ramjugger quails before my eye ! " He 
 fixed Robert with a glance which was not altogether 
 convincing, and struck an attitude appropriate for 
 being sculptured in. 
 
 " And the Rajah ? " queried Robert. 
 
 " The Rajah is educated. The Rajah knows 
 what's what. He is an example of Western civili- 
 sation grafted on the Eastern stock to a certain 
 extent. The Rajah is guided by me. In short, I am 
 the Rajah in all but the name. Ramjugger would 
 sink to a third-class state if it wasn't for me. The 
 Rajah 'knows that, and he very wisely deputes me to 
 run his show. 
 
 " Does he take no part in the affairs of state ? " 
 
 " Well, you see, he's a ladies' man. He has 
 married my niece. She is completing his education, 
 so to speak. She is Europeanising him, and he's 
 got his work cut out to come into line with her ideas. 
 She's furnishing the palace just now. I'm taking her 
 out a hundred tons weight of furniture and fancy 
 fixings. It's as much as he can do to attend to her 
 wants. It's this, that and the other. You know the
 
 66 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 way with ladies especially strong-minded ladies who 
 haven't been married long ? The Ranee about takes 
 up the Rajah's time. He has got none to spare for 
 the affairs of State. I relieve him of the burden, and 
 he's glad to be relieved." He leered round at Robert 
 with half-closed eyes and nodded his head knowingly. 
 " And what about the seclusion of the ladies ? " 
 " Ah, that's one little difficulty. My niece has 
 no society. Of course she conforms to the customs 
 of the country ; but she finds it a bit dull. That's 
 why I am taking out her sister and aunt, to cheer 
 her up. Not that she wants cheering but its just a 
 little dull having no one to talk to. The companion- 
 ship will do her good and do them good. There's 
 not a European in the state besides myself, and I'm 
 busy all day long. So we just planned out this 
 visit. What's the good of a girl being a queen if 
 she can't do a good turn to her own relations ? My 
 niece the Ranee is going to make hay whilst the sun 
 shines." 
 
 "And so she's having her sister out to help her ? " 
 "That's about the size of it," said His Excellency.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A PLEASANT ENTR'ACTE. 
 
 WHILST Robert Bolt was enjoying the welcome 
 mental relief afforded by this entr'acte in his 
 flight, he was not heedless of the risks of the 
 morrow. There was that fellow Sinclair, on board 
 the Thessaly, who had expressed suspicion about 
 him. He was in business at Port Said, and Robert 
 would not care to meet him face to face, especially 
 after the way in which he had abandoned the steamer 
 at Algiers. If Sinclair's suspicions were aroused 
 before, how much more so would they be now ? 
 Then, again, if Robert had been traced by tjhe name 
 of Barrington and it was not impossible that, 
 when Strickland returned to the office that night, he 
 might have had some telegram, or letter, about his 
 person, from the shipping agents at Liverpool a 
 description would probably be circulated at Port 
 Said, and even a detective sent there to apprehend 
 him, which he could easily do by travelling over- 
 land. Indeed, this possibility had been in his mind, 
 when he determined to leave the Thessaly at Algiers. 
 He had to protect himself against remote con- 
 tingencies as well as against immediate dangers, and 
 he decided to avoid landing at Port Said. Once past 
 there, he might consider himself pretty well safe ; 
 but that was a place where every passenger was 
 open to scrutiny ; and, under the British Protectorate
 
 68 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 of Egypt, there would be no difficulty about 
 extradition. 
 
 So he made friends with the second engineer of 
 the Humber Maid, and professed a great interest in 
 machinery, by way of securing a hiding-place for 
 himself, if the necessity arose. He spent several 
 hours in the engine-room, where he soon became 
 popular by the liberal way in which he paid his 
 footing, signing no end of wine-cards for the benefit 
 of the thirsty folk of the furnaces. Thrice, during 
 this portion of the voyage, the steamer had to stop, 
 in mid-ocean, to have some tinkering done ; and, on 
 each occasion, Robert "took a lesson," as he called 
 it, in engineering. 
 
 On the third occasion, he learnt they were 
 going to do a big patching job at Port Said, when 
 the steamer was coaling, and he took the opportunity 
 of saying, to the second engineer, that he would like 
 to see how it was done. 
 
 " But, you'll be going ashore, surely," said the 
 engineer. 
 
 " Oh, it's a beastly place, I hear. All flies, fleas, 
 and fever. I don't care for wasting time. This sort 
 of work interests me ; there's something to learn. 
 Now, then, men, are any of you thirsty ? Could you 
 manage half a dozen of beer ?" he asked, of the 
 stokers. 
 
 Needless to say, they were all thirsty ; and he 
 duly signed the voucher. The liquor department 
 was the Captain's perquisite ; and, as a result, there 
 were never any questions asked, or wine-cards 
 refused. 
 
 Robert's absences, for long periods, in the 
 engine-room, were very distasteful to Lily, who 
 much preferred him to be amusing her. By the end 
 of a week, she had quite appropriated him, and 
 showed a pretty imperiousness in calling him to
 
 A PLEASANT ENTR'ACTE 69 
 
 account, one day, when he had been down below for 
 a couple of hours. 
 
 " Where have you been ?" she asked him. 
 
 " Watching them tinkering up the boiler." 
 
 " You're very selfish. You never think of me, 
 all alone." 
 
 " Then, I'll think of you now !" he answered, 
 gently, and with intent to propitiate. " What shall 
 we have a game of ? Draughts bezique shuffle- 
 board ship's quoits " 
 
 " Oh, I'm sick of all the games," she broke in, 
 impatiently. " I wanted you to talk to me ; but, I 
 believe, you love your dear engineers better than 
 you do me !" 
 
 "My little girl," he said, coaxingly; "you're 
 very cross to-day. What has put you out ?" 
 
 " Aren't you enough to make me cross ?" she 
 pouted. " How would you like it, if I went away, 
 and left you all alone ?" 
 
 " I shouldn't like it at all ; but I shouldn't get 
 cross with you." 
 
 " That shows you don't like me, or you couldn't 
 help getting cross," she answered, naively. " Oh, 
 this horrid, dull, slow voyage. I do wish I were with 
 Rosy !" 
 
 " You will be soon. And I hope very happy." 
 
 She sighed, and then glanced up at him with 
 her pretty girlish eyes, that were as blue as a forget- 
 me-not. 
 
 " I wonder if I shall ever see you again ?" she 
 asked. 
 
 " Never," he said, shaking his head. 
 
 She turned her face away quickly ; and, after a 
 little pause, 
 
 " I wish I had never met you," she announced. 
 
 " And I am very glad that I met you !" 
 
 " I don't believe you, or you wouldn't "
 
 7O To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 She never finished her sentence, but suddenly 
 turned and retreated to her cabin, and shut herself 
 up for a couple of hours. 
 
 " Poor little thing !" he murmured to himself, 
 after she had gone. " She's moped to death. And 
 no wonder. It isn't fair on her this joyless voyage. 
 I wish we had a dozen other passengers." 
 
 He flung himself into a chair, and tried to 
 interest himself in a book. The General was snoring 
 on one of the settees in the saloon, where he always 
 stretched himself out between luncheon and tea. It 
 was his after-tiffin siesta, as he called it. Miss Faloon 
 was alternately dosing and knitting ; she, too, 
 suffered from an irresistible inclination to slumber 
 during the warm afternoons. The Captain never 
 came aft ; the officers were forbidden the quarter- 
 deck, out of respect for the exclusiveness His Excel- 
 lency insisted upon. What was there for Lily to do? 
 She was in the butterfly stage of existence, and these 
 sedate and somnolent surroundings were depressing 
 to her. Sometimes, Robert wished he were a boy of 
 eighteen, irresponsible, and full of spirits in harmony 
 with hers, in order that he might meet Lily in her 
 own vein, and have a good, innocent romp. There 
 is no harm in boy-and-girl flirtations ; but, between 
 
 him and her . He grew thoughtful, for he could 
 
 not disguise from himself that she sought his com- 
 pany, and was always wanting him to be with her. 
 Circumstances were throwing them together, and 
 circumstances are sometimes too strong for us in 
 this life. 
 
 A couple of hours later Lily came stealing out 
 of her cabin to where he was sitting, and whispered, 
 
 " I didn't mean to punish you." 
 
 " Punish me ? " he queried. 
 
 " Yes. I kept away two hours ; " she pronounced 
 the period as though it had been two years.
 
 A PLEASANT ENTR'ACTE 71 
 
 " It was to punish you. And I've punished 
 myself! " 
 
 She spoke so sincerely, yet so unsophistically 
 that he did not know what answer to make. He 
 affected to laugh it off. 
 
 " I feel dreadfully punished," he declared. "And 
 I'm quite good now ! Suppose, for a change, I read 
 to you ? " 
 
 " Don't you want to talk ? " 
 
 " I want to amuse you." 
 
 "Then talk. I love talking. You know you 
 said I was a chatter-box ! I can read to myself when 
 you are away." 
 
 " Very well ; we'll talk about Ramjugger, and 
 your cavalry regiment. What is the coloufr of the 
 uniform do you know ? " 
 
 " Mr. Bolt," she said, with a sudden gleam of 
 brightness, " couldn't you come and see ? " 
 
 He shook his head, implying it was out of the 
 question. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Bolt, do, do try and come and see us 
 at Ramjugger. I do so want you to come ! " 
 
 " My little girl," he said, quietly and firmly, 
 " you are asking an impossibility." 
 
 " But you will be in India. You might come ? " 
 
 " I'm going to leave India." 
 
 " Going to leave it ! Where are you going ? " 
 
 " I haven't made up my mind. To the Sey- 
 chelles, perhaps." 
 
 " What are the Seychelles ? " 
 
 " They are a group of islands in the middle of 
 the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles from land." 
 
 " Oh, how delightful ! Are they desert islands ? " 
 
 " No, they're inhabited," he answered, laughing 
 at her naivete, " but there are not many inhabitants. 
 And they are very beautiful, and the only place in 
 the world where the coco-de-mer grows."
 
 72 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " Are they tropic islands ? " 
 
 "Yes. Right under the equator. And the 
 climate is lovely." 
 
 " Oh, how I should like to go to the Seychelles," 
 she sighed ingenuously, and looked at him with a 
 wistful expression. " I wish uncle were going to the 
 Seychelles instead of to that horrid Ramjugger ! 
 Won't you come to Ramjugger ? " she asked again, 
 coaxingly, " just for a few days ? " 
 
 And so the talk went on. In a week this child, 
 so innocent withal, had fallen head over heels in love 
 with the single man she was brought into contact 
 with. Nor is that so outrageous as it sounds, for 
 board a ship is a fatal place for the affections, and 
 ship life is a premium on flirting. Not that Lily was 
 flirting ; she was far too much in earnest for that ; 
 nor had Robert set himself to flirt with her. But she 
 had no other society than his, and without intending 
 any harm he had made himself agreeable to her, 
 never anticipating what the result would be. And 
 now, much to his distress, he realised what had 
 happened, and, if he could have had his own way, 
 would have left the steamer there and then. But, 
 alas, that was out of the question, nor could he leave 
 it at Port Said, where he dared not go ashore. Too 
 late in the day he discovered that the mischief was 
 done, and that this girl felt for him an affection that 
 could only end in unhappiness. It distressed him 
 beyond words, for Lily had shone on his life like a 
 passing sunbeam. And even passing sunbeams are 
 passing pleasant when the clouds have been dark and 
 gloomy, and life seems drear and hopeless, as Robert's 
 had before he boarded the Humber Maid. They 
 brighten for a moment a precious moment when it 
 is snatched from care and anxiety. 
 
 " I must put an end to this," he said to himself, 
 decisively. And wondered how he could do so
 
 A PLEASANT ENTR'ACTE 73 
 
 without appearing cruel or unfeeling. For Lily's 
 very innocence protected her from the course he 
 would have adopted with a girl more conversant with 
 the ways of the world. But then, again, such a girl 
 would not have surrendered herself, as Lily had done, 
 with the heart-whole abandon of first-love, and the 
 emotional impulse of inexperience. 
 
 It may seem strange that His Excellency and 
 Miss Faloon had nothing to say to this growing 
 intimacy. The fact was that, with all her innocence, 
 Lily was not without the cunning of love ! At the 
 beginning of the voyage, the General had been so 
 strict with her, and put such a summary termination 
 to her intercourse with the ship's officers, that she 
 determined not to give him the opportunity of exert- 
 ing a similar authority over her relations with 
 Robert. When her uncle's or aunt's eyes were fixed 
 on her, Lily was marvellously discreet, and so 
 diplomatic, in the privacy of the cabin which she 
 shared with her aunt, that she quite hoodwinked 
 that lady, and dispersed any suspicion she might 
 have entertained by pretending to mimic Robert, 
 and make fun of him. And then lay awake at night, 
 upbraiding herself for such wicked deceit, more for 
 her attitude towards Robert than her conduct 
 towards her aunt, and her heart very sorrowful 
 because he had " been down in that beastly engine- 
 room again." It was, indeed, the only way Robert 
 had of evading Lily's company, which he saw it was 
 more and more necessary to do day by day. 
 
 With His Excellency, other considerations 
 operated, to deter him from pursuing that high- 
 handed behaviour towards Robert which had dis- 
 tinguished his conduct on the first day. The General 
 had allowed his tongue to be loosened on more than 
 one occasion, by the contents of the glass of which 
 he was too fond. Carried away by the propensity 
 
 F
 
 74 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 to talk arising from being over-elated, he had 
 launched out into personal reminiscences which 
 failed to create the impression he intended, and 
 made him sorry, later, for having indulged in them. 
 He was neither a clean talker nor a clean liver, and 
 some of his experiences, retailed in the confidence 
 of his cups, had disgusted Robert. There were 
 some very shady stories of how he had benefited, at 
 the Rajah's expense, in the matter of State contracts, 
 which seemed indistinguishable from swindling; 
 and once a hint at a harem, wherein His Excellency- 
 was the Turk. Robert's reception of these confidences 
 was chilling, and on the latter occasion he shut the 
 General up, much as he might have done an 
 objectionable young cad, and, rising from the table, 
 left him spluttering with amazement and mortifica- 
 tion at the mistake he had made in the character of 
 his listener. And the next morning Robert took the 
 old reprobate to task in no measured terms, and gave 
 him what was to all intents and purposes a sound 
 lecture! Thereafter there was a coolness between 
 them, which left the General impotent to use the 
 arguments of chivalry and exclusiveness for ladies, 
 such as he had at first employed, and unable to inter- 
 fere between Robert and Lily when he recalled how 
 the former had told him he was not fit to have 
 charge of his niece. As for Miss Faloon she was 
 merely the instrument for conveying her brother's 
 orders, and though she prated of exclusiveness and 
 the royal etiquette of Oriental courts, she was not 
 equipped to reduce her ethics to practice save under 
 her brother's directions. And since he now had no 
 objections to urge against Lily speaking to Robert, 
 Miss Faloon fell back on the ways of English society, 
 which permits men and young maidens to amuse one 
 another especially on board a ship and in the 
 publicity of deck-life.
 
 A PLEASANT ENTR'ACTE 75 
 
 And so it came to pass that during that fateful 
 fortnight for Lily, during which the Humber Maid 
 was ploughing her slow way between Gibraltar and 
 Port Said, she had plenty of opportunities, and was 
 unable to avoid them, of falling as desperately in love 
 with Robert as ever did any young girl of eighteen 
 with a man ten years older than herself. And Robert, 
 with the memory of his past behind him, and his 
 heart unreceptive, saw it and was grieved and 
 ashamed, notwithstanding it was none of his seeking. 
 And here was a pretty state of affairs! 
 
 And so we come to the morning when the land 
 of Egypt was in sight, and the breakwater of Port 
 Said shot out from the low, sandy shore into the blue 
 sea. Port Said, glittering in the sun, buzzing with 
 flies, swarming with humanity dark-skinned and 
 dark-souled men, and the latter the worse of the 
 two, at least in their inner lives. For here are 
 gathered together the scum of Europe and the vilest 
 dregs of the Levant. 
 
 Lily was in the greatest excitement at the pros- 
 pect of a run ashore. It was her first peep of foreign 
 lands, where men wore turbans and went about bare- 
 footed ; where camels were natural beasts of burden, 
 and the bazaars contained representatives of more 
 nationalities than a fair of all the nations. The 
 land of the Pharaohs and Old Testament history, 
 where the women were veiled and taciturn Arabs 
 stalked along. And there were negroes and palm- 
 trees and fresh dates, and all the things she had read 
 about in the books of Moses ! " Fancy being in the 
 land of Egypt ! " she kept on exclaiming to herself. 
 The mysticism of the Orient was appealing to her, 
 as it must to every English eye that sees it for the 
 first time. 
 
 Of course, she took it for granted that Robert 
 would go ashore with her, and built a day of delight
 
 76 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 on the anticipation. They had walked and talked 
 together on deck for the last fortnight, and it was a 
 natural corollary that they should walk and talk 
 together on shore. It appeared to her such a matter 
 of course, that the idea of a formal arrangement 
 never entered into her head. His Excellency and her 
 Aunt were to be "lost" she had decided, and she and 
 Mr. Bolt to have "Oh, such a long day together ! " She 
 had been dreaming about it in her joyful excitement. 
 
 Robert was conscious of all this, but to go ashore 
 at Port Said was more than he dared risk. And yet 
 he had not the heart to disillusion Lily, nor could he 
 do so without making some excuse, which he had not 
 ready. He hoped that in the excitement of the trip 
 his absence would be but a passing disappointment 
 or annoyance, and he tried to discount that by 
 affecting to have a bad headache on the morning of 
 their arrival. 
 
 All were gathered together on the starboard side 
 of the quarter deck, watching the shore unfold itself, 
 and speculating as to what this point was, what that. 
 His Excellency, with the blase superiority of an old 
 traveller, strolled backwards and forwards puffing 
 away at one of his rank cheroots. He was costumed 
 for the occasion ; the fez had given way to a military 
 helmet, the neglige khaki undress coat and loose 
 trousers to a uniform gorgeous with gold braid, and 
 his Turkish slippers were replaced by a pair of 
 monstrous jack boots with decorative spurs of a 
 mediaeval pattern. There was a barbaric splendour 
 about him that savoured of the scarlet and yellow 
 East. Miss Faloon likewise displayed some pomps 
 and vanities, being garbed in a silk dress as most 
 appropriate for the jocund adventure, and armed 
 with a sunshade such as Egypt had never seen before. 
 Her pride in herself and her brother raised her to a 
 very high pedestal of distinction.
 
 A PLEASANT ENTR'ACTE 77 
 
 Just as the steamer was entering the harbour the 
 steward approached and, touching his hat, " One 
 moment, gentlemen," he said to the General and 
 Robert, and they stepped aside to see what he wanted. 
 
 " We always settle up for wine bills before going 
 into port," he explained. " It's a custom at sea, and 
 the old man's very particular about it." With which 
 he handed each of them a bundle of their wine 
 vouchers. Then, drawing a single card from his 
 pocket, asked : 
 
 " Which of you gentlemen signed this card ? " 
 
 His Excellency, who was nearest, took it, and 
 read out : 
 
 "Six bottles beer; R. Fawcitt" 
 
 Robert gave a jump as it flashed across him that 
 in an absent-minded moment he had signed his real 
 name to one of the cards he had filled in for the 
 engine-room hands. 
 
 " ' R. Fawcitt ' that's not mine," declared the 
 General. " It's your writing, Mr. Bolt, I am sure." 
 
 They were standing by the taffrail. Robert 
 stretched two careless fingers forward for the card, 
 and in affecting to examine it, allowed it to drop 
 overboard. 
 
 " Here, I say, sir ! " protested the steward. 
 
 "Pooh," ejaculated Robert. "Six bottles of 
 beer did you say ? Here you are," and he paid their 
 value in cash. 
 
 He hoped devoutly His Excellency had not been 
 impressed by the incident. As a fact he had not 
 been until Robert impressed it on him by the in- 
 conceivably foolish way in which he had tried to 
 wriggle out of the dilemma. 
 
 " What was the name ? " asked the General. 
 
 " Fawcitt, sir. F-a-w-c-i-t-t," answered the 
 steward spelling it, " ' R. Fawcitt.' " 
 
 " Who's Fawcitt ? " asked the General of Robert.
 
 78 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " One of the stokers in the engine-room," said 
 Robert, mendaciously. " I stood them some beer." 
 
 " There's no one named Fawcitt in the crew," 
 said the steward. 
 
 " What's the total of my bill ? " asked Robert, 
 anxious to turn the conversation, and pulling out his 
 purse. 
 
 The account was soon settled, and two minutes 
 later Robert mysteriously disappeared.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 A PERIL OF THE SEA. 
 
 ' I ^HE day that Lily fondly dreamt was going to be 
 1 the happiest in her life, proved the most 
 miserable ! When Robert disappeared she 
 was, of course, the first to note it, but imagined he 
 had retired to his cabin to dress for going ashore. 
 She waited impatiently for him to join them, angry 
 at first at his unpunctuality. The steamer was 
 moored, pratique granted, the shore-boats came 
 alongside, her Uncle and Aunt were about to start, 
 but no Robert ! In her desperation she went to his 
 cabin, tapped at the door and called him by name. 
 No answer. Then with the audacity of desperation 
 she opened the door and peeped in. The cabin was 
 empty. Something impelled her to enter, for she 
 wanted a moment to compose herself ; so she slipped 
 in and stood in front of his mirror, gazing blankly 
 at her own face from which every suspicion of a 
 smile had departed. 
 
 At which moment she heard the voice of her 
 Aunt, grim and scandalised " What are you doing, 
 Lily ? " 
 
 " Looking for Mr. Bolt, Auntie." 
 
 " In his cabin ! I'm shocked at you. If I told 
 your Uncle he would insist upon your being punished 
 by being left on board. What has possessed you, 
 Lily ? "
 
 8o To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " It's Mr. Bolt's fault. I did not want him to 
 keep us waiting ! " 
 
 " Keep us waiting, indeed ! Do you think His 
 Excellency would wait for Mr. Bolt ? Don't talk 
 nonsense, Lily. Come at once." 
 
 And Lily had to follow, feeling far more inclined 
 to cry than rejoice at having to start without Robert. 
 But she buoyed herself up with the hope that he 
 would join them in the town. 
 
 It was an oppressive day. The Spirit of the 
 East appealed to His Excellency's Oriental instincts, 
 and he was pompous and inflated. He had waxed 
 his sweeping moustache until the ends stood out like 
 the arms of a semaphore. He was very hot, and it 
 was difficult to say whether his helmet or his jack- 
 boots incommoded him most ; but he accepted the 
 martyrdom they entailed with a stern air of duty, 
 relieved by some curses under his breath. 
 
 " Ah," he exclaimed, as they stepped ashore, 
 " if this had been Ramjugger I should have had an 
 escort of cavalry ready to attend me, and been 
 driven in a carriage and six, surrounded by my 
 body-guard." 
 
 His behaviour was eccentric as he pursued his 
 path with a royal ease and deliberation. A crowd of 
 beggars followed him wherever he went, and he 
 threw coppers to them to be scrambled for. " It 
 was a habit natural to his exalted rank," he explained, 
 "only in Ramjugger of course he distributed silver." 
 
 Anon he would stop at a shop in the bazaar and 
 make a purchase. On these occasions he introduced 
 himself by presenting a card engraved with his 
 name and titles. " I am His Excellency General 
 Ferdinando Faloon," he explained, " Commander- 
 in-Ghief to His Highness the Rajah of Ramjugger." 
 No one knew who the Rajah of Ramjugger might 
 be, but his importance was calculated by the
 
 A PERIL OF THE SEA 81 
 
 magnificence of the General's uniform, and his 
 jack-boots alone were a guarantee of greatness. 
 Moreover stoutness commands respect in the 
 East, and the superficial area of His Excellency 
 was enough to set all the bazaar shopkeepers 
 grovelling. 
 
 " His Highness commanded me to bring him 
 some Egyptian trinkets. Show me the best and 
 choicest you have," he would command with a lofty 
 air. But nothing was good enough for him. With 
 a cold sneer he waved the preferred goods aside and 
 walked out. His superior contempt obtained for him 
 a tribute of profound respect very cheaply, and his 
 lofty indifference to supplication created the im- 
 pression that he was no common mortal. As he 
 strolled majestically along, dismissing the shopkeepers 
 who followed him with an insolent wave of his fat 
 hand, he was really enjoying himself to the extent of 
 his capacity, which found the acme of delight in 
 posing as a personage of importance amongst 
 obsequious black people. 
 
 Miss Faloon enjoyed herself, but in a different 
 manner. She was frugal-minded and economical by 
 nature, and nothing gave her greater pleasure then 
 to finnick and haggle for trifling purchases. Port 
 Said is an emporium for the rubbish of Birmingham, 
 and she acquired a small collection of sham trinkets 
 for several times their value, and was at the same time 
 gratified by the reflection she had obtained them at 
 a third of the price originally demanded. But the 
 bargaining and chattering made her head ache. 
 Whereupon His Excellency declared it was a touch 
 of the sun, and insisted on her buying a pith, 
 mushroom-shaped hat with a mauve gauze veil, such 
 as she would have to wear in India. When, after 
 many tryings on, she had suited herself, she gave the 
 impression of being a spinster who was armour-
 
 82 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 plated aloft, and even made Lily smile by the fierce 
 incongruity of her aspect. 
 
 Through such scenes and experiences as these 
 Lily had to accompany her Uncle and Aunt, with 
 her heart heavy and sad. The day had no novelty 
 or delight for her without Robert, and she was cross 
 and dejected. With a sullen half-expectancy she 
 kept a look-out for him only to keep alive her sense 
 of disappointment, whilst she fruitlessly schemed in 
 her mind what reproof she would administer without 
 having the satisfaction of expressing it. 
 
 They returned to the steamer shortly after 
 lunch, driven to its shelter by a headache Miss Faloon 
 had contracted, and by His Excellency's craving for 
 an afternoon siesta, for which he had specially 
 qualified himself by imprudent potations. Lily's 
 first question to the steward was about Mr. Bolt 
 where was he ? 
 
 " Gone ashore, Miss, I expect," came the answer. 
 
 Gone ashore without her ! It brought Lily's 
 anger to boiling pitch. For the next hour she stood 
 sentinel near the gangway, waiting for Robert's 
 return, scanning eagerly every boat that put out from 
 the shore, working herself into a bitter resentment, 
 and rehearsing suitable speeches with which to crush 
 him. But still no Robert, and at five o'clock the 
 syren sounded, the moorings were cast off, and the 
 Number Maid started for the Canal. 
 
 Lily, who had been half frantic with indignation, 
 now began to feel alarmed. Robert was not on 
 board ; had he left for good ? Left without a word 
 of farewell to her ? What did it mean ? 
 
 Tea was served. Miss Faloon was confined to 
 her cabin, and His Excellency's siesta was prolonged 
 owing to his having imbibed further refreshment. 
 Lily sat down to the meal in solitary state. She was 
 thankful to be alone, for the poignancy of her
 
 A PERIL OF THE SEA 83 
 
 feelings was such that she felt the slightest jar would 
 make her burst out crying. She sipped a cup of tea 
 and went on deck again to find a quiet corner. Then 
 she sat down and watched the dull banks glide by 
 with listless eyes, mourning for the departed Robert 
 and wishing she were a flamingo, of which there 
 were plenty to be seen on the bitter lake by the side 
 of the canal. 
 
 Half-an-hour passed, and then, suddenly, a 
 grimy figure came stealing aft. 
 
 She sprang to her feet. " Where have you 
 been all day ? " she demanded imperiously. 
 
 " Seeing the boiler tinkered up," he answered. 
 " They've got it done at last. Made a splendid job 
 of it." 
 
 At this announcement there arose in Lily's 
 breast the spirit of a woman scorned. She looked 
 at Robert with flashing eyes and flushed cheeks. 
 
 " Then I'll never speak to you again," she burst 
 out, passionately. " I hate you, oh, how I hate you 
 you you you rude, dirty, contemptible, stoking 
 thing!" 
 
 Choking with pent-up indignation she withered 
 him with a look of scorn, and dashed into the deck 
 house, leaving him with the feeling that he had 
 deserved every word of her tirade from her point of 
 view. 
 
 " By Jove, I'm sorry," he murmured to himself, 
 and there came a sad look into his coal-grimed face. 
 *' Poor little thing, she must have thought me an 
 awful brute. But it was necessary, and lucky that 
 I did so. And this will be a good excuse to " 
 
 He broke off, and grew grave as he thought of 
 the danger he had escaped. For there had been 
 danger, which, coming on the top of the incident of 
 the wine card, had given him an extremely nasty 
 turn.
 
 84 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 What had happened was this. When Robert dis- 
 appeared from the deck of the Humbcr Maid just as 
 she was entering Port Said, it had been to seek the 
 seclusion of the engine-room. His mind was full of 
 the idiotic forgetfulness of having signed the wine- 
 card in his proper name, and he was haunted with 
 fears that there might be placards posted at Port 
 Said, giving a description of him as Robert Fawcitt. 
 Although he had discarded his bandage and sling for 
 some days, his wearing them was in the memory 
 of all on board. To his anxious and suspicious 
 imagination it seemed quite possible that the British 
 Consul and Police might have been notified of the 
 crime and on the look out for him, and that a 
 detective might be boarding the various steamers 
 that arrived from the Mediterranean ports, and 
 making enquiries about their passengers. 
 
 And then, all of a sudden, he heard a voice he 
 recognised, and it sent a cold shiver down his back 
 for it was the voice of Mr. Sinclair. He was standing 
 by the hatchway, calling down, and the next moment 
 began to descend the engine-room stairs. In a 
 second Robert tore off his coat and waistcoat, seized 
 a shovel and dived into one of the bunkers. There 
 he set to work with an energy quite foreign to the 
 British stoker, and in a couple of minutes was as 
 black as a sweep. 
 
 Mr. Sinclair belonged to the firm of contractors 
 who were coaling the H umber Maid. He was 
 arranging for the working of his gangs and how to 
 apportion them. He peeped into the bunkers to 
 estimate their position and capaeity, and had a good 
 stare at Robert, wondering at the unwonted spectacle 
 of such devotion to duty in port. But he passed no 
 remark and returned to the deck a few minutes later. 
 
 But Robert had received such a shock that he 
 kept in hiding all the day, not daring to put his nose
 
 A PERIL OF THE SEA 85 
 
 out for fear the man should be about. Later 
 on another difficulty arose when he aroused the 
 curiosity of the second engineer by his incompre- 
 hensible conduct. A passenger who could pass the 
 day they were in port in the engine-room, and about 
 the coal bunkers, when he might be enjoying a run 
 ashore, might well be asked what principle in life was 
 governing his eccentric actions. Robert had to 
 invent a reply to that poser, and it exercised his 
 ingenuity. 
 
 And now the steamer was in the Canal and the 
 danger over. Lucky for him that he had hidden 
 himself. If Sinclair had seen him, well for one 
 thing (thought Robert, with a queer smile at the 
 coincidence) he had not paid his wine-bill on board 
 the Thessaly. 
 
 That evening Lily did not appear at dinner. 
 She, too, had a headache. Robert and his Excellency 
 dined vis-a-vis. The General was vinous and 
 loquacious. He indulged in Ramjuggerisms, and 
 wanted to know where Robert had been. Why 
 hadn't he gone ashore ? There were some places of 
 entertainment at Port Said which would have opened 
 his eyes, said the General, with an obscene wink. 
 He himself had been pestered with his women folk. 
 Women were a nuisance when a man wanted to 
 enjoy himself. They knew what to do with women 
 in Ramjugger ; kept them in their proper places under 
 lock and key. They weren't allowed to interfere 
 with the pleasures of men. He winked at Robert 
 again, and nodded his head with an intoxicated leer. 
 It was fine discipline for an English girl to marry a 
 native husband ; did 'em a lot of good, and showed 
 'em what their proper sphere was in life ! It would 
 do Lily a lot of good to have a husband like her 
 sister had ; she wanted being kept in order ; she had 
 been sulky all day, and had to be bothered after.
 
 86 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " I don't think you'll get her to fall in with your 
 ideas," said Robert. 
 
 " Shan't I ? " answered the General. " By gum, 
 we'll see about that. I'm not paying her passage for 
 nothing ! " 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked Robert quickly, 
 with an uncomfortable suspicion dawning upon his 
 mind. 
 
 But the General was not to be drawn into 
 further explanation. He relapsed into a sour silence 
 as one who has said too much. 
 
 Robert left the table, and going on deck lit his 
 pipe and began to walk up and down. He felt moody 
 and dissatisfied, without precisely knowing why. 
 He gave himself up to thinking out his present 
 situation, and trying to discover what was his duty 
 to Lily. Somehow, in that moment of passion, she 
 had gained a new attraction in his eyes. The art of 
 the coquette, which fascinates when it appears to be 
 repelling, was unconsciously employed by Lily, and 
 not until she had blazed up and told Robert she 
 would never speak to him again did he realise how 
 much he really enjoyed her society, and his inclina- 
 tion now was to pacify her and be good friends again. 
 
 But then he asked himself, " To what end ? " 
 And his soul told him it could only be a selfish end. 
 A bid for a little passing enjoyment and pleasure 
 during the few remaining days of the voyage, at 
 the end of which she and he must part for ever. 
 The memory of Edith rose before him ; Edith of 
 whom he dared not, must not think. To trifle with 
 Lily's innocent and confiding affection was as cruel 
 as it was wicked and cowardly. He was on board 
 this ship under false pretences, and in a precarious 
 flight. When once the vovage was over he would 
 never see Lily again. During the last fortnight he 
 had been surprised into an intimacy with her which
 
 A PERIL OF THE SEA 87 
 
 arose out of the peculiar circumstances under which 
 they had been thrown together. That Lily had fallen 
 in love with him, or something very like it, he could 
 not disguise from himself. He was not a vain man ; 
 he did not ascribe the "conquest "to any personal 
 attractions on his part. It was the result of an 
 impressionable nature acted on by circumstances ; 
 it arose from a state of affairs which he would be a 
 villain if he took advantage of. The opportunity 
 now came of terminating the relations between them, 
 and the most honest and kindest course he could 
 pursue would be to do so, even at the cost of paining 
 Lily, as he knew he would by taking her at her word. 
 And he came to the decision to do so, though not 
 without regret. 
 
 Having thus made up his mind he kept to it. 
 Not a word did he address to Lily ; he ignored her 
 at meals ; he rejected her timid advances ; he evaded 
 her whenever she approached him ; and he spent his 
 days for'ard with the officers off duty. 
 
 Like the flower she was named after, Lily 
 withered and drooped. Had Robert but permitted 
 her one little opening, she would have flung herself 
 on her knees and implored his forgiveness. But he 
 was implacable, inexorable, unapproachable. He 
 played his accepted part firmly and sternly, notwith- 
 standing that often, as he recalled her sad, fading 
 face from which the smiles had left with its colour 
 his heart smote him for having allowed matters to 
 drift to such a pitch that he had to be cruel to be 
 kind. 
 
 Five days later, they were nearing Perim. The 
 heat through the Red Sea had been intense, and all 
 slept on deck the gentlemen on one side of the 
 deck-house and the ladies on the other, where they 
 were protected by a canvas-screen. But Lily could 
 not sleep. Her heart was aching too much, and
 
 88 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 sorrow kept her restless. She lay awake all night, 
 and every night, listening to her uncle snoring, 
 glancing at her aunt's recumbent figure by her side, 
 and thinking of Robert. Sometimes she would hear 
 him rise, and pace backwards and forwards, just the 
 other side of the screen ; and she longed to creep 
 out and speak to him. A thousand times she blamed 
 herself for letting her evil temper get the better of 
 her. How could she have spoken to him in that 
 shocking way ? How could she dare to hope that he 
 would ever forgive her ? It was a just punishment 
 to her, and there was no one to blame except her 
 wicked self. 
 
 There came a night which seemed hotter and 
 more oppressive than any previous one. Black 
 clouds loomed in the distant sky, and sheet-lightning 
 lit up the heavens. The Captain was of opinion that 
 they would have a tropical storm later on. Still, as 
 the screen had been erected for the ladies, and the 
 heat of the cabins was enough to stifle them, he 
 thought they might with safety sleep on deck until the 
 storm burst. And so all turned in on their mattresses. 
 
 Lily's heart was beating fast. She was looking 
 so ill and miserable that, despite his resolution, 
 Robert's face had expressed the concern and pity he 
 could not conceal. The precious days were slipping 
 past. They would soon be at Bombay now. If he 
 would only forgive her would only be kind to her 
 for the last few days she would ask for nothing 
 more. 
 
 At midnight, she heard footsteps at the other 
 side of the screen. Her uncle was snoring, her aunt 
 fast asleep. The after-part of the ship was absolutely 
 deserted at night, for no one was allowed to disturb 
 the sleepers there, and the watch was kept for'ard of 
 the bridge. She recognised the footsteps ; they were 
 Robert's just on the other side of the screen !
 
 A PERIL OF THE SEA 89 
 
 An audacity stormed her. She rose, wrapped 
 her dressing-gown around her, pushed her pretty 
 golden hair back off her face, gave one cautious look 
 at Miss Faloon, and the next moment was by his 
 side. 
 
 " Lily !" he exclaimed, as her hand fell timidly 
 on his arm. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Bolt, I couldn't help it ! Please, 
 please forgive me," she whispered, clutching him by 
 his arms in the dark, and bursting out sobbing, 
 silently. 
 
 " My child," he said, gravely, " you ought not 
 to have come here. Run back, dear, run back. Go 
 to sleep, and forget me." 
 
 " Sleep !" she echoed, wearily. " I cannot sleep. 
 Not until you forgive me. Oh, Mr. Bolt, I am so 
 sorry and ashamed of myself. It was my wicked, 
 ungovernable temper. I didn't mean it. I am so 
 miserable." 
 
 In her abandon of distress she nestled close to 
 him, her golden hair streaming down her shoulders, 
 her childish face peering up into his with pathetic 
 pleading in her eyes. 
 
 The clinging touch of her, the total surrender, 
 the imploring appeal, thrilled him. He bent his face 
 swiftly down and kissed her between her eyes. The 
 next moment he repented and attempted to put her 
 away ; but she resisted, encircled his neck with her 
 arms and clung to him. 
 
 " Not until you have forgiven me." 
 
 " I have nothing to forgive, Lily." 
 
 " Promise promise you will be the same to me 
 as you were before," she cried. " If you won't, I'll 
 throw myself overboard !" 
 
 " Hush, hush," he said. " You'll wake your 
 aunt. It is you who must forgive me, that have been 
 such a brute to you " 
 
 G
 
 90 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 "You forgive me!" she cried. "Oh "and 
 
 sank into his arms, and buried her face in his breast 
 with a thrill of thankfulness. 
 
 " Ship ahoy /" 
 
 The hail came from the fo'c's'le head. 
 
 " Starboard the helm ! Full speed astarn /" 
 
 In an instant, the Number Maid seemed alive 
 
 with noise and energy ; the engine-room bell rang 
 
 continuously. 
 
 " She's into us ! The boats ! The boats /" 
 There came a crash. The Humber Maid rolled 
 
 over on to her side, like a huge fish about to die, and 
 
 there was a sound of inrushing water, an amazing 
 
 vent of steam, and an appalling cry of, 
 " Look out ! Her boilers will burst /" 
 And Robert was thankful that he held Lily in 
 
 his arms.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 DARK WATERS. 
 
 THE heeling of the Humber Maid had listed her 
 to an angle of forty-five degrees, and sent 
 Robert and Lily slithering into the starboard 
 scuppers. Therein, too, on the inner side of the 
 screen, was Miss Falcon shot, terrified and scream- 
 ing ; and from the further side of the deck-house 
 came the smothered voice of the General demand- 
 ing, " What the devil ;' 
 
 All this happened in half-a-dozen seconds. 
 Realising what had occurred, Robert stumbled to 
 his feet, snatched up Lily, and carried her to her 
 aunt, whom he assisted to rise. 
 
 "What is the matter?" gasped Miss Faloon, 
 hysterically. 
 
 " Collision. Stay here. I will bring life-belts. 
 Don't move," commanded Robert, peremptorily. 
 
 The elder lady made a clutch at him. 
 
 " Don't leave us," she implored. 
 
 But Robert broke free. Clambering up the 
 sloping deck, towards the stern netting, where he 
 knew a couple of life-belts were fixed, he began to 
 grope for them. In doing so, he came across the 
 General, who had anticipated him, and was fumbling 
 at the fastenings with clumsy fingers. 
 
 Robert knew the trick of releasing them, and 
 had one free in a trice. The General snatched it 
 from his hand.
 
 92 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " Thank you," he spluttered. " You take the 
 other. I'm off." 
 
 " The ladies," cried Robert, to direct him. 
 " By the door." 
 
 " No time. Not dressed. We're sinking. Every 
 man for himself," cried the General, turning to fly. 
 
 With one bound Robert overtook him, and, 
 clenching his fist, delivered one well-aimed blow 
 behind the ear, which felled his Excellency like an 
 ox. Seizing the life-belt, he returned for the other, 
 and then carried both to the ladies, and adjusted 
 them. 
 
 By this time the steamer that had run into 
 them had backed off, and the HumberMaid gradually 
 came to the level. Steam was being discharged, and 
 the syrens of both boats hooted frantically. 
 
 All was direst confusion and shouting for'ard, 
 amidst which the passengers aft seemed forgotten, 
 for no one came to their help. 
 
 Suddenly an explosion almost shattered the 
 drums of their ears, followed by the most appalling 
 shrieks and groans. The poop-deck heaved up, as 
 though the HumberMaid were going to take a head- 
 first plunge to the bottom. Robert leaned over the 
 taffrail, trying to peer forward through the en- 
 veloping steam. As he did so, he caught sight of a 
 small boat floating past one that was being 
 launched at the moment of the explosion. It was 
 empty and adrift. 
 
 It was no time for delay. In a second, his mind 
 was made up. 
 
 " Lily," he cried, catching her up in his arms. 
 " Can you swim ?" 
 
 " Yes but Auntie " 
 
 " Swim for that boat. God save you, dear." 
 
 He lifted her, and the action brought her face 
 into contact with his. It was a momentary touch,
 
 DARK WATERS 93 
 
 but he felt her lips kiss him. The next moment, he 
 had tossed her into the sea, clear of the steamer. 
 
 Then he turned to Miss Faloon. 
 
 " You must follow. It is life or death." 
 
 "Oh, I'm terrified," she cried. "I can't! I 
 can't ! I would sooner die !" 
 
 Without another word, he seized her, ignoring 
 her shrieks and struggles. 
 
 " Don't be a fool," he said, with a pretence of 
 being rough. " Keep quiet !" 
 
 And he nearly squeezed the breath out of her. 
 Then he mounted the rails, carrying her under his 
 left arm, peered for the boat, and jumped. 
 
 The poor creature he was trying to save was 
 worse than ever in the water. She twined her arms 
 round his neck, after the insensate manner of 
 drowning folk, and throttled him. He kept his 
 presence of mind, and deliberately pressed her head 
 under the surface until she loosed her hold. Then, 
 he struck out from her a yard or two, and began to 
 tread water, but keeping close enough to assist her 
 the instant she ceased struggling. The life-belt kept 
 her afloat, so that she was in no danger of sinking ; 
 although, in her panic and terror, she imagined the 
 end had come. 
 
 He trod water, elevated himself, and looked in 
 the direction where he had last seen the boat, calling 
 out to Lily at the top of his voice. She heard him 
 and called back that she was safe in the boat and 
 would come to him. Then he turned to Miss Faloon 
 again ; and, approaching her from behind, he caught 
 her by the hair. Her strength had failed, and 
 she was feebly flapping the water with her hands. 
 He kept her at arm's length, head up and able to 
 breathe. 
 
 Again he trod water, recovered his breath a 
 little and tried to locate himself. There was a
 
 94 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 strong tide running, and he had drifted some con- 
 siderable distance from the Number Maid. A flare went 
 up from the steamer that had collided with them, 
 and threw a faint glimmer over the sea, for the night 
 was very dark. Once more he lifted up his voice 
 and called to Lily ; and, to his intense relief, he 
 heard her reply. Her voice guided him, and he 
 began swimming in the direction from whence it 
 sounded. Lily had got the oars out and was tugging 
 as hard as her puny strength would admit. She 
 could make no way against the current, but she 
 managed to keep the boat stationary, and her cries 
 of "Robert! Robert!" directed him, gave him 
 courage, stimulated endeavour, and brought hope. 
 
 He seemed to pass through a century of 
 struggling nights and overwhelming waters. As he 
 fell into the trough of the sea, it was like the solitude 
 of death surrounding him; when he lifted to the 
 crest of the waves, it was only to behold the black 
 waste around. But Lily's voice guided him, without 
 his being able to see the boat ; and, after some 
 minutes' superhuman exertion, he suddenly caught 
 a glimpse of it, and with two or three strong strokes 
 managed to reach it and clutch the gunwale. Then, 
 with Lily's assistance, he clambered up over the 
 stern, and, between them, they somehow dragged 
 Miss Falcon's inanimate body after him. Dog-tired, 
 dead-beat, but his task accomplished, and the two 
 women safe in the boat. With a gasp he sank into 
 the sheets and lay there motionless. 
 
 A few minutes' rest revived him and he turned 
 his attention to Lily and her aunt. The latter lay 
 insensible in the bottom of the boat, and Lily was 
 calling to her, in terms of mingled terror and en- 
 dearment, but without response. Robert removed 
 the life-belt, which still encircled the old lady's body, 
 and adjusted her position to the best of his ability,
 
 DARK WATERS 95 
 
 and helped Lily to wring the superabundant 
 moisture out of her clothes. But, even as he was 
 doing so as if the elements had not taxed him 
 sufficiently there came a flash of lightning, followed 
 instantly by a peal of thunder, and a tropical storm 
 burst in all its fury on that helpless boat. It was 
 the storm which had been predicted ; one of 
 those tempestuous squalls which make the Red Sea 
 so dangerous during the short time they lash its 
 harrow waters into fury luckily without raising 
 great waves. 
 
 There were only two oars in the boat, which 
 was a small one, used in the Canal for mooring and 
 unmooring the steamer, and the easiest lowered 
 from the davits. It contained no sails, no gear, no 
 provisions of any sort. Robert tried to ship the 
 rudder, but a wave carried it away from his unskilled 
 hand. The boat fell beam on to the sea, rolling 
 perilously. Stumbling over the recumbent form of 
 Miss Faloon, he pushed past Lily to a seat, and, 
 seizing an oar, pulled the boat's head round, and 
 got her before the gale. All this time, Lily was 
 attending to her aunt, and trying to shrink from 
 Robert's observation as the successive flashes of 
 lightning lit up the scene. 
 
 " How is she?" asked Robert, as soon as they 
 were out of immediate danger of capsizing. " And 
 how are you, Lily?" 
 
 " I think she is coming round, Mr. Bolt. She 
 has moved twice," she answered. 
 
 " And you ? '' he asked. " How are you, dear ? " 
 
 " Oh, don't think of me ! I'm young and 
 strong. But, poor aunt " 
 
 She came to a stop, with a choke in her voice, 
 but the determination not to break down. 
 
 " You're the bravest girl I ever saw in my life!" 
 he exclaimed, in frank admiration of her pluck.
 
 96 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " Oh, no, no," she protested. " I'm dreadfully 
 frightened. Don't call me brave." 
 
 "But I do," he said, emphatically. "I do. 
 You're a girl in a thousand. Your aunt and I would 
 have been drowned, but for you keeping your head, 
 and directing me with your shouts." 
 
 The squall was increasing. The wind howled ; 
 and, when the cockle-shell of a boat crested the waves, 
 it seemed as though it would be flicked round by the 
 force of the tempest and that meant destruction. 
 Robert had but a rudimentary knowledge of 
 managing a boat, but he realised the danger of 
 allowing it to fall beam-on, by a sort of instinct. He 
 knew he must keep it end-on, before the gale, and to 
 do this he tugged at the oars harder than any galley- 
 slave under the lash. The spray, carried by the 
 furious wind, swept over the frail craft, and, dashing 
 in his face, stung him like the thong of a whip. The 
 waves broke over, and played with the tiny thing as 
 if it were a walnut-shell. It pitched and tossed to 
 such an alarming degree that he was nearly hurled 
 out of his seat. Lily, to save herself from being 
 dashed to and fro, had lain down by the side of her 
 aunt, whom she was clutching, and shielding from 
 injury as best she could. Not a cry escaped her ; 
 and in that hour, when death stared them in the 
 face, she rose like a heroine to the occasion. 
 
 Twenty minutes passed, Robert rowing and 
 straining for dear life, and the squall in no way 
 abated. His hands were raw and bleeding ; his wind 
 was nearly exhausted ; his strength taxed to the 
 breaking-point. But, with the dogged pertinacity of 
 despair, he kept to his task, knowing that the 
 moment he suspended his effort their danger would 
 be doubled. 
 
 Slower and slower grew his strokes. The strain 
 on the unaccustomed muscles was overpowering. A
 
 DARK WATERS 97 
 
 deadly fatigue seized him as he panted and laboured 
 in his exhaustion, the sweat running from him like 
 water. In his extremity, he taxed his brains for 
 some means of relief ; and the idea came to him 
 that, if he could extemporise a sail of some sort, he 
 might manage to keep the boat's head up and get 
 steerage- way upon her. 
 
 " Lily," he cried, at last, " I'm done up ! I can't 
 keep pounding much longer. If she broaches, we 
 shall sink." 
 
 " Let me row," she cried. " I have learnt to 
 row." 
 
 " No. You must reserve your strength, in 
 
 case " He broke off, and added, desperately, 
 
 " Oh, if I only had a sheet, or even a bath towel, I 
 could rig it up as a makeshift, and keep the boat 
 end-on." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Bolt, explain to me exactly what you 
 want," cried Lily, eagerly. " Did you say a bath 
 towel would do ?" 
 
 " A square yard of strong cloth, able to resist 
 the pressure of the wind, would be sufficient. Search 
 again, Lily. Isn't there an old bit of canvas of any 
 sort ? I could use an oar as a mast, and fix it up 
 somehow. I can't go on rowing for many more 
 minutes." 
 
 And he braced himself for a final effort of 
 energy. 
 
 " I will search," said Lily, and he saw her vague 
 form groping in the dark. "Would would a a 
 coat do, Mr. Bolt ?" 
 
 " Yes, yes. Anything that is substantial enough 
 to bear the pressure of the wind. I would use my 
 sleeping coat, only it is so flimsy, and would carry 
 away in a second." 
 
 The languor of extreme exhaustion was stealing 
 over him. He shut his eyes, clenched his teeth, and
 
 98 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 tried to master sensibility. He called all his fortitude 
 to his aid, as he pounded away like a horse in its 
 last faltering stride. He would keep it up until he fell 
 from his seat, and that, he felt, could only be a 
 matter of a few moments now. And then God help 
 these two helpless women ! 
 
 Suddenly he heard Lily's voice quite close to 
 him, saying something. He could not catch her 
 words, and he thought it was a delusion of his 
 imagination. Then he heard her speaking again, and 
 was conscious of her hand catching at his wrist. He 
 opened his eyes and saw a white form in front of 
 him. 
 
 " Eh ? eh ?" he cried out, confused. 
 
 "Will this do, Mr. Bolt?" came from Lily, 
 shyly. 
 
 " What do ? what do ?" he asked, in a dazed 
 way, still labouring at the oars, and wondering why 
 he could see Lily's form so plainly now, who had 
 been so vague before. 
 
 " It is my my dressing-gown. It is very strong. 
 Its linen." 
 
 He felt her thrusting it into his hands, and then 
 saw her shrink back. 
 
 " Thank you, thank you, dear," he cried. 
 " How good you are ! I believe you have saved 
 us!" 
 
 As a fact, without his having observed it, the 
 first fury of the squall was over, and the wind had 
 decreased. There was something in the nature of a 
 temporary lull in operation. He ceased rowing, 
 shipped his oars, stepped one into the mast-hole, 
 after threading it through an arm of Lily's dressing- 
 gown, and bound the sleeve fast with the girdle. 
 Next, with a rowlock, he wedged one corner of the 
 skirt between the oar and the slack of the mast-hole, 
 and, lastly, carried the other corner of the skirt aft,
 
 DARK WATERS 99 
 
 and crouched, holding it in his hand for a few 
 seconds to see how it answered. 
 
 It was an amazing contrivance, but it acted as 
 a triangular storm-sail, and kept the boat from 
 falling into the trough of the sea. All he wanted 
 now was a rudder. 
 
 " Lily," he cried, excitedly, " it will do ! Come 
 and hold this end, dear. I must get the other oar 
 over the stern and steer with it." 
 
 A little white figure crept timidly forward, and 
 obeyed him. A minute later the oar was out, and 
 Robert had the boat under control and under sail ! 
 And the sail was a dark blue dressing-gown, trimmed 
 with lace ! 
 
 " Can you hold the sheet ?" he asked Lily. " I 
 can't steer and hold it as well." 
 
 " I can hold it," she said, and settled herself to 
 a long grip. 
 
 The long night wore itself out, and dawn broke. 
 The squall had passed, but a stiff breeze was blow- 
 ing. Gradually the light illumined the sky, and 
 Lily dreaded the light. Shrinking there, in her 
 white night-gown, how could she face the light ? 
 
 Robert did not realise the shock to her modesty 
 that arose from her circumstance, having far too 
 much anxiety on his mind to think of anything but 
 steering the boat. There was still quite enough sea 
 on to tax his energies, and he was chilled and numbed 
 standing up, exposed to the full blast of the wind 
 after having been very heated with the exertion of 
 rowing. 
 
 " Are you cold, Lily ? " he asked, " can you keep 
 up, dear ? " 
 
 " Yes," she answered, and hung her head in the 
 dusky light. 
 
 " The wind may go down at sunrise," he said. 
 " It often does. Oh, to see the sun again ! "
 
 ioo To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 Which Lily thought very inconsiderate of him. 
 
 A little later and the fuller light of day revealed 
 what the darkness had hidden. Miss Faloon was 
 stretched out, still insensible, in the sheets, her head 
 pillowed on her life buoy, and her grey hair streaming 
 over the shoulders of her dressing gown. Lily in her 
 pretty nightgown was crouching at her post of duty, 
 her back turned to Robert, her head bent low to hide 
 her face. He himself was only garbed in his pyjamas 
 and sleeping coat, but neither the unconventionality 
 of his own or the ladies' garments occurred to him. 
 His eyes, his hopes, his soul were focussed on the 
 horizon, looking out for a ship. 
 
 With the rising of the sun the wind went down, 
 and by eight o'clock the roughness of the sea was 
 much decreased, and the weather fair and calm. 
 The warmth of the sun brought life to the castaways. 
 Robert felt the boat would be safe now, and that 
 the danger was passed. 
 
 " Lily," he said, " if we are saved the world 
 shall know what a brave English girl can do in such 
 peril as we have passed through. You've been a 
 ' Grace Darling ' through the night ! " 
 
 He hauled in the oar he had been steering 
 with, and moved forward to relieve her and help 
 her aft. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Bolt, please, please don't don't look 
 at me ! " she cried, with pretty confusion. 
 
 And then, for the first time, he realised the 
 shock to her innocent nature that her situation must 
 be causing her. With a spring he was in the. bows 
 of the boat, his back turned to her. 
 
 " Down with the sail, little sister," he called 
 back to her, " and dress for breakfast ! Here's a 
 shoal of flying breakfast fish on the wing, and we 
 may catch some if we are lucky." And he screwed 
 himself up to a laugh to put her at her ease.
 
 DARK WATERS 101 
 
 " I'm on the look-out for half-an-hour, so there's no 
 need to hurry over your toilette." 
 
 Thankfully she seized the opportunity to make 
 herself presentable as far as was possible, whilst 
 Robert, standing up in the bow, swept the horizon 
 with his eyes, and expressed the confident belief that 
 they might sight a ship at any moment. 
 
 At last he heard her say, " I'm dressed, Mr. 
 Bolt," and looking round, there she sat, her pretty 
 golden hair tucked up, her dressing gown donned, 
 and her little white feet peeping out from under her 
 skirt. With the sun shining on the blue water, the 
 sky blue above, and her blue eyes seeking his shyly 
 and apologetically, as she responded to his smile, she 
 appealed to him irresistibly. 
 
 " Plucky, pretty little sister," he exclaimed, " I'm 
 proud of you ! " And stood for a moment contem- 
 plating her with admiration as he remembered how 
 bravely she had helped him through the dark night, 
 and how he owed his life to her. She blushed 
 at his praise, and then with a gesture of her hand 
 drew his attention to her Aunt. 
 
 "Poor lady," he said, sympathetically, "We 
 must see what we can do for her. Not much I fear, 
 but the warmth of the sun will revive her, I hope." 
 
 They raised Miss Faloon into a sitting posture, 
 chafed her hands, and applied such primitive 
 remedies as suggested themselves. Presently she 
 spoke, without opening her eyes, but it was only to 
 beg them to leave her alone; and they were com- 
 pelled to do as she wished, being helpless to relieve 
 her. 
 
 " I think she is unconscious," said Lily, "and 
 perhaps that is a blessing. Poor, poor Auntie ! " 
 And her thoughts reverted to the prim, prudish ways 
 of the old gentlewoman, who was such a stickler for 
 etiquette.
 
 io2 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " Poor creature," echoed Robert; "it has been a 
 terrible shock for her. If we could only sight a 
 steamer, and get her properly attended to." 
 
 "And Uncle ! " cried Lily, suddenly remember- 
 ing. " Mr. Bolt, do you think he has been saved ?" 
 
 He shook his head dubiously. The sinking, 
 panic-stricken ship they had escaped from required 
 people to be in a position to save themselves, which 
 the General certainly was not when Robert last saw 
 him. " I fear not," he was forced to confess. 
 
 Whereupon Lily began to cry, her nerves over- 
 strung, and her feelings overwrought. " Oh, how 
 dreadful, how dreadful ! And he was so generous 
 to me ! " 
 
 Robert tried to comfort her, but with the com- 
 plete revulsion of feeling Lily's fortitude seemed to 
 melt away. She began to sway from side to side, 
 her eyes closing and her hands fluttering helplessly. 
 
 " Lily, Lily ! " he cried in alarm. 
 
 " I feel so strange," she gasped. "Oh, hold me, 
 hold me ! Don't let me fall into the cruel sea ! " 
 
 Just in time he caught her, as she swayed 
 forward in her seat. She fell into his arms, a little 
 heap, and he laid her fainting form by the side of her 
 Aunt in the bottom of the boat.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 RESCUED ! 
 
 ROBERT looked down at the two motionless 
 forms lying at his feet and felt rather over- 
 powered. In a crazy boat on the open sea, 
 with two fainting women ; no water ; no food ; not 
 even a sail. His hands blistered and raw with 
 rowing ; his nautical knowledge of the most ele- 
 mentary sort ; it was truly a very helpless situation. 
 The only hope of relief lay in meeting a steamer, 
 and he was thankful they were in the highway of 
 traffic. 
 
 He stepped one of the oars in the mast-hole 
 again and steadying himself with it stood up and 
 scanned the horizon with eager eyes. There was 
 nothing in sight ; not even a cloud in the sky to 
 suggest the smoke of a distant steamer. Then he 
 sat down and cogitated. 
 
 Something must be done. By way of employing 
 himself he set to work to overhaul the boat, lifting 
 up the planks in the bottom to see if he could come 
 across anything. All that rewarded his search was 
 an old pannikin, and he bestirred himself to bail out 
 the boat. Then he endeavoured to revive Lily by 
 sprinkling her face with water, as he had done when 
 she first fainted. She turned languidly to avoid the 
 tepid shower. Her face was very flushed, and it 
 occurred to him that fainting people are generally
 
 104 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 pale, and that she might be suffering from prostra- 
 tion and a touch of fever. This brought him to the 
 consciousness that the sun was extremely hot and a 
 feeling of languor stealing over himself. It could 
 hardly be ten o'clock ; what would the heat be at 
 noon ? And in the afternoon ? Something must 
 be done to rig up a shelter from the sun's rays, for 
 he knew that a Red Sea sun can kill as surely as its 
 waters can drown. 
 
 He tried for a time, by standing up, to interpose 
 his own shadow between Lily and the sun's rays, 
 but the motion of the boat made it impracticable, 
 and he abandoned the attempt. The heat was 
 growing more and more intense every minute, and 
 the necessity for shelter more insistent. There was 
 no breeze, but a long swell on the surface of the 
 sea, and a current which kept the boat on a course 
 that caught the full effects of the sun. 
 
 He racked his brains how to extemporise a 
 screen to protect Lily and her aunt. He could not 
 use the planks in the bottom of the boat, because 
 they were lying extended on the only ones which 
 could stretch across it. There was only one method 
 that presented itself, and that was to utilise one of 
 their dressing-gowns as an awning. Then arose the 
 question whose should be selected ? He looked 
 down on the two recumbent, unconscious figures 
 and calculated the superficial area of their respective 
 garments. Miss Faloon was the taller of the two, 
 and her dressing-gown would be the more capacious. 
 He had almost decided to disrobe her when he 
 checked himself. It must not be Miss Faloon ! The 
 shock of such an indignity was one which, if they 
 were saved, the poor, prim, straight-laced old 
 creature would never get over or forgive him for. 
 
 It must be Lily's dressing-gown. There was no 
 alternative, for it was as much a case of life and
 
 RESCUED! 105 
 
 death as that plunge over the taffrail of the Humber 
 Maid. Poor little Lily ! How distressed she had 
 been at sunrise at being seen in her deshabille ! It 
 pained him to have to shock her modesty again; 
 and yet, what could he do ? Unless a shelter were 
 extemporised from the blazing sun, their lives would 
 be endangered. Disrobe her he must ! 
 
 He bent down, tapped her on the shoulder, and 
 called her by her name. There was no response ; 
 she might have been in a trance, so complete was 
 her insensibility. At least, she would be unconscious 
 of what he was doing. 
 
 A minute later he had removed her dressing- 
 gown, and was rigging it up as an awning. With 
 dexterous hands he spread it out and made the most 
 of its scanty capacity, tying the ends of the skirt 
 down and the sleeves out until it threw a small 
 patch of shade. When done, he regarded his handi- 
 work with satisfaction. 
 
 Then he thought of himself, for he was feeling 
 the sun badly by this time. It was almost impossible 
 for him to benefit by the restricted area of shadow 
 cast ; but, by squatting down in the bottom of the 
 boat, close to Lily, he was able to protect his head. 
 Lily moved uneasily as he touched her, and turned ; 
 she was cramped and her head was resting on the hard 
 planks. He lifted it up gently and pillowed it on his 
 lap, and she was restful again. Having thus accom- 
 plished all that was possible for their comfort, he 
 settled down to the task of looking out for a ship. 
 
 Two hours passed. The air was languorous and 
 drowsy; the heat engendered lassitude. A dead 
 calm was now on the sea, and its surface was like 
 oil. The motion of the boat rocked it like a cradle ; 
 and, but for the thirst that tormented him, he could 
 have fallen into a slumber. It was as much as he 
 could do to keep his eyes open and fixed on the 
 
 H
 
 106 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 dazzling horizon, and his attention alert. It was 
 weary work looking out for a ship that did not 
 appear, and the glare was distressing. An over- 
 powering sense of bodily fatigue began to steal over 
 him, and the shimmer of the sunbeams on the hazy 
 sea made him giddy. Ever and anon, with a start, 
 he pulled himself together, rubbed his eyes, and 
 fixed his gaze again on the sky-line. But there was 
 nothing to be seen ; not a speck ; not a cloudlet. 
 Only the monotony of the glassy surface, catching 
 and reflecting the dazzling rays. 
 
 About noon, as he judged it, Lily began to stir 
 and presently to toss about. Then she opened her 
 eyes and looked up at him dreamily, and whispered 
 through her parched lips the single word " Water." 
 He shook his head in hopeless negation, and she 
 began to cry silently. 
 
 What could he do to succour her? His eyes fell 
 upon the pannikin, and he filled it with sea-water 
 and laved her face and hands, and made shift to fan 
 her. She pointed to her feet, which were exposed to 
 the sun, and he saw they were blistered with the 
 scorching heat ; so he poured water over them, and 
 wound up by sprinkling her all over, which afforded 
 her a little relief. She thanked him with a sad smile, 
 and, turning over into a new position, closed her 
 eyes again, her head resting on her arm and her 
 golden hair straying round her face, which was 
 flushed and feverish. 
 
 Meanwhile, Miss Faloon lay in the same torpid, 
 unconscious state, breathing heavily. He attempted 
 the same remedial measures with her, but they had 
 no effect, and failed to bring her round. On the 
 whole, he could not feel sorry ; in her case, in- 
 sensibility was probably a blessing in disguise. 
 
 Last of all, he moved to the bows of the boat, 
 and, filling the pannikin with water, poured its con-
 
 RESCUED ! 107 
 
 tents over himself until he had, in practice, accom- 
 plished a bath. But the scorching heat of the sun 
 soon drove him back to the shelter he had erected, 
 and he was glad to crouch down in the little strip of 
 shade that was vacant. 
 
 Presently there came to him an overpowering 
 drowsiness, and his eyes refused to keep open. For 
 a little while he battled against the feeling, but at 
 last gave in, and, stretching himself by Lily's side, 
 
 he dropped into an uneasy sleep. 
 
 **#* 
 
 Three hours later he was awakened by the 
 hooting of a steamer's syren, and started into a 
 sitting posture. His first thought, as his mind 
 returned to consciousness, associated the sound with 
 the Humber Maid. But, when he opened his eyes, 
 recollection came back to him. Staggering to his 
 feet, he peered in the direction from whence the 
 sound came, and there, between him and the 
 declining sun, and little more than half a mile 
 distant, was a huge steamer bearing straight down 
 on the boat. 
 
 They were saved ! With an exclamation of joy, 
 he tore down Lily's dressing-gown and waved it 
 frantically over his head, screaming in his excite- 
 ment. Lily was aroused by his cries, and sat up, 
 half-scared, half-overwhelmed to find how scanty 
 was her attire. He knelt down beside her and cried 
 into her ears, 
 
 " We're saved, little sister ! Put on this, dear, 
 and don't be frightened. I had to take it, in order to 
 rig up an awning to protect you from the sun. But 
 its all over now, and we shall soon be safe and 
 comfortable. Only slip this on before they can 
 see !" 
 
 He helped her with the sleeves, and by the time 
 the steamer was alongside, its sides lined with a
 
 io8 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 crowd of passengers gazing intently down into the 
 boat, Lily had nothing to blush for, and was sitting 
 up passively, very helpless but very happy. Robert 
 was smiling, and his strong right arm supporting 
 her, and there was the huge, black sides of the 
 steamer towering above them, and the long line of 
 eager, questioning faces. She did not know what 
 had happened, or why she was in her dressing gown 
 in an open boat, or even how she had got there, but 
 Robert was smiling into her face, and telling her they 
 were saved. And her Aunt was moving feebly and 
 trying to lift her head. She did not realise what it 
 all meant, but Robert said he wanted her to be brave 
 and bear up, and so she smiled, and tried to please 
 him. 
 
 A rope was thrown into the boat and Robert 
 seized it, and Lily tried to catch hold of it, too ; and 
 then the gangway was let down, and the boat hauled 
 to its foot, and eager hands were stretched forward 
 to lift her up, and carry her aboard the steamer. 
 Only Robert would not allow anyone to do that 
 except himself, and insisted on Miss Faloon being 
 taken first, and he followed carrying Lily in his arms, 
 as she had been a child, and when he got on deck, 
 the first thing he did was to kiss her before he 
 delivered her over to the kindly care of her own sex 
 there to receive her. 
 
 They had been rescued by the R.M.S. Kandahar, 
 bound for Bombay. All was pity and kindness 
 and attention. Miss Faloon and Lily were soon 
 comfortably esconced in bunks in the airiest deck 
 cabin, with the surgeon and two stewardesses looking 
 after them, and Robert, after refreshing himself with 
 the most grateful drink he ever remembered to have 
 enjoyed, and being supplied with a suit of clothes, 
 was holding a levee on deck and answering a hundred 
 questions put to him, and withal so modestly, you
 
 RESCUED! 109 
 
 might think it was Lily who had rescued Miss Faloon 
 and himself and not he them. 
 
 But that young lady and her Aunt had a different 
 tale to tell the next day, when they were sufficiently 
 recovered to sit up on deck and relate their story. 
 And then the true facts of the sinking of the Number 
 Maid and the rescue of the two ladies were made 
 known. The statement lost nothing in the relation, 
 and it would be difficult to say whether Miss Faloon 
 or Lily painted Robert's deed in the brighter colour, 
 or the sinking steamer and the peril of the tiny boat 
 in the tropic squall and the dark night more vividly. 
 In consequence, much to his confusion, Robert found 
 himself elevated to the position of a hero, and was 
 the recipient of many flattering compliments, 
 especially from the lady passengers to whose 
 admiration his conduct specially appealed. 
 
 A week later the Kandahar arrived at Bombay, 
 and it was arranged that Robert should put up at the 
 same hotel as Miss Faloon and Lily. He was 
 recognised now by Miss Faloon as her protector, and 
 in her helplessness she turned to him for advice and 
 assistance. During the few days succeeding their 
 rescue she buoyed herself up with the hope that her 
 brother had been saved, and the first thing they did 
 on landing was to go to the agents of the Number 
 Maid and enquire if any news had been cabled from 
 Suez about the steamer, or survivors of the collision. 
 But to Miss Falcon's great tribulation no news of 
 any sort had been received, saving that the home- 
 ward bound steamer Flintshire was several days 
 overdue at Suez, and the general opinion was, after 
 hearing of the disaster, that this was the steamer 
 which had been in collision with the Humber 
 Maid, and, if the surmise were true, it was greatly 
 to be feared that both vessels had gone to the 
 bottom.
 
 no To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 There was nothing left but to take rooms at a 
 hotel, and wait in suspense for some more definite 
 information. Miss Faloon was overwhelmed by her 
 calamity, and by the end of a week all hope was 
 abandoned that her brother had been saved. Several 
 steamers arrived which must have passed closed to 
 the scene of the collision but had no news of any 
 sort, and at last Miss Faloon was forced to the con- 
 viction that her brother had been drowned. In her 
 distressed and forlorn situation she turned to Robert 
 for advice, and asked him what he thought she 
 ought to do. 
 
 " The best thing you can do is to go up to your 
 niece at Ramjugger, I should think." 
 
 " But I have not heard from her yet. I tele- 
 graphed the first day we arrived, but I am told it 
 takes several days to get a reply. I begged her to 
 send me some money for our journey. But when 
 she does I do not see how Lily and I can travel 
 there all alone." 
 
 "It's a most difficult journey to accomplish," 
 chimed in Lily. " Oh, Mr. Bolt, won't you take pity 
 on us and see us safely over our troubles. Aunt and 
 I will never dare to venture by ourselves." 
 
 The request did not surprise him, for there had 
 been many hints in Miss Falcon's conversation lately 
 that she was going to ask him to extend his pro- 
 tection of them. It was only the uncertainty about 
 the General's fate that led her to defer doing so. 
 Robert had thought the matter well over from his 
 personal point of view, and come to the conclusion 
 that Ramjugger was probably as secluded a place as 
 the Seychelles. He was himself in a serious fix, for 
 all his money had gone down with the Hwnber Maid, 
 and he had no funds, and no immediate possibility 
 of getting any. He had made enquiries for a letter 
 addressed to him under the name of Bolt, but there
 
 RESCUED! in 
 
 was none. He was beholden to some of the 
 passengers on the Kandahar for the money which 
 he had borrowed from them, just sufficient to get 
 himself an outfit of sorts and pay his hotel bill ; but 
 this was fast melting away. And he was at his wits 
 end to know what to do, or how to continue his 
 flight. The opening which Miss Falcon's request 
 suggested was particularly acceptable at such a time. 
 
 " I should like to accompany you very much," 
 
 . he said, and continued frankly to explain, " but I 
 
 have no money. I foolishly carried my capital in 
 
 gold, and I have lost it all, which makes things 
 
 rather awkward for me." 
 
 " Oh, but His Highness will pay all expenses," 
 declared Miss Faloon. " We have to cross a desert, 
 and ride on camels, and camp out. My poor brother 
 said it was a journey which no lady could attempt 
 by herself. When my niece Rosalie went out he 
 came down to Bombay especially to escort her." 
 
 " We shall never get to Ramjugger unless you 
 help us, Mr. Bolt. Oh please come," pleaded Lily, 
 fixing her blue eyes on him. 
 
 " Since you wish it I certainly will. And when 
 my h'm remittances arrive I must refund you." 
 
 " If you come with us it must be at his 
 Highness's expense," said Miss Faloon decisively. 
 " My niece's husband can hardly expect us to travel 
 alone. My poor, dear brother would not have 
 approved of it. The customs of the Kingdom of 
 Ramjugger must be respected. It would never do 
 for two ladies to enter that exclusive place without a 
 male escort. Under the unfortunate circumstances 
 under which you are placed, Mr. Bolt, I hope you 
 will not misunderstand me if I say we should grate- 
 fully accept your services in in a business way. If 
 you confer the obligation upon us you must allow me 
 to guarantee you against any expense. Of course my
 
 ii2 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 dear brother was a servant of the State, and all our 
 travelling charges were paid by the Ramjugger 
 Exchequer. It would never do for us to enter my 
 niece's kingdom as two unprotected ladies." 
 
 "You are very kind, Miss Faloon," said Robert 
 sincerely, who had acquired quite a liking for the 
 elderly lady. " I shall be very proud to act as your 
 and Lily's escort. And I will not deny that under 
 the unfortunate circumstances under which I am 
 situated your proposition relieves me greatly." 
 
 So it was decided that Robert should accompany 
 them to Ramjugger, much to Lily's delight, who had 
 secretly been urging her aunt to try and make the 
 arrangement during the past week. 
 
 " Oh, I'm so happy," she confessed to Robert a 
 little later, when they were sitting by themselves in 
 the verandah. "I can make Rosy do anything I 
 want, and the Rajah shall make you Commander-in- 
 Chief of the Ramjugger army ! " 
 
 He laughed at the idea, and the earnestness with 
 which she propounded it. " I am afraid I haven't 
 got the technical training necessary for the post, 
 Lily. I must be content with the humble duties of 
 Lord Chamberlain to Your Highness. I suppose 
 you'll be transformed into a Princess now ! " 
 
 " You wait," said Lily, nodding her head sagely. 
 "You've lost all your money. Let me once get Rosy 
 into a quiet corner, and I'll talk her round to do 
 anything I want. Uncle always said the Rajah was 
 entirely under her thumb. I've got a scheme in my 
 head ! " And she caught hold of his hand in her 
 artless, joyful way, and gave it a squeeze. 
 
 The next morning there came a letter from 
 Rosalie, written by her secretary, and expressed in 
 the strangest language, replete with Oriental 
 metaphor the sort of language they call " Baboo 
 English" in India. It was full of condolences at the
 
 RESCUED! 113 
 
 death of that " Illustrious Warrior" His Excellency 
 Faloon ; the Ranee's head was drooping like a rose 
 at mid-day, and her eyes bedewed with the pearls of 
 affliction. The Rajah had ordered a period of state 
 mourning, and all the lower-caste people to shave 
 their heads. The Ranee's respectable Aunt and her 
 lovely sister must hasten quickly to ameliorate Her 
 Highness's sorrow. All arrangements were made, 
 and a detachment of State troops had been sent to 
 the nearest railway station to escort their caravan 
 through the desert. And enclosed were bank notes 
 to the value of two thousand rupees to pay the 
 expenses. Hasten quickly ! 
 
 "You see," said Miss Faloon, with an echo of 
 her former superior manner, "how exalted is my 
 niece's sphere. State mourning ordered for my poor 
 brother ! Ah me ! Ah me ! And they call him the 
 ' Illustrious Warrior ! ' It shows the high rank he 
 held. To ameliorate Her Highness's sorrow. Rosy 
 is ' Her Highness.' Thank God she is in a position 
 to assist us." 
 
 Robert had never doubted the fact. Nevertheless 
 it all seems to him very queer and mysterious. And 
 without knowing why he felt glad he was going to 
 escort these two helpless women to this far, strange 
 country.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HIS HIGHNESS. 
 
 THE Kingdom of Ramjugger, or " The Land of 
 Rest," lay in the centre of that immense, arid 
 tract of desert which stretches between the 
 River Indus on the West and British civilisation 
 as represented by the Rajputana-Malwa Railway 
 on the East. It occupied an oasis in the sandy 
 solitudes of Rajputana, and was so remote in its 
 isolation that you might almost liken it to an island 
 in the ocean. The distance between the railway and 
 the Rajah's capital was over a hundred miles, and 
 the journey was made more difficult by the nature 
 of the soft, sandy road, over which no wheeled 
 vehicles could travel. 
 
 On the morning of the third day after leaving 
 Bombay, Robert and the two ladies reached the 
 little wayside station at which they were to alight. 
 Here they were met by the Rajah's Embassy, under 
 the command of Baboo Hurry Lai, Secretary of 
 State, and Tom Bobus, who called himself the 
 Master of the Horse. The former was a Bengali 
 Baboo who had received an English education, and 
 conducted his Master's correspondence. He was an 
 extremely stout, oily individual, a sort of human 
 slug, puffed up with conceit at his own importance. 
 He was dressed in the most voluminous white robes, 
 and a muslin turban of the most prodigious size,
 
 His HIGHNESS 115 
 
 giving him a comic resemblance to a bale of cotton 
 which had burst at one end and allowed a bunch of 
 its contents to protrude. His smooth-shaved face, of 
 a yellowish colour, was sleek and shiny, and wrinkled 
 or creased by the folds of fat which rolled from his 
 cheeks, chin, and jowl: but his little beady, rat- 
 brown eyes indicated cunning. Tom Bobus was a 
 half-caste, so dark in complexion as to be indistin- 
 guishable from the desert natives. He had been a 
 jockey on the Indian turf until he was warned off. 
 He then entered the sendee of the Rajah, and had 
 risen to his present position by his skill in the 
 management of horses and his sharp wit. These 
 two men had been selected to meet the ladies 
 because they understood English. 
 
 Great was the astonishment and dismay of 
 Hurry Lai to find Miss Faloon and Lily escorted by 
 a gentleman. This was not included in his pro- 
 gramme and evidently disconcerted him. 
 
 " Who you, sir ?" he asked, suspiciously. 
 
 " I am a friend of these ladies, and am going to 
 escort them to Ramjugger." 
 
 " But the Rajah sahib only expect ladies. He 
 no give orders 'bout any gentleman. I no 'thority to 
 bring you along. Up train come presently. You 
 go back to Bombay, sir," said the Baboo, in an 
 objectionable tone of command. 
 
 Of course, Robert had no intention of return- 
 ing, and he told the Baboo so plainly. Whereupon 
 that individual began talking at him like a windbag, 
 and, with much gesticulation, trying to impress on 
 him the impossibility of his accompanying them 
 without orders from the Rajah. And, in an odiously 
 pompous manner, he urged the advisability of 
 Robert not wasting time, but going back at once, as 
 his master would certainly not allow him to proceed 
 to Ramjugger.
 
 u6 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " It is impossible for these ladies to go by 
 themselves," said Robert, "and since General Faloon 
 is no longer able to escort them, it is necessary for 
 them to have me." 
 
 " Pooh, pooh ! " said the Baboo, prepos- 
 terously. " I see them all safe home. Plenty 
 sowars got." And he pointed to the rag, tag and 
 bobtail of a mounted escort who attended 
 him, and smiled greasily at Lily to allay her 
 fears. 
 
 " You horrid man," she cried. " I'll tell my 
 sister the Ranee about your rude conduct. You 
 shall suffer for it." 
 
 " Pretty Mees," murmured the Baboo, who did 
 not seem much impressed by the threat, " you ask 
 Rajah sahib anything and he give order. But 
 without order gentleman cannot come !" 
 
 Without anything being decided, they adjourned 
 to a tent which had been pitched for their accom- 
 modation, under a grove of mango-trees near the 
 station, where dinner was waiting. It was just sun- 
 set ; and the journey of the desert was always made 
 at night, to avoid the great heat, the day being 
 spent in camp. 
 
 Hurry Lai temporarily retired to have his own 
 meal, whilst Robert and the ladies sat down to 
 dinner and discussed the situation. 
 
 Miss Falcon's mind was already made up. 
 
 " Unless you accompany us, Mr. Bolt, I will 
 never cross the desert. I am frightened of those 
 fierce-looking mounted men. I would not dare to 
 trust myself and Lily with them." 
 
 " They are a set of cut-throats to look at," con- 
 fessed Robert. " And that fat pig's manner is most 
 objectionable. Fancy your being expected to under- 
 take a three or four days' journey in such company, 
 all by yourselves !"
 
 His HIGHNESS 117 
 
 " Rosy will be furious when I tell her," declared 
 Lily. " But that won't help us in the meantime." 
 
 " I feel dreadfully nervous," confessed Miss 
 Faloon. " If I had known what a wild, deserted 
 country it was, I should have gone back to England 
 from Bombay. Not a house or tree to be seen ! 
 Only the endless, glistening, sandy plain ! What are 
 we to do ?" 
 
 " I'll write to Rosy," said Lily. " We can wait 
 here till we get a reply. If we had only known 
 Mr. Bolt was coming with us, we could have told 
 her in the telegram, and then there would not have 
 been all this trouble and bother." 
 
 Just then a message came that the Master of 
 the Horse wanted to see Robert outside, and he 
 went out. 
 
 Now it happened that Tom Bobus hated Hurry 
 Lai. There was a great jealousy between them, and 
 whatever one did the other opposed. Each was ever 
 striving to poison the other in their master's ears, 
 and for this very reason the Rajah had sent them 
 together on this journey, knowing that they would 
 keep a check upon each other and their combined 
 report would supply him with every item of in- 
 telligence. Tom Bobus in his former career had 
 mixed much with Englishmen, and retained a 
 respect for them imbued in him in his bringing up, 
 and partly in his blood. 
 
 He touched his hat respectfully to Robert, in 
 his old jockey fashion, and came to the point at 
 once. 
 
 " Hurry Lai is an infernal brute," he opened, 
 frankly, utilising what he considered to be the high- 
 toned abuse of the turf, such as he had heard 
 officers use in the old days when he rode for the 
 sporting ones at the Lucknow races. " There's no 
 holding Hurry Lai when he's got the beans in him !
 
 n8 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 But I'll tell you what to do, sir. You threaten to 
 report him to the Rajah for smiling at Miss Willis. 
 That will frighten the cursed cow." 
 
 Robert, unacquainted with the rigorous etiquette 
 of the East, did not understand. 
 
 " How will it frighten him ?" he asked. 
 
 " It is very impertinent manners for a black pig 
 to smile at an English lady," explained Tom Bobus. 
 "These native dogs should keep their eyes down on 
 the ground. Say you are going to take the ladies 
 back to Bombay because he smiled at the Miss 
 Sahib, and will write and tell the Rajah the reason, 
 and Hurry Lai will heave his liver up with funk !" 
 
 "Thank you for your advice, Mr. Bobus," said 
 Robert. " I'll see how it works. We have no wish 
 to be delayed here until we can communicate with 
 the Rajah. I'll put the screw on the Baboo." 
 
 The Master of the Horse retired, prouder at 
 having been called " Mr." by Robert than of his 
 official title; and Robert at once sent for Hurry Lai, 
 and told him that he and the ladies had decided to 
 return to Bombay, owing to the Baboo's insolent 
 behaviour in daring to speak so familiarly to Miss 
 Willis, and that Miss Faloon would write to His 
 Highness and report the whole matter, whilst the 
 young lady would send her complaint to her sister. 
 
 The effect was wonderful. It immediately 
 reduced Baboo Hurry Lai to grovelling apology, 
 culminating in frantic apprehension as Tom Bobus 
 came up and begged Robert that he would dis- 
 associate him from the Baboo's insulting conduct. 
 
 " Dog, and Son of a Dog," he apostrophised 
 the quaking Bengali, "what will the Rajah sahib 
 say when he hears you have grinned at his wife's 
 sister ? Begone, you bloated bullock, and make 
 preparations for starting, and give up your own 
 riding-camel for the gentleman. And see that you
 
 His HIGHNESS 119 
 
 keep your ugly mug out of the Miss Sahib's sight for 
 the journey !" 
 
 A start was made. A magnificent, huge camel, 
 with two litters swung, one on each side, in which 
 they could lie down, had been provided for the ladies. 
 Robert was mounted on the Baboo's sowari camel, a 
 finely caparisoned beast that could trot six miles an 
 hour for twenty-four hours at a stretch, whilst Hurry 
 dolefully climbed up on to the back of one of the 
 slow-stalking baggage animals. Tom Bobus, on 
 another sowari camel, attached himself to Robert, 
 riding in the rear of the litter camel, which led the 
 caravan, with the escort of cavalry on each flank, 
 and the baggage camels bringing up the rear. 
 
 It was a novel experience for them, and one 
 which Robert could enjoy more than the ladies, who 
 were more cramped in their litters than they had 
 been in their bunks at sea. Noiselessly the long 
 string of camels shuffled over the sand, churning up 
 clouds of impalpable dust, the mellow bell of the 
 leader sounding musically and in rythmic cadence. 
 The brilliant light of the stars shed a subdued glow, 
 and by the stars the well-trained desert trackers set 
 their course. The air would have been cool but for 
 the hot evaporation that emanated from the baked 
 sand. Silence brooded around, save when from the 
 far distance the mournful cry of a jackal or the 
 incongruous laugh of a hyaeua broke on the ear. 
 Into the unknown misty plain they struck, and to 
 Robert's unaccustomed eyes, seemed to lose them- 
 selves in it, and he marvelled to think that these 
 nomad folk could guide their way so unerringly, and 
 wondered what an Englishman would do if he 
 chanced to get lost in such a trackless, indefinite 
 waste. 
 
 The journey took them four nights, their pace 
 being adapted to the slow progress of the baggage
 
 120 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 camels, which travelled at about two-and-a-half 
 miles an hour. Tom Bobus told Robert it was quite 
 possible to travel the entire distance in twenty-four 
 hours on one of the fleet sowari camels, such as they 
 bestrode, but the jolting effect on the rider was too 
 much to be endured by delicate English ladies, who 
 could travel with less fatigue in this tedious way. 
 
 During the day time they encamped, tents were 
 pitched, and they all slept during the mid-day hours. 
 Water they carried with them, there being only one 
 well in the entire route. The days were very hot, 
 and so, too, were the early part of the nights, but 
 towards morning it became quite cold for a couple of 
 hours, and the ladies were glad to descend from their 
 cramped litters and walk the last mile or two into 
 the camping place. Miss Faloon suffered consider- 
 ably from the fatigues of the march, but Lily seemed 
 to delight in it, though that was, perhaps, because 
 she had Robert with her and the increasing intimacy 
 that these novel conditions caused. 
 
 Baboo Hurry Lai was contemptibly humble and 
 obsequious, keeping his eyes on the ground all the 
 time he was in the presence of the ladies, and 
 striving to propitiate their anger by his servile 
 attentions to their requirements. But he did not fail 
 to notice how the Englishman, who had reproved 
 him for smiling at Lily, was ever smiling at her him- 
 self, and determined the Rajah should be informed 
 of it. He spied on them like a snake in the grass, 
 concocting a report to be whispered in the Rajah's 
 ear before Tom Bobus could formulate his. More- 
 over Hurry Lai knew certain things of which the 
 Master of the Horse had not been informed, and he 
 had a reason for spying on Robert. 
 
 On the other hand Tom Bobus became most 
 attached to Robert. The ex-jockey was the only 
 person with whom Robert could converse, except
 
 His HIGHNESS 121 
 
 Hurry Lai, whom he loathed. Bobus was not a bad 
 little fellow apart from his sporting morality, and 
 through these long night rides he came to appreciate 
 the kind treatment he received from an Englishman 
 who did not treat him like a " nigger," chatted freely 
 with him, gave him cigars and qualified the brackish 
 water with whiskey, of which the jockey was very 
 fond. Such condescending behaviour as this had 
 never been experienced by Tom before from a sahib, 
 and it was vastly gratifying to his vanity, who, 
 although in the Rajah's favour, was looked down 
 upon and despised as a " Christian " in Hindoo 
 Ramjugger, especially by Hurry Lai, who ever 
 referred to him as the " unclean " one. 
 
 At length Ramjugger was reached about nine 
 o'clock on the fourth morning after they started. 
 An express camel-/u>cmi'had been sent forward on 
 the previous day to announce their arrival, and the 
 Rajah came out of his walled capital to meet the 
 caravan, attended by a great retinue. 
 
 He was a young man of about twenty, but 
 enormously stout. His features were Semitic in 
 cast, and his complexion light, but his huge double 
 chin and sensual lower lip, his small cruel eyes and 
 immature beard gave him a singularly bestial 
 appearance. He was driven out in a carriage drawn 
 by four horses, and as he descended from it the 
 thought passed through Robert's mind " Poor Ranee 
 Rosalie if that is her lord and master ! " 
 
 The ladies were in their litters, for the pace of 
 the camels for the last three miles had been 
 accelerated. At a sign from the Rajah their camel 
 was halted, and directed to squat, whilst His High- 
 ness eagerly enquired which was the Miss Sahib's 
 litter. It happened to be the one further from him, 
 and he waddled round in a hurry to receive her as 
 she stepped from it. And as her litter touched the 
 
 I
 
 122 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 ground and Lily put her head out of the curtains, 
 she caught sight of his huge, repulsive face, and 
 gave a scream. 
 
 " My pretty Mees," he said (who could speak 
 English after a fashion), " Velcome to Ramjugger ! " 
 And drawing the curtains further aside he peered 
 at her with his greedy eyes, and a leer on his 
 thick lips. 
 
 Knowing he was going to greet the English 
 " Miss " (as unmarried girls are called in India) the 
 Rajah's retinue discreetly hung back, so that no one 
 but he was on that side of the camel. Robert 
 hearing the scream escaping from Lily hurriedly 
 dismounted from his camel. He had expected the 
 Rajah would give the ladies time to prepare them- 
 selves to receive him, for they travelled in deshabille, 
 and the jolting invariably disarranged their hair. 
 His Highness had taken no notice of Robert's 
 presence, his whole anxiety being to see Lily, and 
 when the former reached the litter there was the fat 
 brute endeavouring to kiss her hand ! 
 
 It was but the work of a moment to interpose, 
 and with means more forcible than polite Robert 
 thrust the Rajah back. 
 
 His Highness was thunderstruck at these impious 
 hands laid on his sacred person. The next instant 
 his fingers fluttered about the handle of the jewelled 
 dagger he wore at his girdle, as if he would there 
 and then revenge the assault. Whereupon Hurry 
 Lai, darting forward, threw himself between them. 
 A few words in the native tongue whispered in the 
 Rajah's ear, and his manner was changed. He smiled 
 at Robert in a sickly way, and said, " I did not see 
 you. I wish you good day." 
 
 And Robert, not knowing exactly what to say, 
 and disarmed by the apparent civility, responded, 
 " Good day."
 
 His HIGHNESS 123 
 
 Meanwhile Lily had scrambled out of her litter, 
 ignorant as yet who the fat native was, and ran 
 round to her Aunt's side. She was trembling with 
 indignation and alarm, and her fair hair, which 
 had become uncoiled, was streaming down her 
 back. 
 
 " Auntie, Auntie," she cried, " there is a horrid 
 black man who has tried to kiss my hand ! " 
 
 The Rajah, with a whispered word to Hurry 
 Lai, waddled after her, and when Robert attempted 
 to follow, the Baboo interposed. 
 
 " Sir," he said, " this not proper conduct ! His 
 Highness come here to welcome ladies on behalf of 
 Ranee. You no interfere, or you get into trouble. 
 You push Rajah sahib again and he put you in 
 prison ! This Mees is Rajah sahib's wife's sister. 
 My master bring message from sister." 
 
 And then Miss Falcon's voice was heard, " Good 
 gracious me ! His Highness himself ! How do you 
 do, your Highness ? It is indeed condescending of 
 you to come so far to meet us ! Lily dear, this is 
 your brother-in-law. What is the matter with you ? 
 Why don't you shake hands ? " 
 
 "I too much glad to see you, pretty Mees, 
 good Madam," came the Rajah's reply. " Come, 
 come ! Enter carriage. I drive you to my Palace. 
 Everything ready got." 
 
 "This the Rajah!" cried Lily, in a voice of 
 undisguised repugnance, " Oh, I couldn't have 
 believed it ! " Then she called out, " Mr. Bolt, Mr. 
 Bolt, please, please come here." 
 
 Robert was round in an instant, and just in time 
 to prevent the Rajah catching her by the hand with 
 the object of forcing her into his carriage. 
 
 " You must come with us, Mr. Bolt," cried Lily. 
 " He wants me to get into the carriage, but I won't 
 go alone."
 
 124 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 The Rajah looked black. " No room," he said, 
 abruptly. " I send nother carriage for gentleman. 
 Why you not tell me him coming. What for he 
 come ? I no invite." 
 
 " We could not travel without a gentleman to 
 protect us," exclaimed Miss Faloon, " My poor 
 brother's death left us alone." 
 
 " Pooh, pooh, good Madam," said the Rajah. 
 " I protect. What can strange gentleman do in my 
 country? Better go back. No good here. To-morrow 
 I lend him quick camel, and he go back. Come 
 pretty Mees," and he put his hand out coaxingly to 
 Lily. 
 
 But she hung back, clinging to Robert. 
 
 "Lily dear," protested Miss Faloon, "When 
 His Highness " 
 
 " Auntie," cried Lily resolutely, " I don't care 
 what you say ! I'll never, never move from here 
 without Mr. Bolt. I'm frightened of all these black 
 men with swords and guns," pointing to the retinue 
 who were crowding round, and eyeing Robert fiercely, 
 " What does it all mean ? This isn't what Uncle 
 said it would be like ! " 
 
 There was no mistaking her determination, and 
 the Rajah recognised she was obdurate. Perhaps, 
 too, he was influenced by something Hurry Lai 
 whispered into his ear. At any rate he suddenly 
 gave into Lily. " Very well," he said with a scowl, 
 " As pretty Mees pleases. Gentleman come. Good 
 Madam come. All come." 
 
 With that he climbed first into the carriage, and 
 made room for the three of them, but so arranging 
 that Lily sat by his side. And in this way they made 
 their entry into his capital.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE RANEE ROSALIE. 
 
 THEY entered the city walls and drove through 
 the crowded bazaars, all the inhabitants of 
 which prostrated themselves to the ground as 
 their ruler passed. From the upper windows, the veiled 
 faces of hundreds of women peered inquisitively 
 down. A salute was fired in honour of their arrival, 
 and when they reached the Palace, a large body of 
 troops drawn up in front of it presented arms. 
 
 The Palace was situated on the western side of 
 the town, and built on the ramparts, under which a 
 shallow river ran over golden sands. It consisted of 
 a conglomeration of rambling buildings, walled-in 
 and strongly fortified, and connected with one 
 another. They were grouped in an extensive 
 quadrangle, and in the central space was a parade- 
 ground. The entrance was through a formidable 
 gateway, built in the eastern wall, which practically 
 made the Palace a sort of citadel apart from the 
 city, and, in the bloody past, it had more than once 
 stood a siege when massacre and revolution followed 
 on the death of a ruler and his sons fought for the 
 succession. The Rajah's quarters overlooked the 
 river ; those to which his guests were taken formed 
 the left wing as you entered, and had formerly been 
 inhabited by the General. A suite of apartments in 
 them was furnished in the European style.
 
 126 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 "Where is my niece the Ranee ?" asked Miss 
 Faloon, directly the carriage drew up. She had 
 expected to be met and welcomed by Rosalie per- 
 sonally. 
 
 The Rajah pointed across the parade-ground. 
 
 "That is Her Highness's Palace. She will 
 receive you to-morrow." 
 
 "To-morrow!" cried Lily. "Oh, but I want 
 to see her at once." 
 
 " Ranee not very well to-day, pretty Mees. 
 To-morrow soon come," explained the Rajah, 
 grinning and leering at Lily. 
 
 " This is a great disappointment, Your High- 
 ness," protested Miss Faloon. " If she is indis- 
 posed, I ought to go to her. I have no doubt I can 
 do her good." 
 
 " To-morrow," repeated the Rajah. " I have 
 promise her to-morrow. In my country, what 
 promise, that do. Nothing else. King's word never 
 change." 
 
 He motioned with his hand to one of the many 
 attendants to open the carriage-door, and indicated 
 that the ladies were to alight, but without rising 
 from his seat. 
 
 Robert stepped down and gave his hand to 
 Miss Faloon, and then to Lily, whom the Rajah 
 ogled as she passed him, much to her indignation. 
 She had been seated next to him, and throughout 
 the drive he had kept his eyes fixed on her in a most 
 objectionable way, which made Robert feel inclined 
 to kick him. But he put a restraint upon the display 
 of his feelings, for it suddenly burst upon him that 
 he was in a very helpless position in this strange, 
 crowded native city, and that it would be prudent to 
 confine himself to observation and not to action. 
 
 Studiously ignoring Robert, the Rajah salaam'd 
 politely to " Good Madam," kissed his fat hand to
 
 THE RANEE ROSALIE 127 
 
 " Pretty Mees," and drove off, leaving his guests to 
 find their way to their apartments as best they 
 could, Hurry Lai, who was mounted on a sleek 
 mule, ambled after his master ; but Tom Bobus 
 stayed behind, and, slipping off his horse, came to 
 Robert's assistance. 
 
 " The Rajah's jolly waxy," he said. " You took 
 him by surprise, Mr. Bolt, And there's that cow 
 Hurry Lai going to get his ear first. I suppose he'll 
 liave a hundred lies to say against me ! I will show 
 you your rooms, and then I must leave you, for I 
 am sure to be summoned to make my report." 
 
 " Was my niece the Ranee indisposed before 
 you left Ramjugger ?" asked Miss Faloon. 
 
 " Oh, ma'am, how should I know ? The Ranee 
 lives in the Zenana Palace, and all is secret that 
 goes on there." 
 
 "It is very extraordinary her not meeting us." 
 
 Tom Bobus shook his head. 
 
 " The Ranee is not allowed to go out of the 
 Zenana Palace. No one has seen her for a year." 
 
 " Is she kept prisoner ?" asked Lily. 
 
 "All zenana ladies are kept prisoners in this 
 country," explained Tom Bobus; "it is Rajpoot 
 custom." 
 
 At this moment a sowar came galloping back 
 from the Rajah to order the immediate attendance 
 of Tom Bobus. " I must go," said the latter. "That 
 son of a pig, Hurry Lai, has been making mischief. 
 The Rajah is furious about something. I will see 
 you later on if I can. You must give what orders 
 you have to the servants; they were in General 
 Falcon's service, and will know how to wait upon 
 you. If you want anything let me know," and with 
 a salaam to the ladies, the little ex-jockey mounted 
 his horse and rode off to the Rajah's Palace with 
 something of a perturbed air on his dusky face.
 
 128 
 
 There were a dozen attendants collected in a 
 semi-circle to receive the Rajah's guests under the 
 command of a grey-bearded Khansamah, or major 
 domo, who possessed a smattering of English. With 
 obsequious respect he ushered them into the building, 
 and through a series of blank, cheerless rooms, 
 opening one into the next, until they reached the late 
 General's apartments. These were situated on the 
 second floor, and in a wing of the Palace that looked 
 on to the river, which made a bend at this point. 
 The Palace itself was built on the ramparts which 
 rose about thirty feet above the bed of the river. 
 Everything was ready for the reception of the two 
 ladies, but no preparations had been made for Robert, 
 and it was proposed to put him into a room some 
 little distance from those assigned to Miss Faloon 
 and Lily. But this would have isolated them too 
 much in the big, rambling building, and they both 
 insisted on his being provided with a chamber nearer 
 to them. It was arranged by Lily sharing her Aunt's 
 room, and giving up hers to Robert, who took up his 
 quarters therein. 
 
 Truth to tell, without being in any way able to 
 formulate his fears, he did not like the aspect of 
 things. He realised for the first time how completely 
 cut off they were from civilisation. The alleged 
 indisposition of the Ranee Rosalie could not be said 
 to account satisfactorily for the prohibition to see 
 her, and it was easy to gather from Tom Bobus's 
 words that there was something more than etiquette 
 to account for the seclusion of a niece from her own 
 Aunt. The conditions around them were new and 
 strange, and Robert felt uneasy with vague suspicions. 
 
 Miss Faloon and Lily, perhaps because they had 
 been prepared for novel experiences by the General, 
 were more curious than concerned about their 
 surroundings. Rosalie's indisposition troubled them
 
 THE RANEE ROSALIE 129 
 
 far more than their environments, but their anxiety 
 was purely about her health. Miss Faloon had been 
 greatly impressed by their reception ; the cavalry 
 escort, the salutes from the cannon, the prostration 
 of the populace as the Rajah passed through the 
 city, the imposing proportions of the Palace, the 
 numerous attendants ready to receive them, and the 
 idea of being domiciled in a " Palace " had a 
 dazzling effect on her simple mind. She was 
 beginning to be carried away again, and to believe 
 that here was the actual realisation of all those grand 
 and romantic stories which her late brother had 
 retailed with so much gusto. As for the Rajah he 
 did not assume the same disagreeable aspect to her 
 elderly eyes as to Lily's girlish ones. It was evident 
 he was a great potentate, the ruler of this country, 
 and the master of the picturesque soldiers who 
 loomed large in Miss Falcon's uncritical eyes. She 
 knew, too, he was the fountain of the wealth her 
 brother enjoyed, and in her secret soul harboured 
 hopes of a pension that being one of the possibili- 
 ties her brother had hinted at. Under these 
 circumstances she was prepared to see a great deal 
 more good in the Rajah than might be apparent to 
 anyone less dependent on his generosity, and was 
 inclined to make the best of him. 
 
 Of course Robert did not mention the mis- 
 givings that he felt. They were, indeed, too unde- 
 fined, and he had no desire to alarm his charges. 
 They were to see the Ranee Rosalie to-morrow, and 
 would learn everything from her ; and it might turn 
 out, after all, that his fears were the product of his 
 own imagination. 
 
 All that day they were busy unpacking and 
 settling themselves. Their apartments consisted of 
 a large room, divided in the centre by a screen to 
 serve as a dining and sitting-room, and a couple of
 
 130 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 bedrooms, which opened into it. The windows ot 
 the big room looked on to a balcony which com- 
 manded a full view of the river. At the back of the 
 bedrooms were the bathrooms common to all Indian 
 houses, with outer doors leading on to the ramparts, 
 or rather an enclosed portion of them. Some cane 
 chairs, and a few shrubs and flowers in pots suggested 
 that the General had used this as a sort of garden 
 lounge in the cool of the evening. The view was 
 wild and bleak, for, to ensure the privacy of the 
 Palace, no habitations had been allowed on this side 
 of the city, and the plain stretched away as far as 
 the eye could reach until it merged in the distant 
 desert which surrounded Ramjugger. 
 
 In the cool of the evening the Rajah came to 
 pay them a formal visit, attended by his officers of 
 state and an escort of cavalry. But no one accom- 
 panied him into the ladies' apartments, that being 
 contrary to native etiquette. On arrival His Highness 
 looked very displeased at seeing Robert, and told him 
 curtly that this was a "family" visit to "Good 
 Madam " to discuss private matters, and that Robert's 
 presence was incorrect, which left the latter nothing 
 to do but to retire. 
 
 The "private matters," as Robert heard from 
 Lily, were really nothing at all. They resolved 
 themselves into flattering speeches, and the presenta- 
 tion of some gifts. Those for Lily were jewels of 
 considerable value, which the Rajah insisted on 
 hanging round her neck with his own hands ; to 
 which she submitted under her Aunt's direction. 
 For Miss Faloon there was a Cashmere shawl, which 
 threw that good lady into an ecstacy. After this 
 presentation there were more compliments to "pretty 
 Mees," and an intimation to Miss Faloon that the 
 Rajah regarded her in the light of a mother, which 
 was very flattering to her vanity. It was apparent
 
 THE RANEE ROSALIE 131 
 
 that her head was being turned, much to Lily's dis- 
 may, who did not at all approve of the Rajah's 
 attentions, or the frequent promptings from her Aunt 
 to respond to them. When His Highness perceived 
 her distaste for his favours he applied himself to 
 increased adulation of the elder lady, whom he com- 
 pletely fascinated. 
 
 So greatly was Miss Faloon deluded that it 
 came to an argument when she and Lily discussed 
 the Rajah's visit during dinner. Lily expressed her 
 opinion of him in very outspoken terms, and won- 
 dered how her sister could ever have brought herself 
 to marry such an odious creature. Whereupon 
 Miss Faloon reproved her sternly, and declared that 
 His Highness was generous and polite, and his 
 hospitality unbounded. She instanced the reception 
 that had been prepared for them, the servants placed 
 at their disposal, the beautiful presents he had given 
 them. His manners might be a little strange to their 
 eyes, but then, he had not been brought up as an 
 Englishman, and nothing could be more gracious 
 than his behaviour. They must remember that he 
 was her nephew by marriage and Lily's brother-in- 
 law, and should be the first to make allowances. 
 
 But Lily tossed her pretty, golden head. 
 
 " He may be my brother-in-law, Auntie," she 
 exclaimed ; " but I hate him already ! What right 
 has he to pinch the back of my neck ? That is what 
 he did,\vhen you insisted on my letting him fasten the 
 necklace. I wish I hadn't accepted it from him !" 
 
 And she unclasped it, and threw it on the floor, 
 in an ebullition of disdainful temper. 
 
 " For shame, Lily !" her aunt reproved her, as 
 Robert picked the necklace up. " You forget, now 
 that your poor uncle is no more, how dependent we 
 are on His Highness. You must treat him with con- 
 sideration. We are very poor, and cannot afford to
 
 132 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 quarrel with our richest relative. He has shown 
 himself disposed to be most kind and generous, and 
 we should be grateful instead of critical." 
 
 She ended her speech with a confirmatory nod 
 of her head. 
 
 The next morning, a messenger came from the 
 Rajah, to say that he would call for the ladies at 
 noon, to escort them to see the Ranee Rosalie ; and 
 shortly before that hour Hurry Lai arrived, and in- 
 formed Robert that of course he could not be one of 
 the party, as the Rajah's Zenana was the most 
 sacred and exclusive place in the Palace, where 
 never a man saving husband, father, or brother 
 is allowed to enter. 
 
 So Robert stayed behind, and Miss Faloon and 
 Lily drove off with the Rajah to the Zenana Palace 
 across the parade-ground. On the way the Rajah 
 told them that Rosalie was still ill, but the doctor 
 who was attending her a native who had been 
 educated at the Calcutta University hoped she 
 would soon recover her health. 
 
 As befitted the Ranee's high estate, the recep- 
 tion was to be in the form of a native durbar, or 
 State audience. On arrival at the Palace, Miss 
 Faloon and Lily were ushered into a large, dim 
 Hall of Audience, at one end of which two thrones 
 were erected and opposite them a couple of chairs. 
 Gaunt, cadaverous-looking men guarded the 
 entrance men of the class that are employed in the 
 East to serve in the women's apartments. The Hall 
 itself was filled with zenana women squatting on the 
 floor, who all rose and salaamed respectfully as they 
 entered. The Rajah led the two ladies to the 
 chairs and, taking his seat on one of the thrones, 
 gave a signal. Whereupon, the curtains were 
 drawn aside from a door at the back of the 
 Hall.
 
 THE RANEE ROSALIE 133 
 
 There was a hush of expectancy, and then a 
 woman's figure was seen advancing. Supported by 
 two women attendants, she slowly and it might 
 almost be said drowsily permitted herself to be led 
 to the second throne, and sank into it. 
 
 It was the Ranee Rosalie, drugged almost into 
 stupefaction ! 
 
 She was hardly recognisable. The bright, 
 beautiful English girl of eighteen years of age, who 
 had left England less than two years ago, was 
 changed into a wan, listless woman, who might have 
 been taken for thirty. Her face was pallid and 
 drawn, her eyelids heavy, her body emaciated. She 
 seemed unconscious of her surroundings, and moved 
 like a person walking in sleep. She was dressed in a 
 native costume of silk, gorgeously embroidered with 
 gold filigree work, and her whole person literally 
 blazed with jewels. 
 
 In the dim light, Miss Faloon failed to 
 recognise her niece ; but Lily knew her, in spite of 
 her altered appearance. 
 
 " Rosy !" she cried; and, springing forward, en- 
 circled her with her arms. "Rosy, can this be you?" 
 
 " Lily," responded the Ranee, in a dazed voice, 
 and gazing into her sister's face with a haggard, 
 incredulous expression. 
 
 Miss Faloon took a step forward and cast one 
 affrighted look at her niece. Then she turned on the 
 Rajah, " Your Highness, what does this mean ? You 
 never told me Rosalie was so ill ! Oh, my child, 
 my child," she exclaimed, folding the Ranee to her 
 breast, " Why did you not let us know you were so 
 ill?" 
 
 " Good Madam ! Pretty Mees ! Please remem- 
 ber," broke in the Rajah, hurriedly. " We are at 
 Durbar. The Ranee little sick ; soon get well," and 
 seizing Rosy by the wrist he drew her back, and
 
 134 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 interposed his own person between her and her Aunt 
 and sister. Then, at a sign, from him, several 
 women attendants crowded round the Ranee, and 
 occupied themselves with fanning her, whilst others 
 partly compelled, partly persuaded Miss Faloon and 
 Lily to resume their chairs. 
 
 Without releasing his grip of her wrist the 
 Rajah seated himself on his throne by the Ranee's 
 side, and bending over whispered a few words into 
 her ear. Under the threat they conveyed the poor 
 creature made a feeble effort to smile, but terror of 
 the tyrant by her side was clear writ in her features. 
 But at this sign of animation a murmur rose from 
 the women grouped around, and a gust of conven- 
 tional compliments flattered her ears. 
 
 Then the Rajah began talking in a superficial 
 way to divert attention, and give Rosalie time to 
 recover herself more fully. He held forth about the 
 great honour the two ladies had done him in coming 
 all the way from England to visit his Court, and 
 with what joy he and the Ranee were glad to 
 welcome them. He assured them their arrival would 
 certainly effect a cure of the Ranee's cruel complaint. 
 See ! the roses of health were returning to her 
 cheeks already ! With Good Madam and Pretty 
 Mees to cheer her the Ranee would soon be well 
 again. Apartments should be prepared for them in 
 the zenana palace, which he hoped they would 
 regard in the light of their home. 
 
 " Then let it be at once," cried Miss Faloon, 
 "Oh, Rosy, I and Lily will come and nurse you, dear." 
 
 But, strange to say, instead of showing pleasure 
 a look approaching consternation spread over Ranee 
 Rosalie's face. The grip of the Rajah's fingers still 
 encircled her wrist, and his keen side glances watched 
 her narrowly. She seemed in some mysterious way 
 under his spell, and her very tongue appeared to be
 
 THE RANEE ROSALIE 135 
 
 tied, for, except when she had pronounced her sister's 
 name, she had not spoken a word. It was as though 
 she were the victim of an hypnotic influence and 
 unable to assert her independence. 
 
 On the other hand Miss Falcon's willingness to 
 take up her residence in the zenana Palace gratified 
 the Rajah greatly. "That all right, Good Madam," 
 he said ; " You come, pretty Mees, come to Ranee's 
 Palace to-morrow. Not to-day. Must make pre- 
 paration. Ranee very pleased you coming. Ranee 
 want you to come, eh ? eh ? " he peered round at 
 Rosalie, waiting for her to confirm his words. But 
 she held her silence. Whereupon he whispered into 
 her ear, and waited again for her to speak. But she 
 would not. There was a look of horror in her face, 
 only it was subordinate to her terror of this man who 
 held her in his grasp, and was her master. 
 
 " Rosy, what is it, darling?" asked Lily. "Why 
 don't you speak ? Auntie and I will come and nurse 
 you and love you. Oh, Rosy don't you want us to 
 come ? " 
 
 "Ranee very much want," declared the Rajah, 
 " only she too much happy. She little ill. Cannot 
 speak. This surprise sudden ! " 
 
 "Sudden surprise," exclaimed Miss Faloon ; 
 " How can it be a surprise after all the letters we 
 have written ? " 
 
 " Letters," echoed the Ranee, faintly. " I have 
 never heard of your coming until to-day ! " 
 
 " What ! " cried Lily, " You have not received 
 our letters ? " 
 
 " She forget," interposed the Rajah grimly, and, 
 rising, made a sign to some of the women who 
 surrounded the Ranee. "Fever take her memory away. 
 Fever coming on again. Ranee want medicine. No 
 can talk more. Durbar finished. To-morrow you 
 will see. Then she remember everything. You wait
 
 136 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 till to-morrow. Then you come and nurse Ranee, 
 and she soon get well. To-day ill oh, very ill. No 
 memory got. Fever last night. Make good-bye, 
 Rosalie. Tell Good Madam, tell pretty Mees come 
 and nurse you, come and make home in zenana 
 palace. You hear ? Tell ! Tell quick I " 
 
 He clenched her wrist, as a hawk might hold a 
 pigeon in its clutch, striving to elicit from her the 
 invitation which he wished her to extend to her Aunt 
 and sister. 
 
 "Tell quick ! Tell quick," he repeated, sternly. 
 
 But the poor, crushed creature, who had been 
 in his absolute power for the last year, and whom he 
 fondly imagined was reduced to a state of abject 
 subjection with not a spark of independence or self- 
 assertion left, revolted against his order. The sight 
 of her little, innocent sister Lily had stirred within 
 her a sense of overpowering suspicion and dread. 
 She knew nothing of the circumstances which 
 brought them here ; she was unaware that her Uncle, 
 the abandoned and unspeakable villain who had 
 wrought her destruction, was dead. But her woman's 
 instinct told her the viJe plot intended, and despite 
 her terror of the tyrant she was determined to give 
 a warning in the faint hope that the calamity she 
 feared might be averted. 
 
 " Lily," she cried, suddenly. " Prenez garde ! 
 Uhonwne noir " 
 
 " What 3'ou telling ? " broke in the Rajah, his 
 suspicions instantly aroused, " What language you 
 talking ? " 
 
 "Prenez gardel" repeated Rosalie, her voice 
 rising to a loud scream. 
 
 The Rajah shouted an order in Hindustani, and 
 in a twinkling the Ranee was lifted off her feet and 
 carried from the Hall of Audience in a swooning state.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PRENEZ GARDE ! 
 
 WHILST Miss Faloon and Lily were away at 
 the Women's Palace, Robert sat in the 
 balcony, smoking a cigar and gazing out at 
 the sunshine lying like a gloss upon the plain. It 
 was a typical Indian scene. The camels stalking 
 slowly along ; the peasants ploughing with buffaloes ; 
 the gardeners working at the Persian wheels and 
 irrigating their fertile patches of land; and the veiled 
 women going to the river to fill their water-vessels, 
 which they carried balanced on their heads, and 
 oftentimes with a child a-straddle on their hips. 
 Then there were fields of sugar-cane along the river's 
 banks, interspersed with groves of date-trees, and the 
 narrow ribbon of verdure that followed and bordered 
 the river's course ; whilst to westward, where the 
 cultivated area merged into the glistening desert, 
 there presently appeared a mirage, as the noonday 
 sun reached its meridian height and painted the 
 horizon with the most exquisite pictures of lakes and 
 islands and green oases. 
 
 Gazing on these unaccustomed sights, the spirit 
 of the desert and its freedom appealed to Robert. 
 Here he personally was as safe as if he had been in 
 the Seychelles. It would require a marvellous 
 detective intelligence to track his footsteps to Ram- 
 jugger ! As a City of Refuge for a fugitive it was an 
 
 K
 
 138 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 absolutely perfect place of retreat ; and, but for these 
 vague fears that haunted him, he knew not why, 
 what a pleasing holiday he might have enjoyed here. 
 But something told him there was no permanence 
 in the present arrangements, and that the position 
 he was in was as false as that of the two helpless 
 women Fate had entrusted to him. But there was 
 one consolation the suspense would not last long. 
 They would hear what sort of a place this Ram- 
 jugger really was from the Ranee Rosalie, and how 
 they had best act. 
 
 Whilst he was indulging in these speculations, 
 Baboo Hurry Lai was announced, having returned 
 from escorting the Rajah to the Women's Palace. 
 He had a message or, to express it more correctly, 
 an order for Robert. The Rajah desired him to 
 depart from Ramjugger at once, and a riding-camel 
 and escort would be ready that night to take him to 
 the railway, which he would reach by the following 
 evening. 
 
 " I don't see how I can go," Robert objected. 
 " I must consult the ladies before I can give you a 
 reply." 
 
 " Must go, sir," said the Baboo, with insistence. 
 " My master give order. He no ask you here. Why 
 you come ?" 
 
 " I came because the ladies desired my protec- 
 tion, and I certainly shall not depart unless they are 
 satisfied they want it no longer." 
 
 " Rajah sahib give plenty protection. By-and-by 
 ladies go to Women's Palace and live with Ranee. 
 What good you do ?" 
 
 To this question Robert had no reply ready, so 
 he fell back on his original protestation that he 
 would not leave the place until the ladies had ex- 
 pressed their wishes on the subject. 
 
 The Baboo seemed greatly mortified.
 
 PRENEZ GARDE ! 139 
 
 " You give me answer in writing, sir, and I show 
 Rajah. When he give order in Ramjugger everyone 
 obey. Rajah sahib will be very angry with me. He 
 give strict hookum send sahib away to-night." 
 
 " Fiddlesticks," said Robert, contemptuously. 
 " I've given you my answer. I'm not going unless 
 the ladies desire it. I will ask them, when they 
 return, and let you know." 
 
 Hurry Lai retired with a disappointed face. 
 He saw a difficulty in dislodging this sahib, who 
 treated the Rajah's orders with such scant respect ; 
 and, as the task would fall to him, he did not 
 appreciate the situation. 
 
 About two o'clock MissFaloon and Lily returned, 
 weeping and agitated. The shock of seeing Rosalie 
 had prostrated them. They told their story to Robert 
 in a vague, incoherent way. Miss Faloon had con- 
 ceived the idea that her niece's brain had been 
 affected by fever ; fever always made people 
 delirious, and her conduct had been so strange. 
 Indeed, she did not appear to know what she was 
 doing or saying. His Highness had explained that 
 her head was affected by the fever ; but Miss Faloon 
 feared it was worse than that, and that her poor 
 niece's mind was deranged. She had swooned off, 
 and her attendants had been obliged to carry her 
 away. And twice she had cried out " Prenez garde!" 
 which this simple woman could not understand 
 at all! 
 
 Lily was almost hysterical. She was sure Rosy 
 was dying, and those piteous cries of hers Prenez 
 garde meant something she was afraid to say in 
 English. There was trouble on her mind which she 
 was too confused to explain. The Rajah was holding 
 her pulse all the time, and said she was in a high 
 fever. She looked dreadful as they bore her away 
 like a corpse in jewels !
 
 140 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 What seemed incomprehensible to these two 
 poor women, whose minds were distracted and 
 rendered blank by the sudden shock they had ex- 
 perienced, was clear as daylight to Robert. Prenez 
 garde take care ! That was no unintelligible ex- 
 clamation of delirium, but the warning of affrighted 
 despair. 
 
 " When are you to see her again ? " he asked. 
 
 " We are to go to the women's Palace to- 
 morrow to nurse her. The Rajah proposed it," said 
 Miss Faloon. 
 
 " And what did your niece say ? " 
 
 " She said nothing," explained Lily. " I don't 
 think she understood. She looked in great pain and 
 bewilderment. She hardly recognised me, and was 
 not a bit like my dear sister who was always so 
 bright and gay and loving. The Rajah answered for 
 her. He said she was most anxious for us to go and 
 look after her." 
 
 " Was it after this that she said 'Prenez garde ' ? " 
 
 " Yes. When she was being carried away." 
 
 " Miss Faloon," said Robert decisively, " you 
 must not go to the women's Palace. You must insist 
 on your niece being brought here to be nursed." 
 
 " Not go to nurse her ? But why ? " 
 
 " ' Prenez garde \ ' ' Take care.' That was to 
 warn you not to," said Robert. 
 
 " To warn us not to ! And she so ill ! She did 
 not know what she was saying. We must go. It is 
 our duty," said Miss Faloon. 
 
 " To warn us ! " echoed Lily, " warn us against 
 what ? " 
 
 " I cannot tell you," said Robert. " But I have 
 a conviction that you ought not to go to the women's 
 Palace. Let the Ranee be brought here." 
 
 " Mr. Bolt, you take an extraordinary view of 
 our duty towards our dear one," said Miss Faloon
 
 PRENEZ GARDE ! 141 
 
 reproachfully. " We have come out to visit her. She 
 is dreadfully ill ; not fit, I am sure, to leave her bed. 
 Of course we must go and nurse her. And since my 
 poor brother is no more, surely my niece's palace is 
 our proper home ? " 
 
 " I beg you not to go," said Robert gravely. 
 
 " But Rosy will certainly not come here, and she 
 will never get well unless we nurse her," declared 
 Lily. " It would be wicked and cruel to leave her 
 to those horrid black people. They are all very 
 attentive and assiduous, but they cannot understand 
 her wants as we can. Even the Rajah is anxious 
 that we should go." 
 
 " I can only express my opinion," said Robert. 
 
 " But what has led you to form it ? " asked Miss 
 Faloon. 
 
 " Chiefly this warning, ' Prenez garde.' " 
 
 " Oh, but I tell you Rosy did not know what she 
 was saying," insisted Lily. " She was far too ill." 
 
 " And what is there to take care of ? What 
 danger can there be in the Queen's Palace ? The 
 Rajah is everything that is considerate and polite. 
 He seems most anxious to make us comfortable and 
 at home. He told me we were to regard Rosy's 
 Palace as our own home. Oh, no, Mr. Bolt. We 
 must go and nurse her; we really must," declared 
 Miss Faloon. 
 
 What could Robert do ? If they did not per- 
 ceive the warning that was intended to be conveyed, 
 how was he to persuade them ? He had no proofs 
 to offer ; he could not even put his suspicions into 
 reasonable terms. He had nothing tangible to put 
 forward ; it was all doubt, surmise, distrust. He 
 could not explain to himself what his exact fears 
 were. All he knew was that he had an undefined 
 but absolute conviction that this was no place for 
 two unprotected women like Miss Faloon and Lily,
 
 142 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 and this was strengthened by the anxiety which was 
 apparent to get rid of him. 
 
 And now it was Robert's turn to give them his 
 information, and he told them of the message he had 
 received from the Rajah, through Hurry Lai, to leave 
 that evening, and that a sowari camel would be ready- 
 to take him to the railway after sunset. 
 
 " What ! " cried Lily in consternation, jumping 
 up and running towards Robert, " The Rajah wants 
 you to go ? Oh, but you shan't you shan't ! I'll 
 never consent to it. If you go Rosy shall go, and 
 I'll go and Auntie shall go. And I'll tell the Rajah 
 so!" 
 
 Miss Faloon was quite as much concerned at the 
 idea of losing Robert, though she did not give such a 
 display of her feelings. " There must be some mis- 
 take," she said, " I will speak to His Highness. He 
 cannot understand our situation. I hope and pray 
 Mr. Bolt you will not think of leaving us ? I never 
 anticipated such a thing ! We are so dependent on 
 you. What did you tell Hurry Lai ? " 
 
 " I told him I would be guided by your wishes." 
 
 " And you won't leave us, will you? " cried Lily, 
 seizing him by the hand. 
 
 " You may be sure I will not," he promised her. 
 
 " The Rajah is coming to see me this evening 
 on family business," said Miss Faloon. " He gave 
 me to understand that he desires to make a permanent 
 provision for Lily and myself. He asked me if my 
 poor brother had mentioned the matter, and I told 
 him he had hinted at it. I will speak to him about 
 this strange proposal that you should leave. There 
 must be some mistake. I can't understand it at all. 
 His Highness is all politeness, and so anxious to 
 make Lily and myself feel quite at home. He said 
 we had only to express a wish and it should be 
 executed."
 
 PRENEZ GARDE ! 143 
 
 " Well, we'll leave it there," said Robert. 
 " Under any circumstances you may rely upon me 
 to stop. But I tell you frankly I believe the Rajah 
 gave the order that I should depart." 
 
 " I'll give him a bit of my mind," cried Lily, 
 " The horrid man ! " 
 
 " I hope you'll do no such thing, Lily," said her 
 Aunt reprovingly. " Remember, dear, how depen- 
 dent we are upon His Highness. You must leave 
 this arrangement to me. We must be diplomatic 
 just now, when he is so well-disposed. You 
 heard what he said, when we were driving 
 back?" 
 
 Tiffin the Indian "luncheon was served, and 
 they all sat down to the table ; but Miss Faloon and 
 Lily were too upset to eat anything. They could 
 think and talk of nothing but the Ranee's illness ; 
 and, as they recalled and discussed anew the events 
 of the Durbar their anxiety increased. Robert tried 
 to induce them to eat ; but even the beautiful fruit 
 for which Ramjugger was famous, the luscious 
 custard-apples and perfumed guavas, failed to tempt 
 them. Their thoughts were in the sick chamber of 
 the Women's Palace, and nothing would satisfy 
 Miss Faloon but to get out her medicine-book and 
 study it. She had all the old maid's anxiety to try 
 her hand at doctoring. 
 
 Robert led Lily out on to the balcony, to enjoy 
 the slight breeze which was blowing. 
 
 " Isn't it dreadful, poor Rosy being like this, 
 Mr. Bolt ?" she asked Robert. " Oh, how different 
 it has all turned out to what I imagined it was going 
 to be ! Poor uncle gave us such glowing accounts about 
 the life here, and the Rajah, and all the luxuries, but 
 he never said anything about being ill. Fancy my 
 sister all by herself in that huge Palace, with only 
 those black women around her. And that horrid
 
 144 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 Rajah ! How ever she could have married him I 
 cannot tell ! Isn't he piggish ?" 
 
 " He certainly is not a fascinating individual," 
 assented Robert. 
 
 "And Auntie says she is not disappointed in 
 him ! I am. He is not a bit like the photograph 
 uncle showed us. That was such a handsome face ! 
 But the Rajah's makes me shudder !" 
 
 " Tell me, Lily, what is your Aunt's real opinion 
 about him ?" 
 
 " I don't think she has formed a real opinion. 
 All she thinks of is what he is going to do for us. 
 She has an idea he is going to settle a handsome 
 pension on her, as a reward for uncle's services. 
 You know, Auntie has been very poor ; and she 
 always makes the best of the chances of life, poor 
 dear. And the very idea of a pension is enough to 
 turn her head." 
 
 " I don't like the Rajah, Lily," 
 
 " And I hate him," said Lily. 
 
 " And I don't like the thought of your going to 
 the Women's Palace. I don't think you ought to 
 
 go-" 
 
 " But we must go, for Rosy's sake." 
 
 " If you go there how am I to communicate 
 with you ?" 
 
 " Communicate with us ! Why, we shall see you 
 every day, of course," declared Lily. 
 
 " I wish I could be sure of that," said Robert, 
 with a dubious look on his face. " It seems such a 
 shut-off sort of a place. I shan't feel happy when 
 you're out of my sight." 
 
 " Won't you ?" said Lily, colouring with pleasure 
 at the form of his expression. " I wouldn't go, if it 
 were not for Rosy. We shall see how she is to- 
 morrow ; and if she is better, I will make her come 
 here. But I'm afraid she is dreadfully ill, and I
 
 PRENEZ GARDE ! 145 
 
 cannot bear to think of her in that huge palace all 
 by herself. Suppose I were ill, Mr. Bolt ; you 
 wouldn't let Auntie leave me there, all by myself, 
 would you ?" 
 
 " God forbid," ejaculated Robert, gravely. 
 
 " Well, then, how can you object to our going 
 there when my sister is so ill ?" 
 
 This was an argument Robert was not prepared 
 to answer, and he abandoned the discussion. 
 
 "And how do you think you will like Ram- 
 jugger ?" he asked Lily, by way of changing the 
 subject. 
 
 " If Rosy was quite well, and and you stayed," 
 she answered, artlessly, " and the Rajah didn't come 
 very often, and I had all the things uncle promised 
 me it might be very nice, mightn't it ? Its very 
 comfortable here, and very quaint and novel. Fancy 
 living in an old palace like this. And its not so very, 
 very hot. I wonder when the Rajah will give me a 
 horse ! Will you take me out riding ? How I should 
 enjoy a gallop across that plain ! It is so unfortunate 
 Rosy being ill. She was to have done so much for 
 us!" 
 
 At this moment one of the servants came into 
 the balcony, saying Hurry Lai desired to see Robert 
 again. 
 
 They returned to the sitting room and the Baboo 
 was ushered in. He expressed a desire to see Robert 
 in private, but Miss Faloon, who had anticipated his 
 mission, desired him to state his business. With 
 some hesitation he came out with it, repeating the 
 request he had made earlier in the day, that Robert 
 should depart from Ramjugger, as he had come there 
 without an invitation and His Highness was not 
 prepared to entertain him. 
 
 " Oh, but Mr. Bolt cannot leave us. You tell 
 the Rajah that," said Miss Faloon. " I was going
 
 146 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 to speak about it when His Highness comes this 
 evening. I am sure the Rajah will not be so dis- 
 obliging as to send away the gentleman who has 
 escorted us here." 
 
 " Rajah sahib very angry," said Hurry Lai ; 
 " Why Mr. Bolt come ? No invitation got." 
 
 " I will explain to His Highness," said Miss 
 Faloon. 
 
 " Explanation no good. Mr. Bolt push Rajah 
 sahib when he meet pretty Mees. That great insult. 
 Black man do that and him put in prison and have 
 him hand chopped off! Rajah sahib say, 'Tell him go; 
 tell him go quick !' Rajah sahib never forgive insult." 
 
 This was a new idea. Robert had forgotten all 
 about the little contretemps of their first meeting 
 when the Rajah had startled Lily as she was getting 
 out of her litter. It was true he had given His 
 Highness a push, but it was with no intention to be 
 disrespectful to him, and it surprised him to find that 
 the memory of this was rankling in his mind. 
 
 " I am sorry if I have unintentionally offended 
 His Highness, and you can tell him so," he said to 
 Baboo Hurry Lai ; " but as for going, I cannot do 
 so because the ladies wish me to stay." 
 
 The Baboo shook his head. " No good. Rajah 
 sahib too much angry. Sowari camel come this 
 night and you go." 
 
 " That I certainly shall not," declared Robert. 
 
 " Rajah sahib make you go," declared the Baboo, 
 with scarcely veiled insolence. 
 
 " You horrid man," burst in Lily, who was 
 boiling over with indignation, " I will tell the Ranee 
 about you. If Mr. Bolt goes we will go, too. Tell 
 the Rajah that !" 
 
 This declaration appeared to surprise the Baboo 
 exceedingly. " Rajah sahib not let you go," he said. 
 " You come here to stay with Ranee. Everything
 
 PRENEZ GARDE ! 147 
 
 ready for you. But this gentleman, he come with- 
 out leave. No invitation. And he very rude to 
 Rajah sahib. What for he stop when Rajah sahib 
 want him to go ? That not proper ; that not custom. 
 This Rajah sahib's city. How can gentleman stay 
 here when Rajah sahib angry and want him go ? " 
 
 " I will not discuss the matter with you," inter- 
 posed Miss Falcon, primly. " You are very rude. I have 
 told you that I will explain to His Highness " 
 
 " My orders too much strict," said the Baboo, 
 persistently. 
 
 " Look here, clear out of this," said Robert, who 
 was beginning to lose his temper. " The ladies wish 
 me to stay, and I'm going to stay. If I have to go 
 I shall take them with me. And now, no more of 
 your chattering," and with that he laid his hand on 
 the Baboo's shoulder and pushed him from the room. 
 Considering this rather unceremonious dismissal 
 of Hurry Lai it was a surprise to Robert to find him 
 turning up again a little before five o'clock, at which 
 hour the Rajah had arranged to call on Miss Faloon, 
 with a smiling face and unctuous politeness. This 
 time he had a more agreeable proposal than before. 
 The Rajah had sent a carriage for pretty Mees, so 
 that she might enjoy a drive whilst he was discussing 
 business with her Aunt, and a riding horse for Mr. 
 Bolt. There was no mention now of his going, and 
 the Baboo was most obsequious in his attentions. 
 There were the Rajah's Zoological Gardens to be 
 seen, and the racecourse, where Robert might enjoy 
 a good gallop and try the mettle of his mount. 
 
 This was an agreeable change to being urged to 
 depart. Lily dressed herself, and Robert escorted 
 her to the entrance of the Palace, where one of the 
 Rajah's carriages was drawn up, and a gaily capari- 
 soned horse, held by two grooms, ready saddled for 
 him. And who should be in charge of the escort
 
 148 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 but Tom Bobus, in his capacity of the Master of the 
 Horse. He was standing by the carriage door with 
 the broadest grin on his face, as if he were in the 
 merriest humour. But as Robert caught his eyes he 
 made an almost imperceptible sign which carried a 
 warning with it. 
 
 And then, as Robert was handing Lily in to the 
 carriage, the little ex-jockey bent forward and 
 whispered, " Don't ride that horse. It is a man- 
 killer. Make excuse and get into the carriage." 
 And grinned broader than ever as he ostentatiously 
 invited Robert to mount his steed. 
 
 Robert kept his presence of mind ; walked slowly 
 towards the horse ; affected to look it over, and then 
 said : 
 
 " But this is a native saddle ! An Englishman 
 cannot ride except in an English saddle," and turned 
 back to the carriage as if offended at the slight to 
 his dignity. 
 
 "Get English saddle, quick, quick !" cried Hurry 
 'Lai, who was standing by, to the Master of the 
 Horse. " You silly fool, Tom Bobus, why you put 
 on native zeen ? " 
 
 " I cannot wait," said Robert. " I will ride to- 
 morrow," and opening the door of the carriage he 
 entered and seated himself beside Lily, thankful she 
 had not heard Tom's warning. 
 
 " So," he thought to himself, " this is how the 
 land lies ! They evidently want to get me out of the 
 way ! And in default of my going of my own 
 accord, they arrange for an accident. By Jove, 
 things are beginning to look blacker than I thought 
 they were ! " 
 
 Then he turned to Lily and during the drive did 
 his best to amuse and cheer her, though he was sick 
 at heart with foreboding of evil and dread of un- 
 known dangers.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 A VILLAINOUS PROPOSAL. 
 
 short twilight of an Eastern land was fading 
 into dusk as Robert and Lily returned from 
 their drive. It had done Lily good and she 
 was in more cheerful spirits than at any time since 
 she had seen her sister. To be with Robert con- 
 stituted a large portion of this young lady's present 
 idea of bliss, and he had been particularly kind and 
 tender to her. The sense of protection was strong 
 in him, and she submitted herself very prettily to be 
 protected. As she nestled by his side in the carriage, 
 holding his hand, seeking to divert him with her 
 innocent prattle, and displaying her unmistakable 
 feelings towards him in the expression of her pretty 
 face he was fain to confess that he had grown fonder 
 of her than he had hitherto suspected. And the idea 
 of leaving her and Miss Faloon alone in this isolated 
 native city, if so be the demand for his departure 
 were renewed, grew more repugnant to him than 
 ever. 
 
 They reached home, and passing through the 
 long series of gaunt, empty rooms which led to their 
 apartments, found Miss Faloon awaiting their coming. 
 No sooner had they entered the room than she 
 rushed forward towards Lily with a cry of relief, and 
 encircling her in her arms, burst into hysterical tears, 
 much to Lilv's alarm and to Robert's amazement.
 
 150 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 It was some moments before she could recover 
 herself, and even then would not explain what had 
 upset her to Lily. The latter instantly suspected it 
 was some bad news about her sister, until her Aunt 
 reassured her on that point. 
 
 " Then what is it, Auntie ? " asked Lily with a 
 scared face. 
 
 " It is is business trouble," answered Miss 
 Faloon ; " I must consult Mr. Bolt. Go to your 
 room, dear, and wait till I come to you. I won't be 
 long." 
 
 No sooner were they left alone than Miss Faloon 
 turned to Robert. " Oh, Mr. Bolt, the most awful 
 thing has happened. I don't know how to tell 
 you !" 
 
 " What is it ? " he asked, grimly, fearing ill. 
 
 " The Rajah wants to to marry Lily ! " she 
 gasped. 
 
 "To marry her," echoed Robert in a stupefied 
 voice. " The Rajah to marry Lily ! Oh, the villain, 
 the unutterable villain ! " 
 
 " He came here to make a formal proposal." 
 
 " That he should have dared to do so ! " 
 
 " He said she should be his first queen." 
 
 " Hush," said Robert, putting his finger up to 
 his lips ; " Lily must not hear a word of this. Come 
 into my room and tell me everything," and he led 
 her there and cautiously closed the door. 
 
 " How can I tell you ? There is something 
 more horrible still. The Rajah says I brought Lily 
 here to marry him ! That is what he understood. 
 Can you conceive such a thing ?" 
 
 " Is it possible ? " asked Robert. " That would 
 
 explain much. But I can hardly believe it of 
 
 of " 
 
 " Oh, no, no ! Don't believe it ! My poor brother 
 is dead and cannot defend himself. It is a falsehood
 
 A VILLAINOUS PROPOSAL 151 
 
 of the Rajah's I am sure. What would have 
 happened if you had not come with us ? " 
 
 " Try and give me an account of your conver- 
 sation," said Robert. " We must get to the bottom 
 of this." 
 
 " When he first came he began by paying me 
 all sorts of compliments. He told me he wished me 
 to take charge of the women's Palace, and that I 
 was to have an allowance of a thousand rupees a 
 month. Of course I could not but express my 
 gratitude at such a handsome proposal, and I confess 
 I was rather carried away by my feelings. Then he 
 said all I had to do was to send you away to-night, 
 and to-morrow he would marry Lily ! It nearly took 
 my breath away, he said it so decidedly as though it 
 were settled." 
 
 " What did you do ? " 
 
 " I asked him how he dared to propose such a 
 thing." 
 
 " And then ? " 
 
 " He evinced surprise, and asked me for what 
 other reason I had brought Lily to Ramjugger." 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 " I told him we had come to visit my niece 
 Lily's sister." 
 
 " And then ? " 
 
 " He began to try and argue with me. People 
 did not come such a long journey merely for a visit. 
 Now that I had come, would it not be better to make 
 my home here ? My brother was dead, and what 
 reason had I for going away again ? I should be 
 very happy here, and have plenty of money, and so 
 would Lily, and what more did I want ? I tried to 
 make him understand that no English lady could 
 marry a man who had another wife ; that it was 
 illegal and impossible, and against our religion. He 
 replied that his religion allowed him to have two
 
 152 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 wives if the first one had not borne him any children. 
 He must have a son to succeed him on the throne. 
 He was English in ideas, in education and feelings, 
 and he wanted an heir by an English wife, and that 
 was why he had sent for Lily ! " 
 
 " Sent for her ? Can it be possible that he did 
 send for her with such an object in view ? " 
 
 " I don't know, I don't know," cried the poor 
 old lady, wringing her hands in her anguish, and 
 then burying her face in them and sobbing. " He 
 said we were here now, and we could not go away. 
 He was our natural protector and guardian now that 
 my brother was dead. And then he went on to say 
 how much he admired Lily, and how beautiful she 
 was, and that he would load her with jewels, and she 
 should have everything she desired, and so should I. 
 I kept on telling him it was impossible, impossible. 
 This made him angry, and he asked what I would 
 do if I left here. He even reminded me that I owed 
 him two thousand rupees, and would have to pay it 
 back before I left. And how was I going to get 
 away ? I said you would take us away, and this 
 made him very angry, and he said you had no power 
 to interfere, and he should not let you do so. He 
 would have you turned out of this city. You had no 
 right ever to have come here without leave, and I 
 should be very foolish if I depended upon you, 
 because you could do nothing." 
 
 "We'll see about that," said Robert, hotly. 
 " But tell me, what was the end of the interview ? " 
 
 " When he saw I was obdurate he tried bribing 
 me. How much money did I want for my niece ? 
 he asked. I told him I would not listen to him if he 
 spoke in that way, and that directly you came back 
 I would tell you, and you would take us away at 
 once. That made him laugh, and he said we should 
 never get away from here unless he gave the order.
 
 A VILLAINOUS PROPOSAL 153 
 
 We were in his power, and he had been put to great 
 expense over us, and he was not going to let us go." 
 
 " The scoundrel ! So he tried to intimidate 
 you !" 
 
 " Yes. But I think he saw he had made a mis- 
 take, for he changed his tone when I dared him to 
 do his worst, and began wheedling, and asked me to 
 state exactly what was my objection to the marriage. 
 I told him the fact of his having one wife made 
 it against our English laws for any Christian to 
 marry him. If he had been unmarried it might 
 have been legal, but as it was there could be no 
 marriage. Again he tried to argue, but I declined to 
 listen to him any further. Then he said he would 
 give me a few days to think it over, but I told him if 
 he gave me a hundred years my answer would be 
 just the same, for I never would or could consent to 
 my niece marrying a man who had a wife alive. And 
 for Lily, I said, she would kill herself sooner than do 
 so. That seemed to impress him, for he lapsed into 
 thought for some minutes. At last he said, ' Very 
 good. I go away now. Come again and have another 
 talk with Good Madam. Make new arrangement to 
 please Good Madam.' And with that he left, just a 
 few minutes before you returned." 
 
 " Thank God I brought a revolver with me," 
 said Robert as he unlocked his portmanteau and 
 brought one out. " He is a fool as well as a villain 
 to have disclosed his plan before he got rid of me. 
 I'll shoot him dead without compunction." 
 
 " Oh no, no," cried Miss Faloon in great alarm, 
 fearing from the expression on Robert's face that he 
 was going to sally forth there and then to do so. 
 " That would only make matters worse. We must 
 leave Ramjugger. Oh, my poor Rosy, what will she 
 think of us deserting her ? But how can I keep Lily 
 here another day ? " 
 
 L
 
 154 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " The question is how to get away," said Robert 
 gravely. 
 
 " The Rajah cannot keep us by force ? " 
 
 " There's no knowing what he can or cannot do." 
 
 " You were to have left to-night. Why not say 
 you have decided to start, and demand camels for us 
 all." 
 
 " I will demand them," said Robert, " but I do 
 not know that it will do any good. The difficulty is 
 to keep Lily ignorant of what is taking place. You 
 must invent some explanation for the agitation you 
 displayed. The poor child must never know of this 
 abomination ! Go and comfort her, and allay her 
 fears if you can. Meanwhile I will send for Hurry 
 Lai, and see if we can get camels to carry us back. 
 But even if they are supplied it will be a terrible risk 
 with these treacherous devils ! " 
 
 He opened the door and saw Miss Faloon to her 
 own room, and then summoning one of the servants 
 sent for the Baboo, who turned up in about a quarter 
 of an hour. 
 
 Robert thought it best to assume an air of 
 authority with him. " The ladies are going to leave 
 Ramjugger to-night," he said. " You must supply 
 camels to carry them across the desert." 
 
 "I get Raj ah sahib's order," answered Hurry Lai. 
 
 " Very well. And tell the Rajah this ; that I 
 hold him responsible for the safety of the ladies, and 
 that after his interview with Miss Faloon to-night I 
 forbid him to speak to them again." 
 
 Hurry Lai opened his eyes very wide at this 
 masterful language, and stared at Robert. 
 
 "Go at once and do my bidding," cried the 
 latter, stamping his foot impatiently, but conscious 
 how impotent he was to compel the execution of his 
 orders, and what a very slight prospect there was of 
 their being obeyed. But in the terrible dilemma he
 
 A VILLAINOUS PROPOSAL 155 
 
 was in he conceived a bold front was the best one to 
 offer. 
 
 The Baboo departed without another word, 
 \vondering what this sudden change of plans meant. 
 Then Robert went to Miss Falcon's room and found 
 her and Lily busily engaged in packing their 
 things. 
 
 " Come and have some dinner," he said ; " they're 
 just bringing it in. We must fortify ourselves for the 
 journey. Hurry Lai has gone to see about the 
 camels." 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Bolt, why are we going without saying 
 good-bye to my sister ?" cried Lily. " What will 
 Rosy think of us ? And all because Auntie has had 
 a quarrel with that horrid Rajah. I wish you would 
 send for him and let me speak to him. I'm not 
 frightened of him like Auntie is." 
 
 Robert cast a questioning glance at Miss Faloon. 
 " Lily does not understand money matters," said 
 that lady, " or how impossible it is for us to remain 
 here any longer." 
 
 " But its so despicably mean to leave poor Rosy 
 because there has been a fuss about money," pro- 
 tested Lily. " Mr. Bolt, do please explain to me what 
 it is all about, and why we must go." 
 
 "You wouldn't understand if I did try to explain," 
 said Robert, shirking the difficulty, " but I want you 
 to believe me, Lily, that it is absolutely necessary for 
 us to go." He spoke very gravely and looked 
 earnestly into her eyes as though to convince her by 
 his serious demeanour. 
 
 " I am sure I could understand if you told me," 
 said Lily, " I am not such a child as all that ! " 
 
 " Can you trust me, Lily ? " asked Robert, taking 
 her hand in his, and pressing it gently. 
 
 "You do not need to ask me that question," she 
 answered.
 
 156 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 "Then trust me in this matter. Do not ask any 
 questions. Miss Faloon has a great deal of anxiety 
 on her mind, and so have I. What we are doing is 
 what is necessary to be done. Help us, dear, and do 
 not hinder us by asking for explanations." 
 
 His voice of tender appeal touched Lily's heart. 
 " I won't ask a single question," she said, " I'll do 
 just as you tell me." 
 
 He bent down and kissed her on the forehead, 
 " Brave little girl," he said, and thanked her. 
 
 They returned to the sitting-room and sat down 
 to dinner. It seemed to Robert that there was a 
 change in the manner of the native servants, and he 
 noticed that the khansatnah who understood a little 
 English, did not once leave the room, but planted 
 himself behind Robert's chair as if to listen to what 
 was said. 
 
 Directly the meal was over Miss Faloon carried 
 Lily back to their room to complete the packing, 
 whilst Robert hurriedly bundled his things into his 
 portmanteau. As he was doing so Hurry Lai was 
 announced. This time he came attended by several 
 of the Rajah's officials, all of whom carried 
 swords. 
 
 " Well ?" said Robert, interrogatively. 
 
 " Rajah send camel," said the Baboo. " All 
 ready for you to go, sir. This jemadar " (he pointed 
 to one of the attendants) " will take you to railway 
 by to-morrow night." 
 
 " What are the arrangements for the 
 ladies?" 
 
 " Rajah sahib give orders ladies not to go." 
 
 " But they insist on going." 
 
 " Can't help," said Hurry Lai, stolidly. " Rajah 
 sahib give orders ladies not to go." 
 
 " Then I shan't go." 
 
 " Rajah sahib give orders you must go."
 
 A VILLAINOUS PROPOSAL 157 
 
 " There is no 'must' about it. I'm not going 
 without the ladies. I insist upon camels being pro- 
 vided for them." 
 
 The Baboo laughed in a superior way. " You 
 speak very foolish way, sir. This Rajah sahib's city. 
 What good your giving orders ? Ladies belong to 
 Rajah sahib's zenana. Hindoo law give him power 
 over them. Ranee very sick ; they go to zenana to 
 nurse Ranee. That Rajah sahib's orders. Go to- 
 morrow, and you go away to-night." 
 
 " You infernal scoundrel, how dare you address 
 me in this way ? I'll report the matter to the 
 Viceroy." 
 
 " Very good. Camel all ready. Make report. 
 Come ! " 
 
 " I refuse to go without the ladies. I will see 
 the Rajah to-morrow, and he shall be sorry for this 
 treatment ! " cried Robert. 
 
 " If you not go, these men make you go," 
 threatened the Baboo, and gave an order in the 
 native language which caused them to advance 
 towards Robert as if to seize him. 
 
 In an instant Robert whipped out his revolver. 
 "The first man that touches me I'll shoot dead," he 
 exclaimed. 
 
 They had not expected to find him thus armed 
 and prepared, and at the sight of his weapon they 
 all fell back with cries of alarm, after the character- 
 istic manner of natives. The noise they made 
 brought Miss Faloon and Lily running out of their 
 room to see what was happening, and there was 
 Robert standing with his pointed revolver, and half-a- 
 dozen armed black men grouped about the door. 
 
 Miss Faloon gave a shriek, and Lily rushing up 
 to Robert, took her place by his side, brandishing her 
 little fist at the men. At the same moment the 
 servants came hurrying in.
 
 158 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " What is the matter ? " asked Miss Faloon, in 
 trembling accents. 
 
 "They want to make me go without you," ex- 
 plained Robert. " They actually had the audacity 
 to try and compel me ! And I told them I would 
 shoot the first man who touched me." 
 
 And now Hurry Lai, who saw that his attempt 
 had failed and matters gone too far, came cringing 
 forward, trying to propitiate Miss Faloon. " Mr. 
 Bolt make mistake. These men only going to get 
 his box to take to camel. Please, good Madam, tell 
 Mr. Bolt go away quietly. Two, three days Rajah 
 sahib make all bundebust for good Madam and pretty 
 Mees to go. No can make all at once. Rajah sahib 
 take good Madam and pretty Mees to railway 
 himself. Only Mr. Bolt must go. Rajah sahib insist 
 on that." 
 
 " You horrid man," cried Lily indignantly. "We 
 won't stay here a minute without Mr. Bolt." 
 
 " Tell His Highness nothing will induce us to 
 stay here without Mr. Bolt, and that when he goes 
 we go, too." 
 
 " Now you've got your answer from the ladies," 
 said Robert, " go and deliver it to your master." 
 
 " But, sir ," expostulated Hurry Lai, " Rajah 
 sahib give orders and I must obey." 
 
 Robert recognised the futility of argument with 
 such a man. By way of terminating it he advanced 
 with his revolver presented at the Baboo's head. 
 " Clear out," he cried, " and let me see no more of 
 you. You have my answer and the ladies' answer. 
 I do not leave without them, and they will not leave 
 without me. Tell the Rajah that ! And tell him 
 that directly I get back to British territory I shall 
 make a full report of his treatment of us." 
 
 Robert's bold attitude saved the situation. The 
 Baboo was afraid to take the responsibility of re-
 
 A VILLAINOUS PROPOSAL 159 
 
 sorting to force whilst there was a revolver muzzle 
 covering his precious carcass. With a muttered 
 order to his subordinate he withdrew, cursing his 
 fate that had sent him on such an expedition to fail 
 so ignominiously, and dreading the anger of his 
 master. 
 
 And now Robert had all his work cut out to 
 comfort and encourage Miss Faloon and Lily. There 
 was no disguising the fact that they were in a pre- 
 carious position. He tried to make light of the 
 attempt that had been made to compel him to leave, 
 but no brave words from him could disguise the 
 seriousness of what had happened. What added to 
 his difficulty was that Lily had to be kept in 
 ignorance of the real reason of all these troubles. 
 Fortunately Miss Faloon showed a spirit and courage 
 for which he would never have given her credit, and 
 assisted him to lull Lily's fears, and induce her to 
 retire to bed after every precaution had been taken 
 to lock and barricade the door that led into their 
 apartments. 
 
 But there was little sleep for Miss Faloon and 
 Robert that night. The former lay awake, thinking 
 of her two dear girls whom she had brought up since 
 their childhood, and glancing at Lily sleeping by her 
 side unconscious of the fearful peril she was in. And 
 Robert in the next room was wondering how he was 
 going to save these two helpless women committed 
 to his charge. 
 
 The utter helplessness of his position, so far 
 away from all civilisation, so completely in the power 
 of the Rajah, burst on him in all its true force. 
 Were he by himself escape from that desert- 
 surrounded city would be difficult ; but to convey 
 these two ladies away seemed almost hopeless. The 
 physical difficulties were too great to be overcome ; 
 that hundred miles of waterless desert interposed a
 
 160 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 barrier as complete as that of a stone wall. He 
 must have assistance, and to whom could he appeal 
 for it? 
 
 Suddenly the recollection of Tom Bobus flashed 
 across his mind. The little ex-jockey had proved a 
 good friend to him to-day when he had warned him 
 against the man-killing stallion. He must communi- 
 cate with him by hook or by crook. Hurry Lai was 
 his avowed enemy, and would doubtless keep an eye 
 on the Master of the Horse and prevent his calling 
 on Robert, but there must be someone amongst all 
 these native servants that were waiting upon them 
 who would be open to a bribe, and convey a note to 
 Tom. The idea brought a gleam of hope to his mind, 
 and turning it over and over he fell asleep towards 
 daybreak. Only to be awakened at sunrise, when the 
 air was rent with the most lugubrious notes of native 
 horns sounding a series of long-prolonged, dismal 
 howls. The sounds came from all over the city in a 
 sort of concerted chorus. Unaccustomed to the 
 indications of native music Robert could not imagine 
 what these hideous noises implied. Rising from his 
 bed he went out on to the ramparts at the back, from 
 whence he could obtain a glimpse of the parade 
 ground. A great crowd was gathering on it, and he 
 could make out individuals beating themselves and 
 tearing their hair, whilst they emitted wails and 
 groans even more lugubrious than the sounds of the 
 horns. 
 
 IB some alarm, and fearing that this gathering 
 might augur ill, Robert went to the sitting- 
 room, unbarricaded the door, and summoned the 
 khansamah. 
 
 " What does all this commotion mean ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 " Bad news ! Bad news ! " said the sycophantic 
 old grey-beard. " English Ranee die last night ! "
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 A WEEK'S REPRIEVE. 
 
 NEVER in all his life had Robert a task of 
 greater anguish than that of breaking the news 
 of the Ranee Rosalie's death to Lily and Miss 
 Faloon. He did it as tenderly as he could ; but the 
 shock went home, and carried with it utter prostra- 
 tion. 
 
 " She has been murdered," cried Miss Faloon. 
 " I know she has been murdered." 
 
 And she drew Lily on to her lap, and encircled 
 her with her arms, as though she feared a like fate 
 for her. 
 
 " Hush," said Robert, and gave her a warning 
 glance. " You must not harbour such ideas, Miss 
 Faloon. She was ill yesterday " 
 
 " But she was not dying," broke in Lily. 
 "Auntie is right. They have murdered her, and now 
 we shall all be murdered ! I know there is danger, 
 or you would not have decided to leave so suddenly. 
 I see now why you wanted to leave and would not 
 tell me the reason." 
 
 It was of little use for Robert to try to argue 
 otherwise ; and, indeed, his argument was but half- 
 hearted, for he, too, had the conviction that there 
 had been foul play. Poor Miss Faloon was persuaded 
 that it was indirectly her fault, inasmuch as she had 
 told the Rajah that the fact of his having a wife was
 
 162 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 an insuperable obstacle to his marriage with anyone 
 professing the Christian religion ; and there crept 
 into her mind unthinkable ideas of what his object 
 might be. In deepest sorrow and tribulation, mixed 
 with the gravest anxiety, they passed the morning, 
 dreading the next development of the tragedy. 
 
 About mid-day, Hurry Lai was announced with 
 a message from the Rajah, and desired to see Miss 
 Faloon ; but Robert told him that was out of the 
 question, and that, if he had anything to state, he 
 must say it to him. 
 
 Whereupon he made his announcement that 
 Her Highness the Ranee had died of fever last night, 
 and, producing a written document, 
 
 " This is doctor sahib's certificate," he explained. 
 
 Robert read it through, and found it to be what 
 Hurry Lai had asserted the immediate cause of 
 death being certified as pneumonia supervening on 
 fever. It was an astute device to safeguard the 
 Rajah against any share in her death. 
 
 " When is the funeral going to be, and where 
 will the remains be buried ?" asked Robert, who had 
 promised Miss Faloon to read the service overthe dead. 
 
 " No bury ; burn Ranee," answered Hurry Lai. 
 " Hindoo never bury dead mans ; always burn. 
 Hindoo Rajah's wife, she burn, too. Go to burning 
 ghaut presently. See ! All people come to pay 
 dutiful respect and help carry wood." 
 
 " I forbid this," cried Robert, indignantly. "We 
 bury our dead, and say Christian prayers over them. 
 The Ranee was a Christian, and she must not be 
 burnt with heathen ceremonies. It is an outrageous 
 and indecent suggestion." 
 
 " Rajah sahib make order burn Ranee. That 
 proper Hindoo custom. Ranee become Hindoo 
 queen when she marry Rajah," said Hurry Lai, with 
 decision.
 
 A WEEK'S REPRIEVE 163 
 
 " It is outrageous," declared Robert, as he 
 recalled to mind how cremation effectually destroyed 
 all traces of poison. "I must seethe Rajah about it." 
 
 The Baboo shook his head. 
 
 " That no possible. Rajah sahib he make strict 
 mourning one week. Shave him beard, live in one 
 room, no see anyone only Brahmin priests. He send 
 message to good Madam ; one week, then he come 
 see her. And message to pretty Mees, he very sorry 
 her sister dead. And he send message to you, sir. 
 This no time to receive visitor. All city in mourning, 
 and all strangers send away. All this week no one 
 eat, only cry. Strange peoples all go away. There- 
 fore Rajah sahib say now you go away." 
 
 " I am quite ready to go directly the Rajah 
 provides camels for the ladies," said Robert. 
 
 " Ladies ? Oh, ladies not go ! Only strangers 
 go. Ladies belong to Rajah sahib's family. Ladies 
 must make mourning. That proper custom. How 
 can ladies go, and Ranee dead ? Good Madam and 
 pretty Mees they must cry and make sorry. Then 
 after one week all bathe and put on new dresses and 
 make feast. That Hindoo ceremony. No can do 
 without Good Madam and pretty Mees." 
 
 " I have told you, the ladies insist on going ; 
 and, now that the Ranee is dead, they will not stop 
 a day. You know quite well that I will not go 
 without the ladies." 
 
 " Sir," said the Baboo, argumentatively, " you 
 one very foolish gentleman. You no understand 
 Hindoo custom. Better go, sir, better go. More 
 wise. Why you stop here and get in trouble ?" 
 
 " I will never go unless the ladies accompany 
 me," declared Robert. 
 
 Hurry Lai shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 " You one very foolish gentleman," he repeated. 
 " I give you plenty good advice and you no listen.
 
 164 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 Ladies belong to Rajah sahib's zenana. You no 
 right to interfere. Rajah sahib master here, not you. 
 Rajah sahib plenty times tell you, go. You not go. 
 You very foolish gentleman." And, with a pro- 
 digious nod of his head, Hurry Lai waddled off, with 
 the air of a man who washes his hands of further 
 responsibility in a disagreeable matter. 
 
 Robert returned to Miss Faloon and informed 
 her of the communication Hurry Lai had made. 
 
 " I don't know what to do, or what to advise," 
 he said, frankly. " I feel utterly impotent. If these 
 men choose to keep us here, I don't see how we can 
 get away ! We are in a veritable trap." 
 
 " Supposing you leave," suggested Miss Faloon, 
 " and get back to civilisation, and obtain help ?" 
 
 " I don't believe I should ever reach the rail- 
 way," said Robert, gravely, " even if I could bring 
 myself to leave you and Lily. They have gone too 
 far to let me escape. They want to get me away 
 from you, and then " 
 
 " And then what ?" 
 
 " Who knows ?" said Robert. " There must be 
 a hundred ways of getting rid of a man in such an 
 out-of-the-way place as this." 
 
 " Do you mean they would dare to murder 
 you ?" 
 
 " They would encompass my death, doubtless," 
 said Robert. 
 
 " It is too horrible to think about," cried Miss 
 Faloon. " Oh, my poor, sweet Lily, what shall I do 
 to protect her ?" 
 
 " Thank God, she is still ignorant of her peril. 
 But, suppose you make one last effort to move the 
 Rajah. Write him a formal letter, demanding that 
 arrangements shall be made for your return to 
 British territory. Point out to him that, with the 
 death of your niece, the Ranee, all your concern or
 
 A WEEK'S REPRIEVE 165 
 
 connection with Ramjugger has terminated. I do 
 not think it will have any effect, still you can but 
 try." 
 
 " I will write," said Miss Faloon, and drafted a 
 letter, in consultation with Robert, which she 
 despatched to the Rajah. The answer came back 
 that His Highness was too prostrated with grief to 
 attend to letters. At the same time there came a 
 counter-move from Hurry Lai, in the shape of a 
 formal notice to Robert to quit Ramjugger forthwith 
 or suffer the consequences. 
 
 He tore the document up, and threw the pieces 
 in the messenger's face. The retort was a guard of 
 soldiers set at the doors of their Palace, with the 
 evident intention of arresting and deporting him 
 directly he issued forth. For once, the etiquette of 
 the East stood the ladies in good stead. It is an 
 unheard-of thing to invade " women's quarters," and 
 it was their presence that saved Robert from being 
 forcibly seized. So long as he was with the ladies, 
 he was in a sort of sanctuary ; at any rate, during 
 this week of mourning. 
 
 It did not take him long to discover that they 
 were in a state resembling one of siege ; or, at least, 
 one in which safety depended upon not stirring out 
 of their apartments. The servants continued to wait 
 upon them, but they no longer pretended to any 
 obsequiousness. The doors were kept shut, and 
 there was an evident watch upon their actions, but 
 there was no active interference with their liberty 
 within doors. The strict mourning ceremonial of 
 the Hindoos for the deceased wife of their ruler pro- 
 cured for them a week's reprieve. It was a week of 
 negation, during which no business of any sort might 
 be performed, 
 
 Robert's one hope now was to get into com- 
 munication with Tom Bobus, but he knew it must
 
 i66 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 be done secretly. To this end he searched the faces 
 of all the servants, to see if there was one he might 
 dare to trust ; but the old greybeard khansamah kept 
 too close a watch on them, and was himself too 
 notoriously a spy for Robert to run the risk. It was 
 clear these domestics were really his jailers and the 
 greybeard the head jailer, and one object they had 
 in hand was to steal his revolver, as he realised when 
 he found that his spare cartridges had been abstracted 
 from his portmanteau. This was a grievous loss, for 
 it left him with only the six he had in the chambers 
 of the weapon. 
 
 On the third day, however, going into his bath- 
 room, he came upon the bheestie, or water-man, a 
 humble individual he had not observed before. 
 It was this man's custom to haul up the household 
 water by a rope let down over the side of the lofty 
 rampart, his mate below rilling the waterskin in the 
 river and attaching it to the rope. This saved the 
 bheestie the trouble of a long journey round and 
 carrying the water up the many stairs. Robert 
 watched him at the operation, saw him complete it, 
 and then roll up his rope and hang it on a peg with 
 the mechanical air of a man who has been doing the 
 same thing, in a settled way, times innumerable. 
 
 Here was an avenue for escape ! If Robert 
 could only communicate with Tom Bobus, some 
 means might be devised for making use of this dis- 
 covery. The question was could the ex-jockey 
 read? 
 
 He must chance it. So he wrote a note, in a 
 copy-book hand, asking Tom Bobus to come at mid- 
 night to the spot where the water was hauled up 
 over the rampart, and whistle, and Robert would 
 lower the rope and haul him up. He ,told him he 
 had certain proposals to make which might result in 
 something greatly to Tom Bobus's pecuniary
 
 A WEEK'S REPRIEVE 167 
 
 advantage ; and he called upon him, in the name of 
 their common Christianity, to help. 
 
 The next day Robert watched for the bheestie, 
 managed to make him understand what he wanted, 
 gave him a handful of rupees, and promised him a 
 hundred more if he conveyed the letter to Tom 
 Bobus. At the sight of more silver than he had ever 
 seen in his life before, the man was easily won over, 
 and that evening he delivered a slip of paper to 
 Robert on which was written, " Sir, I have received 
 your letter, and will come to-night." 
 
 Robert made no mention of what he had done 
 to Miss Faloon or Lily, not wishing to raise hopes 
 vvhich might turn out false. They were in a 
 sufficiently dejected state, mourning for the Ranee 
 Rosalie, and he had no desire to augment their 
 sorrow. 
 
 A little before midnight he rose and recon- 
 noitred the balcony, from which a flight of steps led 
 down to the ramparts. To his surprise, he found a 
 couple of servants sleeping there ! They were evi- 
 dently supposed to be watching. He dared not step 
 over their bodies, so he returned to his bath-room 
 and descended by the narrow, steep flight of steps 
 by which the bheestie brought in the water. Reach- 
 ing the parapet, he leant over, and gave a low whistle. 
 
 A faint one answered him from thirty feet 
 below. He lowered the rope, felt a signal tug, hauled 
 it up, hand over hand, and the next moment was 
 grasping Tom Bobus's hand, and making the little 
 black jockey prouder than ever at this mark of 
 condescension from an Englishman. 
 
 " Tom," he whispered, " you are a Christian. 
 I am a Christian. I am going to speak to you as 
 man to man, and I am going to trust you." 
 
 " You may safely trust me, sir," answered Tom 
 Bobus. " No white gentleman has ever treated me
 
 168 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 as you have done. I have tried to get into touch 
 with you, for I know the danger you are in ; but I 
 am closely watched. Hurry Lai is suspicious of me, 
 and he has his spies looking after me. But I am 
 small and agile, and can climb, or I should never 
 have got here to-night." 
 
 "Are you guarded, too?" cried Robert. "I 
 was going to ask you to make your way to British 
 territory and summon help." 
 
 Tom Bobus shook his head. 
 
 " I should be caught before I got a mile away, 
 and how could I cross the desert ?" 
 
 Robert's heart fell. If Tom could not escape, 
 how could he ever hope to get Miss Faloon and Lily 
 away? 
 
 " Listen to me, Tom," he said, " and then we 
 must put our heads together and see if we can 
 arrange a way of escape for the ladies, who are in 
 dreadful peril." And he gave him a full account of 
 what the last three days had revealed, and their 
 present condition of virtual imprisonment. 
 
 Tom listened attentively and then he related 
 what he had heard, for he had learnt much during 
 the last few. days, when the real intention with 
 which Lily and her aunt had been induced to visit 
 Ramjugger had leaked out. The whole story 
 transcended anything Robert could have imagined 
 of a white man's villainy. The General, Tom de- 
 clared, had been taken into the Rajah's service, and 
 elevated to high rank and a princely salary, on con- 
 dition that he obtained an English wife for the Rajah 
 every year ! It had been his own proposal to the 
 boy ruler, first made when the Rajah was a youth of 
 sixteen and much spoiled by the European ladies of 
 the hill station where he was being educated. A 
 very precocious youth as all Indian boys are, who 
 habitually marry at fourteen and fifteen years of age
 
 A WEEK'S REPRIEVE 169 
 
 into whose ears Faloon whispered vicious promises 
 of what he would do when the Rajah was his own 
 master. On the strength of these vile promises, the 
 Rajah had sent for Faloon when he came into his 
 majority and the possession of full power, about 
 three years previously. The first victim had been a 
 French woman of ill fame, whom the General had 
 decoyed from Calcutta; she had drunk herself to 
 death in the Women's Palace. Ranee Rosalie was 
 the second ; and when the Rajah tired of her, he 
 sent the General home to England to get him 
 another wife, under threat of depriving him of his 
 post and emoluments if he failed to please the Rajah. 
 The latter had seen a photograph of Lily, and been 
 much attracted by it, and had promised the General 
 a munificent reward if he could introduce her into 
 his zenana. The death of the General had dis- 
 arranged this unspeakable plot, and Robert's presence 
 with the ladies further complicated matters. Had it 
 not been for him, Lily would have been taken to the 
 Women's Palace when she arrived, and the ceremony 
 of marriage, such as it was, dispensed with ! It was 
 now given out in the city that the Rajah proposed 
 to marry Lily, and his " new English wife " was the 
 talk of the population ! 
 
 Robert reeled against the wall as he heard this 
 terrible revelation. 
 
 "And the Ranee Rosalie," he gasped, "what did 
 she die from ? Was she murdered ?" 
 
 " She was well just before you came. When 
 the Rajah told her Miss Faloon and her sister were 
 coming to live in the Women's Palace, she under- 
 stood what it meant, and grew frantic with grief and 
 indignation. Then they gave her opium, to make her 
 quiet ; and threatened her with all sorts of things, if 
 she would not assist the Rajah in his design. But 
 no, the Ranee vowed and swore she would warn her 
 
 M
 
 170 To DE-FEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 sister. So they gave her more opium, and drugged 
 her until she had no sense left. And last evening, 
 when the Rajah came back from his interview with 
 Miss Faloon, he gave secret orders, and " 
 
 Tom Bobus nodded his head, leaving the hiatus 
 to complete his sentence. 
 
 " My God," cried Robert. " What am I to do ? 
 How am I to save these poor creatures ? Tom, you 
 must help me you must find out a way. How can 
 we get a message to British territory ?" 
 
 " They suspect me," said Tom, " because you 
 allowed me to ride by your side, and talked with me 
 in such a friendly way as we came here. And you 
 gave me cigars and shraab (whiskey). And Hurry Lai 
 knows it was I who warned you against mounting 
 that horse. It is a tiger, and has killed a dozen men. 
 It was intended it should kill you. The Rajah has 
 given the order that you are to be killed ; by some 
 * accident,' if possible ; but, if it comes to the pinch, 
 you will be assassinated, directly you leave the 
 ladies. It is only whilst you are in their apartments 
 that the sanctity of the zenana protects you. They 
 are looked upon as belonging to the Rajah's zenana. 
 And, during this week of mourning, the superstition 
 of the Hindoos prevents them from taking any active 
 measures for encompassing your death. But you are 
 in grave danger, sir." 
 
 " Don't trouble about me," said Robert. " All 
 the same, I thank you for your warning, Tom. But 
 I have a revolver, and they know it, and are afraid 
 of it. It's the ladies we must think of." 
 
 "And have I not been thinking of them?" 
 asked Tom. " There is only one person who could 
 help." 
 
 "Who is that ?'' asked Robert, eagerly. 
 
 " The Ranee Dewali." 
 
 " Who is the Ranee Dewali ?"
 
 A WEEK'S REPRIEVE 171 
 
 " She is the Rajah's chief wife, of his four 
 native wives. She is frightfully jealous of these 
 English wives, and would poison them if she could. 
 She has borne the Rajah a son who will succeed to 
 the throne, and she has great power." 
 
 " Tom, Tom, you must communicate with her. 
 You must persuade her to help us." 
 
 " I will if I can. But Hurry Lai is very cunning. 
 He has even greater power than the Ranee Dewali. 
 And they do not know, in the Women's Palace, that 
 Miss Willis does not want to marry the Rajah. 
 They think she came out for that purpose ; and no 
 native woman can imagine one of her sex unwilling 
 to marry a Rajah. The Ranee looks upon Miss Willis 
 as her greatest enemy and rival." 
 
 " Tell her the truth. Tell her Miss Willis will 
 regard her as her greatest friend if she will only 
 help her to escape." 
 
 "I will try," said Tom. " The Ranee Dewali 
 is a clever woman, and she may be able to do some- 
 thing. She might even get us two or three sowari 
 camels, and then, if the ladies could descend " 
 
 " I can lower them over the ramparts," said 
 Robert, " if you can only provide camels." 
 
 "It is difficult fora man's voice to penetrate 
 into the zenana," said Tom. " But, if I could get 
 the ear of the Ranee, she would manage it, for there 
 is no spur so strong as that of jealousy." 
 
 " You give me hope," cried Robert, wringing 
 Tom's hand. 
 
 " I will do my best," said Tom, preparing to let 
 himself down over the wall. " Hang this rope out 
 every night for three hours. I can climb like a 
 monkey. Keep watch. Be ready to leave at an 
 instant's notice. God is great," he wound up, 
 piously, "and perhaps!" 
 
 And disappeared.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 A POISONED CUSTARD APPLE. 
 
 ROBERT drew up the rope, restored it to its place 
 and crept cautiously back to his room, where 
 he sat down to think over all Tom Bobus had 
 told him. How was he to act now ? To what extent 
 could he take Miss Faloon into his confidence ? She 
 was a nervous woman by temperament, and prone to 
 agitation. To reveal to her the full depth of her late 
 brother's infamy would double the shock, and render 
 her less capable of keeping her head clear. Her mind 
 was tormented enough about her nieces, and it would 
 be cruel to add to her tribulation. Of course Lily 
 must be kept in ignorance of the fate premeditated 
 for her, and to assure this he required Miss Falcon's 
 co-operation. He determined, therefore, to disclose 
 nothing of the real plot by means of which they had 
 been brought here, but to confine himself to a few of 
 the facts he had learnt from Tom Bobus, namely 
 about the Rajah having four native wives already, 
 and that their one hope lay in obtaining the assist- 
 ance of the chief of these wives in procuring camels 
 by means of which they might make a secret flight. 
 And this he did the next morning, impressing the 
 necessity of herself and Lily sleeping fully dressed, 
 and prepared for instant departure any night. 
 
 If it were possible to increase her loathing and 
 detestation of the Rajah, Miss Faloon found a reason
 
 A POISONED CUSTARD APPLE 173 
 
 in the fact that he had married Rosalie when he had 
 already four native wives. That was the last drop in 
 the brimming cup of his vice and wickedness, and to 
 think that he dared to contemplate introducing Lily 
 into his zenana, aroused in Miss Faloon's breast a 
 fanatic determination to prevent it at whatever cost. 
 This nerved her marvellously, and much to Robert's 
 satisfaction she seemed to gather courage as the 
 danger increased. By a wonderful effort of will in 
 one so old and naturally timid she plucked up spirit 
 and displayed a brave bearing in order to allay Lily's 
 fears, which could hardly have been greater had she 
 known that she was the contemplated victim and the 
 cause of their perilous situation. 
 
 As for his own personal danger, about which 
 Tom Bobus had warned him, Robert gave it no 
 thought beyond taking care always to have his 
 revolver handy night and day. He was satisfied 
 nothing would be attempted against him until the 
 week of mourning was over, provided he did not 
 leave the ladies' apartments. What might be 
 premeditated against him later on he left for future 
 consideration. Sufficient for the day was the evil 
 thereof. For the present his duty was to cheer and 
 encourage Miss Faloon and Lily, and to be ready at 
 an instant's notice to aid their escape. Everything 
 would depend upon his exertions when the time 
 came, and his mind was filled with anxiety, first as 
 to whether Tom Bobus would be successful in gaining 
 the Ranee Dewali's assistance, and secondly as to 
 how Robert would accomplish the difficult details of 
 the flight. 
 
 It was when Lily questioned him, as she often 
 did, that Robert found himself hard pushed. He 
 hated the idea of deceiving her, and yet it was 
 necessary to do so. She had not the slightest sus- 
 picion of the terrible danger in which she was placed,
 
 174 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 and her instinctive horror and detestation of the 
 Rajah made it all the more urgent to keep the truth 
 from her. 
 
 " Mr. Bolt," she asked him, " What is happening? 
 Why do you never go out, and always carry your 
 revolver about with you ? Why will not Auntie let 
 me undress at night ? What does it all mean ? " 
 
 " We are going to leave Ramjugger," he told 
 her, "and shall start one night. You know the 
 journey of the desert is always made at night. The 
 date is undecided ; it is best to be ready." 
 
 " But won't that horrid man give us proper 
 notice ? He has no right to behave like this. Uncle 
 said we should be treated with such respect, and 
 have everything we wanted. And now we are shut 
 up here like prisoners, and may not even go out for 
 a walk ! " 
 
 " It won't be for long," Robert tried to put her 
 off. 
 
 She searched his face, and then, " I am sure you 
 are hiding something from me, Mr. Bolt," she cried. 
 " It is not kind of you. You keep me in a state of 
 curiosity, and I hate that ! Why don't you tell me ? 
 Please do. If it's a secret I'll promise not to tell 
 anybody ! " She raised her hands in pretty appeal, 
 and looked enquiringly and coaxingly into his eyes. 
 And as he saw her innocent, girlish face, her petite 
 grace, her pouting mouth, and all her fragile beauty, 
 he cursed the dead scoundrel who would have sold 
 her to the foul and debauched villain in whose power 
 they were. 
 
 " Won't you tell me ? Won't you trust me ? " 
 she repeated. 
 
 He took her in his arms, and, bending down, 
 kissed her on the forehead. " Little sister," he asked 
 her, " do you remember the night I told you to jump 
 from the taffrail of the Humber Maid ? "
 
 A POISONED CUSTARD APPLE 175 
 
 She shuddered. " Oh, yes, yes. But I jumped ! " 
 
 " I did not tell you why. You asked no ques- 
 tions, but you obeyed me." 
 
 " I always obey you," she reminded him. 
 
 " I want you to obey me now. Not to ask 
 questions. To be ready to do exactly as I tell you, 
 even though you may not understand the reason why. 
 To trust me. Can you trust me enough for that ? " 
 
 " Trust you ! " cried Lily, reproachfully ; " Do 
 you think it is necessary to ask me that ? " 
 
 " Then do as I tell you, little sister. Remember 
 we have a long and fatiguing journey before us. 
 Your poor Aunt is dreading it. Show me how brave 
 and helpful you can be. Help me, dear, as you did 
 in the boat, when you were my chief mate. Do you 
 remember how the passengers on the steamer which 
 rescued us christened you my ' Chief Mate ' ? " 
 
 Remember ! I'd like to be your chief mate 
 always, Mr. Bolt ! " answered Lily, artlessly. 
 
 " Then I make you my chief mate in this adven- 
 ture," he told her brightly. " And we must have 
 naval discipline. No questions, but alacrity in 
 obeying. Promise me that." 
 
 " I promise," said Lily. 
 
 " Thank you, dear," he said, in a tender, pro- 
 tective tone, patting her shoulder. " We shall have 
 all our work cut out, Lily you and I to make 
 matters easy for your poor Aunt." 
 
 For, if the opportunity came for escape, it was 
 about Miss Faloon that Robert was most exercised. 
 Lily was young and strong, and she might be 
 depended upon for a long camel ride, for she had 
 plenty of courage ; but the prospect of the poor old 
 lady astride of a sowari camel for the fleeter class 
 of animals were all provided with saddles, not litters 
 filled Robert with misgivings. Physically Miss 
 Faloon was very frail and quite unfitted for exertion,
 
 176 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 and Robert felt that his troubles would begin when 
 they started. Although Miss Faloon bore up under 
 their present trials with a wonderful spirit and 
 determination, it was by the exercise of her will, and 
 it would not have surprised him to see her break 
 down at any moment. Oftentimes when she thought 
 she was unobserved, Robert would catch a glimpse 
 of her gazing at Lily with affectionate but frightened 
 eyes, and there was a manifest effort in every thing 
 she did. She could not sleep, and her appetite was 
 gone ; all the nourishment she could bring herself to 
 take was a little fruit and milk. She had taken a 
 fancy to custard apples, a fruit which Lily, singularly 
 enough, did not like, and these were the only things 
 she ate with any relish. 
 
 Slowly the four days and nights passed away. 
 No news reached them, and the servants came and 
 went with their stony faces, as dumb as mutes at a 
 funeral. Robert's nerves were strung to the utmost ; 
 all through the day he reconnoitred from their 
 balcony, trying to gather from the behaviour of the 
 people in sight what was happening. Every night 
 he stole out, lowered the rope over the wall, and 
 waited till nearly daybreak in the hope that Tom 
 Bobus might come. Terrible fears assailed his mind ; 
 had the ex-jockey turned false ? Would he fail him ? 
 Had he been discovered and settled ? They "settled" 
 difficulties summarily in Ramjugger. On the third 
 day he gave the bheestie another note to convey to 
 Tom Bobus, but on this occasion the man made 
 signs that he could not deliver it, and handed the 
 note back. It was an ominous sign, and Robert was 
 filled with fear Tom had been discovered. 
 
 At length the week of reprieve was over, and 
 the morning of the eighth day was heralded with the 
 booming of cannon firing salutes, and the tom- 
 toming of innumerable native drums. The servants
 
 A POISONED CUSTARD APPLE 177 
 
 who attended them turned out in new and res- 
 plendent liveries and turbans ; a crowd clothed in 
 brightest garments of red and pink gathered on the 
 parade ground ; flags were run up above the Rajah's 
 Palace, and bands were heard playing all over the 
 city. The season of mourning was over, and the 
 day of rejoicing had arrived. The news was formally 
 proclaimed that His Highness was about to marry 
 another wife, and that the nuptials would be cele- 
 brated on the third day. 
 
 At noon the Rajah sent Hurry Lai to announce 
 his intention of calling upon Miss Faloon and Lily 
 in the afternoon. He desired a private interview, 
 and by way of propitiation he sent the presents 
 customary on such occasions in the East. There 
 were trays full of sweets, flowers and rice ; boxes 
 containing female apparel of the most costly descrip- 
 tion; and several valuable jew r els with which the 
 Rajah desired pretty Mees would decorate herself. 
 
 Robert, anxious to spare Miss Faloon as much 
 as was possible, proposed that he should receive the 
 Rajah and attempt to reason with him, but the old 
 lady, plucking up a wonderful spirit, declared her 
 intention of meeting him. With the knowledge that 
 the week of reprieve was ended, and that Tom Bobus 
 had failed to make the arrangement for their flight, 
 it was clear that a crisis had come. Peril and 
 despair will sometimes inspire the most helpless 
 creatures with inexplicable courage, and so it was 
 with Miss Faloon, who now determined to beard 
 the Rajah to his face. 
 
 " This is my duty," she declared to Robert. 
 " Lily is my child. You are a stranger, dear Mr. 
 Bolt, though you have been the noblest, truest friend 
 in the world. When the Rajah comes I want you to 
 take care of Lily, for I am determined he shall never 
 see her. He thinks we are in his power. I am going
 
 178 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 to undeceive him. Lily shall never be in his power 
 if you will help me." 
 
 " How can I help you ? " asked Robert in great 
 surprise. 
 
 "There is only one way," said Miss Faloon, 
 solemnly. " I have thought it all over. I am con- 
 vinced that force is intended. If the worst comes to 
 the worst, Mr. Bolt, you have a pistol you must 
 shoot my child ! " 
 
 Robert started back in horror. " My God," he 
 cried, " don't tell me it has come to that yet ! " 
 
 " Who knows ? We must be prepared. Suppose 
 suppose by some sudden treachery they over- 
 powered you ? What could I do ? Lily would be taken 
 to the Women's Palace, and then " the poor old 
 lady clenched her hands together, and looked him 
 earnestly in the face. "You see the necessity. Better, 
 better a thousand times death than that ! It will be 
 a mercy. You must shoot her," she reiterated, firmly, 
 " Innocent, pure child, she must never know she 
 must never dream of this horror. Promise me as 
 you hope for salvation and mercy that you will show 
 my child this mercy ! " 
 
 Robert had contemplated much, but never this. 
 It was a terrible proposal, and it staggered him. 
 " How can I do it ? " he groaned, under his breath. 
 
 " Would you see her sacrificed to that monster ? 
 Could you endure to imagine what her feelings would 
 be ? Oh, promise me, promise me, Robert," she cried 
 appealingly, and caught his hands in her extremity, 
 " promise me to save her from what is worse than 
 death. To show her the true mercy." 
 
 Had she been pleading for her life she could not 
 have put more pathos into her prayer, or more intense 
 earnestness. She hung upon his reply, and when at 
 last, with bowed head and a face as white and drawn 
 as hers, he gave her his promise,
 
 A POISONED CUSTARD APPLE 179 
 
 " God bless you," she cried, with trembling 
 fervour. " This is what has been troubling me. I 
 can face death or torture now. I know I can trust 
 you, and that my Lily will be spared the worst. Do 
 not let her know ; do it when she is not looking. 
 You understand ? " 
 
 Again he bowed his head, and the brave old 
 woman drew his face down, and kissed him solemnly 
 on his brow. " God will reward you for this mercy 
 shown to my child," she whispered. "And now I am 
 ready to see the Rajah, and defy him ! " 
 
 And so it came to pass, when the Rajah was 
 announced, Robert retired to Miss Falcon's room 
 with Lily, and the elder lady braced herself to meet 
 His Highness. Lily, with amazement and frightened 
 perplexity in her blue eyes, gazed enquiringly into 
 Robert's face as she saw him shut and lock the door 
 of her aunt's room. 
 
 " Little sister," he said to her, " remember your 
 promise. Trust me. Your aunt is arranging for our 
 departure." 
 
 Half an hour passed, and then there came a 
 knock at the door, and, to Robert's infinite relief, he 
 heard Miss Falcon's voice calling on him to open it. 
 She beckoned him out alone. 
 
 " Victory !" she cried, pale and trembling, as 
 she tottered to the couch with faltering steps and 
 sank down upon it. " I have obtained from him 
 leave for us to go !" 
 
 " For us to go ?" echoed Robert, scarce daring 
 to believe such incredible news. 
 
 " Yes. To-morrow evening. I have compelled 
 frightened him into giving way. I am only an old 
 spinster," she smiled through her tears, " but I have 
 a woman's wit." 
 
 " How did you manage it ?" he asked. 
 
 " I was determined not to show any fear, so I
 
 180 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 faced him boldly, and asked him why he had come 
 again to see me, and how he dared to prevent us 
 from going. He said things had changed since the 
 last time he was here ; that the Ranee Rosalie was 
 dead, and there was nothing now to prevent his 
 marrying Lily. ' You villain,' I cried, ' you have four 
 black wives ! How dare you think of marrying an 
 English one ? You would be put in prison in my 
 country for what you have done.' He looked at me 
 in great surprise, and then replied, ' Pho ! Pho ! 
 Only English wife count. Native wife make no 
 difference. I marry pretty Mees, and make native 
 wives her slaves.' At that I shook my fist in his 
 face, in my indignation, and told him I would see her 
 dead before I allowed her to marry him. That, if 
 poor Rosalie had been alive, I would have taken her 
 away from him. And that I believed he had mur- 
 dered her." 
 
 " Were you prudent to tell him that ?" asked 
 Robert, in alarm. 
 
 " Prudent or imprudent, it had a marvellous 
 effect on him. He protested very volubly, saying he 
 had sent me the medical certificate of Rosalie's 
 death, and that his doctor was prepared to swear to 
 the cause of it. By degrees he worked himself up 
 into a passion, and declared that I must keep the 
 agreement under which he had advanced the money 
 to bring Lily and me out from England. There was 
 no obstacle now in the way of the marriage, and he 
 had announced it to his subjects. The city was 
 looking forward to his wedding with immense ex- 
 citement, expecting the presents which it was 
 customary to distribute on such occasions; and that, 
 if the populace was disappointed, there would be a 
 rising, and we should all be killed. It was an 
 unheard-of insult, he said, fora Rajpoot Rajah to be 
 denied the bride he had selected ; and his people
 
 A POISONED CUSTARD APPLE 181 
 
 would consider it as such, and visit their vengeance 
 on us. On the other hand, if I consented, and the 
 marriage was carried out, he promised me the same 
 salary that my brother had enjoyed, and a present 
 of fifty thousand rupees for my good services. The 
 wretch seemed to think it was all a matter of bar- 
 gaining, and that it was the money I was thinking 
 about !" 
 
 " And what did you do ?" asked Robert, breath- 
 lessly. 
 
 " I played my trump card ; and that was you /" 
 
 " Me ! Your trump card ? What do you 
 mean ?" 
 
 " I said we might be massacred, but he would 
 hang for it. And I told him may I be forgiven the 
 lie ! that you were related to the Viceroy's private 
 secretary, and had written before starting for Ram- 
 jugger, to tell him of your trip here. ' And now,' 
 I cried, ' kill us at your peril ! Let your populace 
 break into this building and try to carry off Lily, as 
 you threaten ! You will be foiled, for Mr. Bolt will 
 shoot her at the first symptom of danger. She shall 
 never be yours, you wretch !' ' 
 
 ' You wonderful woman," cried Robert, in 
 admiration. 
 
 " ' What ! What !' he cried. ' Gentleman shoot 
 pretty Mees?' he exclaimed, incredulously. 'Oh, no! 
 Never! Never!' Mr. Bolt is in my room, I told 
 him, with a loaded pistol, ready to do so directly I 
 give a signal. ' No, no,' he cried. ' No kill pretty 
 Mees. You go. I give camel, give escort. To-morrow 
 night I send you away all safe. I see all made 
 mistake. I thought you only want more money. 
 People in my country try get plenty money for their 
 daughters. To-morrow night you go. Everything 
 make ready. I swear ! ' And, with the profoundest 
 salutation, he stalked out of the room !"
 
 i8a To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 "There is nothing more wonderful than a 
 woman's wit," said Robert, " unless it be a woman's 
 love." 
 
 "The love of the young the wit of the old," 
 said Miss Faloon, and looked kindly at Robert. "If 
 you had not made me that promise about Lily, I 
 should never have had the courage to act as I did. 
 
 Lily will never know what you have done, but " 
 
 she broke off, with a little choke, " I thank God you 
 loved my little Lily enough to make that promise. 
 If anything happens to me, Robert, you will always 
 love and protect her, will you not ?" 
 
 " I will always love and protect her," promised 
 Robert. " I will be a brother to her." 
 
 " Thank you," said the old lady, but said it 
 sadly, and sighed as she remembered the name Lily 
 murmured in her dreams. 
 
 They were quite cheerful that evening, for the 
 oppression of danger was removed. Lily's gay spirits 
 returned when she was told that arrangements had 
 been made for their departure, and, for the first time 
 since she had heard of her sister's death, she seemed 
 almost happy. The servants were particularly atten- 
 tive after the Rajah left, and the khansamah made 
 many enquiries as to what the Sahibs would like to 
 have prepared for the morrow's journey. And, before 
 retiring, he asked what fruit each of them would like 
 for their early breakfast, which was always served in 
 trays in their bedrooms. It seemed, in short, as 
 though he could not do too much for their comfort, 
 and he took especial pains to point out that the 
 Rajah himself had condescended to give orders that 
 their smallest wish should be ascertained and obeyed. 
 
 " What a difference!" observed Miss Faloon, as 
 she said good night. " My threat about the Viceroy 
 has evidently been effective. It is clear the Rajah 
 has come to his senses."
 
 A POISONED CUSTARD APPLE 183 
 
 Notwithstanding this happy turn in affairs, 
 Robert did not omit to watch for Tom Bobus, in 
 case he should have some communication to make, 
 and he lowered the rope over the wall as usual. But 
 the ex-jockey did not turn up, and, at three in the 
 morning, Robert retired to his bed and fell into a 
 deep sleep, his mind released from care. He had 
 been dreaming much of late, under pressure of 
 brain-tension and excitement hideous nightmare 
 dreams. But this morning his visions were s\veet 
 and pleasant. So much so that, when the servant 
 called him at six o'clock, he found him still asleep ; 
 and, although he roused him, Robert allowed himself 
 to indulge in another nap. 
 
 From this he was awakened with a start ; 
 screams ringing in his ears, and hands dragging at 
 him. For a moment he thought he was being 
 assailed by the servants ; but the next he recognised 
 Lily, who seemed frantic with fear, and was im- 
 ploring him to come to her aunt, who was taken ill. 
 He leapt out of bed, and followed her to their bed- 
 room, where he found Miss Faloon writhing on the 
 floor in agony. 
 
 On the table by the side of her bed stood her 
 morning tea and fruit. On the plate was a half-eaten 
 custard-apple. And it passed through Robert's mind 
 in a flash that his own early breakfast, which he had 
 not tasted, also consisted of a custard-apple, as he 
 had noted in his hurried exit from his own room.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FIGHT AND FLIGHT ! 
 
 THE next instant, as if by magic, the faces of a 
 dozen servants were peering through the door- 
 way. 
 
 Send for Doctor sahib, send for doctor sahib," 
 they cried in a singularly ready and unanimous 
 chorus, whilst one of them hurriedly cleared away 
 the tea cups and fruit plates and disappeared. 
 
 Robert lifted the frail form of Miss Faloon on to 
 her bed. She was speechless, her limbs contracted 
 in agony, and quivering convulsively. His instinct 
 grasped the situation ; Miss Faloon had been poisoned, 
 and the custard apple, with its creamy, sweet juice 
 had been the vehicle for the poison. 
 
 " The medicine chest," he cried to Lily. Tremb- 
 ling from head to foot she brought it, and at a sign 
 from him took his place by her Aunt's side. He 
 searched for an emetic, found one, poured out a 
 strong dose, and with Lily's assistance administered 
 it. It was with the greatest difficulty they could 
 force it down the poor woman's throat, for she was 
 rigid now, and her teeth clenched in a sort of lock- 
 jaw. Her staring eyes looked at him and Lily in an 
 awful fixed gaze. A purple hue was stealing over 
 her lips, and her hands began to twitch convulsively. 
 She tried to speak, but the power of her tongue was 
 gone, and she could only gaze at them with a pathetic 
 and despairing expression on her tortured features.
 
 FIGHT AND FLIGHT! 185 
 
 In a few minutes her eyes began to glaze, and 
 she lost her feeble sense of consciousness. Lily was 
 kneeling by her side, kissing the thin, delicate hands 
 and imploring her to speak. The girl's grief was 
 harrowing, and almost unmanned Robert, who saw 
 that the moment of dissolution could not be long 
 deferred. To add to the distress of the scene the 
 native servants still lingered in the chamber, and 
 when Robert waved his hand to them to leave they 
 held their ground. 
 
 There was something in their manner that 
 aroused his suspicions, and all of a sudden he re- 
 membered that he was unarmed, having left his 
 revolver under his pillow. At the same moment there 
 flashed upon him the certainty that this was a care- 
 fully arranged plot to poison himself and Miss Faloon, 
 so that the Rajah might get Lily into his power. To 
 regain his revolver was now of the most urgent 
 necessity. The servants were grouped about the 
 door, probably to impede his egress. He was caught 
 in a trap unless he could break through them. Time 
 to consider or deliberate there was none. With a 
 sudden bound he flung himself upon the group, 
 hitting out right and left, and felling three to the 
 ground. In the commotion that ensued he whipped 
 round into his own room ; there, true enough, were a 
 couple more of the men, searching for the revolver 
 without doubt. At sight of him they gave an alarmed 
 cry, and attempted to leave the room, but a couple 
 of well-directed blows sent them staggering into the 
 corner, and Robert took advantage of their dismay 
 to possess himself of his weapon, which luckily they 
 had not discovered. Then he ran back to Lily's 
 room, who had missed him and was crying out for 
 him. He had just time to reach and reassure her, 
 when the native doctor was announced. 
 
 He was a caste-brother of Hurry Lai, a tall
 
 i86 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 thin, cadaverous-looking man. There was a nervous 
 agitation in his manner as he approached and peeped 
 at Miss Faloon. Without any attempt at diagnosis 
 or examination he gabbled out what was evidently a 
 prearranged opinion : 
 
 " Lady dying from bad attack of cholera ! " 
 
 " Dying," shrieked Lily, " Oh, Auntie, Auntie, 
 don't leave me ! Oh, Auntie, Auntie " and in a 
 hysterical tumult she flung herself upon the bed by 
 Miss Faloon's side, and sobbed. 
 
 "Take Mees sahib away," said the doctor. 
 " This very bad case. She catchee cholera. Then 
 what Rajah sahib say ? " 
 
 By some mysterious means two women appeared. 
 
 " Rajah sahib hear lady ill and send women to 
 nurse," explained the doctor. " They take care of 
 Mees sahib. She must no stop in this house, or she 
 catchee cholera, too." 
 
 The women approached Lily with fawning 
 gestures, inviting her to retire with them, and tried 
 to lift her up. It was a critical moment ; the native 
 servants had again clustered around the door, with 
 sullen, angry looks directed at Robert. Strange 
 faces peered from over their shoulders of men who 
 had arrived in attendance on the doctor. Against 
 the gathering numbers Robert could not hope to 
 prevail, even if he shot half-a-dozen of them. He 
 remembered his promise to Miss Faloon, and for a 
 moment the impulse came to him to carry it into 
 effect. He looked at Lily, and even as he did so, 
 there was a last, convulsive movement of the poor 
 sufferer, and the doctor announced, " Lady dead ! " 
 
 The moment had come when Robert must act. 
 The two women were fumbling at Lily, who clung 
 to her Aunt's body. The servants came forward 
 with obvious intention in their mien. Robert drew 
 his pistol and levelled it at them, and they fell back
 
 FIGHT AND FLIGHT ! 187 
 
 a few paces. Then he grabbed the doctor by his 
 arm, and pointing the weapon at his head 
 
 " Out with all these men this instant, or you are 
 a dead man," he cried. " Clear the room ; quick, 
 quick, give the orders or I will scatter your brains," 
 and he pressed the cold muzzle of the revolver 
 against the doctor's temple. 
 
 The man stiffened with fear, and attempted to 
 draw back; but Robert held him firmly, and 
 punctuated his order with a sharp rap on his head. 
 " Give the orders," he repeated. 
 
 His teeth chattering with fear, the doctor gave 
 some orders in the native tongue, but the sullen 
 attendants seemed in no mood to obey. Shifting his 
 hand from the doctor's arm to his neck for a better 
 grip, Robert turned his pistol on the crowd, and 
 fired. One man gave a scream, and fell back, whilst 
 the others rushed to the door of the big room in a 
 sudden panic. Loosening his hold on the doctor, 
 Robert followed up his advantage, and by a dramatic 
 display of threats drove the crowd from the room, 
 and shutting the heavy doors after them, shot the 
 bolt. Then he rushed back to Lily, lifted her in his 
 arms, and bore her to his own room, where he laid 
 her on his bed. "Stay here," he whispered, "Your 
 life depends on it." 
 
 Back to the big room just in time to prevent the 
 doctor from escaping. He had him in his clutches 
 in a second, and hurled him to the further end. 
 Meanwhile the man he had shot lay moaning and 
 bleeding on the floor. 
 
 " Oh, sir," cried the doctor, clasping his lean 
 hands, " let me go. Why master shoot ? I come 
 cure poor lady. Let me go." 
 
 And now, with a moment's breathing space to 
 consider, Robert felt overwhelmed with the situation 
 he had created. He had placed himself in the wrong
 
 i88 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 by the first act of violence which invited violence 
 from the other side. It was a declaration of open 
 war for which he alone was responsible. He turned 
 to the doctor : 
 
 "Attend to that man," he commanded him, 
 pointing to the wounded native. 
 
 The doctor approached and knelt down by his 
 side. The shot had taken effect in the shoulder, and 
 though painful was not dangerous. He took off the 
 man's turban, and bound up the wound, and made 
 him rise to his feet, which he was quite capable of 
 doing. 
 
 " I take him to hospital," he said humbly to 
 Robert. 
 
 " No," said Robert, with some idea of detaining 
 the doctor as a hostage, " I am going to keep you 
 here." 
 
 " Oh, sir, no. Must go. Must draw certificate 
 for Rajah sahib. Must give information. Plenty 
 preparations to make for burning the lady." 
 
 " Silence," cried Robert, "the lady will be buried 
 to-morrow. I will not consent to her being 
 burnt." 
 
 The doctor threw up his hands in alarm. " Sir, 
 sir, must burn quick. No Hindoo eat in city till 
 lady burnt. That Hindoo custom. Cannot keep 
 body all night." He shuddered, and added, " Ghost 
 come and frighten all people. Hindoo very 'fraid 
 of ghost ! " 
 
 He was speaking the simple truth. Cremation 
 follows death within two or three hours in India. A 
 corpse is an unclean thing, and whilst one lies in a 
 building no one may eat. Moreover a murdered 
 corpse and none knew better than the doctor that 
 Miss Faloon had been murdered is supernaturally 
 dreaded, and to allow the poor lady's to remain in 
 the Palace until the morning was enough to create a
 
 FIGHT AND FLIGHT ! 189 
 
 public panic. Robert did not know this, but the 
 doctor's evident perturbation gave him an inkling, 
 and he determined to profit by it to the extent of 
 gaining a little delay. 
 
 "The first man that attempts to enter this room 
 will be shot dead," he said. " I shall not permit the 
 lady's body to be touched by black hands. A coffin 
 must be made and brought here to-morrow. Go and 
 tell the Rajah that." 
 
 " Sir, sir, please think," protested the doctor. 
 " All Palace fast if lady not burnt. Sucking mothers 
 no nurse their babies ! The Rajah sahib not able to 
 eat ! And then all people too much 'fraid of ghost ! 
 You no understand, sir. Hindoo must keep caste 
 and custom. This very frightful thing master 
 want do ! " 
 
 The doctor's manifest agitation suggested an 
 idea to Robert. " We English people believe in 
 ghosts, too," he said. " When anybody is murdered 
 his or her ghost appears. If Miss Faloon's ghost 
 is seen, then it will be a sure proof that she has been 
 murdered," he added, impressively. 
 
 At this confirmation of his own dread, super- 
 natural fears, the doctor's face assumed a horrified 
 expression. He glanced timorously at the door of 
 the room in which Miss Faloon's body lay as though 
 expecting to see her apparition issue forth and de- 
 nounce him. Following the direction of his eyes, 
 and possibly possessed of some knowledge of English, 
 the native who had been wounded rose from the 
 chair into which he had sunk, and moved towards 
 the door. At the same moment there came a cry 
 from Lily in Robert's room to remind him that she 
 needed his comfort and support. He realised that 
 nothing was to be gained by keeping the doctor as a 
 hostage, and decided to let him depart with the 
 wounded man. Covering them with his revolver he
 
 190 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 cautiously opened the door, and permitted them to 
 leave, which they did with alacrity, and he shut and 
 bolted the door securely again. 
 
 Then he went in to Lily, and seating himself by 
 the side of the bed on which she lay weeping, 
 attempted to solace her, begging her to bear up, for 
 the time had now come when they must depend on 
 their own exertions if escape was to be permitted 
 them. 
 
 It was a long time before he could still the 
 hysterical grief which distracted her. She had been 
 terrified by the report of the revolver and the sight 
 of the wounded man, followed by the scuffle when 
 Robert cleared the room. Without knowing what 
 threatened she was fully aware that they were in 
 great danger, and she clung to Robert as he sat by 
 her bedside, begging him not to desert her. It was 
 with the greatest difficulty that he soothed her into 
 a condition to listen to what he had to say, and when 
 at last she had stifled her sobs, and regained her 
 composure in a measure, he told her that their only 
 chance lay in flight, and if they could only manage 
 to hold out until it was dark, it was his intention to 
 let her down over the rampart, and seek refuge in 
 the desert. 
 
 " You must help me, Lily," he said ; " you must 
 remember you have promised to be my little chief 
 mate, dear. We must make preparations. And we 
 must keep watch against being surprised. I want 
 you to be as brave to-night as you were that night 
 in the boat." 
 
 She looked up at him with her blue, tear-laden 
 eyes in a way that wrung his heart, and told him, with 
 a great effort to control her grief, that she would try. 
 The first thing to be done was for her to dress her- 
 self, for she was still in her dressing-gown. She 
 wished to go into her own room to do so, but he
 
 FIGHT AND FLIGHT! 191 
 
 would not permit this, desiring to spare her the 
 shock of seeing her Aunt again. So he went himself, 
 and after reverently drawing a sheet over the face of 
 the dead woman, collected Lily's clothes and brought 
 them to her in his room, and whilst she was donning 
 them took precautions to safeguard themselves from 
 a forcible entry. 
 
 Fortunately there was only one entrance into 
 the suite of apartments they occupied. The door 
 was a massive one, but Robert thought it prudent to 
 barricade it, and he set the dining table on end 
 against it, and strengthened it with all the heavy 
 furniture he could collect. Scarcely had he finished 
 doing this than there came a summons from without, 
 and he heard Hurry Lai's voice. 
 
 He demanded to be told what he wanted, and 
 the Baboo replied that he had been sent by the 
 Rajah to say that the man Robert had wounded was 
 dead, and that, if he did not surrender himself, the 
 Rajah would have him arrested by force. Robert 
 was perfectly satisfied that the man was not dead, 
 for he had seen the wound. The one thing he desired 
 was to gain time ; and he replied that, as soon as 
 Miss Faloon had been buried on the morrow, he 
 would give himself up, but that nothing would 
 induce him to do so until he had accorded her 
 funeral rites. 
 
 To this the Baboo answered that all the 
 arrangements had been made for the cremation of 
 Miss Faloon, and that it was absolutely necessary 
 that she should be burnt that afternoon. He had 
 brought the co r pse-carriers to bear the body away, 
 and he demanded in the name of the Rajah that the 
 door should be opened, or it should be forced. 
 Whereupon Robert declared he would shoot the first 
 man who attempted to enter, and declined any more 
 parley.
 
 192 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 After vainly endeavouring to argue the matter, 
 and failing to get any further reply from Robert, the 
 Baboo retired to report to the Rajah. Presently he 
 was back again, this time with a promise to let 
 Robert depart unmolested if he would give up Lily 
 and allow the remains of Miss Faloon to be carried 
 out. To which Robert replied that nothing would 
 induce him to open the door until the morrow, and 
 then only on the solemn promise that he should be 
 allowed to bury the dead, in the manner that was 
 required by their religion ; and that after that he 
 would give up his revolver, and surrender himself, 
 provided they would undertake to deport him to 
 British territory. To this Hurry Lai would not 
 agree, and his retort was to begin battering at the 
 door with mallets and axes ; in which extremity 
 Robert sent Lily to his room, and closed the door so 
 that she could not hear what he said, and then, sum- 
 moning the Baboo to the door, swore to him in a 
 low tone of voice that he would shoot Lily at the 
 first sign of the door giving way. 
 
 " Go and tell the Rajah,'"' he said. " He will 
 know that it is true, and what Miss Faloon told him 
 I had promised to do." 
 
 Again the Baboo retired, and was absent for 
 two hours. When he returned, he informed Robert 
 that he would be left in peace for the night, if he 
 would promise not to harm Lily and allow Miss 
 Falcon's corpse to be carried away. It was evident 
 he was greatly perturbed, both by Robert's threat 
 and by his failure to perform the cremation. Robert 
 replied that he would promise nothing and agree to 
 nothing, over and above what he had himself pro- 
 posed, and absolutely declined any further negotia- 
 tion. Several more attempts were made to get him 
 to yield, but he preserved silence, and in the end the 
 Baboo went away for further instructions.
 
 FIGHT AND FLIGHT! 193 
 
 By this time the afternoon was drawing to a 
 close. Lily, worn out with fear and anxiety, had laid 
 down on Robert's bed and fallen into a slumber. 
 With sunset, Robert fancied he heard the departing 
 feet of the guards who had been stationed at the 
 door, and concluded that their superstitious horror 
 prevented them from continuing their watch. 
 Robert reconnoitred the parade-ground from the 
 balcony, and saw that the crowd, which had been 
 there since mid-day, was melting away. At sunset, 
 the melancholy wails of the mourning horns which 
 the Hindoos always wind to scare away the spirits 
 of the dead seemed to redouble in energy. They 
 had been sounding all the day. A little later, bodies 
 of men began lighting fires on the parade-ground, 
 and on the open space beneath their balcony, which 
 was fortunately too high from the ground to be 
 reached with a ladder. Round these fires the horn- 
 blowers squatted, and blew prodigious blasts of the 
 most painful and lugubrious music. 
 
 A couple of hours passed. Lily slept on. Not 
 a soul had attempted to enter the apartments. A 
 score of times Robert stole to the door and listened. 
 All was silent, as though the particular Palace in 
 which they were was deserted. Could it be possible, 
 that these cowardly Hindoos were so scared by their 
 fear of ghosts as to refuse to keep watch anywhere 
 near where a corpse lay ? It almost seemed like it, 
 and a faint ray of hope came to Robert that they 
 might reach the desert, even though the desert meant 
 death. But, if the worst came, better there, under 
 the sky, than inside these prison-walls. 
 
 At ten o'clock he awakened Lily. She was 
 greatly refreshed by her long sleep. He told her that 
 the time had come when she must nerve herself 'for 
 the effort of her life, and that she must be as brave 
 and unquestioning as she was that night they left
 
 194 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 the Hurnber Maid. She caught his hand in the dark, 
 and pressed it, to show that she understood. Then 
 he completed their final arrangements, for they had 
 water and food to carry with them, and it was 
 necessary to dispose the weight about their persons 
 conveniently. 
 
 Suddenly, without the slightest warning, an 
 explosion rent the air, and through the open door 
 they saw a flame belch out into the sitting-room. 
 The barricade Robert had erected was demolished 
 and hurled across the room in splinters, and im- 
 mediately afterwards a fusillade of bullets spat 
 against the opposite wall. Then a loud shout arose, 
 torches gleamed, and several forms were seen 
 stumbling over the debris of the shattered 
 barricade. 
 
 Robert rushed forward, revolver in hand, and 
 discharged it into the mass of men, whose bodies he 
 could see crowding the gap and silhouetted by the 
 torches held in the rear. Two of the stormers fell 
 forward at his feet, yelling in their death-agony. In 
 the dim light he caught sight of the fat figure of 
 Baboo Hurry Lai, who was in the rear, directing the 
 attack. He took a hasty aim, and by a happy chance 
 hit him. " I am killed ! I am killed !" he heard 
 him shout. There were but two charges left ; there 
 flashed across his mind that he ought to keep one 
 for Lily and the other for himself. But it was too 
 late ; the men were pressing on him and through the 
 wreck of the barricade. Crack ! Crack ! Two fell 
 dead, for he had put the muzzle to their heads. 
 At the same moment, he felt a sharp pain in his 
 side. Someone had speared him ; but the blade of 
 the spear had merely penetrated the skin. By some 
 miraculous means he managed to possess himself of 
 the spear, and turned it on his assailants. A strength 
 he had never been conscious of before, the strength
 
 FIGHT AND FLIGHT! 195 
 
 of despair, sustained him, and he set to work stabbing 
 and prodding like a madman at the mass of faces 
 and forms in front of him. And he had this 
 advantage that he could see them against the 
 torchlight, whilst they were unable to see him. 
 
 But, even in this supreme moment, his one 
 thought was for Lily. He had neglected to reserve 
 a cartridge, to keep his word to Miss Faloon. There 
 remained nothing but to stab her to death with the 
 spear. It was a horrible thought ; and yet it came 
 to him as his duty. 
 
 " Lily ! Lily !" he cried, intending to end it all, 
 for there was a temporary lull in the assault. 
 
 There arose a piercing shriek behind him. It 
 was Lily running forward in her white dress with 
 her white arms held aloft. Before he could turn to 
 execute his intention, there was a panic in front of 
 him. 
 
 " Booth ! Booth /" (ghost ! ghost !) the frightened 
 cry arose. Without understanding what it meant, 
 Robert recognised the tone of abject fear in the cry. 
 It was taken up by those behind the first line of 
 assailants. Then, all of a sudden, the torches went 
 out. There was a momentary hush, broken by the 
 shrill, weird, piercing shrieks which Lily emitted. 
 They were strange and terrifying to the native ear, 
 and the next moment the patter of naked feet dying 
 away in the distance assured Robert that his foes 
 were stampeding in terror. 
 
 He flew to Lily, caught her in his arms, carried 
 her to his room, and bolted the door. Then, by the 
 back steps, to the rampart, where he had placed the 
 rope ready ; tied it round her, fastened the end to 
 the staple that the bhecstie used, lifted her over the 
 wall, gave her one kiss, and lowered her. Slack ! 
 She had reached the ground. 
 
 And what was that ?
 
 196 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 There was a whistle. He had not told her to 
 signal back, and marvelled at her presence of mind. 
 
 The next moment he was following her, hand 
 over hand. As he reached the bottom, someone 
 gripped him. 
 
 He raised his hand to strike, when the voice 
 of Tom Bobus fell upon his ear, thanking Heaven 
 he was in time !
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DERELICT IN THE DESERT. 
 
 TOM BOBUS wasted no words in explanation. 
 " Follow me," he whispered, as he crouched 
 low and led the way. And Robert, making 
 Lily precede him, did as they were bid. 
 
 After progressing about two hundred yards, the 
 forms of two camels squatting on the ground loomed 
 suddenly in front of them. By this time the walls 
 of the citadel had been lost in the black night, and 
 all that remained to remind them of the Palace they 
 had escaped from was the lugubrious blasts of the 
 horns which were still sounding. 
 
 Tom Bobus came to a halt. " Listen," he said. 
 " There is no time and I have much to tell. You 
 must fly at once. No, no, sir ; don't thank me. No 
 time for thanks ; every moment is precious. By 
 great good fortune I obtained an interview with the 
 Ranee Dewali. Miss Falcon's death has scared her. 
 Whilst she was alive the Ranee thought Miss Willis 
 was safe, and " 
 
 " Hush," interrupted Robert, gripping Tom's 
 arm, and bending forward whispered in his ear, " She 
 knows nothing; she must not be alarmed." 
 
 Tom comprehended, but Lily, who was listening, 
 turned a scared face to Robert. " What does he 
 mean ? " she asked. 
 
 " He means that the Ranee Dewali "
 
 198 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 "The Ranee? I thought Rosalie was the 
 Ranee ? " 
 
 " The old Ranee," put in Tom, with a quick wit. 
 "She thought everything was arranged for your 
 departure. But never mind that ; I have no time to 
 tell the story. She has sent you this, Miss Willis, 
 with her salaam. It belonged to your sister; put it 
 in your pocket safely," and he handed her a packet 
 sewn up in silk and sealed, which Lily thrust into 
 the bosom of her dress. 
 
 "And now," went on Tom, "you must start. 
 The Ranee has arranged a plan which will enable 
 you to get off without fear of being followed. The 
 people of this country are wonderful trackers, and 
 can follow the footprints of a camel for any distance, 
 and carry the trail over sand and rock. I have 
 therefore brought two camels. Bijli is for you; it is 
 the fleetest camel in the stables, and can travel a 
 hundred miles at a stretch. You must mount it, 
 and ride into the river, and travel in the water, which 
 is very shallow, for about three hours, so that all 
 track of you may be lost. Meanwhile I shall lay a 
 track in another direction on the other camel, and 
 to more thoroughly deceive the trackers you must 
 give me one or two small articles a handkerchief, 
 a glove to drop as if by accident." 
 
 Lily gave him her handkerchief and gloves 
 instantly, and Robert made over a cigar case, and 
 Tom stowed them in his pocket. 
 
 "The river," he went on, "flows about ten miles 
 due South, and then makes a sharp turn, under some 
 sand hills, to the West. You should reach that point 
 a little after midnight. Leave the river at the bend 
 and strike away due East, across the desert. Look, 
 do you see that star ? " and he pointed to one behind 
 them. 
 
 " That is the North star," said Lily quickly.
 
 DERELICT IN THE DESERT 199 
 
 " Well done," said Tom. " That star must 
 guide you. Keep it to your left. Mind, that in the 
 direction you follow you have to turn your face over 
 your left shoulder to see that star." He turned to 
 the East, and illustrated the bearing of the star to 
 the course they had to follow. 
 
 Robert nodded, and Tom went on. " Whatever 
 you do, never let the camel make for the North. 
 Bijli is pretty sure to do so if he is not directed, as 
 he is certain to make for the half-way well by instinct. 
 Men will be sent out first of all to search that route." 
 
 " I understand that thoroughly, Tom," said 
 Robert. 
 
 " Sunrise will show you the true East, and up to 
 ten o'clock you should have no difficulty in keeping 
 the right direction. From ten to three you had 
 better rest, and when the sun begins to decline its 
 shadows will again supply you with a guide. So long 
 as you keep to the East you must reach the railway." 
 
 There was something very encouraging in the 
 eager, reliant words of the little ex-jockey, and in his 
 confident manner and tone. " Thank you very, very 
 much, Mr. Bobus," said Lily, and gave him her hand, 
 " I shall never forget what you have done for us." 
 
 "Ah, Miss," cried Tom, overcome with her con- 
 descension, " I only wish I could accompany you, 
 and see you safe to British territory. But it is more 
 important that I should lay a false trail to deceive 
 those who will be scouring the country for you as 
 soon as day breaks. But by that time you w r ill be 
 safe if you carry out my directions." 
 
 "You may be sure we shall do that," said 
 Robert, wringing the little ex-jockey's hand warmly. 
 " You are a noble fellow, and I only wish I could 
 think that some day it might be in my power to 
 repay your great service. But how will you account 
 for your absence ? "
 
 200 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " Don't trouble about me, sir. The Ranee 
 Dewali is just as anxious as you are for Miss Willis 
 to get away from Ramjugger. She will see that no 
 harm comes to me. I shall abandon my camel in 
 the desert and get back by some other means. I am 
 supposed to be ill in bed ! And now, sir, please 
 mount and be off." 
 
 Robert lifted Lily into the back seat of the 
 saddle, and buckled a strap round her to keep her as 
 secure as possible. Then he took his seat in front of 
 her, and with one jerk of the rein brought Bijli to 
 his feet. 
 
 " Don't leave the river bed," was Tom Bobus's 
 last warning. " Keep on until you reach the bend 
 to the West, and then strike out to the East. Re- 
 member the North star on your left shoulder. And 
 the rising and the setting sun. Good-bye, Miss 
 Willis ! Good-bye, Mr. Bolt ! " and with a last wave 
 of his hand, and their thanks and blessings ringing 
 in his ears, Tom preceded to mount the other camel 
 and was soon lost to sight in the dark plain. 
 
 A whip was hanging at the saddle bow, and 
 Robert gave Bijli a cut with it, and guided him into 
 the middle of the river bed. The next minute, with 
 a great, lolloping, splashing action he began to trot 
 down the shallow bed of the stream, over which only 
 a few inches of water flowed. After a few endeavours 
 to make for the bank, Bijli seemed to understand 
 what was required of him and very contentedly 
 resigned himself to a paddle through the water. 
 
 The jolting motion of a sowari, that is, a trotting 
 camel, is most uneasy to those riders who are not 
 accustomed to it, and to anyone sitting sideways, as 
 Lily was, to retain the seat is almost impossible. At 
 the outset she had very nearly slipped off, but saved 
 herself by catching Robert round the waist. This 
 happened three or four times, and it was soon clear
 
 DERELICT IN THE OESERT 201 
 
 that if they were to keep at a trot she must adopt 
 the masculine manner of riding. 
 
 " Mr. Bolt," she was constrained to confess, 
 " I can't go on like this. I must ride as you do ! " 
 
 " I'm afraid you must," he said, and halted the 
 camel, and without any fuss she tucked her skirt up, 
 and sitting astride in the saddle, found the stirrups, and 
 circled his waist with her arms. 
 
 " Go on," she whispered, " I shall not fall off 
 now. I am so sorry to give you so much trouble." 
 
 " Trouble, dear ! " he cried back to her. " Oh, 
 if you only knew how much I admire your pluck and 
 readiness to adapt yourself to circumstances ! If 
 you had been a stupid, shy, frightened, mock-modest 
 girl but there ! I always knew you were a little 
 heroine ! " 
 
 " If I am that," she answered, " it is you who 
 make me so. How could I do anything but try to 
 give as little trouble as possible to you, who have 
 risked everything for me ? Dear Auntie told me the 
 Rajah wanted you to go, and you wouldn't go 
 because of us. That you insisted on stopping because 
 oh, I don't know why, but I am sure it was to 
 save us from some dreadful danger, because Auntie 
 began to cry. And now I understand; we would 
 have been murdered. I owe my life to you. I should 
 have been poisoned." 
 
 He did not answer, but he patted the little hands 
 that were clasped in front of him, and felt her arms 
 tightening round him in grateful response, and her 
 warm breath at the back of his neck as she laid her 
 head restfully upon his shoulder. 
 
 " Oh, you are good to me," she whispered, "you 
 are good to me ! " 
 
 The jolting motion and the splashing made by 
 the camel rendered conversation impossible when 
 he put the animal into a trot again, and they relapsed
 
 202 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 into silence. By this time their eyes had become 
 accustomed to the starlight and could gather in 
 something of the scene around them. A weird 
 scene ! The sandy desert, faintly discernible, 
 stretching into infinity; clumps of stunted bushes 
 and tall grasses taking strange shapes and forms as 
 they fringed the banks of the river ; now and then a 
 group of tall, ghostly date-palms waving their lofty, 
 nodding tops with mysterious murmurs far above. 
 Silhouetted against the sky, they bore a fanciful 
 resemblance to funereal plumes. In the mirror of 
 the river's surface beamed or twinkled the reflection 
 of the myriad bright stars overhead. To Lily it 
 seemed as though they were riding through stars 
 through the unknown, as a bird might wing its flight, 
 only without its instinct to guide their way. They 
 fascinated her, as she gazed down and saw them 
 waver and melt away in the ripple caused by their 
 passage. She almost forgot the dangers they were 
 escaping from, for the night was cool and she had 
 her arms round Robert and felt no fear, and only 
 knew that she was riding away with him into the 
 unknown and that he would care for her and protect 
 her. 
 
 Presently, as they drew further away from 
 Ramjugger, there were other sights and sounds to 
 arrest her attention. A flight of flying foxes would 
 come sailing through the welkin, with clatter of their 
 vampire-wings, and circle round the camel like 
 things of ill-omen. The skulking forms of jackals, 
 and wolves drinking at the river, would lift their 
 gaunt heads and then turn and trot away a little 
 distance inland, and presently break out into a 
 melancholy wail, or utter a series of short, shrill 
 barks. Or there would be a startled scamper, and a 
 herd of hyaenas scurry off, making night hideous 
 with their fiendish laugh. Awful enough is the
 
 DERELICT IN THE DESERT 203 
 
 desert by day, with its sense of desolate isolation ; 
 but not till night does it reveal its full mystery, in 
 sombre shadows and uncanny sounds. Then it 
 becomes a haunted place. 
 
 In the excitement of their escape, Robert had 
 taken no heed of his wound. Of a truth, it was but 
 a slight gash one that would have healed with a 
 week's rest on a bed and a little caution in moving. 
 But it was so situated, in the crease of his side, that 
 the place was peculiarly susceptible to the jolting 
 motion of the camel. As a fact, every jerk and 
 camel-riding is a series of jerks increased the 
 wound, which soon began to bleed, without, how- 
 ever, Robert being aware of it. He pressed his hand 
 to his side, to try and ease the pain, but without 
 effect. At last it became so intolerable that he was 
 obliged to reduce Bijli to a walk and make some 
 excuse to Lily that he wanted to readjust his pockets, 
 which were rilled with a miscellaneous assortment 
 of things. He managed to bind a handkerchief 
 tightly round his waist, without exciting her suspicion 
 as to the reason necessitating it, and felt a 
 little temporary relief. 
 
 On again, splashing and jolting down the river- 
 bed. Bijli trotted out bravely and the miles slipped 
 by. It was evident that Lily was feeling great 
 fatigue, for her hands clasped round Robert's waist 
 gripped firmer and she bore more heavily on his 
 back. But never a word escaped her, though she 
 would have given much to have called a halt. There 
 is a dreadful monotony in this method of travelling, 
 and it seemed to both of them that they must have 
 been in motion for hours. The country grew wilder- 
 looking than ever and they came into a region of 
 stunted thorn-bushes and sandhills. Tom Bobus 
 had told them that the bend in the river was under 
 a sandhill, and Robert hoped they would reach it at
 
 204 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 any moment. At last, when his patience was almost 
 exhausted, a sandhill taller than ordinary rose up right 
 in front of them, and the river bore away sharply to 
 the right ; and Robert knew they had arrived at the 
 place where their course had to be changed. 
 
 " Here we are, Lily," he said, thankfully. "And 
 now, dear, if you don't mind, we'll rest a little." 
 
 " I shall be thankful," said Lily, " for I feel all 
 shaken to pieces!" 
 
 Robert guided the camel to land, and made it 
 squat down, and, not without pain, he slid off and 
 assisted Lily to alight. Tying Bijli to a bush they 
 went to the river's brink, enjoyed a good drink of 
 water, and ate some biscuits, and filled up the 
 water-bottles attached to their saddle. Then, making 
 some excuse, Robert wandered off a little way, un- 
 loosened the putti from his right leg and bound it 
 round and round his waist, padding his wound with 
 a folded handkerchief soaked in water. It afforded 
 him considerable relief, and he hoped it might enable 
 him to get through the long ride that was in front 
 of them. 
 
 Returning to Lily, he spoke a few cheering 
 words to her, and praised her brave spirit. 
 
 " Little sister," he told her, " you are a true 
 daughter of the desert. I never saw a girl like you, 
 dear. You amaze me with the way you keep up." 
 
 She glanced up at him, happiness in her face at 
 winning his praise. 
 
 " I am not a bit frightened of the desert when I 
 am with you," she declared, naively. " If I could 
 only forget all the misery and terror of the last week, 
 I should quite enjoy the adventure. But oh, Mr. Bolt, 
 what would poor auntie have done, if she had been 
 spared to accompany us ?" 
 
 They mounted Bijli again, set their course by 
 the North Star, and plunged into the trackless
 
 DERELICT IN THE DESERT 205 
 
 desert. The slight rest and refreshment had done 
 them both good, and, their progress now being over 
 the silent sand, Robert was able to interject scraps 
 of conversation over his shoulder, and Lily to 
 answer him. A trivial thing ; but in the dark, lonely 
 desert, the sound of human speech is very comforting 
 and, coming from the lips that she loved, it filled Lily 
 with happiness. He was so kind and thoughtful for 
 her comfort, checking the camel into a walk, from 
 time to time, to give her a little ease and, if the 
 truth must be known, to gain some for himself, for 
 he was beginning to suffer much pain again. And 
 his hand folded over hers, which were clasped round 
 his waist, gave her a feeling of tender protection, 
 as she thankfully rested her tired head and body 
 against his back, and vowed she could almost fall 
 asleep. 
 
 Three hours passed, which Robert reckoned 
 had taken them fifteen miles from the river. The 
 bitter chill that precedes dawn came on, and the 
 last hour of the night, which is accounted the 
 darkest. Bijli showed a little sluggishness, as camels 
 often do when it is cold. Once it stumbled badly, 
 and the jerk disarranged Robert's bandage and 
 caused him acute pain, which increased as the edge 
 or a wrinkle in the handkerchief began to rub and 
 irritate his wounded side, It required the exercise of 
 all his fortitude to control himself from crying out. 
 He dared not tell Lily, for if she knew that he was 
 injured, and thought he was in pain, she would 
 certainly insist on stopping. Her love and concern 
 for him were far too apparent for Robert to give her 
 any opportunity of practically expressing them. 
 They must push on push on to the rising sun. 
 The desert by day, in the scorching heat, was far 
 more to be dreaded than the desert by night, and it 
 would be necessary for him to extemporise some
 
 206 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 shelter. Although he felt they were pretty safe from 
 pursuit, he was still far from easy in his mind. They 
 would have to halt for four or five hours, but it 
 must be at a sufficient distance from Ramjugger to 
 ensure that they were not overtaken. The pain and 
 fatigue he was now suffering exerted an influence on 
 his own spirits, and dulled them. Dangers that were, 
 perhaps, more imaginary than real, loomed in his 
 mind. He was haunted with thoughts of Ramjugger 
 and the Rajah, and the terrible peril Lily had escaped 
 from, and he could not feel assured of her safety 
 until they reached British territory. The horrors of 
 that Women's Palace worse than any prison to 
 which Lily had been doomed rose before his vision, 
 and oppressed him. He shuddered at the sacrifice 
 that had been designed, of this innocent, sweet child, 
 whose arms were clinging round him and pressing 
 him to her bosom. There must be no stopping ! 
 And so, he clenched his teeth, resolved to triumph 
 over the physical pain that racked him clenched 
 his teeth, and gripped his whip, and goaded Bijli 
 on. 
 
 Again the camel stumbled, with its accompani- 
 ment of torture for him. At this he lost his temper, 
 and, for a relief to his feelings, plied the whip 
 impatiently, and more often than was needful, or 
 Bijli accustomed to. It was done almost uncon- 
 sciously, but it had the effect of rousing Bijli's evil 
 temper. With an angry grunt and uncouth noises, 
 the camel demurred to the punishment and, elevating 
 its head in the air, shambled along at an increased 
 pace. 
 
 Suddenly, in the dark, it got its foot entangled 
 in the skeleton of some dead animal and nearly 
 came down. Robert raised his whip to strike, and 
 the camel, now really affrighted, gave a start, 
 stumbled again, dragging at the rein, and in doing
 
 DERELICT IN THE DESERT 207 
 
 so jerked Robert on to its neck, from whence he 
 fell to the ground under an insufferable spasm of 
 pain. 
 
 Before he could rise to his feet and seize the 
 rein, which he made a superhuman effort to do, 
 Bijli was bolting into the black desert, with Lily on 
 his back and the rein trailing on the ground. 
 
 Robert gave a cry of alarm, and bounded forward 
 to follow. As he did so, a stabbing pain seemed to 
 shoot through his side and paralyse him. He 
 staggered a few steps, halted, reeled, and fell to the 
 ground. And, as his senses passed from him, the 
 last sound he heard was Lily's shrieks lessening in 
 the distance.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 A DESPERATE PLIGHT. 
 
 MORNING broke over the desert. The sun 
 rose and shone upon Robert's recumbent 
 figure lying motionless at the foot of a sand 
 hillock. Presently he moved, tossed his arms and 
 swayed his head from side to side. His numbed 
 blood began to circulate through his veins as con- 
 sciousness returned. He opened his eyes ; they fell 
 upon the skeleton of a camel, its widespread ribs 
 half-buried, like a wreck, in the sand. 
 
 With a shudder, he turned his eyes away from 
 the sinister object and looked up at the hard blue 
 sky. What were those birds circling above him ? 
 Slowly circling and descending ? He recognised 
 them, having become familiar with vultures at 
 Ramjugger,and he knewthey were collecting for him ! 
 
 He looked towards the east, where the haze- 
 enveloped sun gleamed dully like a ball of molten 
 lead suspended in the sky. He knew and dreaded its 
 mid-day power. A sense of horror and despair crept 
 over him. His helplessness, his isolation, the 
 grinning skeleton, the circling vultures, with their 
 faint, shrill whistles to one another, and the round- 
 eyed, pitiless sun ! 
 
 But more terrible than the anticipation of his 
 own impending tortures was the thought of Lily. 
 Where was she ? Had that cursed animal carried
 
 A DESPERATE PLIGHT 209 
 
 her back to Ramjugger ? Its natural instinct, when 
 left without control, would be to return to its stable. 
 If it had, Lily would now be in the Women's Palace ! 
 
 Then came a ray of hope. She might have 
 thrown herself from Bijli's back when he slackened 
 speed, and, if so, could not be far off. A drop from the 
 saddle on to the soft sand would certainly not have 
 daunted her. If he could only manage to crawl to 
 the top of the sand-hillock under which he lay! 
 Nerving himself, he made the attempt. But move- 
 ment was beyond his physical power ; the pain in 
 his inflamed side gripped him like a pair of red-hot 
 pincers and compelled him to desist. 
 
 He fell back, and lay, helpless and hopeless. 
 The action of the wind had scooped out a small dip 
 in the surface of the sand at the base of the hillock, 
 so that he could not see the horizon, and it 
 seemed to him that he was lying in a shallow 
 grave, cut off from the world. Every moment the 
 sun gathered strength, a dreadful thirst tortured 
 him, and myriads of sand-flies began to torment. 
 
 He felt that his dark hour had come that 
 death could only be a matter of a few hours. His 
 thoughts wandered back to the events of the past 
 few weeks, and the panorama of his adventures 
 passed before his mind with inexorable exactitude, 
 omitting nothing. From that tragic night when 
 Edith and his brother had bidden him farewell, as 
 he started on his flight, through the mazy course of 
 his doublings and wanderings, until now, when he 
 was lost in a region more remote than any he had 
 contemplated or coveted. There was a grim irony in 
 his present circumstances; he had reached and over- 
 reached that vanishing-point which he sought. No 
 one would ever find him. The vultures would take 
 good care of that, and the desert wind and sand 
 would foil his track for ever.
 
 210 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 It was an awful thought this lonely death in 
 the desert ; and, as he pondered it, there came to 
 him an inexpressible longing to leave some written 
 record behind him, even as a mariner on a sinking 
 ship commits a bottle with a message in it to the 
 waves, trusting to Providence to carry it to a 
 destination. He felt he must leave some written 
 words to reveal Lily's fate. For he knew full 
 well that, once in the Rajah's power, no news of her 
 would be allowed to reach the outer world. 
 
 In his pocket was his notebook ; with feeble 
 fingers he drew it out, reflected for a few moments, 
 and wrote as follows : 
 
 " To any Englishman by whom these words may 
 come to be read in the name of Heaven and 
 humanity, HELP AND SPEED ! 
 
 "An English girl, named Lilian Willis, whose 
 sister married the Rajah oj Ramjugger, is now in his 
 power. He enticed her to his Court by false pretences, 
 in order that he might make her an inmate of his 
 zenana. He poisoned her aunt, because she would not 
 consent to her niece marrying him, and then attempted 
 to kidnap Lilian by force. I managed to extricate 
 her, and we escaped from Ramjugger by night on a 
 camel, hoping to cross the desert and reach British 
 territory. Unfortunately I was wounded, and fell from 
 the camel, which has probably carried Lilian back to 
 Ramjugger. If this is the case, she is in the Rajah's 
 zenana, and her fate is too horrible to think of. She 
 has no knowledge or suspicion of what was intended. 
 I lie here, in the desert, unable to move, and my death 
 can only be a matter of a few hours. For Heaven's 
 sake, haste to her rescue. She is but a child in years 
 and innocence. May Heaven be merciful to her ! 
 
 (< HELP AND SPEED! 
 
 "Robert Bolt."
 
 A DESPERATE PLIGHT 211 
 
 As he signed the name he had adopted there 
 came to him the memory of Edith, and he felt he 
 must leave some message for her, too. She had 
 passed out of his life more completely than he had 
 suspected since he had come to love Lily. But there 
 was a time when Edith had absorbed all the love of 
 which he was capable, and crystalised everything 
 that was dearest in womankind for him. But having 
 once realised and accepted the final nature of the 
 barrier between them, and been thrown into 
 such intimate companionship with Lily, his feelings 
 had undergone a change. When he left Edith, he 
 knew it was for good ; he had admitted the finality 
 it involved. And, since he could never marry Edith, 
 why might he not think of Lily ? 
 
 Moreover, Edith and his brother had both 
 promised to write to him at Bombay and had not 
 done so. Their neglect had been a cruel shock ; it 
 seemed as though Edith had forgotten him. Not- 
 withstanding, at this solemn moment, when he was 
 taking farewell of the world as he believed his 
 heart softened, and a wave of the old affection re- 
 turned. So he turned to the next page of his notebook, 
 and set down these words : " A dying man asks any- 
 one, into whose hands this book may fall, to tear this 
 page out, and forward it to Miss Edith Carew at the 
 address given." Then he wrote underneath : 
 
 "Dearest Edith, When (if ever) you receive this 
 I shall be dead. I have done my best, but luck has 
 been against me. Do not mourn jor me. Fondest 
 love. May you be happy ! R. F" 
 
 With a sigh, he closed his eyes ; the pencil fell 
 from his fingers, and the notebook rolled on to the 
 sand by his side. He made no effort to recover 
 them, but lay inert. The sun had mounted high in 
 the Heavens, and was drawing furnace-vapours 
 from the scorching sand. He turned and twisted his
 
 212 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 face, to try and avert it from the dazzling glare, but 
 without avail. There came a singing sound in his 
 ears, like the hissing of water spilled on a red-hot 
 stove. He could no longer see clearly, and his breath 
 choked in short, panting gasps, quicker and quicker 
 as the end approached. 
 
 The vultures circled lower and lower ; the 
 skeleton grinned in the sand. Flames devoured him ; 
 his tongue, dry and hard, rattled against his teeth, 
 and he felt the pangs of dissolution. At last relief 
 came ; there was one convulsive stretch, and then 
 the limp body settled in the sand as a thing from 
 which the breath of life has departed. 
 
 It was typical of the irony of fate that, at this 
 very moment Lily was actually on her way to rescue 
 him ! 
 
 This is how it happened. When the camel 
 bolted, Lily's immediate instinct had been to throw 
 herself to the ground after Robert. But she was 
 impeded by the precautions he had taken to secure 
 her in the saddle, and it also flashed across her 
 mind that to abandon Bijli was to cut themselves 
 off from all chance of escape. 
 
 Wherefore, with wonderful presence of mind, 
 she retained her seat, having, of course, no knowledge 
 that Robert had fallen through pain. Gripping the 
 pommel of the saddle, she glanced back just in time 
 to note that there was an unusually high sand-hillock 
 at the spot and to engrave it on her mind as a landmark. 
 
 A galloping camel is an uncanny beast to be- 
 stride, and at first it was with the greatest difficulty 
 Lily retained her seat. Happily, after a short sprint, 
 Bijli eased down to a trot and she was able to 
 scramble into the driver's seat, and, remembering 
 the peculiar sounds natives make to induce camels
 
 A DESPERATE PLIGHT 213 
 
 to halt, endeavoured to imitate them. The result 
 was a modified success; Bijli merely slowed, and 
 carried her on another two miles or more at a sedater 
 trot. Do what she would, he refused to halt ; it 
 required a jerk at the rein, as well as the peculiar 
 call, to bring him to a standstill, and the rein was 
 trailing on the ground. 
 
 At length a happy idea occurred to her. 
 Strapped to the back of the saddle was a bundle of 
 fodder. She extracted a handful and held it out to 
 Bijli. He succumbed to the snare, and was forced 
 into a walk as he hooked his head round to mouth 
 it. That was Lily's opportunity ; she grabbed at the 
 rein, and managed to retain hold of it, though she 
 fell to the ground in the process. Bijli was a little 
 startled, but Lily held on, and brought him to a 
 halt. Then she reached up for another handful of 
 fodder, whereat he recovered his composure, and 
 contentedly munched the refreshment she provided 
 with diplomatic abundance. 
 
 And now, the problem of returning. She 
 peered into the dark desert ; nothing was visible 
 beyond the radius of a few yards. It was as though 
 a curtain of crape hung around her. She must wait 
 till dawn ; and so, there she stood sentinel for three 
 long hours, guarding the camel on which their lives 
 depended, and horribly timid of its uncouth craning 
 head and champing teeth. 
 
 When, at last, morning broke, to her joy she 
 located the distant sand-hillock. Inspirited by her 
 discovery, she summoned all her courage, and by 
 incessant jabbing at the rein, which was passed 
 through his nostrils, managed to make Bijli squat. 
 Then, all in a flurry, scrambled into the saddle. 
 
 And now she began to acquire an insight into 
 the inherent obstinacy of camels. Bijli, induced with 
 difficulty to squat, absolutely refused to rise! Whip
 
 214 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 she had none, for it had fallen with Robert, In this 
 dilemma there came an inspiration to her. By the 
 application of about three-quarters of an inch of 
 safety-pin into Bijli's hide, she created a small 
 earthquake, and lo ! when the world stood still again, 
 he was on his legs, and she still on his back ! 
 
 And now, you might have thought her trials 
 were at an end : but such a conclusion shows an 
 inacquaintance with the character of a camel. 
 Instead of answering the rein, Bijli evinced a deter- 
 mined resolution to proceed on a course diametrically 
 opposite to the one Lily desired. Had her eyes been 
 as keen as those of the desert-born, she might have 
 detected an infinite speck on the horizon, which 
 denoted the clump of date-palms shading the half- 
 way desert-well. But Lily only knew Bijli was 
 bearing her away from Robert ; so she stopped him, 
 slid off his back, and proceeded on foot to her 
 destination, dragging the camel after her with 
 querulous grunts and grumbles. 
 
 The sand was soft and difficult to traverse, and 
 the journey slow. One thing greatly troubled her 
 there was no sign of Robert. About noon, utterly 
 exhausted and desponding, she reached the hillock. 
 Some minutes were consumed in compelling Bijli up 
 the slope, for she dared not loose her rein. And 
 when she was on the top she was startled by a loud 
 rustle of wings, and from a dip in the ground, a few 
 yards distant, up rose a dozen vultures with scared 
 cries. 
 
 Instinctively she looked down, and caught sight 
 of Robert, lying motionless in the full blaze of the 
 sun. 
 
 She called to him, but he did not answer. She 
 called again, her voice rising to a terrified scream 
 under the stress of nervous tension and excitement. 
 Not a movement from the prostrate figure ! A third
 
 A DESPERATE PLIGHT 215 
 
 time she screamed, and then caught her breath and 
 choked in a paralysis of dread and fear. 
 
 What had happened ? Was he dead ? Her 
 heart seemed to stop beating ; she was too fearful to 
 approach him. And yet she must ! 
 
 A few feet distant from Robert was the skeleton 
 of a camel peeping out from the sand ; hastily dragging 
 Bijli towards it, she tethered him. Then she 
 tottered to Robert's side. 
 
 A glance at his face nearly made her faint ; but 
 she knew by instinct it was not death she was looking 
 at. He was still alive. There came to her the 
 strange and beautiful courage which often crowns a 
 woman's devotion in the crisis of danger. Running 
 back to Bijli, she unhooked the leathern water-bottle 
 which was slung to the saddle and returned with it 
 to Robert's side. Kneeling down, she poured a few 
 drops down his lips, and plentifully besprinkled his 
 face and head. With trembling joy and thankfulness, 
 she perceived signs of returning animation ; his 
 tongue moved, his features twitched, and a sound 
 like a deep sigh broke from him. 
 
 Ah ! what happiness was hers ! How tenderly 
 she bathed his inflamed face how deftly gave him 
 to drink ! At last her efforts were rewarded with 
 success. Quite unexpectedly, Robert opened his 
 eyes, looked at her, and smiled. 
 
 But at that smile Lily broke down utterly. 
 Bending low, she covered his face with hysterical 
 tears and kisses, in a thankful rapture that was 
 wholly uncontrollable. 
 
 t
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 INTO THE DARK UNKNOWN. 
 
 ROBERT was too weak to respond to Lily's 
 emotional outburst, but his passive happiness 
 conveyed to her all that her heart could crave. 
 His eyes were fixed on hers with an expression of 
 absorbed love, and his face lifted to return her 
 caresses. In a few moments she recovered control 
 of herself, realising that this was no time to give 
 way to her feelings, when there was so much to do 
 and only she to do it. 
 
 Rising to her feet, she disciplined her thoughts. 
 The most urgent necessity was to protect Robert 
 from the sun. There were materials at hand in Bijli's 
 saddle-cloth and the thin, but tough bamboo-poles 
 used to keep its end stretched. With the exercise of 
 a little ingenuity, she erected a sloping screen, which 
 threw a shadow over Robert's body. Next, she un- 
 lashed his knapsack from the saddle, and, filling it with 
 leaves of fodder, extemporised a pillow ; then sat 
 down to resume her ministrations as nurse. 
 
 Presently, she experienced a return of anxiety, 
 as a moan broke from him. He seemed uncomfort- 
 able, and she tried to lift him into an easier position, 
 which evoked a dolorous groan of pain. 
 
 " What is it ?" she asked. 
 
 And he told her he had been wounded by a 
 spear-thrust in the side.
 
 INTO THE DARK UNKNOWN 217 
 
 For a moment her heart sank at this new trial, 
 but the next she was examining into the cause, and 
 discovered the bloodstained bandage he had wound 
 round himself. Quickly unloosening it, she laid bare 
 the gash the spear had made. It needed all her 
 fortitude to bathe and dress it, and staunch the flow 
 of blood, which was draining his strength away. 
 Marvellous was her self-discipline, her resource, her 
 courage. She felt there was no room for weakness, 
 and met the dire necessity of the occasion like a 
 heroine. 
 
 It was just this relief that Robert had been 
 wanting. With his wound attended to and the bleed- 
 ing stopped, with the comparative ease he enjoyed 
 from the grateful shelter, the water she had given 
 him to drink, and the ceaseless fanning, he revived 
 more completely than he had hitherto done. 
 
 And now, with his consciousness and power of 
 speech restored, Robert was able to listen to Lily's 
 story, and explain to her how he had been wounded, 
 and why he had kept it hidden from her. 
 
 " And so you endured all this torture for my 
 sake to spare me the anxiety of worrying," com- 
 mented Lily, in anguish. 
 
 " I would have suffered much more for your 
 sake, dear, to get you safely away from that 
 horrible place." 
 
 " Poor, poor Rosie," sighed Lily, with a 
 shudder. 
 
 " Do not let yourself think about her," said 
 Robert, gravely. " Try and forget Ramjugger as 
 you would a bad dream. Just now it is about your- 
 self you must think. That is what is troubling me. 
 I am so helpless so useless ; such an encumbrance 
 to you." 
 
 " Oh, do not say that," she cried. " You are 
 alive, and we are together. Suppose I had not found
 
 2i8 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 you ! There was a time when I feared I should 
 never get that dreadful camel back to the sand-hill." 
 
 He lay thinking for a few moments. 
 
 "That was because you had not got a whip. 
 With a whip I am sure you would be able to control 
 and guide the camel. You will have to try to-night, 
 dear, for your life depends on it. You must reach the 
 railway " 
 
 " And you ?" she cried, in startled alarm. 
 
 " With a little water and some biscuits, I can 
 hang on until you send back relief," he answered. 
 
 "Send back relief ! What relief could find you 
 in this trackless, unknown place. Sameness and 
 sand, sameness and sand all around ! Oh ! don't, 
 don't talk like that," she pleaded in piteous accents; 
 " I can never leave you. I don't want to be saved 
 without you ! I don't want anything without you ! " 
 
 He was greatly moved, and yet attempted once 
 more to persuade her. Whereat she burst out crying. 
 
 " There, there, darling," he gave in, stroking her 
 hand lovingly ; " We will decide nothing until this 
 evening. Perhaps I shall feel stronger then, and 
 able to make an effort." 
 
 " Promise me you won't ask me to leave you," 
 she sobbed. 
 
 " Little mate," he said, tenderly, " you are 
 captain of the ship now. I will obey you." 
 
 She dried her tears, and they sat in silence for 
 a little time. Presently, to her delight, he expressed 
 a wish for food. They had brought some tins of 
 preserved soup with them, and Lily made a fire with 
 stalks of fodder and warmed some up in its own tin, 
 which, with biscuits, afforded a good meal. A little 
 later she persuaded Robert to try and compose 
 himself to sleep. " I will fan you and keep the 
 horrid flies away. And I'm captain now," she re- 
 minded him, " and you have to obey ! "
 
 INTO THE DARK UNKNOWN 219 
 
 He looked up and smiled affectionately at her, 
 and, taking her hand, nestled it under his cheek, and 
 closed his eyes obediently. In a short time, almost 
 without knowing it, he dosed away, and from dosing 
 fell into a profound slumber. 
 
 It was past mid-day. The sun had mounted 
 high in the sky, and the desert haze danced in oily, 
 atmospheric waves over the surface of the ground, 
 whilst a mirage painted the horizon with exquisite 
 pictures of green islands floating on placid waters. 
 A strange, lonely, isolated scene ; and yet Lily felt 
 supremely happy. Robert was her's now; he had 
 kissed her, and said he belonged to her, and that 
 knowledge compensated for everything else ! 
 
 She glanced down at his face, and perceived that 
 the sun was creeping over the shelter and would 
 strike down on him in a few minutes. Withdrawing 
 her hand quietly she rose and adjusted the awning. 
 As she was resuming her seat her foot struck against 
 something, and, looking down, she discovered Robert's 
 note book. 
 
 To rescue it from its position, half buried in the 
 sand, w T as a natural action. Then, without any 
 intention of prying, she opened it, and the first thing 
 to meet her eyes was her own name ! 
 
 She could not resist reading what was written, 
 and with a beating heart turned to learn the revela- 
 tion. 
 
 And as she read, with a thrill of mingled marvel 
 and horror, a curtain fell from her eyes, and she 
 realised for the first time the hideous design that had 
 been contemplated to ruin her. In a flash of revela- 
 tion the full extent of Robert's service was made 
 apparent. Some dim inkling of the tragic horror of 
 it all, some half-comprehended idea of the existence 
 worse than death to which she would have been 
 consigned but for Robert !
 
 220 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 But for Robert ! It was he who had saved her ; 
 who had been wounded in defending her ; who had 
 stayed at Ramjugger, when he had the opportunity 
 to leave, all for her sake ! Her heart beat fast and 
 her pulses throbbed as she recognised what he had 
 done, and a wave of glowing love and gratitude 
 overwhelmed her. 
 
 She turned again to read the dear lines he had 
 written when he thought he was dying. But, as it 
 chanced, this time the note book opened at another 
 page the one which contained the message to Edith 
 Carew. At first Lily could not comprehend the 
 change, and turned back a page. There was the 
 message about her, and yet, following it, written 
 after it, this message to another woman ! 
 
 Edith Carew ! Who was Edith Carew ? And 
 what had he written to her ? The temptation com- 
 pelled her to read. 
 
 And then she understood. Understood why 
 Robert had always called her his " little sister." He 
 loved another woman, and it was to the other woman 
 that his last words were addressed ! She herself was 
 but a " child " in his eyes ! And as she realised this, 
 her little heart fell, the joy and hope that had sus- 
 tained her faded, and, burying her face in her hands, 
 she broke into a fit of silent weeping. 
 
 " Oh, why did I ever meet you ? " she moaned 
 to herself. " Why did you teach me to love you ? 
 Why did you not tell me of this Edith whom you 
 loved before ? " 
 
 Just then Robert stirred in his sleep. It brought 
 her to herself, and the shame of what she had done 
 came upon her with a shock. But curiosity still 
 consumed her ; with guilty eyes she read again the 
 message to Edith, and impressed the address on her 
 memory. Then waited a moment, undecided what 
 to do with the book. " I will leave it where I found
 
 INTO THE DARK UNKNOWN 221 
 
 it," she said, mutinously, and, tossing it on to the 
 ground, pushed it under the sand again. 
 
 It was not until nearly sunset that Robert 
 awakened, greatly refreshed. " I feel better ever 
 so much better," he declared. " If you can only 
 brace this side of mine up I shall be able to get into 
 the saddle somehow, and you must tie me on." 
 
 She bathed his wound with water, bandaged it 
 up afresh, and prepared dinner, which was a repeti- 
 tion of the former meal, and they both forced them- 
 selves to eat. 
 
 The time came to make a start. Lily helped 
 Robert to his feet, and on to the saddle, in the back 
 seat of which she settled him, reserving the driving 
 seat for herself. Then she climbed into her place, 
 adjusted a long strap to encircle Robert's waist and 
 her own, buckled it tightly, and knotted the ends to 
 the pommel. 
 
 " You must put your arms round my waist and 
 lean on me," she told him, and he gladly obeyed, for 
 he was in great pain. 
 
 " Mind one thing, dear," he warned her in a faint 
 voice, "do not let Bijli take the road to Ramjugger. 
 He is sure to try and do so. I would sooner you 
 were dead than back there." 
 
 " There is the afterglow," said Lily, " and in less 
 than half-an-hour we ought to see the North Star. 
 And now hold tightly on to me; I am going to make 
 Bijli rise." 
 
 She jerked the rein, and Bijli scrambled to his 
 feet. Lily put his head to the East and gave him a 
 cut of the whip, and he struck briskly out, his neck 
 outstretched, his nose held high, his ears pricked, and 
 grunting every now and again after the manner of 
 camels when excited. 
 
 In a few minutes he broke into a trot, which 
 elicited a cry of pain from Robert. Whereat Lily
 
 222 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 tried to reduce his pace to a walk again. But she 
 seemed to have lost what little power she ever 
 possessed over the animal, and it soon became 
 apparent he was beyond her feeble control. She tried 
 to guide him, but he insisted on following a direction 
 of his own. He was no longer tired, sluggish, and 
 cold, but rested, fed, and refractory. 
 
 And then Robert began to moan and talk inco- 
 herently, and cling to her with a tightened clasp. 
 She called to him, but he made no reply. With that 
 all other thoughts but those for him vanished from 
 her mind. Dropping the rein, which she had taken 
 the precaution to fasten to the pommel, she allowed 
 Bijli to follow his own courseinto the Dark Unknown. 
 
 Twisting round in the saddle, Lily passed her 
 arm around Robert's fainting form, and pillowed his 
 head on her bosom. It was all she could do, and 
 with her arms clasping him close to her, she surren- 
 dered herself to what Fate might have in store for 
 them. 
 
 A couple of hours passed, and then Bijli suddenly 
 broke into an uncouth canter, and gave vent to 
 bellowing sounds of excitement. There came back 
 answering noises from other camels. Lily looked 
 round ; a camp fire gleamed, armed natives rose up, 
 and the air was filled with loud jabbering and 
 chattering. 
 
 She pressed Robert's insensible form closer to 
 her, and gave a scream of terror as several wild- 
 looking men dashed forward to catch Bijli's rein and 
 bring him to a halt. 
 
 But there was no halting for Bijli. He had 
 reached the goal he was seeking. Pressing on, he 
 sank on his knees with a triumphant grunt, and 
 plunged his muzzle into the grateful waters of the 
 half-way desert well.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE CAMP IN THE DESERT. 
 
 LILY and Robert were safe ! 
 By one of those providential chances, which 
 sometimes interpose to save people in direst 
 peril, they had stumbled upon the camp of Captain 
 Douglas, of the Frontier Military Police, who was 
 " out " after one of the numerous bands of cattle 
 raiders that infest this part of India. His tents were 
 pitched by the half-way well, between Ramjugger 
 and the railway, and the native forms whom Lily had 
 discerned as her senses were leaving her, belonged to 
 such a very comforting folk as His British Majesty's 
 police troopers! 
 
 The police officer in India, often a soldier, 
 always a man of action and resource, is competent 
 to confront most difficulties and emergencies, but the 
 re-vivification of a fainting girl in mid-desert is one 
 of the few things beyond the ordinary sphere of his 
 duties. Roused from his slumbers by the report 
 that there was a " sahib and meem-sahib " awaiting 
 his honour outside, Captain Douglas hastily ran out 
 to convince his eyes of the incomprehensible. And 
 there, sure enough, stretched on the ground by the 
 side of the well, were a European man and woman, 
 both insensible, and their social status utterly un- 
 recognisable in their begrimed condition. 
 
 For a moment Captain Douglas was abashed 
 and confounded by the situation, but he rose to it
 
 224 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 quickly, and lifting Lily in his arms, carried her to 
 his tent and laid her on his bed. Then returned to 
 attend to Robert, whom he suspected, from his 
 appearance, was far more in need of medical relief. 
 Him he had carried to the tent, too, and laid on the 
 ground, and then set to work to apply restoratives. 
 
 Lily was the first to recover, and her first words 
 were " Robert ! Robert ! " Presently, as her senses 
 returned, she sat up, looked round in bewilderment, 
 caught sight of Robert's recumbent form on the floor, 
 and attempted to rise and reach him. 
 
 " Oh, please don't," entreated Captain Douglas, 
 who by the light of the lamp in the tent had dis- 
 covered that the " meem-sahib" was a young golden- 
 haired girl, and who was much exercised how to lay 
 hands on her and restrain her from rising. 
 
 " He is wounded : he may die," she cried. "Oh 
 let me go to him. He became insensible more than 
 two hours ago. His wound may have broken open 
 again, and he be bleeding to death. I was stupid to 
 faint. I am unhurt and well. Only I was frightened 
 at the armed natives. Please, please let me get up 
 and attend to him." 
 
 There was no denying her. Nor could Captain 
 Douglas maintain his objection when Lily insisted 
 on Robert being transferred to the bed. This done, 
 she set to work to unbind and wash his wound, and 
 readjust the bandages, whilst Captain Douglas poured 
 restoratives down Robert's throat, until at last he 
 began to show signs of recovery from his swoon. 
 
 " Where am I ? " was his first question as he 
 looked in a dazed way at Lily and Captain Douglas. 
 
 " In the Police Superintendent's Camp," 
 answered Captain Douglas, " though how you and 
 this young lady struck it is a mystery to me." 
 
 " Thank God," murmured Robert. " You will 
 take care of her. She wants care, food, rest. Don't
 
 THE CAMP IN THE DESERT 225 
 
 trouble about me. I'm just a little hazy, but I'll 
 sleep it off. I'm awfully drowsy. Look after Lily, 
 she wants it," and Robert closed his eyes again, 
 with the abandon of exhaustion, and lay on the bed 
 weak, helpless and semi-conscious, but in no worse 
 case to cause alarm. 
 
 " I really must insist on your having some food," 
 said Captain Douglas to Lily ; " my khansamah has 
 prepared some soup and a supper of sorts. You 
 need be under no anxiety about this gentleman 
 unless, indeed, you fail to conform to his wishes, 
 which are to let me look after you. That might 
 throw him back, and retard his recovery," he added 
 artfully. 
 
 ' You are very kind," said Lily, with a wistful 
 glance at Robert. " Perhaps rest is the best thing 
 for him. In a little while he may be stronger and 
 able to take some food." Then, with a hasty, half- 
 shocked look at her own deshabille, and a quick 
 nervous tucking up of her straying hair, which had 
 become unloosened and was down. " Perhaps there 
 is some place where I can retire and make myself a 
 little more presentable." 
 
 "Would you like a warm bath ? The khansamah 
 has a big dekjie of water boiling," said Captain 
 Douglas, revealing by the ready bath and ready 
 dinner the fundamental duty of a camp khansamah 
 performed according to the elementary rules of camp 
 Cocker. 
 
 " Oh, how delicious ! " cried Lily, in delightful 
 anticipation. 
 
 " Then I will leave you. You will find every- 
 thing ready in the bathroom tent. When shall 
 dinner be served ? " 
 
 "In half an hour, please," said Lily, "and would 
 you would you mind " 
 
 " Certainly I wouldn't only mention it."
 
 226 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " Lending me a comb," said Lily with a blush, 
 and a pretty smile. 
 
 " Of course I will lend you one if you'll con- 
 descend to use it," replied Captain Douglas, who 
 felt at that moment he could willingly lend her a 
 thousand rupees for another such smile on her pretty 
 face, and go on repeating the operation till his bank 
 balance was exhausted. 
 
 Five minutes before her time Lily was peeping 
 out of the tent, and saying she was " quite ready." 
 And when Captain Douglas returned he was amazed 
 to find how out of the barrenness of a bachelor's 
 desert dressing-room she had managed to " fix herself 
 up " with that wonderful art which enables women 
 to adorn and preen themselves in all manner of 
 fixes and awkward situations. Notwithstanding her 
 thoughts were far away from herself, for she was 
 bending over Robert again, anxious and uneasy at 
 his protracted inertia. 
 
 Captain Douglas examined him. 
 
 "Don't worry," he said; "he's getting on 
 famously. He is weak from loss of blood and this 
 easeful rest is the very best thing for him. See ! he's 
 breathing like a child ; not a sign of fever. He 
 couldn't be going better, and we'll get him to take 
 a little soup as soon as you have had yours. Please 
 come and sit down to your meal." 
 
 Reluctantly Lily allowed herself to be led to the 
 little camp-table, where an excellent extempore meal 
 was ready. But she was too excited and too 
 exhausted to sip more than a few spoonsful of tea, 
 and toy with a make-believe help of meat, whilst 
 ever and anon her anxious glances wandered to 
 Robert. Captain Douglas, with intuitive tact and 
 sympathy for her anxiety, refrained from troubling 
 her in any way, or even asking for any explanation 
 of the extraordinary means by which she and Robert
 
 THE CAMP IN THE DESERT 227 
 
 had entered his camp at midnight, nor did Lily 
 volunteer any information, her whole attention being 
 absorbed and alert to minister to Robert. Nor did 
 she show any signs of alleviation of her tension until 
 the latter had been induced to swallow a cupful of 
 soup, and had declared that he was feeling " really 
 well " again (although his looks belied the assertion) 
 and thought he could go to sleep. 
 
 From which arose a new problem. There was 
 only this one tent, except the three small rowtees 
 occupied by the servants and troopers, two of which 
 Captain Douglas had caused to be re-pitched adjoining 
 his own tent. How were they to divide off for the night ? 
 
 He broached the question, suggesting the 
 arrangement he had thought out as most suitable. 
 
 " I have had a couple of small tents pitched 
 alongside this one," he said, " and I propose to 
 transfer Mr. Robert to one of them, so as to leave 
 you this tent. I will look after him and be responsible 
 for him till the morning." 
 
 " Indeed, no !" exclaimed Lily. " I could not 
 think of such a thing. He may have a restless night; 
 he will want constant attention. I could not rest 
 unless I were near him, to hear when he called." 
 
 " But you want undisturbed rest yourself," pro- 
 tested Captain Douglas, who could have offered 
 several other conventional objections to Lily's pro- 
 posal. 
 
 " I want nothing but to look after Robert," was 
 Lily's way of clenching the matter ; and she had her 
 own way. At her command albeit the request was 
 prettily proposed a temporary bed was made up 
 for her on the floor by Robert's side, Captain Douglas' 
 entire wardrobe was placed at her disposal, including 
 (an addenda he was very proud of) a pair of scissors 
 and some needles and thread, and, with many in- 
 junctions to call him if he could be of the slightest
 
 228 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 assistance, the gallant police-officer left the uncon- 
 ventional girl to her self-imposed duties ! 
 
 It was a hard night for Lily. After an hour's 
 slumber, Robert grew very restless ; and it was plain 
 to see that fever was coming on. Lily rose from her 
 bed on the floor on which she had thrown herself, 
 fully dressed, as it seemed to her, but a few moments 
 ago and all through the long hours she sat by his 
 side, ministering to his wants, rearranging his 
 bandages and keeping them soaked with cooling 
 water, and helping him, who was but half conscious, 
 to shift his position when it grew painful. Many 
 times during his lucid intervals he urged her to rest, 
 to call assistance, to leave him to himself and he 
 would worry through all right ; but she was far too 
 anxious to do so ; and when Captain Douglas pre- 
 sented himself, in the morning, with a tray of early 
 tea, and she came out to see him, he was shocked by 
 her weary eyes and her lack-lustre face. 
 
 "You'll break down," he said, "and then what 
 shall I do ? You haven't had a wink of sleep all 
 night, I am sure." 
 
 " I couldn't sleep after the first hour," 
 answered Lily, too exhausted to conceal what she 
 had suffered. " He was tossing about and in great 
 pain. But I think he is better now. He has asked 
 for a cup of tea. Will you come in and see him ?" 
 
 There was not much appearance of Robert 
 being better. He welcomed Captain Douglas with 
 a faint smile that was half apologetic. 
 
 " I don't know who you are," he whispered, 
 " but I am deeply grateful to you. I never expected 
 to see a white face again. We have had a most 
 miraculous escape." 
 
 " Your arrival in my camp at midnight appeared 
 equally miraculous to me," confessed Captain 
 Douglas.
 
 THE CAMP IN THE DESERT 229 
 
 " I will tell you our story in a little time," said 
 Robert, in a weak voice. " I don't think I am quite 
 up to it now. My head is so swimmy. Only, I 
 want to beg one thing of you. Make Miss Willis lie 
 down and rest. She won't attend to me. She has 
 been up with me all the night, and look at her !" 
 
 " I'm perfectly well," declared Lily, trying to 
 put on a brave smile. " And if I could only see you 
 looking better " 
 
 " I will get better directly you lie down," de- 
 clared Robert and proved it by going off into a faint I 
 
 " Oh, dear, dear !" cried Lily, beginning to 
 whimper. And then, with a masterful resolution, 
 wonderful in such a young girl, she pulled herself 
 together, and set to work helping Captain Douglas 
 to bring Robert round again. 
 
 " Thank God, I sent an express sowar for the 
 civil surgeon last night," said Captain Douglas, as 
 he watched Robert's face anxiously. " I am afraid 
 he is going to have an attack of fever and he's so 
 weak, so dreadfully weak !" 
 
 " Don't tell me there is any danger," cried Lily, 
 in a sudden panic of alarm. " Oh, it cannot be. We 
 have escaped such awful perils. Don't tell me there 
 is anything worse to come." 
 
 Captain Douglas looked with pitying eyes at the 
 frail and tottering form of the girl, as she bent over 
 Robert, administering restoratives and keeping com- 
 mand upon herself. The sight almost unmanned 
 him it was so touching, so pathetic. 
 
 " There is no cause for anxiety," he tried to 
 assure her. " Fever never kills Europeans. The 
 civil surgeon will be here by three o'clock this after- 
 noon, and this evening we'll get him into Gungaram. 
 Dr. Slater is awfully clever at his profession, and 
 he'll have him as right as a rivet inside a week, I'll 
 be bound."
 
 230 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " Oh, God, I pray he may," murmured Lily, in 
 a choking voice. " I cannot stand much more. I 
 thought he was dead yesterday. But he did not 
 look so ill then as he does now." 
 
 "Take heart, Miss Willis," said the Captain, 
 kindly and sympathetically. " You are overwrought, 
 and you see things very differently to what you would 
 have done if you had enjoyed a proper night's rest. 
 Believe me, you cannot do any good here. Just 
 retire to my tent, and have a quiet lie down. You 
 have been on duty all night ; trust your patient to 
 me for a few hours of daylight. Do please, please 
 do." 
 
 " Oh, I can't, I can't," cried Lily. " I couldn't 
 rest. I must be by his side. He will want me when 
 he comes to his senses. I I am getting used to his 
 ways," she urged, with pretty hesitation. 
 
 Nothing would induce her to relinquish her post. 
 The utmost concession she would make was to allow 
 Captain Douglas to place a comfortable camp arm- 
 chair by Robert's bed, and to recline in that. And 
 there she sat, all through the hot hours of the day, 
 as she had through the long hours of the night, 
 tending the man she loved. 
 
 It was not until four o'clock that Dr. Slater 
 arrived. Captain Douglas was the first to perceive 
 his camel a dim spot in the desert mirage and he 
 rode out to meet him and acquainted him with the 
 extraordinary facts of the case, and the necessity for 
 exerting his authority to make Lily rest, or she would 
 infallibly break down. The civil surgeon was a 
 middle-aged, kind-hearted man, and he at once 
 assumed a paternal attitude towards Lily. 
 
 " My dear," he said to her, " if you want to 
 know the truth, you are in much greater danger than 
 this gentleman. And then, again, you're a constant 
 worry on his mind, for he's asked me three times to
 
 THE CAMP IN THE DESERT 231 
 
 make you rest. It's that worry which is increasing 
 his fever. There is nothing like mental agitation to 
 make the temperature go up. He's at 104 degrees 
 as it is, and if he goes up another degree then it 
 will be danger. And he'll go up that degree if you 
 stop here and make him anxious about you. He's in 
 good hands now, and you may safely leave him to 
 me I'll pull him round; but I'm not so confident 
 of pulling you round, unless you shut those pretty 
 blue eyes of yours, and rest that troubled little brain. 
 So now, my dear ?" 
 
 " Oh, I'll do anything if you'll only make him 
 better." 
 
 " Good. That's a bargain. You go to bed, 
 and I promise to make him better. There there ! 
 I've a daughter of my own who's bigger than you, 
 and I'm sure you'll be guided by an old man's 
 advice." 
 
 " You're very, very kind," said Lily. " I should 
 be wicked and ungrateful to disobey you."
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 IN THE NAME OF THE LAW. 
 
 IT is a week later. The clouds have cleared away 
 at last though for a day or two they rolled over 
 
 Lily and Robert blacker than ever. They are at 
 green Gungaram, the pretty head-quarters station of 
 the district. Robert is in the Civil Surgeon's bunga- 
 low, where he has been skilfully treated and restored 
 to convalescence ; Lily is residing near at hand with 
 Mrs. La Touche, the wife of Mr. La Touche, the 
 Deputy Commissioner or Civil Administrator and 
 head of the district. She is allowed now to see 
 Robert twice a day, and is a little rebellious at the 
 restriction. But it is better, she admits, than not 
 being allowed to see him at all, which was her cruel 
 case for forty-eight miserable and torturing hours. 
 Then came a change for the better in his condition ; 
 the fever left him, and his wound responded to the 
 stitching and the surgical treatment, and began to 
 heal. The return of Lily completed the cure. The 
 sun shone again upon them; the sky seemed blue 
 overhead. But, to windward, although they did not 
 notice it, a small cloud was rising. No bigger than 
 a man's hand but fateful. 
 
 It was connected with Ramjugger, and the 
 Rajah. For four days after their rescue Robert had 
 been too ill to make any report or give any account 
 of the astounding happenings at Ramjugger, and the 
 incontestable but difficult to prove murder of Miss
 
 IN THE NAME OF THE LAW 233 
 
 Faloon. Lily's freedom of speech had been greatly 
 hindered by her guilty knowledge, obtained by read- 
 ing Robert's note book, of the real reason why Miss 
 Faloon had been poisoned, and the attempt made to 
 destroy Robert. She had told her story, but it 
 sounded too bizarre and improbable to be believed, 
 for she could not reveal the keynote of the motive 
 without which the cold-blooded murder she spoke of 
 seemed senseless and beyond comprehension or 
 credence. The authorities at Gungaram were in- 
 clined to believe that the explanation which Lily had 
 let drop as an unimportant detail, namely that Miss 
 Faloon had died of cholera, was the true one, and 
 Lily's wildly improbable story the involuntary 
 imagination of her overtaxed mental stress. Dr. 
 Slater had forbidden Robert to be questioned in any 
 way, and thus it happened that a week passed and 
 no step whatever was taken to obtain retribution for 
 the foul deeds committed at Ramjugger. 
 
 It was, of course, Robert's duty to make the 
 necessary report ; but in the first place he was far 
 too ill to do so, and, later on, with returning health, 
 his joy at Lily being allowed to see him again put 
 the tragedy into the background of his mind. It 
 seemed indeed a thing of long, long ago; for although 
 his illness had been of brief duration it had some- 
 how placed a gulf between the present and that 
 past, which though it was really of yesterday, 
 appeared to him far more remote. Lily was his 
 present and his future he shirked the disagreeable 
 task of raking up the past again until he was mentally 
 stronger and physically better. Lily arid her love 
 these were all he wanted at the present moment. 
 They were curing him, and he very gratefully gave 
 the cure full scope. 
 
 With this explanation let us return to the story. 
 Robert had been permitted to leave his bed for the 
 
 Q
 
 234 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 first time, and was sitting propped up in an armchair 
 in the shady verandah. Lily was with him by per- 
 mission " for one hour and he is not to be excited, 
 mind." Mrs. La Touche with womanly tact and 
 sympathy had left them alone, remembering that two 
 is company and three none. 
 
 Lily had taken her seat by Robert's side, and no 
 sooner were they alone than her hand stole into his. 
 
 " I have something to tell you," she said, " a 
 secret which I have mentioned to nobody." 
 
 He looked surprised " What is it, Lily ? " he 
 asked. 
 
 For a reply her hand went into the bosom of 
 her dress, and she drew out a packet carefully secured 
 in a native silk handkerchief. " Do you recognise 
 this ? " 
 
 " I can't say I do." 
 
 " It is the package which Tom Bobus gave me 
 from the Ranee Dewali." 
 
 " By George ! " exclaimed Robert, his interest 
 instantly aroused. " What's in it ? " 
 
 " Look," said Lily, and handed it over to him 
 to open. 
 
 He unloosed the knots and displayed the con- 
 tents. First and foremost a magnificent necklace of 
 diamonds and rubies, worth a Rajah's ransom ; next 
 an envelope containing a document. And the 
 document was the Ranee Rosalie's last Will and 
 Testament, leaving all her fortune to her sister Lily 
 Willis. There was a memorandum in her Uncle's 
 handwriting showing the amount some eighteen 
 thousand pounds and where it was invested. In 
 Government of India securities safe in a Bombay 
 Bank, thanks to the craft of General Faloon, who 
 had caused himself to be appointed sole trustee. 
 
 " Lily ! " he cried, " here's all my best wishes to 
 you, dear little heiress ! You are worthy to inherit
 
 IN THE NAME OF THE LAW 235 
 
 this magnificent necklace and that is the extremest 
 praise I can imagine from the point of view of a 
 young lady who is rather fond of gems and jewels ! " 
 
 " I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw it," 
 confessed Lily. " It took my breath away. And 
 dear, dear Rosie leaving me all this money ! Oh, I 
 shall never like to spend it when I think of the 
 penalty she paid for it ! " 
 
 " Poor Ranee," murmured Robert, as he shook 
 his head gravely. " But out of evil and suffering 
 cometh good. I was so fearful of your circumstances. 
 Only of course " 
 
 " Of course what ? " 
 
 " Why I was a little glad, because I promised 
 your dear, brave Aunt to look after you. And now 
 I am a little sorry because this has rendered my help 
 unnecessary." 
 
 " And you won't help me you won't share it 
 with me ? " asked Lily, on the spur of an indignant 
 moment. " Then I don't want the necklace or the 
 money or or anything!" And giving way to one 
 of her impulsive humours she snatched up the parcel 
 from Robert's lap and tossed it on to an adjacent 
 table. 
 
 He was amused at her little tantrums it was so 
 like the Lily he had been accustomed to before the 
 awful perils they had gone through together trans- 
 formed her, in a week, from a giddy girl into a young 
 woman. 
 
 " I always want to help you, dear," he said, 
 " only now my help is not necessary." 
 
 " Oh, but it is. It is always necessary ! And 
 when you talk like you did just now you make me 
 miserable," said Lily in a low voice. 
 
 " And all I want is to make you happy." 
 
 " Then why don't you ? " she asked, with splen- 
 did audacity ; " you know you can, or you could,
 
 236 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 if " The thought of that other woman flashed 
 
 across her mind, and she realised she had allowed her 
 words to run on too far. Robert pulled her up 
 quickly. 
 
 " Or could if what ? " 
 
 " Nothing," she said ; and hurriedly repeated 
 " Nothing," and looked very miserable. 
 
 Her temper touched him instantly. 
 
 " Lily, dear," he asked, " what would make you 
 happy ? " 
 
 "To go to the Seychelles with you," was her 
 frank answer. " Only I know you won't take me, 
 
 because " again she broke off. That recollection 
 
 of the other woman seemed to have a fatal propensity 
 for influencing the end of her sentences. 
 
 " Because ? " he insisted. 
 
 And again she relapsed into the negative. 
 
 "Nothing nothing nothing!" Then she 
 broke down. " Oh, Robert," she cried, " why won't 
 you take me to those beautiful islands ? " 
 
 " I should like to ; I have longed to do so for 
 many days past. But, you are an heiress now " 
 
 " And does that make any difference ? " 
 
 " It naturally makes some difference. And, 
 besides I have a secret, too, Lily. And that secret 
 places a lock upon my tongue." 
 
 "You have a secret ? " She faltered. And then 
 her heart cried within her, " I knew it ! I knew it ! " 
 and rising from her chair she walked hurriedly to the 
 further end of the verandah and stood there, her 
 bosom heaving and the tears welling into her eyes. 
 
 Robert rose, painfully, and followed her. The 
 burden of his secret was too great for him. It had 
 kept him, with his alias name and false identity, 
 from revealing his love for her in words. But now a 
 greater influence was at work the knowledge that 
 she was suffering through his secret; that her heart
 
 IN THE NAME OF THE LAW 237 
 
 was seared because he might not speak to her 
 honestly and frankly, and ask of her the one question 
 that he longed to do and it was clearly his duty to do. 
 
 " Lily," he said, and stole his arm around her 
 waist, " Will you trust me ? My secret is not mine 
 to surrender. It is concerned with a person in 
 England whom I love very much. I have made up 
 my mind what to do. I am going to send a cable- 
 message home, and when I get the reply " 
 
 " Yes ? Yes ?" she answered, in a quick, excited 
 tone. 
 
 " I am going to ask you, darling, to be my wife 
 and to confess everything to you. If you can forgive 
 me, and will accept me " 
 
 "If ?" she cried; and that was all. The 
 
 next minute she was in his arms and there passed 
 between them the first burning kiss of love. 
 
 " Oh, I beg your pardon !" 
 
 A voice sounded behind them ; and, as they 
 blushingly disengaged and hastily looked round 
 there was Mrs. La Touche, who always accompanied 
 Lily to Dr. Slater's as her chaperon. Mrs. Slater 
 and the Doctor's daughter, of whom he had spoken, 
 were (it may be mentioned) in England. 
 
 " Pray don't apologise, Mrs. La Touche," said 
 Robert, as Lily incontinently fled into the drawing- 
 room. " But grant me the privilege of half-an-hour's 
 conversation, that I may explain the relations 
 between Lily and myself." 
 
 Mrs. La Touche took the chair Lily had lately 
 vacated and Robert resumed his seat. And then, in a 
 few words, he told her of how strangely Lily and he 
 had been thrown together, the perils they had survived 
 in company, and the love that had grown up between 
 them. And, for the first time, he revealed his story 
 of the awful plot that had been hatched by the late 
 General Falcon and the Rajah of Ramjugger for
 
 238 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 Lily's ruin, and allowed himself the relief of pouring 
 into her ears his opinion of the foul villain who 
 could sell this innocent girl to shame. 
 
 " And now," he said, as he finished his story, 
 "you can understand the position in which you 
 surprised Lily and myself. I had just asked her to 
 be my wife." 
 
 " Dear, dear child," said Mrs. La Touche, who 
 had grown to love Lily ; " I am so happy for her 
 sake. I have seen the state of her feelings from the 
 first moment I saw you and her together. But, from 
 some vague words she let slip, I gathered there 
 was no hope for her." 
 
 " Circumstances which I cannot explain at 
 present have conspired to prevent my offering 
 myself to Lily. Indeed, I should not have done so 
 to-day, but the temptation surprised and overcame 
 me. But it has done one good thing determined 
 me to summarily terminate those those circum- 
 stances of which I speak, and regain my perfect 
 freedom of action. Only I ought to have done it, 
 really, before I proposed to Lily." 
 
 The intention, and the method of executing it, 
 were decided on in Robert's mind. That very day he 
 sent a cablegram to Edith, asking for a reply, 
 and the next morning received an answer from her. 
 It shocked him inexpressibly, for it absolutely pre- 
 vented him from obtaining that freedom of action 
 which he had spoken of to Mrs. La Touche. And, 
 what was worse, it compelled him to go to Bombay 
 without allowing him to explain to the girl he loved, 
 and who was now his affianced wife, the reason why 
 he must leave her. 
 
 But she had no complaint to make when he 
 told her. " Everything that Robert did was right " 
 that was Lily's doctrine. This strange decision 
 did not disturb her equanimity or confidence in the
 
 IN THE NAME OF THE LAW 239 
 
 least ; it only saddened her because it would 
 necessitate a short separation. Robert had promised 
 to be back in three days that was sufficient. 
 Besides, he might kill two birds with one stone do 
 his own business and find out about the sailings of 
 the steamers to the Seychelles. 
 
 " Wouldn't they be a heavenly place to spend 
 our honeymoon in, Robert ?" she asked, naively. 
 And, for a reply, he took her in his arms and swore 
 she would make any place a heaven for him. 
 
 Dr. Slater's leave had to be obtained, of course, 
 for Robert was still a patient in his hands. 
 
 " You shall go on Thursday," said the medico. 
 " Not a day before. That gash on your side vvants 
 three clear days to heal completely. And I've got 
 to pour a tonic into you." 
 
 " Right you are, Doctor. I have every con- 
 fidence in you." 
 
 " And yet you don't give me your confidence," 
 said Dr. Slater, in a tone of bantering reproach. 
 
 " How do you mean ?" 
 
 " When is the wedding to be ?" 
 
 " Oh ah yes," stammered Robert, blushing. 
 "Very soon after I return from Bombay, I hope." 
 
 " You'll be able to get a wedding-ring there, 
 anyhow," laughed the Doctor. 
 
 " Yes," said Robert, thoughtfully, " I will." 
 
 The three clear days passed delightfully. 
 The engagement of Robert and Lily had been 
 announced, and they were treated with that tactful 
 restraint which is the greatest kindness you can 
 accord newly-engaged couples. They were secured 
 the isolation they loved, haunting shady corners of 
 the verandah, wandering in all the quietest nooks of 
 the lovely garden, and religiously left to play bezique 
 and propose and accept as much as they liked every 
 evening after dinner.
 
 240 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 And so the morning came for Robert's departure. 
 His train started at noon. At ten o'clock, in the 
 morning, who should come riding up to the 
 bungalow but Captain Douglas. He was supposed 
 to be fifty miles away, out in camp, but he explained 
 that he had been summoned back by an urgent tele- 
 gram, and the grave expression on his face confirmed 
 that he was labouring under a weighty anxiety. 
 
 Notwithstanding, much to Robert's disgust, 
 who wanted to wile away the last precious hour with 
 Lily, he would not depart, but lingered and lingered 
 always in sight, as it seemed to Robert. And when 
 the time came to start for the station he had the bad 
 taste to thrust himself forward and accompany 
 Robert, Lily, and Dr. Slater in the same " Gungaram 
 chariot," as the hack gharries, or cabs of the station, 
 were called. 
 
 Tears were in Lily's eyes as she said good-bye, 
 and a frown on her forehead. And was it not enough 
 to make her frown, with that horrid Captain Douglas 
 there, glueing his eyes on Robert, so that there was 
 no chance for a parting kiss? And, to make matters 
 worse, he had not the politeness to shake hands with 
 Robert at the final farewell, but just gave him a nod 
 of the head, and an impertinent " See you again." 
 
 And went forthwith to the telegraph-office, where 
 he wired a message to Calcutta : 
 
 " Bolt lejt twelve o'clock train : due at Byculla 
 
 six to-morrow morning. D. S. P. Gungaram." 
 
 ***** 
 
 At six o'clock the next morning, as Robert 
 rather knocked-up and exhausted by night - 
 travelling was painfully descending from the 
 carriage, his ears were petrified by the sound of a 
 voice which seemed to penetrate from another world. 
 He flashed round to confirm what his senses could 
 hardly credit. But his senses had not deceived him.
 
 IN THE NAME OF THE LAW 241 
 
 " That's the man Robert Bolt. I swear to 
 him !" 
 
 The speaker was General Faloon ! 
 
 The next instant a pair of handcuffs were 
 snapped on Robert's wrists by an expert hand, and 
 a small, wiry, determined-looking man, attended by a 
 European constable, spoke the words which explained 
 the situation : 
 
 " Robert Fawcitt, I arrest you, in the name of 
 the law, for the attempted murder of Septimus 
 Strickland."
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE. 
 
 " I'm not Robert Fawcitt," cried Robert aghast. 
 1 It was the only reply he could think of on the 
 spur of the moment. 
 
 " Then all you have got to do is to prove that 
 you're not. Meanwhile we say you are Robert 
 Fawcitt, alias Robert Bolt. Do you deny the alias ? 
 But before you answer I warn you of one thing. 
 Anything you say may be used in evidence against 
 you." 
 
 It was impossible for Robert to deny that he 
 was Robert Bolt, so he very prudently held his 
 tongue. 
 
 Which was the very thing that General Faloon 
 did not do. " Oh, you viper and villain ! " he burst 
 out irascibly, smacking the air viciously with his red 
 bandana handkerchief, and his face crimson with 
 rage and indignation. " What is this I hear and read 
 in the papers of your criminal abomination ? Eloped 
 with my poor little innocent niece, have you ? And 
 stolen the Ranee Rosalie's state necklace ? I could 
 slaughter you as you stand there, miscreant ! Could 
 slaughter you like an ox ! " 
 
 All he said was Hebrew to Robert, saving that 
 he knew an account of his and Lily's miraculous 
 escape had appeared in the Bombay papers. But 
 the reference to the stolen necklace alarmed him, for 
 Lily had kept that matter secret.
 
 OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE 243 
 
 Under the circumstances he thought silence was 
 the best course to pursue. He was, indeed, too 
 bewildered to say or do anything without committing 
 himself. So he just cast a contemptuous glance at 
 General Faloon and turned his back on him. 
 
 This served to fan the flames of the General's 
 passion to crackling point. 
 
 " Curse you," he flared out ; " no wonder you 
 cannot look me in the face. The man you attempted 
 to assassinate on board a sinking steamer ! And if 
 and if you have stained the innocence of my little 
 Lily, by heavens, foul villain, I'll throttle you 
 with my own thumbs." The which he exhibited 
 threateningly. 
 
 And now it was Robert's turn to become en- 
 raged. The insult to his honour whipped him into 
 a sudden fury, as a squall at sea whips the waves 
 into foaming breakers. " Hell-hound," he cried, 
 looking daggers at the General, "/ know the truth. 
 How darej'ow pollute the innocence of Lilian Willis 
 with your guilty lips? Under Providence it was I who 
 saved her honour, which you would have sold for 
 
 money. Were my hands but free I would " He 
 
 lifted his clenched fists and manacled arms helplessly 
 in the air, and made a step towards the General. 
 
 " Mr. Lowe," cried the latter quickly, " I claim 
 your protection from this this murderer." And as 
 a sign of a less pugnacious attitude hastily thrust 
 his red bandana handkerchief into his side pocket, 
 with an uneasy feeling that, if exposed, it might act 
 on Robert as a red rag does on a bull. 
 
 The detective could not suppress a smile. 
 
 " You're all safe, General. He has got the 
 bracelets on. And this is no time for letting fly at 
 him. You can have your go on when we've done 
 with him and I am afraid you won't get much 
 change out of that."
 
 244 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " And similarly," said Robert, who had regained 
 his composure, " I can have my go at you when I've 
 done with Mr. Lowe. You won't find me shirking 
 and if I don't nail you up like carrion to the repro- 
 bation of the world my name's not " he halted 
 
 awkwardly, vexed at the way in which he had allowed 
 himself to frame his words. 
 
 " Robert Fawcitt," put in Detective Lowe 
 
 with an accommodating smile. " But don't antici- 
 pate too eagerly, for I don't think you'll have the 
 chance of fighting it out with General Faloon for 
 twenty years if your life is spared." 
 
 " We'll see," said Robert with an air which struck 
 the detective as one of bravado. As for the General 
 he was a changed man, out of whose system all the 
 starch had gone. The mere hints which Robert had 
 let drop had the most extraordinary effect upon him. 
 His jaw dropped, his face turned a brick-brown 
 colour, and his globular, fishy eyes glanced uneasily 
 and timorously at Robert as if to try and find out 
 how much he knew. 
 
 By this time the constable had taken all Robert's 
 baggage out of the compartment, and put it into the 
 vehicle that was waiting to take him away. 
 
 " Come," said Detective Lowe, and led Robert 
 to the door. " Won't you come with us ? " he asked 
 the General, as he waited for him to enter. 
 
 " I couldn't ride in the same gharrie as a mur- 
 derer," declared Faloon. " His touch ahem pol- 
 lutes." He thought that was a fine retort on Robert. 
 
 " Well you must be at the police court at ten 
 sharp to give your evidence. I intend to run the 
 extradition through express, and start by the P. and 
 O. mail this afternoon. I'm a bit nervous of the 
 plague and seeing the blacks here dying like flies. 
 Sooner the prisoner is out of danger of contagion the 
 better I shall like it."
 
 OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE 245 
 
 He spoke the truth. Bombay was in the throes 
 of the Asiatic plague, and the mortality amongst the 
 natives fearful. And the General's extra crimson 
 countenance owed something of its colour to the 
 brandy he had been drinking morning, noon and 
 night to give him Dutch courage. 
 
 The carriage drove off. 
 
 " Now look here," said Detective Lowe to 
 Robert, " are you going to be reasonable ? 'Cause 
 if you are you'll find it comfortabler, like. I don't 
 hold with making a humiliating spectacle of a 
 European in this heathen land, and I'll do my best 
 to make things run smooth for you if you'll do the 
 same for me. And that's spoken man to man." 
 
 " Can I communicate with anyone ? " 
 
 " No," said Detective Lowe, " you can't." 
 
 " Well, I'll give you a reply presently. I must 
 think it over. The charge against me is for the 
 attempted murder of Strickland ? " 
 
 "That's so." 
 
 " Then he can't be dead yet ? " 
 
 " I shouldn't like to say. It's a case as I hear 
 has beaten all the scientists in St. Bartholomew's 
 hospital. The man's alive, and yet dead. It just 
 wants one thin thread to snap, and he's out. But 
 according to last advices the thread hasn't snapped 
 yet ! " 
 
 " Meanwhile," argued Robert, with marvellous 
 coolness, " I'm not a murderer ? " 
 
 " Meanwhile you're not a murderer. Only I 
 shouldn't put it that way if I were you," said 
 Detective Low. " It's an armistice between us, and 
 we're just settling terms, and I don't hold you 
 cautioned over this conversation." 
 
 " I was speaking hypothetically," explained 
 Robert. " You say I am Robert Fawcitt and have 
 committed this crime and you've got to prove it."
 
 246 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " Likewise I say you're Robert Bolt, and you've 
 got to unprove it." 
 
 " That's another matter." 
 
 " No, it isn't. Robert Bolt is Robert Fawcitt, 
 just the same as he was Darcy Barrington, and you 
 had a fine cheek, you had ! Septimus Strickland." 
 
 " Dear me," said Robert, pretending not to 
 comprehend, " you do say funny things." 
 
 " Well, you take it cool, and give me the cool 
 'uns for choice. You and me will get on well if you 
 want to. Same as the man did who gave me that 
 ring." 
 
 " Who was he ? " 
 
 " He was a murderer, too and he was hung. I 
 tapped him on the back in South America, and got 
 him to England without a handcuff. We played 
 poker together all the voyage. Might have been my 
 brother, to see us together. Gave me that ring," 
 he exhibited a very handsome diamond one to 
 Robert "the night before his execution. Wept 
 when we parted at parting, mind you ; not because 
 he was going to be hung. That's the sort of prisoner 
 I like to have the hunt after." 
 
 " Do you ?" said Robert. " Well, I'll try and 
 follow the edifying example, all except giving you a 
 diamond ring and getting hung, of course. Only, I 
 want you to do one thing for me." 
 
 " What's that ?" 
 
 " To send a couple of telegrams to two ladies. 
 One is the girl I'm engaged to." 
 
 The Detective shook his head. 
 
 Robert frowned. 
 
 " I shan't weep when we part," he said. " I 
 thought you were a decent chap, and wanted me to 
 save you trouble, and to catch to-day's mail 
 steamer." 
 
 As a matter of fact, though he had been too
 
 OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE 247 
 
 cautious to urge it, Detective Lowe wanted that 
 most urgently. Like many a man who takes his life 
 in his hands, and faces countless perils in a dangerous 
 profession, he was as brave as a lion on the warpath 
 of duty, but as funky as a flunkey of fever, plague, 
 cholera, or any of those diseases which are common 
 in India. He had only arrived in Bombay two days 
 ago, but he had seen enough plague-corpses to 
 frighten him into a panic, and his one paramount 
 wish was to hurry through the extradition and get 
 away from the plague-stricken city by that after- 
 noon's mail-steamer. 
 
 He was silent for a moment, and then observed, 
 rather gloomily : 
 
 " Well, if I don't catch the mail I don't." 
 
 " And you won't," added Robert, " for I'll have 
 the best counsel and lawyers in Bombay, and get 
 remand after remand. I've got a stronger case than 
 you think, and I'll give you all the trouble I can." 
 
 " What telegrams do you want to send off?" 
 asked Lowe, with a halting cough. 
 
 " Lend me a pencil, and give me three moments 
 to compose them, and then decide whether you can 
 oblige me or not. If you find yourself able to do so, 
 I'll promise to oblige you, in return, by putting no 
 impediment in the way of my extradition." 
 
 " You're a cool 'un," repeated the Detective. 
 " There's a pencil, and there's the back of an 
 envelope. Write." 
 
 And Robert, after two moments of concentrated 
 thought, wrote : 
 
 (To Lily.) " Trust me, little mate, I've been in 
 worse peril than this. The thought of you will pull 
 me through" 
 and 
 
 (To Mrs. La Touche.) " General Faloon, Lily's 
 uncle, whom we thought dead, is alive and in
 
 248 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 Bombay. Protect Jter from him and do not believe 
 all you read about me." 
 
 "There," he said, handing the envelope back 
 to Lowe. " There's no secret cipher in that." 
 
 The Detective read them. 
 
 " I don't believe there is," he said. " Call it a 
 bargain." 
 
 At that moment the carriage drew up at the 
 police-court, and Robert was taken to one of the 
 cells for safe custody until the Court opened. There 
 he was searched, and everything taken from him. 
 With deep thankfulness, he blessed himself for 
 having destroyed Edith's cablegram to him which 
 brought to mind the loss of his notebook. He had 
 only discovered it when he wanted to put Edith's 
 message away, and had regretted its loss ; but, in 
 default of that receptacle for papers, had destroyed 
 the flimsy bit of paper that must have ruined every- 
 thing had he retained it in his keeping. The pocket- 
 book, too, with the dying message he had written to 
 Edith, would have given him away, and he now 
 thanked his stars for having dropped it in the desert, 
 as he fondly imagined. Trifles both, and yet they 
 impressed him with the belief that his luck was 
 changing ! Ever since that fatal evening, when he left 
 England, he had encountered nothing but dangers 
 and adversities, until this culminating disaster when 
 the hand of the law had overtaken him. And it was 
 in this hour that he began, for the first time, in his 
 adversities, to see a real gleam of hope. And the 
 fact that his dying message to Edith Carew, and her 
 cablegram to him were both out of Detective Lowe's 
 reach was at the bottom of this new-found belief. 
 
 At ten o'clock he was taken before the magis- 
 trate, and found himself in a court crowded with 
 spectators who had collected to see the man whose 
 strange adventure first in the open boat that escaped
 
 OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE 249 
 
 from the Humber Maid, and later in the incompre- 
 hensible desert flight from Ramjugger had raised 
 their curiosity. And here he was, accused of the 
 most heinous of all crimes, and his extradition 
 demanded in order that he might answer a charge 
 of attempted murder in the dock of a London 
 police court. 
 
 James Lowe, the detective, gave evidence. It 
 was much of it formal. Three points arrested 
 Robert's attention. It seems his whereabouts had 
 been discovered by a curious concatenation of cir- 
 cumstances in which a mysterious telegram from a 
 mysterious stranger to the Chief Superintendent at 
 Scotland Yard, the wine card he had accidentally 
 signed in his real name on board the Humber Maid 
 as they were entering Port Said, and the farewell 
 telegram he had sent Edith when he was leaving 
 Liverpool, had been the salient factors. The detec- 
 tive had tracked him with unusual skill, and 
 compelled the admiration of the spectators for his 
 shrewdness as he followed, step by step, the devious 
 flight of Mr. Darcy Barrington, Mr. Septimus 
 Strickland, and Mr. Robert Bolt from the Mersey to 
 Gungaram, whither, two days ago, Lowe had 
 telegraphed to Captain Douglas, the District Super- 
 intendent of Police, to keep an eye upon Bolt, until 
 he could be identified by General Faloon. Lowe 
 concluded his statement by saying that he had a 
 witness in attendance to identify the accused, and 
 give evidence which, he declared, would satisfy the 
 magistrate that he ought to grant the extradition. 
 
 Whereupon General Faloon stepped into the 
 witness box, for the ordeal of which he had prepared 
 himself by several potations of brandy. He was in 
 what might be called a racketty condition, which, in 
 one of his bulk, was dangerous. But he disguised his 
 liquor well under an artfully assumed air of irascibility,
 
 250 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 relieved at times by a relapse into poignant grief, as 
 he buried his face in the ample folds of his red 
 bandana handkerchief. 
 
 Detective Lowe questioned him, almost as 
 nervously as the General answered his questions, for 
 he realised that he had a very weak witness in so 
 much that he was a very drunk one, although he did 
 not advertise it as a less hardened toper might have 
 done. With admirable dexterity he drew his story 
 out, bit by bit. It created an enormous sensation, 
 and that appealed to the General's vanity, and 
 presently he brisked up a bit. His evidence painted 
 Robert's conduct in the blackest light, especially in 
 regard to his attentions to Lily " His dear innocent 
 little niece who had been ruined by her elopement 
 with the abandoned villain from the protecting arms 
 of her aunt and sister at Ramjugger." At which 
 point Robert, quite aghast, cried out, "But they are 
 both dead. I believe they were both murdered." 
 
 " Dead ! " retorted the General. " I heard about 
 them only yesterday, you monster. And the theft of 
 the Ranee's ruby and diamond necklace ? But 
 retribution will reach you, wicked man, wicked man ! 
 His Highness the Rajah has sworn by the honour of 
 his ancestors the Sun Gods " 
 
 At this interesting moment the magistrate inter- 
 posed, and said that was a matter not before the 
 Court, and they could not go into it, and he desired 
 the witness to confine himself to what he knew 
 against the prisoner in connection with the charge 
 before the Court. 
 
 Whereupon the General returned to his mutton ; 
 explained how Robert had boarded the Number Maid 
 as she was steaming out of Gibraltar ; the incident 
 of the wine card signed in his name of "R. Fawcitt" 
 and dropped overboard by him purposely as the 
 General now recognised; and his extraordinary
 
 OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE 251 
 
 behaviour at Port Said, where he had hidden himself 
 in the stoke hole all day. Finally he came to his 
 version of the collision. 
 
 "There was a collision. I am given to under- 
 stand, the prisoner escaped in an open boat with my 
 sister and niece. He dashed me insensible to the 
 deck when I was trying to get life buoys for them, and 
 because I proposed to protect them, saying there was 
 no room for a fourth in the boat. But for the mercy 
 of Providence I should have gone down with the 
 steamer. I was the last to be saved ! " And with 
 that he struck a tragic, dramatic attitude, and 
 elevated his red bandana handkerchief to symbolise 
 a flag nailed to the mast of a sinking ship. 
 
 Robert declined to cross-question the hoary old 
 liar, simply contenting himself with saying that his 
 evidence was a tissue of falsehoods, and he would 
 know how to deal with him at some future time, 
 when he returned to give evidence in the witness-box 
 against the General, who would then be in the dock 
 an example of audacious prediction that positively 
 staggered Detective Lowe and created an impression 
 amongst the spectators that Robert was mad, and 
 his madness probably the true explanation of his 
 murderous attack on his partner. As for his assertion 
 that Miss Faloon and the Ranee Rosalie were dead 
 and probably murdered no one attached the 
 slightest credence to it ; and Robert, confident that 
 Mrs. La Touche would protect Lily, and anxious not 
 to involve the latter in an inquiry when he could not 
 be at hand to assist her, came to the conclusion that, 
 despite the dangerous suggestion of the stolen State 
 necklace (which, however, Tom Bobus would be 
 able to disprove, if necessary), it was best not to 
 open out the black tragedy of Ramjugger until the 
 road of retribution was clearer. 
 
 The magistrate consulted with his clerk on some
 
 252 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 technical points, and then, turning to Robert, asked 
 him if he had any defence to make. 
 
 " I recommend you not to commit yourself to 
 any statement," he said. " In such a serious case as 
 this, I am quite prepared to grant a remand, if you 
 desire to avail yourself of legal assistance. I under- 
 stand that you were arrested only four hours ago, 
 and have had no time to prepare your defence." 
 
 " I will reserve my defence for my trial in 
 England," said Robert. " I make no opposition to 
 my extradition." 
 
 "There only remains for me to give the order," 
 said the magistrate, as Robert finished speaking. 
 " Sergeant Lowe, I grant your application for the 
 extradition of Robert Fawcitt." 
 
 " I thank your worship," said Detective Lowe ; 
 and tapped Robert on the shoulder, as a sign for 
 him to leave the dock.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 A WORD ABOUT RICHARD. 
 
 THAT afternoon at five o'clock Robert was on 
 board the mail steamer Chitral steaming out of 
 Bombay Harbour, and Detective Lowe was 
 congratulating himself upon the smartness with which 
 he had effected the capture and extradition and 
 shipped his prisoner off. 
 
 After the excitement of the day, which had kept 
 Robert up for he was a man never so strong as 
 under adversity the natural reaction set in. By 
 sunset misery claimed him as her own. As he sat, 
 locked up in a small, dark, lower deck, second-class 
 cabin, he bowed his head and fretted at the slings 
 and arrows of outrageous fortune. Things, which 
 in the whirl and bustle of the day, had not assumed 
 the blackest aspect, were now magnified into hideous 
 dangers. Lily was paramount in his thoughts to the 
 exclusion'of all personal considerations. Indeed he 
 recked nothing for himself ; his anxiety was all for 
 her. Suppose Mrs. La Touche failed him. Suppose 
 General Faloon was able to get her back into his 
 own keeping and control ? Suppose he made her 
 return to Ramjugger with him ? The thought was 
 torturing. Too late Robert recognised he ought to 
 have asked for a remand, and made a formal report 
 about the suspicious circumstances attending the 
 deaths of the Ranee Rosalie and Miss Faloon. 
 General Faloon, without asserting it, had left it to be
 
 254 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 inferred they were both alive. True, Lily might pro- 
 test and declare she had seen her Aunt dead, but the 
 General was perfectly capable of swearing it was only 
 a case of catalepsy, and so smoothing matters over 
 until he got Lily into his power. It was imperative 
 for him to silence her tongue, and the easiest way to 
 do this was to reclaim his authority over her. Who 
 was there to say him nay ? Robert groaned as he 
 reflected that he had not exposed the true character 
 of her Uncle to Lily, and although Mrs. La Touche 
 might reveal it, Lily had always exhibited a certain 
 awed affection as well as a great respect for the 
 General, and his old influence would probably suffice 
 to counteract any new influence Mrs. La Touche 
 might try to exert. 
 
 Thus he narrowed possibilities down to the 
 point, and they became to his over-wrought imagina- 
 tion actual horrors. With sighs and self-reproaches 
 he abused himself for the passive part he had adopted. 
 He made no allowance for his illness and fever, or 
 for the fact that Dr. Slater would not allow him to 
 be questioned. He took all the blame upon his own 
 shoulders, who ought to have made a report of the 
 tragedy of Ramjugger directly he regained his senses. 
 By his silence he had ruined Lily, for it was quite 
 possible that if she told the story (who knew nothing 
 of the true motives that explained the terrible crimes 
 which had been committed) she would not be 
 credited simply because she could not invest her 
 narrative with an elementary air of probability. The 
 plot that had been concocted to bring about her 
 marriage with the Rajah explained everything. She 
 knew nothing of that foul plot ; she could only relate 
 an incredible and unconvincing series of facts ; and 
 when it was found that the ruby and diamond neck- 
 lace was actually in her possession, as well as the 
 Ranee Rosalie's will, it could be twisted into evidence
 
 A WORD ABOUT RICHARD 255 
 
 that what the General had hinted at, namely, an 
 elopement, was true ! 
 
 Of course, all these monstrous fancies, which 
 thronged Robert's fevered brain, cannot but strike 
 the reader as far-fetched and improbable. But the 
 truth was Robert was ill and no longer master of a 
 clear mental sense. The morning after leaving 
 Bombay he collaped, and fever and delirium were 
 his portion for the next twenty-four hours. When 
 the attack had succumbed to remedies, he lay in his 
 bunk, a wreck of a man, with hopelessness and 
 despair writ large in his face. 
 
 Detective Lowe attributed his utter breakdown, 
 mental and physical, to the fact that he was being 
 taken home to stand his trial for what would prob- 
 ably prove the murder of his partner Septimus 
 Strickland. In his experience he had seen many 
 similar cases of men who carried themselves with a 
 bold and devil-may-care bearing up to a certain pitch 
 and then went to pieces. But Robert was not of that 
 mettle, as the detective found out the day they arrived 
 at Aden. Here the latest telegrams were brought on 
 board, and in one from Bombay it was announced 
 that there had been a serious recrudescence of the 
 plague, resulting in the death of several Europeans. 
 And one of them was General Ferdinando Faloon, 
 who had been found dead the previous morning on a 
 bench on the Esplanade. 
 
 When Lowe conveyed this news to Robert the 
 effect was magical. From that instant the prisoner 
 was a changed man. He could be heard singing in 
 his dark cabin, and asked for an extra quarter of an 
 hour's exercise on deck handcuffs or no handcuffs. 
 For, during three or four preceding days, Lowe had 
 doubted him and suspected suicidal tendencies, 
 and hence the precautions which had mortified and 
 humiliated Robert more than anything else.
 
 256 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 But now all was changed. He was suddenly 
 translated into as high spirits as he had formerly 
 been in low ones ; his appetite picked up, his powers 
 of sleep returned, and several times he " wished the 
 voyage was at an end." 
 
 Lowe was amazed. 
 
 " What's come to you ?" he asked. " Why are 
 you chirpy all of a sudden, like this ?" 
 
 " My mind's easy," said Robert, enigmatically. 
 
 " Your mind easy ? Don't you never think of 
 the charge you are going home to meet ?" asked the 
 detective. " Like as not Murder." 
 
 " I'm not afraid. It was a fair fight. Strickland 
 was a robber and a rogue. I can prove that. I 
 ought never to have gone off, only " 
 
 " Only what ?" 
 
 " Never mind. ' Anything I say will be used in 
 evidence against me,' " quoted Robert. " I'm not 
 going to open my mouth, genial James." And he 
 smiled, and nodded his head wisely. 
 
 " You're a rare plucked 'un, to take it smiling, 
 Robert Fawcitt." 
 
 " Well I want some pluck. And I've got a 
 head on my shoulders, too." 
 
 " I should say you had. The chase you gave 
 me!" 
 
 " Look here, Lowe, do you mind telling me how 
 you traced me ?" 
 
 " Proud to do so now that you are nabbed," 
 chuckled the detective, who, indeed, loved nothing 
 better than to recite his own exploits, with a subdued 
 bassoon accompaniment. "It will show you, though 
 you've got a head on your shoulders, you are not 
 quite so clever as you think for." 
 
 " No ; it's you who are clever," said Robert, 
 with artful flattery, " to have traced and apprehended 
 me."
 
 A WORD ABOUT RICHARD 257 
 
 " I don't make no claim to anything beyond 
 having done my duty with intelligence a little 
 intelligence," declared the detective, modestly. 
 
 "Well, drive ahead. I'm just longing to learn 
 how you did it." 
 
 Whereupon Detective Lowe related his story, 
 which may be synopsised as follows : 
 
 The "case" had been put into Lowe's hands 
 directly Strickland had been discovered dying, as 
 was believed. Lowe reached Robert's private resi- 
 dence a little before ten on the morning after the 
 murder, and interviewed Mrs. Strong. From her he 
 learnt how Robert had reached home the night 
 before, his head bandaged and his left arm in a sling, 
 and, after ordering Mrs. Strong and the maid to bed, 
 had disappeared. 
 
 From Mrs. Strong, Lowe obtained the address 
 of Robert's brother Richard, and of his fiancee Miss 
 Edith Carew. Going to the former's first, he was 
 told he had started the previous evening for Jamaica. 
 Searched his rooms and found a letter addressed to 
 Robert, and left on the table to be posted, in which 
 Richard told his brother he could not drop in the next 
 morning to say good-bye, as he had determined to 
 travel by the night mail to Southampton, and en- 
 closing a cheque for 20, with which he requested 
 Robert to buy a wedding-present for Edith. 
 Enquiries made later in the day proved that Richard 
 had taken his passage for Jamaica a fortnight pre- 
 viously. So "that cock wouldn't fight." 
 
 Lowe went next to Miss Carew's residence, and 
 found she was missing and the household in the 
 greatest alarm. Learnt that, on the previous evening, 
 Miss Carew was to have gone to a dance with 
 Robert, but at the last moment received a telegram 
 from him saying he was delayed. So she had decided 
 to go with a friend Mrs. Hood. But Mrs. Hood
 
 
 258 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 had not seen her, nor had Miss Carew attended the 
 dance at all ! End of first day : no clue discovered, 
 only a strong suspicion that Miss Carew's disappear- 
 ance was connected with Robert's. 
 
 Next morning the first ray of light. A telegram 
 sent off from Liverpool arrived for Miss Edith Carew, 
 conveying the message : 
 
 " All well ; splendid steamer ; carry out pro- 
 gramme. Ever yours, Robert." 
 
 " Fool No. i to send that telegram," interpolated 
 Detective Lowe. 
 
 " If you'd had a broken head, like I had," 
 Robert pleaded, in excuse. 
 
 Liverpool generally meant America, and it was 
 clear the fugitive had got out of the country. Up to 
 Liverpool, to the telegraph-office from .which the 
 wire had been despatched. 
 
 Who sent it ? 
 
 Answer : Couldn't say ; came with a bunch 
 from the pilot-station ; get hundreds every day, in 
 sheaves. Three big American liners sailed on the 
 day inquired about, besides half-a-dozen other 
 steamers ; and every one of them sent off ten, fifty, 
 a hundred, two hundred, five hundred telegrams of 
 farewell by pilot. Clue dried up. Went all round 
 the shipping-offices, searching passenger-lists, and 
 asking for an individual who had booked a passage 
 at the last moment. Couldn't hear of any ; but 
 picked out all the likely names, and cabled to the 
 various ports to have suspected men watched. 
 
 " You certainly stole away very clever," inter- 
 polated Genial James. 
 
 Took up Miss Carew's track. Found some of 
 her clothes and her travelling-bag were missing. 
 Alice, the maid, swore they were in the house at the 
 time Miss Carew started for the ball. How did she 
 take them away ? Alice had not sat up for her ; she
 
 A WORD ABOUT RICHARD 259 
 
 had got a latch-key and could let herself in. Must 
 have come back and done so, for there was the ball- 
 dress she had gone to the dance in, bundled away in 
 one of the drawers! Score No. I. Instituted 
 inquiries about her, but no results. Hardly likely to 
 be after she had procured three clear days in which 
 to leave the country. 
 
 " You was a clever pair," confessed Detective 
 Lowe, with a retrospective expression on his face. 
 " Real clever." 
 
 And then luck sheer luck ! A cablegram was 
 received at Scotland Yard from Algiers, saying it 
 was suspected that a passenger known on board the 
 Thessaly as Darcy Harrington, bound for Port Said, 
 was Robert Fawcitt. His head was bandaged, his 
 left arm carried in a sling ; he kept himself shut up 
 in his cabin. Gave a description of him. 
 
 " And a good description, too," declared Lowe, 
 taking a calm and calculating survey of his prisoner. 
 
 " Who sent that telegram ?" asked Robert. 
 
 "Ah, that I can't tell you, for we never found 
 out. I suppose the man thought, if he had made a 
 mistake, he might find himself in a mess. It is a 
 serious thing to suggest to the police that a fellow- 
 passenger on board a passenger-steamer is a 
 murderer!" 
 
 Robert nodded his head in acquiescence. 
 
 " All the same, I think I know who it was," he 
 said. 
 
 " Whom do you suspect ? My word, I'd like to 
 know, if only to give him a ' Thank you.' " 
 
 But Robert would not tell. 
 
 " Will be used against me," he quoted. 
 
 " Fool No. 2," observed Lowe, "to let that man 
 find out." 
 
 " We can't all be wise, Jimmy ; you oughtn't to 
 grumble, anyhow !"
 
 260 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " I oughtn't, Robert Fawcitt. It was only just 
 to shew you you wasn't perfect clever." 
 
 Up to Liverpool again. Found a Mr. Darcy 
 Barrington and two ladies had booked a passage for 
 Port Said two days before the attack on Strickland. 
 Shipping clerk remembered Barrington had a band- 
 aged head and arm in a sling when he went aboard. 
 No ladies went with him, because their agent, at the 
 last moment, was told there were two empty berths. 
 
 " Now how did you get that ticket might I ask, 
 Robert Fawcitt?" asked the detective much puzzled. 
 " Had you premeditated the murder and taken it in 
 advance. And who was the third lady ? I'm most 
 curious about this lot. 'Twas uncommon clever ! " 
 
 " That will come out at the trial. You must 
 wait a wee, Lowe." 
 
 Things came easy now. Continental Express to 
 Port Said. Only to learn that Darcy Barrington had 
 not arrived there, having left the Thessaly un- 
 expectedly at Algiers. 
 
 " Seeing that you suspected someone of having 
 spotted you I suppose that was the reason of your 
 quitting ? " queried the detective. 
 
 " Not at all. It was always my intention to 
 leave the Thessaly at Algiers. Only I didn't shout it 
 out from the bridge." 
 
 Off to Algiers ; picked up scent, and carried it 
 to Gibraltar. Red hot there. Came across a guide 
 who called himself Don Quixote. Seemed to have 
 a spite against you. Said you bilked him of five 
 pounds. But it was a stroke of genius to take the 
 name of Strickland. Only genius comes to grief 
 sometimes. Soon found you had sneaked off by the 
 Humber Maid after booking a passage on the P. and 
 O. Mail Steamer. 
 
 " There were moments," admitted Detective 
 Lowe, reflectively, "when I gave you credit for being
 
 A WORD ABOUT RICHARD 261 
 
 the cleverest and most daring rogue I have ever 
 tracked." 
 
 " You compliment me," confessed Robert, with 
 a touching smile and an ambiguous wink. 
 
 Back to Port Said, where they were on the look 
 out for " Mrs. Barrington," expected overland from 
 England. Made sure that Miss Carew was coming 
 to join you "as per programme" in your Liverpool 
 telegram to her. And here the news was received 
 of the sinking of the Number Maid in the Red Sea, 
 with several of her crew lost, and you might have 
 floored Lowe with a duster. 
 
 She had been sunk by the Flintshire, which 
 steamer was herself so badly damaged that they had 
 to run her ashore. Consequently it was more than 
 a fortnight before the survivors reached Port Said. 
 Of course waited there to question them one was 
 taken to hospital. Lowe went to see him. It was 
 General Faloon suffering from shock and a fractured 
 ear drum. Then it all came out and Lowe knew that 
 Robert Bolt was his man. 
 
 "For directly I mentioned your name 'Fawcitt' 
 to him, he cried out that that was the very name you 
 had once signed to a wine card which was Fool 
 Number Three." 
 
 Robert's face was a study. " Fool Number 
 Three," he ruefully admitted. 
 
 A day or two later the Indian papers arrived, 
 and here was news ! Mr. Bolt and two lady passen- 
 gers saved from the Humber Maid in an open boat, 
 and columns full of his brave conduct. 
 
 " I tell you, Robert Fawcitt, I felt a bit sorry for 
 you then, I did. Couldn't help it when I read how 
 handsome you had acted. But I'm afraid you're a 
 bit of streaky bacon. The worst often is. What 
 about that poor lady, Miss Carew ? You get engaged 
 to this young girl you save from the wreck. But I
 
 262 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 don't see no discharge from the t'other one. How- 
 ever that's your private business, and no breaking the 
 law except Breach of Marriage, which is civil not 
 criminal, and out of my line accordingly. And now 
 you knows all. And I think you'll allow it was a 
 smart bit of scenting and a clever kill at the end." 
 
 " I give you every credit," said Robert, who had 
 resented the reference to Edith. " And now I'll turn 
 in." 
 
 And never another word would he exchange on 
 the subject. 
 
 Before the end of the voyage Robert's courageous 
 attitude had won over Detective Lowe, who con- 
 trasted him very flatteringly with the hung murderer 
 who might have been taken for his brother on the 
 passage home from South America. And it did more, 
 for it filled him with compassion as well as admira- 
 tion for his captive. 
 
 " I don't understand you," he often said, " you 
 don't seem to realise what is hanging over your head. 
 See here, Robert Fawcitt, I'll give you a bit of 
 advice. Engage the best solicitor and counsel that 
 money can procure. I'll recommend the right ones." 
 
 " I'm going to defend myself," said Robert. 
 
 " Defend yourself ! Why, you're stark staring 
 mad to dream of such a thing." 
 
 " Strickland wasn't dead when we last heard at 
 Suez. He may not be dead yet. It isn't murder till 
 he dies. He mayn't die till after the trial. Then it 
 won't be murder at all." 
 
 Detective Lowe wrung his hands in agitated 
 apprehension. " For God's sake, Robert Fawcitt, 
 don't be a fool. Them sort of arguments is no good 
 whatever when a man's life is in question. I tell you 
 there's no hope for Strickland. He may go out at 
 any moment, like the puff of a candle. If he'd been 
 anywhere except the best hospital in London, with
 
 A WORD ABOUT RICHARD 263 
 
 the cleverest surgeons attending him and interested in 
 his case, he'd have been dead months ago. You know 
 what the Suez telegram said : " Precisely the same 
 state. May die any moment. Marvellous he should 
 have held out so long." Think of his dying not of 
 his living. What's a little money compared to your 
 life, or even to your liberty for seven ten fourteen 
 years. It's a black case against you. I know all the 
 details. If you are such a fool as to defend yourself, 
 why dash it all ! no one will listen to you ! " 
 
 " Won't they ? " said Robert, with a queer look 
 of determination in his resolute jaw. " I bet you, 
 genial Jimmy, I'll make one speech they'll listen to 
 open-mouthed ! " 
 
 Robert held to his resolve, and absolutely re- 
 fused to avail himself of any legal assistance, and 
 when on a gloomy February morning he was placed 
 in the dock at Bow Street, and the rumour went 
 round that the prisoner was defending himself, the 
 comment was : 
 
 " Well, he is a fool !" 
 
 The charge was read out. It remained one of 
 "attempted " murder, for the victim still lingered in 
 his comatose condition. Robert stood in the dock, 
 his hands in his pockets, his head held high, his grey 
 eyes bright and fearless, and on his handsome, clean 
 shaven face an expression that was almost proud in 
 its defiance and contempt of the gapers who had 
 come to see him tried. 
 
 The clerk began to note down the formal par- 
 ticulars " Name, Robert Fawcitt," he murmured in 
 a mechanical tone of voice, which followed his pen. 
 
 " Pardon me," corrected the prisoner in the 
 dock. " You are mistaken. I am not Robert Fawcitt. 
 He is my brother. My name is Richard Fawcitt ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE CLAIM OF BLOOD. 
 
 SELDOM has an announcement in a Court of 
 Law created such a sensation as the astounding 
 revelation made by Richard Fawcitt. 
 
 At first he was disbelieved, notwithstanding 
 his calm, confident air. The clerk glanced up in 
 perplexity to the magistrate ; the magistrate was 
 looking in equal perplexity at Dick. A babel of 
 tongues was heard buzzing in the well of the Court, 
 and the face of Detective Lowe was a study of mixed 
 passions and pathos, beginning with amazement and 
 incredulity, and lapsing through suspicion, indig- 
 nation and defeat into humiliation. 
 
 " You deny you are Robert Fawcitt ? " asked the 
 magistrate at last. 
 
 " I am Richard, more commonly known as Dick 
 Fawcitt." 
 
 "Call some witnesses, they'll soon decide," came 
 the order. 
 
 Two of the clerks of the late firm of Fawcitt & 
 Strickland were hurriedly brought into court, and 
 asked to identify the prisoner at the bar. 
 
 They looked at him, shook their heads, and said 
 he was not their master. 
 
 " Sergeant Lowe, what does this mean ? " asked 
 the magistrate. " How do you come to have appre- 
 hended the wrong man ? "
 
 THE CLAIM OF BLOOD 265 
 
 And the glib detective who had cut such a shine 
 in the Bombay police-court, cut a very different one 
 at Bow Street. 
 
 " All I can tell your Worship is that he came 
 with me as quiet as a lamb. He never disputed the 
 warrant." 
 
 The magistrate turned to Dick, " What have 
 you to say, sir ? " 
 
 ' Candidly, I would rather not say anything." 
 
 ' Where is your brother, Robert Fawcitt ? " 
 
 ' I haven't the slightest idea." 
 
 ' When did you last see him ? " 
 
 ' The day before I left England." 
 
 ' Before or after the murder ? " 
 Dick made no reply, and then Sergeant Lowe 
 burst out in a voice of accepted revelation, " I see 
 it ! I see it ! He laid a false track to enable his 
 brother to escape ! He's juggled with the law." 
 
 The magistrate held a consultation with his 
 clerk, and referred to several law books. " Sergeant 
 Lowe, go into the witness-box," he said at length. 
 
 The Sergeant stepped briskly in, saluted the 
 Court, and prepared himself for examination. It 
 was a long and close one conducted by the 
 magistrate himself, and brought out all the salient 
 facts, especially those of the bandaged head and 
 arm in slin^, which went to prove that Dick had 
 deliberately personated his brother. 
 
 The Magistrate turned to Dick. " It is very 
 clear," he said, " that you entered into a conspiracy 
 to defeat the ends of justice. It is very clear that 
 by your action you have enabled your brother to 
 escape from the law. What have you to urge against 
 my issuing a warrant against you on that charge ? " 
 The truth had been made so plain that it was use- 
 less for Dick to attempt to deny it. He took a bolder 
 course.
 
 266 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 "I admit the charge," he said. "My brother 
 appealed to me. He was too ill to escape." 
 
 " Where did you see him ? " 
 
 " I refuse to say. He sent Miss Carew for me." 
 
 " And you say you don't know where he is ? " 
 
 " If I had known where he was I should have 
 resisted arrest at Bombay. It was to give him more 
 time to escape that I submitted." 
 
 " You admit that ! Do you not see you have 
 done a most atrocious act ? Apart from the legal 
 aspect, where is your sense of morality ? " 
 
 "Strickland is not dead," said Dick. "There 
 is a moral limit." 
 
 " What do you mean ? Are you juggling with 
 words now ? " 
 
 " Whilst Strickland was alive my standard of 
 morality allowed me to act as I have done. Had he 
 died had I known of his death well, I cannot 
 answer a hypothetical question, but perhaps I 
 should have acted differently. Whilst he was alive 
 I did not feel guilty of passing the moral limit which 
 conscience imposed upon my actions." 
 
 "You have forgotten the legal obligation of the 
 citizen." 
 
 " The claim of a brother's blood is stronger than 
 the claim of the law." 
 
 "But not greater than the power of the law. 
 You say your brother was in no condition to escape. 
 I will give you a chance of partly purging your 
 crime. Where did you last see him ? " 
 
 "That I will never tell you," said Dick, resolutely. 
 " Thank God I left him in good hands, in hands that 
 have been successful in safeguarding him. For the 
 sake of the noble woman who has linked her lot to 
 his, I hold my peace. They are out of your reach 
 now, of that I am certain." 
 
 " You are taking a very foolish course a very
 
 THE CLAIM OF BLOOD 267 
 
 wrong course," said the magistrate severely. " You 
 talk of the Claim of Blood. But there is another 
 Claim of Blood the Claim of Blood that is shed 
 wrongfully." 
 
 " I know the facts of the assault," said Dick. 
 " My brother told me, and I believe his version. 
 Strickland was the murderer in intention, my poor 
 brother only a murderer by accident." 
 
 " Why did he seek to escape if that is so ? " 
 asked the magistrate. 
 
 " He did so very much against my advice. There 
 was strong circumstantial evidence against him, 
 which he could not disprove. I wished him to face 
 it out, but there were influences stronger than mine." 
 
 " Which makes your conduct all the worse. It 
 was your duty to assist the law, especially with the 
 knowledge of those facts. You impeded it ; you not 
 merely connived at your brother's escape, but actually 
 made yourself the instrument of it. Fortunately the 
 law can punish you. I shall commit you on the 
 lesser charge of conspiracy, but if Mr. Strickland dies, 
 you will be charged with being an accessory to 
 murder, after the fact. I remand you for a week. 
 And my last words of warning to you are that you 
 will be very ill-advised if you continue in your con- 
 tempt. Mr. Strickland's life hangs on a thread ; if 
 you purge yourself before his death, you may escape 
 the graver charge. If you do not the law is the 
 law, and holds an accessory to murder equally guilty 
 with the murderer. Remove the prisoner ! " 
 
 And Dick was led away to the cells, with the 
 last ominous words of the magistrate ringing in his 
 ears in startling revelation. 
 
 Left to himself Dick (as we must now call him) 
 had plenty of leisure to contemplate his condition 
 in the light of the new legal circumstances that had 
 been revealed. The tables were turned, and he was
 
 268 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 now the man amazed and shocked. Never had he 
 suspected this ! An accessory to murder after the 
 fact held equally guilty with the murderer ! He was 
 dazed at the damning intelligence, and as he sat in 
 his prison-cell there crept over him a sense of 
 abandonment and hopelessness. 
 
 He recalled the incidents of that fatal night 
 when, at Edith's entreaties who had knelt to him, 
 and bathed his hands with her tears, in her agonised 
 appeal to him to save Robert he had yielded. 
 Robert's last cry echoed in his ears " I can't do 
 it !" the cry of utter physical collapse, that pre- 
 cluded any effort to escape. He saw him, in his 
 mind's eye, lying senseless on the couch and Edith 
 wailing over him. All the scene arose before him. 
 He saw himself carrying Robert in his arms to the 
 empty flat upstairs belonging to Armstrong and 
 laying him on the bed, groaning and insensible. He 
 saw himself stocking the room with such scanty 
 provisions as remained in his own chambers, whilst 
 Edith applied herself to attending to Robert, with 
 the splendid fortitude and noble devotion of her fine 
 character. Then he saw himself returning to his 
 flat, giving the cautious final touches that might 
 indicate its evacuation by its master ; and, to foil 
 the track, writing a letter to Robert, enclosing a 
 cheque for a wedding-present to Edith, and 
 intimating his intention to leave for Southampton 
 that night. He saw himself carefully collecting and 
 burning the hair which he had cut off Robert's 
 cheeks and chin when shaving him, so that they 
 might afford no clue ; and he again went through 
 that last hurried consultation with Edith when they 
 settled their final plans. Edith was not to go home; 
 Dick was to telegraph a message from Liverpool 
 that would put the detectives on the wrong scent. 
 Furthermore, he was to provide Edith with a letter to
 
 THE CLAIM OF BLOOD 269 
 
 the housekeeper at the Flats, saying that Dick had let 
 his floor to " Mr. and Mrs. Convvay," and that they 
 would take possession in a few days, Mr. Conway 
 having met with an accident which would prevent 
 them coming in the day after Dick left, as had been 
 their intention. He saw himself writing this letter, 
 which was to secure Edith and Robert a sanctuary 
 after the detectives had paid their anticipated visit 
 to Dick's flat, to see if he could give any information 
 about his brother. Then he saw himself saying 
 good-bye to Robert, who had come round, and, 
 whilst Edith was out of the room, calling on him to 
 remember the sacrifice she was making for him and 
 to try and be worthy of it. And then good-bye, 
 with Edith's blessings breathing after him as he 
 descended the stairs dressed, disguised, and equipped 
 to personate Robert. 
 
 And from that day, until he received Edith's 
 telegram at Gungaram, never a word had reached 
 him from her or Robert. Why ? The explanation 
 was very simple. Her message had elucidated the 
 mystery. It ran : 
 
 "In urgent danger still, but hope to escape next 
 week. Everything explained in letters to Richard 
 Lock, care oj Cook's, Bombay." 
 
 There it was in a nutshell. In assuming Robert's 
 identity, Dick had also assumed his alias as "Robert 
 Bolt," whilst Robert and Edith had written to him 
 as "Richard Lock," the name that Dick had selected 
 for himself when correspondence was to pass between 
 them! 
 
 All was simple and self-evident now but the 
 prison-walls encompassed Dick, and Fate had decided 
 that his self-sacrifice should not defeat the ends of 
 justice. 
 
 And now, what was he to do ? His full duty 
 towards Edith and Robert had been accomplished;
 
 270 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 his promise to keep perdu until he heard definitely 
 from them that their escape was secured, was 
 fulfilled. He had no reason to doubt that they were 
 safe. Did that promise still bind him ? 
 
 There was yet time to purge his contempt in 
 part. The magistrate had solemnly called upon him 
 to do so. All that he had to say was that Edith and 
 Robert had found refuge, first in Armstrong's flat, 
 subsequently in Dick's. 
 
 But would it put the detectives on his brother's 
 track ? Would it negative all that he had done and 
 suffered to save Robert ? 
 
 He reflected. If Edith and Robert had managed 
 to escape, it must have been very recently. Her 
 cablegram to him spoke of " urgent danger." Sup- 
 pose they had not got off? Suppose " Mr. and Mrs. 
 Conway " were still in hiding in his flat ? Oh, if he 
 could only communicate with them and find out for 
 certain ! 
 
 He racked his brains to try and discover a way 
 of doing so. Should he trust Detective Lowe ? 
 Lowe was a good fellow ; and now that Dick had 
 been proved innocent of the attack on Strickland, he 
 felt sure, despite the Sergeant's mortification at the 
 mare's nest he had been led into, that his sympathies 
 would be with Dick. On the other hand, Lowe was 
 a man with a stern and rigid sense of duty. Con- 
 sidering it over, Dick felt it would be too dangerous 
 to rely on his sympathy as against his duty. 
 
 And yet, if he could only exhibit some earnest 
 of his desire to purge his contempt ! His present 
 condition was horrible to contemplate! If Strickland 
 died but he must not die he must not die and 
 make Robert a murderer ! And if he survived ? 
 Well, even then it meant a definite term of imprison- 
 ment for conspiracy. Oh, it was a cruel tangle, a 
 cruel temptation.
 
 THE CLAIM OF BLOOD 271 
 
 A hundred considerations were urging him to 
 save himself. There was sweet little Lily, ever first 
 and foremost in his mind. Was she to be sacrificed 
 to this cursed tangle he had got himself into ? Had 
 she not suffered enough in her young life ? She was 
 now left friendless and forlorn ; he was her natural, 
 her proper guardian. She loved him his eyes 
 dimmed as he remembered a thousand little incidents 
 which showed how she loved him. Was Lily to be 
 sacrificed to his promise to Edith ? Was her life to 
 be blighted ? Was his pledged word to be carried 
 to its ultimate conclusion at such a cost as 
 that? 
 
 He thought it out ; and then the doctrine of 
 the Moral Limit swayed him. His word was 
 pledged ; what he had promised, that must he per- 
 form. The claim of blood was first ; and, since 
 Edith had sacrificed herself as she had done, he was 
 bound in duty and honour to do the same. 
 
 And that was the resolution he came to in his 
 prison-cell ; and, having come to it, he was one of 
 that class of men whom nothing could shake. 
 
 But there were instruments at work to shake 
 him. In the first place a lawyer, who said he had 
 been instructed to undertake Robert's defence, and 
 yet would not reveal the name of his principals. 
 That was a curious thing, and it did not take Dick 
 long to recognise that the mysterious persons in- 
 structing him could only be Edith and Robert. A 
 proof that they were still in London that Edith 
 conceived Robert's danger to be far greater than 
 Dick's, and that consequently she had come to the 
 decision to try and get him off by means of a clever 
 advocate. It made the acceptance of the offer easy, 
 and Dick found himself defended by the shrewdest 
 solicitor and the craftiest Criminal Counsel in 
 London !
 
 272 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 The second instrument at work to shake him 
 was Detective Lowe ! He had the entree of Dick's 
 prison-cell, and the day after his remand came to 
 see him. 
 
 " Mr. Fawcitt," he said, " you bamboozled me, 
 and have made me the fool of the Force and the 
 laughing-stock of Scotland Yard. Notwithstanding, 
 I'm proud to shake hands with you. I've never 
 known a man do what you've done, and do it so 
 brave and cool. And if I come here to implore you 
 to reflect, it's not because I want to apprehend your 
 brother I'd sooner a hundred times he escaped, 
 after what you have suffered ! but because I wish 
 to see you save yourself from a great danger. I can't 
 bear to think of you going to penal servitude. I wish 
 I had you in charge again ! By my soul, Mr. Fawcitt, 
 you should escape even if I chanced my pension for 
 it ! And now the escape is in your own hands. For 
 God's sake, sir, grasp the chance ! " 
 
 But Dick shook his head. 
 
 " I promised my brother and Miss Carew to be 
 true to my trust. I have no proof that they are 
 beyond danger. I am not going to do or say any- 
 thing that might betray them. I must act according 
 to my lights. The claim of blood is stronger than 
 the command of the law. I should be a cur if I 
 tried to save myself at their expense." 
 
 " Look here, sir," whispered Lowe, "will you 
 trust me ? Just say enough to get yourself out of 
 this scrape, and leave it to me. If it's possible to 
 miss finding your brother I'll make a miss of it !" 
 
 "You couldn't if I opened my mouth. And if you 
 did, it would be bad for your prospects in the Force, 
 Lowe. I'm not going to ruin you to save my skin." 
 
 "They'll make it seven years, Mr. Fawcitt. 
 Think again ! For your own sake, I beg of you to 
 be just to yourself."
 
 THE CLAIM OF BLOOD 273 
 
 " Don't tempt me, Lowe. I've run straight so 
 far. You wouldn't have me turn crooked and 
 coward at the last ?" 
 
 " You couldn't, sir," said Lowe, with conviction. 
 
 ***** 
 
 The day of the adjourned hearing arrived, and 
 Dick was driven to Bow Street in the "Black Maria." 
 As he descended he caught sight of Lowe, whose 
 face was seamed with care and sorrow. He stepped 
 up to Dick and whispered in his ear : 
 
 " Dreadful news, Mr. Fawcitt. Worse than the 
 worst ! Strickland is dead." 
 
 "Dead!" echoed Dick, blankly. "Then it's 
 murder." 
 
 " And and " Lowe hesitated ; and then, 
 
 with an effort, as if it were kinder to speak, no 
 matter how painful, added : " I've seen the charge- 
 sheet, and your brother and Miss Carew are included 
 in it. God knows how or when, but they've been 
 apprehended ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE LAW ON THE SUBJECT. 
 
 AND then for the first time in the hurricane of 
 disaster which had recently overtaken him, 
 Dick broke down. 
 
 Edith and Robert arrested ! All his self-sacrifice 
 wasted ! The concatenation was too cruel ! And, 
 to crown all, it made Lily the sacrificial victim of 
 this holocaust ! Truly the slings and arrows of out- 
 rageous fortune had marked Dick for their own. 
 
 With uneven steps he followed his warder to the 
 room of detention, where he was kept waiting until 
 his case could be heard. A thousand bitter thoughts 
 surged in his bursting bosom. Oh, the pity of it 
 the unutterable pity of it all. The ruined hopes, the 
 wrecked lives that could be traced back to that fatal 
 weakness he had exhibited on the night Edith and 
 Robert came to his rooms. If he had only acted the 
 man then, and said, " This shall not be " had only 
 insisted on Robert surrendering himself, as any 
 simpleton could have seen was the right course to 
 pursue all these horrors might have been averted. 
 
 And now Robert would be in the dock, charged 
 with murder, and Edith and Dick as accessories after 
 the fact ! The terror of it the terror of it ! 
 
 Twenty minutes later he was summoned. In 
 the passage outside his cell he was brought face to 
 face with Edith and Robert !
 
 THE LAW ON THE SUBJECT 275 
 
 It was a dramatic moment. All three were 
 thrilled with the tragedy in which they were actors, 
 but the restraint of their situation, surrounded by 
 strange, unsympathetic instruments of the law, pre- 
 vented them from giving full exhibition to their 
 feelings. Still, in the meeting of their eyes, in the 
 working of their countenances, in the pallor of their 
 cheeks, the shock that staggered them was evident, 
 and could not have failed to touch the least observant. 
 
 " Edith ! " cried Dick, " To see you here ! How 
 has it come to pass ? " 
 
 "We surrendered, Dick, "she answered, "directly 
 we heard you had been arrested. Robert wished to 
 do so long ago, but he has been so ill, and I persuaded 
 him to defer it. And now " 
 
 " Now it is too late ! " Dick added, in a tone 
 of poignant grief and despair. " Oh, would that I 
 had saved you ! " 
 
 There was no time for the exchange of further 
 words. A rude, stern voice bade them hurry on, and 
 the next minute they found themselves in the dock, 
 with all the eyes in the crowded police-court focussed 
 on them. 
 
 The Magistrate looked at Dick, and there was a 
 certain softening of his granite features, an expression 
 that seemed to say, " You have only yourself to 
 blame : I warned you at the last hearing that this 
 might occur." 
 
 The Clerk called the case : " The King versus 
 Richard Fawcitt, Robert Fawcitt, and Edith Carew." 
 Instantly the Crown Solicitor for the prosecution 
 arose and notified that since the first hearing of the 
 case against Richard Fawcitt the prisoners Robert 
 Fawcitt (who had actually committed the crime) and 
 Edith Carew had surrendered themselves to justice. 
 And since their surrender, he went on, in a solemn 
 voice, Septimus Strickland had died. The notifi-
 
 276 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 cation of his death had only reached him on the 
 previous evening, and the result was that the charge 
 of " attempted murder" must now be extended to the 
 graver charge of the capital offence. An inquest was 
 to have been held on the victim yesterday, and the 
 medical witnesses were subpoenaed to give their 
 evidence in that Court to-day. They had not yet 
 arrived, but were expected every minute. Perhaps 
 his Worship would put back the case for a short time 
 to permit of their attendance. 
 
 The Magistrate consulted with his clerk. " I 
 see there are several witnesses to be examined, and 
 the inquiry promises to extend to a considerable 
 length. Under these circumstances I propose to 
 begin the hearing. There is plenty of evidence to 
 employ the Court, and I therefore call upon you to 
 open your case." 
 
 Whereupon the Crown prosecutor arose and 
 gave his preliminary address. With the deft skill of 
 a lawyer he related the facts, touching on the salient 
 points, and gradually drawing his net round the three 
 persons in the dock. Seldom had such a romantic 
 and daring story been unfolded in a police-court, and 
 it held the public spellbound, whilst it was evident 
 that a great wave of pity and admiration was 
 created in favour of Dick and Edith. 
 
 When the Crown prosecutor had finished his 
 opening speech there was a little buzz in anticipation 
 of the medical evidence. But, strangely enough, the 
 hospital doctors who had conducted the inquest had 
 not arrived yet. The magistrate therefore determined 
 to go on with some of the purely formal evidence. 
 
 Four clerks in the employ of the late firm of 
 Fawcitt, Strickland & Co. gave evidence as to the 
 identity of Robert, and the circumstances of the 
 fatal day when Strickland had received his mortal 
 wound. They were greatly agitated at having to
 
 THE LAW ON THE SUBJECT 277 
 
 testify against their old employer, but his own actions 
 and words left it impossible for them to say anything 
 in his favour beyond that he was a good and kind 
 employer. 
 
 All this time Dick's solicitor and counsel had 
 been in earnest confabulation. They had made no 
 objections to the somewhat informal procedure, for 
 the medical evidence ought to have been taken first. 
 But, owing to the intense interest which Strickland's 
 peculiar case had created in professional circles, the 
 inquest had been conducted by two of the greatest 
 surgeons of the day, and out of respect for their 
 illustrious reputations, allowances were made for 
 their unpunctuality. 
 
 Next, Sergeant Lowe was called, but, just as he 
 was stepping into the witness-box, there was the 
 sound of hurried entry from one side of the court, 
 and two elderly gentlemen entered. They were the 
 medical witnesses, and one of them, with a courteous 
 bow to the magistrate, apologised for being late, but 
 they had been delayed at the Coroner's inquest, 
 which had been protracted and only just concluded. 
 The magistrate made a polite rejoinder and Ser- 
 geant Lowe was ordered to step back, and the great 
 surgeon of St. Bartholomew's took his place in the 
 witness-box. 
 
 A hush fell on the Court. The man who was 
 going to testify was at the head of his profession. 
 It was an altogether extraordinary thing that such a 
 savant should have condescended to conduct an in- 
 quest, and it raised the public curiosity, for his name 
 was one that carried a European reputation. Some- 
 thing in his grave and thoughtful manner, too, was 
 calculated to arrest attention, and it was noticed he 
 never once directed his glance to the three prisoners 
 in the dock. 
 
 And then came the greatest sensation of the day.
 
 278 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 Asked what was the cause of the death of Septimus 
 Strickland, he replied, in briefest phrase : 
 
 " Pneumonia." 
 
 The Crown prosecutor fell back in his seat with 
 surprise. Then, rising again, he asked : 
 
 " Do you mean to say, Sir George, Septimus 
 Strickland did not die from the effects of the injury 
 to his brain which, I learn by the medical papers, 
 made his case such a peculiarly interesting one ? " 
 
 " No. He died from natural causes. The post- 
 mortem examination has disclosed that the diagnosis 
 of the injury to his brain was incorrect, and it was 
 possible, nay probable, that he would have survived 
 to be an old man but for the attack of pneumonia 
 which was the direct and only cause of his death. 
 My colleague in court is ready to substantiate the 
 professional opinion I have arrived at after a most 
 careful and exhaustive examination. The actual 
 injury to the brain from the blow received was slight: 
 the real brain trouble, we found, was due to antece- 
 dent causes. The subject would probably have gone 
 mad had his life been prolonged under ordinary 
 circumstances and had he not suffered the injury to 
 which we wrongly attributed his condition." 
 
 Up jumped Dick's counsel. " In the face of this 
 evidence, your Worship, I put it that there is no case 
 against the accused." 
 
 " On the face of the medical evidence," admitted 
 the magistrate, " there is nothing left for me but to 
 order the discharge of the prisoners. But," he 
 added, in his most impressive tones, turning to Dick, 
 " I hope this will be a lesson to you, sir, to yield the 
 law greater respect in the future than you have done 
 on this occasion. And for you, sir," turning to 
 Robert, "you may consider that you have had a 
 quite providential and, I fear, unmerited escape 
 from the position in which you placed yourself in a
 
 THE LAW ON THE SUBJECT 279 
 
 moment of passion. Let this be a warning to you, 
 too. The prisoners are discharged ! " 
 
 Thus terminated one of the most sensational 
 cases that have ever been tried in that home of 
 sensation the Bow Street Police-court. The extra- 
 ordinary denouement gave the most unqualified 
 satisfaction to the spectators in Court, and a large 
 crowd collected outside to cheer Dick and Edith as 
 they drove away ; and, in the echoes of the applause 
 which followed them, Robert escaped any public 
 demonstration, and got off perhaps more easily than 
 he deserved. 
 
 "Wonderful!" cried Dick, as the cab moved 
 slowly down towards Wellington Circus. " The 
 Age of Miracles is not passed." 
 
 " You dearest and best Dick !" cried Edith. 
 " Oh, how I love you !" 
 
 " God bless you, Dick," whispered Robert, in a 
 broken voice. " I am not worthy to be your 
 brother." 
 
 " Hush," cried Edith, laying her hand gently 
 on Robert's arm. " He has been very ill, Dick. At 
 death's door. He did not know what he was doing 
 that night. Ten minutes after you left, he lost his 
 senses. Brain fever followed the result of violent 
 concussion of the brain. For six weeks he was not 
 master of his thoughts. You can make allowances 
 for that night, Dick, can't you ? " 
 
 "You needn't ask that question, Edith. There 
 are no ' allowances ' necessary between Bob and me, 
 are there, old fellow ? " 
 
 And Robert, for reply, extended his hand to 
 Dick, and wrung his affectionately. " God bless you, 
 dear Dick," was all he said. But an ocean of grati- 
 tude went out in those simple words. 
 
 And then a little silence fell on these three, each 
 chastened with their own thoughts, each too happy
 
 280 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 to speak. Nor was it broken until the cab drew up 
 at Dick's old flat. 
 
 " What a happy home-coming ! " cried Dick, as 
 he leaped out and helped, first Edith to alight, and 
 then Robert, who was still very weak and frail. 
 
 They went upstairs to his old familiar rooms, 
 and the first thing Edith did when they were safe 
 inside was to fling her arms round Dick and kiss him. 
 
 " Oh, Dick ! Dick ! " she cried, with joyful tears 
 in her eyes. " How miserable I was this morning, 
 and how happy I am now. I could never have 
 believed so much delight and agony could be com- 
 pressed between one sunrise and sunset ! " 
 
 " Come," said Dick, as he drew chairs to the 
 fire, "we have lots of news to exchange, and we must 
 lose no time, because I am leaving for India to- 
 morrow." 
 
 " Leaving for India ? Why ? " exclaimed Edith 
 and Robert in the greatest amazement. 
 
 " To bring my fiancee home. And you two must 
 defer your wedding till I can join in the occasion, 
 and do my share." 
 
 " You are engaged to be married, Dick ! Oh, do 
 tell me is she dark or fair ? " 
 
 " Fair." 
 
 " Short or tall ? " 
 
 " Short." 
 
 " Well I never ! " cried Edith. " I couldn't have 
 believed it. How I shall love her ! That's the very 
 best news I've heard to-day. Now do tell me all 
 all about it." 
 
 " On one condition," answered Dick. " I'll 
 give you a true and surprising account of my 
 wonderful adventures if you'll do the same con- 
 cerning yours." 
 
 " Why, of course I will," said Edith. " I won- 
 der whose will prove the most dreadful. Bob and I
 
 THE LAW ON THE SUBJECT 281 
 
 have gone through a black time, Dick. It was only 
 our love for one another that enabled us to keep up." 
 
 " And I have gone through a tragic time, too," 
 said Dick, gravely, " and it was only the love of my 
 little girl that kept me going this last month. But 
 come you shall hear and judge for yourself." 
 
 And with Edith and Robert listening in rapt 
 attention he told them the story of the last four 
 months, very much as it has been told in these pages 
 only more briskly. 
 
 And when he came to an end, " Dick," said 
 Edith, " I'm a little bit jealous of Lily, you know. 
 You won't have any love left for your poor sister, 
 I'm afraid." 
 
 " Oh, won't I ? " cried Dick. " You are going 
 to be Bob's wife, and he'll be punching my head if 
 I don't love you." 
 
 And Robert smiled as happily and contentedly 
 as any man could do. 
 
 " And now," said Dick, " it's your turn to tell 
 me your story, Edith. I'm all impatience to hear it." 
 
 " Then I'll gratify your curiosity," said Edith, 
 and related the following story, which, for the con- 
 venience of the reader, has been cast into a narrative 
 form, and all interruptions from Dick and Robert 
 sternly eliminated.
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 EDITH'S STORY. 
 
 AFTER you left the flat, Dick, at one o'clock that 
 morning, and the sleepy old housekeeper, whom 
 you astonished with your sudden resolve to 
 catch the night mail, had gone to bed, I set myself 
 to work to make poor Robert as comfortable as 
 possible in Mr. Armstrong's flat upstairs. He was 
 in just the same half-dazed state as when you left, 
 only he kept starting up every now and then declar- 
 ing he must "fly at once " and imploring me to assist 
 him to get away. It was a terrible night and I do 
 not know how I ever got through it. When he 
 seemed to be getting more and more restless I 
 determined to try the effect of the morphia which 
 you left with me, and administered a strong dose, 
 and that sent him into a deep slumber to my infinite 
 relief and rest, for I was by that time nearly w r orn 
 out myself, and women are such cowards at four 
 o'clock in the morning ! Had he not yielded to the 
 narcotic it was my intention to inform the house- 
 keeper at six, and let Fate take its own course 
 with us. 
 
 But with a couple of hours' sleep, and the 
 knowledge of the power that the drug had over 
 Robert, I awakened and rose a new and more deter- 
 mined woman. At least Fate should come to us, I 
 decided : we would not go a-seeking it. And I
 
 EDITH'S STORY 283 
 
 thought of you, Dick, and what you had done for us, 
 and that gave me courage. 
 
 Notwithstanding, I lived in terror all the next 
 day, for I heard men tramping about in your flat 
 underneath, and knew they were the detectives and 
 police who you said would be sure to come ; in 
 terror, too, of Robert's awaking and calling out, or 
 making some noise to indicate that there was some- 
 one in what was supposed to be an empty flat. 
 Happily the police did not trouble us long ; they left 
 in about a couple of hours, taking the letter which 
 you had concocted and laid on the table as if intended 
 for Robert. As for him, poor fellow, he remained in 
 the same state all day, and I could only give him 
 some tea without any milk, and a little brandy from 
 time to time. I did my best to dress the dreadful 
 wound on his head, of which he complained cruelly. 
 But he was so good and patient, suffered such pain, 
 both mental and physical, that it nearly broke me 
 down to see how he suffered. And so we got through 
 the day the longest day I have ever lived, and even- 
 ing found me with a better spirit to face the morrow. 
 
 I dared not move out that night, though I was 
 most anxious to get to a chemist's and procure some 
 healing ointment for Robert's wound. But I was 
 too nervous ; I had not got the necessary pluck or 
 confidence in myself, and I acted like a coward ! 
 But then, Dick, I'm only a woman, and all women 
 aren't constituted like your splendid little heroine Lily! 
 
 (Dick bowed gravely. " Your sister will never 
 admit that, dear Edith," he said, " nor will I. Your 
 heroism in the desperate and lonely circumstances 
 in which you were placed places you on a pedestal 
 of your own.") 
 
 The third day I recognised that Robert was 
 urgently in need of medical aid. He was in a high 
 fever, and I feared he might become delirious, and
 
 284 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 cry out. Watching my opportunity I stole away in 
 the dusk of the winter's evening and got safely back 
 with medicine and a strong opiate which the chemist 
 recommended as safer to administer than morphia, 
 and with some food. The former gave Robert a little 
 relief, and the opiate had a more benevolent effect, 
 though one as salutary as the morphia, and rendered 
 him somnolent all day, but without any renewal of 
 the restlessness. And the morning and the evening 
 were the third day ! 
 
 All that night I kept thinking out plans how we 
 could establish ourselves in a less perilous position. 
 I had your letter for " Mr. and Mrs. Conway," but 
 the difficulty was to get Robert out of the building 
 unseen, and then back into it as a stranger. Some- 
 thing had to be done. Suddenly an inspiration came 
 to me. There was my old nurse, Mrs. Pugh, a kind, 
 simple woman who can neither read nor write. She 
 had always been devoted to me, and I knew I could 
 trust her with my life twenty times over. I 
 determined to seek her aid, and early that morning 
 crept out and called upon her, told her I had 
 quarrelled with my Aunt and was going to live in a 
 flat by myself, and would she come and " do for me." 
 Poor thing, she was a little scandalised at first, but 
 she could deny me nothing, and being in very 
 straitened circumstances, and loving me almost as 
 much as if I were her own child, the temptation of 
 the offer proved irresistible. 
 
 Then I did a bold thing I confided to her the 
 secret about Robert, but making up a story that he 
 had gone bankrupt (which was the cause of my 
 quarrel with my Aunt) and had met with a dreadful 
 accident, and was so poor that he could not afford 
 medical attendance. Also that his creditors were 
 after him, and he must hide, and I stormed her pity 
 and sympathy by describing his helpless and friendless
 
 EDITH'S STORY 285 
 
 condition. Well, Dick, you know I have a coaxing 
 way about me, and I had no difficulty in working 
 upon Mrs. Pugh's kind heart, and knew she would 
 do anything and everything for me, and keep as 
 silent as the grave. What that meant to me you 
 can imagine ; the comfort it was to have an elderly 
 woman in the house, to assist me and give me her 
 countenance ! 
 
 Next straight from Mrs. Pugh's I returned 
 boldly to the flat, rang up the housekeeper and gave 
 him the letter you provided me with, saying you had 
 rented the flat to me for as long as I desired to 
 occupy it, and asking for the key. I made him show 
 me over, asked the usual questions, found fault with 
 no end of things in the most approved of inquiring- 
 tenant's style, and arranged to enter into residence 
 the next day with my husband, Mr. Conway, if he 
 were well enough to be moved, explaining that he had 
 been laid up by an accident. Then I demanded and 
 obtained the latch-key of the front door (though of 
 course I had the one you gave me in my pocket), and 
 with this " Open Sesame " legitimately at my dis- 
 posal I began to see an end to my present horrible 
 difficulties. 
 
 Then, as if by an afterthought, I said I would 
 take the measure of the rooms to see if the extra 
 furniture I wished to introduce would fit them they 
 were so shockingly furnished ! I apologise, Dick, but 
 I actually complained that I couldn't live in such a 
 hovel of a place ! It all served to impress the house- 
 keeper, and made it easy for me to get rid of him, 
 after satisfying him that I had now taken possession 
 and was mistress of the flat. I added that I would 
 let myself out and he need not trouble. 
 
 As soon as it was safe I returned to Robert 
 upstairs, and to my joy he seemed a little better. I 
 explained to him what I had planned. He seemed
 
 286 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 to understand it with difficulty, but he had become 
 very trustful of me during these last three days, and 
 my hand upon his forehead, stroking and soothing 
 it, had a pacifying effect. 
 
 Early the next morning I gave him another 
 strong opiate, and stole out before the housekeeper 
 was up or anyone stirring, and walked to Mrs. Pugh's. 
 There I coached her up how she was to act, and at 
 ten o'clock we drove back to the flat and were 
 received with open arms and the most respectful 
 welcome by the housekeeper and his wife. Presently 
 I sent him out on an errand, and sent his wife to make 
 some household purchases for me, promising that 
 Mrs. Pugh should attend to the door in their absence. 
 That was our opportunity, and nurse and I brought 
 Robert down from above, and had him comfortably 
 in your bed within ten minutes. When the house- 
 keeper returned I mentioned the fact of his arrival 
 in such a casual way that it elicited no surprise, only 
 many protestations of regret that the poor gentleman 
 had been overtaken with a fainting fit and obliged to 
 retire to his bed. And so the emigration I had most 
 dreaded was successfully accomplished. 
 
 But I was still anxious about the police. Sup- 
 pose they called again ? Of course I kept very quiet, 
 never going out except after dark, and devoting 
 myself solely to nursing Robert, for whom I now 
 summoned medical assistance. Dr. Milsom's kind- 
 ness I shall never forget, nor the skill with which he 
 treated my poor darling. He blamed me very much 
 for not having called him in before, saying that at an 
 earlier stage he might have done much to ward off 
 the illness of which there were now ominous signs. 
 His prediction proved true, and there was no escape 
 from the brain fever which followed. 
 
 Now the housekeeper, Johnson, as you must 
 know, Dick, was an awful gossip, and with Dr.
 
 EDITH'S STORY 287 
 
 Milsom coming twice and thrice a day there was no 
 knowing to what extent his tongue might not clack, 
 and how much curiosity he might not raise in the 
 other tenants in the building. Distressed at this, the 
 idea occurred to me of trying to get rid of the 
 housekeeper, and installing Mrs. Pugh's son in his 
 place ! I sent nurse to gossip with Mrs. Johnson, 
 and soon discovered that her husband's one ambition 
 in life was to set up as a small grocer, and that he 
 had 60 saved towards buying a business, which he 
 was determined to do so soon as he could command 
 a hundred pounds. I had all the money which you 
 left us so thoughtfully, you dear Dick, when you took 
 away Mr. Strickland's circular notes and those 
 foreign drafts, and you may be sure I did not hesitate 
 to spend 40, and advanced it, free of interest, on 
 the condition that Johnson recommended young 
 Pugh for the post, and made way for him within 
 three days. Under ordinary circumstances the short 
 time I allowed for the transaction might have excited 
 suspicion, but, as it happened, it was not short 
 enough for Johnson, who had his eye on a business 
 that was just going to be snapped up by another 
 person. Result, the thing was done in forty-eight 
 hours, and there I was with Mrs. Pugh attending on 
 me in the flat, and her son guarding the front door 
 against dangers ! 
 
 I now felt comparatively safe, and if it had not 
 been for Robert's condition I should have been happy. 
 But he was getting worse and worse every day, and 
 Dr. Milsom was hinting at the necessity of getting in 
 a professional nurse. That was more than I could 
 contemplate complacently. It was necessary for us 
 to remain perdu, to be prepared for all eventualities, 
 even for a sudden flight in case of sudden danger. 
 We wanted no nurse to hamper us. So I consented 
 to Mrs. Pugh helping me more than she had done,
 
 288 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 and we shared the nursing between us, and I called 
 her Mrs. Box and she called me Miss Cox because 
 one of us was always thinking of going to bed when 
 the other was thinking of getting up, and what with 
 changing the sheets and bedding each time I tell 
 you, Dick, it was occasionally exasperating. 
 
 Happily my fears about the police were ground- 
 less, they never called again, and we remained in 
 splendid isolation except for Dr. Milsom's visits twice 
 daily. Poor, poor Robert, he grew worse and worse, 
 his raving delirium was too dreadful, and there were 
 times when I thought I should go mad myself, 
 hearing and seeing all the dreadful sounds and sights 
 of his sick chamber. And what gave me frightful 
 trouble was Dr. Milsom's suspicions. 
 
 " Your husband," he would say, "has something 
 on his mind. He can't get rid of it. What is it ? 
 Tell me? Speak of it in front of him. It may lead 
 him to confide in me, and then we shall cure 
 him." 
 
 And all I could answer was, " He has money 
 troubles. He won't speak to anyone about them 
 not even to me." And all the time my heart was 
 starting for fear that in his raging delirium Robert 
 would reveal to Dr. Milsom the secret that tortured 
 his brain. 
 
 At last there came a little ray of relief. Your 
 letter from Gibraltar reached me, and my anxiety 
 about you was eased. I wrote you such a long letter 
 to Port Said to " Richard Lock," of course and 
 told you everything, but in a way which nobody 
 could have made head or tail of if the letter had 
 miscarried. Then I had another dreary three weeks 
 to wait before I got your Port Said letter oh, so 
 dreary, despatched from the stokehole, you said, and 
 never explained why ! You ought to have explained, 
 Dick. I got worrying over why you should write
 
 EDITH'S STORY 289 
 
 from the stokehole, and was in that state of mind 
 which invested everything unusual with danger ! 
 
 When your Port Said letter arrived Robert was 
 in a dreadful state. The fever had left him, but he 
 was so fearfully weak that the doctor warned me not 
 to harbour hope. But he was conscious, and that 
 was my great blessing. I had to nurse him and 
 wait on him like a baby, and oh, Dick, it was pitiful, 
 pitiful to see a strong, active, fine man brought to 
 that helpless pass. 
 
 One day Dr. Milsom told me he feared the end 
 was approaching. You can understand what that 
 meant for me, who had learnt in his illness to love 
 him a thousand times more than ever I did before. 
 He was so weak and helpless he seemed my very, 
 very own to support and win back to life again. And 
 now Dr. Milsom bade me prepare for the worst. 
 
 I couldn't help it, Dick, but in that black, 
 hopeless hour I thought of myself. It was a foolish 
 idea, but I wanted I wanted to be able to claim him 
 for my own if if he died. I was weak and over- 
 wrought, and that evening, after Dr. Milsom left, I 
 broke down, and on my knees by the side of my 
 darling's bed, I begged him to marry me, and make 
 me his own. 
 
 It agitated him dreadfully, but, at the same 
 time, it served to rouse him. I cannot explain how 
 or why, but it got him over the crisis. Desperately 
 ill and weak as he was, he rose above his frailty, and 
 told me, with fond words and endearments I cannot 
 repeat, that though he was mine body and soul, he 
 would never marry me, even were he well and strong, 
 without your sanction. 
 
 " I promised Dick," he murmured, " I would be 
 a true man to you, Edith. I must be purged of my 
 crime, or Dick must give his consent to my marrying, 
 before I bind you to my wrecked life."
 
 290 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 And then he burst into a flood of tears, and that, 
 Dick, was, I think, the actual crisis of his illness, for, 
 exhausted with the effort, he fell into a deep sleep 
 that lasted for fourteen hours, and when Dr. Milsom 
 came the next morning he made my heart leap within 
 me with thankfulness and gratitude, when he said : 
 
 " He is better. He will recover. It is marvel- 
 lous ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 EDITH'S STORY INTERRUPTED. 
 
 EDITH came to a pause in her story, and Robert, 
 with touching gratitude in his expression, 
 looked lovingly at her. 
 
 " What should we do without our womenfolk, 
 Bob ?" asked his brother, with intent to dispel the 
 temporary touch of solemnity that had descended 
 on the little party. 
 
 " Ah, what !" echoed Robert. 
 
 And then Edith, with a little shiver, as if to 
 dismiss the poignant recollection, continued her 
 story. 
 
 I will not enter into a detailed description of 
 the next month. Robert grew better and better ; 
 but, with returning strength of body and mind, I 
 could see there was some secret trouble worrying 
 him. 
 
 " What is it ?" I asked him one day. 
 
 And he answered, " It's about Dick. Driven 
 from England through my folly and madness. I 
 want to give myself up. I can't stand the thought 
 of Dick hiding in the far corners of the earth and 
 carrying my crime on his shoulders." 
 
 " Wait a little," I begged him, "until you are 
 stronger, Robert. Dick would wish you to wait. He 
 would not have you run the risk of surrendering in 
 your present state of health. Wait just a little."
 
 292 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 And, grudgingly, he consented to wait just 
 because of me. 
 
 At the end of January there came an excitement 
 in our quiet lives. Mr. Armstrong suddenly returned ! 
 You may judge what a surprise it was to me when I 
 say that I had put off and put off tidying up his 
 rooms, and they showed more than signs of having 
 been occupied ! He was in a terrible rage, and first 
 of all demanded an explanation of me ! His manner 
 was not courteous, and it nettled me, so that we actually 
 came to constrained language if not to high words. 
 And the man hated me, because I can sometimes say 
 very cutting things, as you know, Dick, and 
 I did! 
 
 And was punished for it ! For two days after 
 he came there arrived a foreign telegram for "John 
 Lock, care of A. Armstrong, Esq." Now, I had 
 arranged with the postman to deliver John Lock's 
 letters to me stupid of me, wasn't it, not to infer 
 from you using that name that you had adopted 
 " Robert Bolt ? " and I had omitted to tell young 
 Pugh. The telegraph boy of course knew nothing of 
 this arrangement, and Pugh sent him up to Mr. 
 Armstrong's flat, and here was a pretty to-do ! I 
 heard arguing on the landing upstairs, and being 
 always on the qui vive I listened. Conceive my 
 dismay when I found out that the subject of the 
 argument was Who was John Lock, and why were 
 his telegrams sent to the care of Mr. Armstrong ? 
 
 Of course I had to have that telegram, and when 
 I heard Mr. Armstrong say, " Well, I'll keep it on my 
 mantelpiece and give it to Mr. John Lock when he 
 calls for it," I was all of a tremble. I knew it must 
 be important a telegram is always important to a 
 woman. How was I to get it ! 
 
 I did the only thing I could do, went straight up 
 to Mr. Armstrong's flat, said I had heard him speaking
 
 EDITH'S STORY INTERRUPTED 293 
 
 about a telegram for Mr. John Lock, and that it 
 should have been delivered to me. 
 
 Then that odious man turned on me and said, 
 with horrid truth, " So you add eavesdropping to 
 your other accomplishments, Mrs. Conway ? " 
 
 I tried to make out it was an accident, but he 
 was not to be taken in. " I think Mr. Richard 
 Fawcitt has got some very queer tenants," he 
 observed, impertinently, " and I believe you and 
 your husband are the people who occupied my flat." 
 
 Wasn't it a terrible fix, Dick ? What could I 
 do or say ? The only thing that occurred to me was 
 to declare the telegram was intended for you ! " 
 
 "What does he want telegrams sent to him 
 under an assumed name for ?" asked Mr. Armstrong, 
 cunningly and shrewdly. Then, with an air of 
 revelation, he burst out. " I half suspect it comes 
 from that runaway brother of his who tried to murder 
 his partner in the City, and whom the police areafter !" 
 
 Worse and worse ! I felt the ground giving 
 under my feet. And I did a desperate thing. The 
 telegram was standing up against the mirror on the 
 mantelpiece. I ran across the room, and, before Mr. 
 Armstrong knew what I was after, possessed myself 
 of it, and thrust it in my pocket. 
 
 " Good heavens," he cried, "are you going to 
 steal it!" 
 
 " It is Mr. Richard Fawcitt's property," I 
 retorted, " and it is you who want to steal it." 
 
 " But it is addressed to my care." 
 
 " I don't care," was my womanly answer, " I've 
 got it and I am going to keep it and and send it on 
 to Mr. Fawcitt in in Jamaica." 
 
 " If you were not a lady," he said, " I would 
 force you to give it up." 
 
 "And if you were not a beast, you wouldn't 
 treat an unprotected girl, with a sick brother to
 
 294 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 nurse, as you have treated me," and walked out of 
 the room in as stately a manner as I could command. 
 
 Five minutes afterwards I heard him ring his 
 bell, and up came young Pugh. "Come in here 
 before you go upstairs," I whispered to him. He 
 whipped in and I explained the situation in a few 
 hurried words, and impressed upon him the absolute 
 necessity of telling Mr. Armstrong that Mr. Richard 
 Fawcitt had ordered him to collect and forward 
 any letters addressed to John Lock that might come 
 to Mr. Armstrong's care during his absence. He 
 acted on his instructions as well as he could, but he 
 couldn't convince Mr. Armstrong the pig-headed, 
 obstinate man ! And he told Pugh the whole thing 
 was incomprehensible and very, very suspicious, and 
 he should consult the police ! 
 
 Oh, Dick, Dick, you don't know what I suffered. 
 First of all there was your telegram, asking if Robert 
 was in a place of safety, and why I had not written. 
 And I had written to you sheets and sheets, to John 
 Lock, care of Cook & Sons, Bombay ! Robert was 
 distracted when he realised that you had not received 
 any of his or my letters, and in his feeble state of 
 health it gave him such a shock that he had to take 
 to his bed again. Then there was the dread of the 
 police coming in to make inquiries and how to 
 answer them ! Luckily, Mr. Armstrong did not do 
 anything on the spur of the moment. Pugh and I 
 were watching his movements and correspondence 
 closely. In my bewilderment the only thing I could 
 think of was to make a move, and I cabled out to 
 you that message that we were " in urgent danger " 
 and " hoped to escape next week." I did really 
 think at the moment of sending it that Robert was 
 in urgent danger, and it wasn't till I grew calmer, 
 and Mr. Armstrong seemed to be doing nothing, 
 that I realised I might have been over-timid, and had
 
 EDITH'S STORY INTERRUPTED 295 
 
 probably caused you no end of anxiety. So I tried 
 to put matters right a week later by cabling another 
 message to the effect that " Danger is past. We are 
 still at your flat in Wybrow Street Edith." But I 
 suppose you never got that message ? 
 
 (Dick shook his head in the negative, but did 
 not speak, fearing to interrupt her in her narrative, 
 which he was following with rapt attention.) 
 
 I guessed as much when we got no reply from 
 you. And then I had a premonition that something 
 had happened. And, strangely enough, Robert had 
 exactly the same premonition. A dual conception 
 like that often happens when two people are 
 desperately in love with one another (she confessed 
 with charming candour). 
 
 Then we both took to worrying about you, dear 
 old Dick I mean, worrying even more than we had 
 been doing. And Robert said, decidedly, " I am 
 going to give myself up. I believe something has 
 happened to Dick. He has been taken. And if he 
 has I know r nothing will induce him to give us away." 
 
 " You shall, Robert," I said, " only you must 
 wait until there is time for an Indian mail to arrive 
 since the receipt of my telegram to him." For, you 
 see, Dick, we hadn't heard from you for a long time. 
 I know now it was owing to your being in Ramjugger 
 and your illness, but the sudden cessation of corres- 
 pondence after you had left Bombay, and the 
 knowledge your Bombay letters conveyed that you 
 had lost all your money in a shipwreck and wanted a 
 supply, naturally gave us a terrible shock. We sent 
 you three-quarters of what you had left Robert 
 three hundred pounds, and I suppose it is lying at 
 Messrs. Cook & Sons', waiting for John Lock to call 
 for it ! Oh, what a dreadful, dreadful bungle I made 
 of it ! But then, women are no good at business, and 
 never were !
 
 296 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 Well, I persuaded Robert to give in to me. He 
 was to wait until to-day, when the Indian mail is 
 due, and if we did not hear from you a full and 
 satisfactory explanation, he was to surrender himself, 
 and I was to cable out to Bombay and cause an 
 advertisement to be inserted in all the papers telling 
 "John Bolt" and "Robert Fawcitt" what you had 
 done ! That is the truth, Dick, and I am thankful 
 now that my dear Robert had the determination and 
 strength of mind to insist on a line of action from 
 which, up to the very last moment, weak, frightened 
 woman that I was, I tried to dissuade him. 
 
 And then, last week, we opened the morning 
 papers one day, and there was an account of your 
 trial at Bow Street ! 
 
 Robert saw it first, and it sent him off into a 
 dead faint. He is still so weak and lacking power ! 
 And when he came to himself he wanted to go and 
 give himself up at once. But luckily Dr. Milsom, 
 whom I had hurriedly summoned, would not allow 
 him to do so, and after a regular fight of an argument 
 we came to a compromise that if Robert would stop 
 in bed and let us nurse him, he and I should give 
 ourselves up he on the capital, I on the accessory 
 charge the first day that Dr. Milsom said he could 
 do so without serious danger to his health. 
 
 And that was only yesterday ! You may wonder 
 why we did not communicate with you, Dick, in the 
 interim. Well, for my part, I frankly confess I was 
 ashamed to ; I thought you would despise me so. 
 
 " Oh, Edith, dearest," broke in Dick, hurriedly 
 and reproachfully, "have you not a better opinion of 
 me than that ? Could you think I could be anything 
 but thrilled by your noble, unselfish conduct ? " 
 
 You dear Dick ! Don't, don't say such things 
 about me. I ought not to have hindered Robert in 
 doing what was right when he first saw his duty
 
 EDITH'S STORY INTERRUPTED 297 
 
 clear. But a woman who loves a man oh, she is 
 very fond and foolish very fondly foolish ! She can 
 do wicked things and think them good ! 
 And now, Dick, you know 
 
 At which moment Edith's story was interrupted 
 by the sudden entry of Mrs. Pugh. 
 
 "There's a young lady wants to see you par- 
 ticularly, Miss," she said. " She won't give her 
 name, but she says she knows Mr. Richard Fawcitt." 
 
 Dick leaped to his feet, and made for the door. 
 But before he could reach it someone entered the 
 room someone travel-stained and exhausted from a 
 long and rapid journey in the Brindisi-Calais Express 
 that carries the Indian homeward mails someone 
 who, with a cry of unrestrained joy and emotion, 
 flung herself into his arms, and sobbed out, 
 
 " Oh, my darling, darling Richard !" 
 
 u
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 LILY WILLY-NILLY. 
 
 WILLY-NILLY, I must write of Lily Willis in 
 this chapter, because she has stepped back 
 into the story, and is an imperious little lady 
 who insists upon being heard. At the same time, 
 any immediate report of her meeting with Dick 
 appears to me unnecessary, and I will hop lightly 
 over the hysterical ten minutes that succeeded her 
 entry into his flat, and the additional twenty minutes 
 that were employed in making her better acquainted 
 with Edith and Robert, and settling her down. And 
 having got her on to the sofa, with Edith on one 
 side and Dick on the other, and Robert in the 
 comfortable arm-chair by the fire, I will proceed to 
 synopsise her story much as I have done Edith's. 
 Here it is : 
 
 Well, to begin at the beginning, that day you 
 left Gungaram, Robert I mean Dick I was horribly 
 unhappy and sat in my room, crying, until Mrs. La 
 Touche made me go out for a drive with her in the 
 cool of the evening. She was so kind and cheered 
 me up so much that I was quite looking forward to 
 the morrow when I knew I should receive a telegram 
 from you. 
 
 It came about ten o'clock and I ran off with it 
 to my room to read. And when I read, " Trust me, 
 little mate I've been in worse peril than this The
 
 LILY WILLY-NILLY 299 
 
 thought of you will pull me through," I was bewildered 
 and frightened. "In worse peril" what did that 
 mean ? " Will pull through 1 ' it was an unintelligible 
 horror. I rushed into Mrs. La Touche's room, and 
 there she was, reading another telegram. I knew it 
 must be from you, and I insisted on seeing its 
 contents, although she would have withheld them 
 from me. And her message only added to my 
 mystification and terror. " General Faloon, Lily's 
 uncle, whom we thought dead, is alive, and in Bombay. 
 Protect her from him, and do not believe all you hear 
 about me." 
 
 Uncle Ferdinand alive ! And Mrs. La Touche 
 to protect me from him ! Can you conceive what 
 that weird warning meant to me knowing what I 
 knew ? (She looked intently at Dick, and he returned 
 her glance with a puzzled expression. " What did 
 you know, Lily ? " he asked). 
 
 She lowered her eyes to the ground, and made 
 her confession. 
 
 " I knew what Uncle Ferdinand had done. I 
 I read those two messages you wrote when you 
 thought you were dying in the desert. Your pocket- 
 book had slipped out of your hand, and the pages 
 were open, and I was so mean and wicked that I 
 could not resist the temptation, Dick and I hope 
 oh, I do hope you'll forgive me. But I was so so 
 jealous of Edith that I did not put your pocket-book 
 back in your pocket, but buried it in the sand. And, 
 oh, I'm so sorry now ! " 
 
 " Poor little mate," said Dick, sadly, as he stole 
 his arm round her waist. " You had enough to 
 trouble and frighten you in the desert without Fate 
 planting those despairing messages in front of your 
 eyes! And to think that you never revealed what 
 you had learnt ! " 
 
 " But do you forgive me, Robert Dick, I mean ?
 
 3oo To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 Say you forgive me ! " she pleaded, " I'm so ashamed 
 of myself." 
 
 "Lily, darling," he answered, "there is no 
 ' forgiveness ' necessary between you and me. It is 
 I who ought to be forgiven for my abominable 
 clumsiness, and what shall I call it ? habitual 
 untidiness in not putting away things when I have 
 done with them. You'll have to cure me of that vice. 
 And now, do go on with your story, because we are 
 all dying to hear it." 
 
 " Dying " echoed Edith, in a tone which was a 
 compliment to the narrator. Whereupon Lily con- 
 tinued: 
 
 Well, Mrs. La Touche was no wiser than 
 myself ! We could not telegraph to you because we 
 did not know your address. We could only sit and 
 speculate sorrowfully. Then a sudden thought 
 struck me, and I cried out " Captain Douglas 
 knows ! " 
 
 And he did know, and before another hour was 
 over Mrs. La Touche had wormed his information 
 out of him. Robert Bolt (my Robert Dick, I mean) 
 was a runaway murderer. My Dick a murderer ! 
 
 I burst out laughing when Mrs. La Touche told 
 me. Oh, such a funny laugh, which I couldn't stop. 
 And they had to send for Dr. Slater, and he had me 
 put to bed, and, oh I don't know what happened 
 for the next three days. 
 
 When I came to my senses I had no inclination 
 to laugh, only cry, cry, cry all day long. And dear 
 Mrs. La Touche sitting by my bedside, looking 
 horribly unhappy, just as people do when they are 
 holding back bad news. I saw there was bad news. 
 It was in the Times of India, and I made her bring 
 it to me, and read it right through. And then I felt 
 happier, because you had telegraphed to me you had 
 been in worse peril and would pull through. And I
 
 LILY WILLY-NILLY 301 
 
 knew whatever you said you would do, would be 
 done. 
 
 There was only one thing troubled me. I knew 
 you had no money. I asked Mr. La Touche if 
 lawyers were expensive, and he said they cost more 
 than a prima donna, and did nothing without a re- 
 fresher, which had to be paid in advance. Oh, dear 
 me, I knew lawyers were rogues, but I never thought 
 they were robbers ! And from what Mr. La Touche 
 told me, it seemed to me that one ought to have a 
 lawyer to defend one against lawyers' charges. And 
 that would be like a snowball subscription for a 
 wicked end ! 
 
 Well, of course, I had to do something ! You 
 had told me, Dick, I was a rich heiress, and there 
 was the diamond and ruby necklace. I got an esti- 
 mate from Mr. La Touche for " feeing " lawyers, 
 which he thought would come to a thousand pounds. 
 Then I showed Mrs. La Touche my necklace which 
 my sister had left me, and told her, and Mr. La 
 Touche got a native banker in the bazaar to advance 
 twenty thousand rupees upon its security. Out of 
 that I arranged to have one thousand pounds cabled 
 home to Messrs. Fox and Blackett, who weie 
 supposed to be the sharpest lawyers in London, with 
 instructions to engage the very best Counsel to 
 defend you. 
 
 " So it was you, little mate ! " exclaimed Dick, 
 rapturously. " I never dreamt of it ! Turn your 
 head away. Bob. I must give her a kiss for 
 this !" 
 
 " For shame ! " cried Lily, blushing very rosily 
 and prettily, " you will shock Edith." 
 
 But so far from being shocked, Edith gave her 
 a kiss too ! 
 
 And then this much-be-kissed girl managed to 
 continue her story.
 
 302 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 No sooner had I borrowed and despatched the 
 money, and made arrangements to go home by the 
 next steamer (I had nearly 350 left out of my 
 twenty thousand rupees) than there came two shocks 
 one upon the other. Shock number one, Uncle 
 Ferdinand's death from the plague in Bombay ; and 
 shock number two, the arrival of Baboo Hurry Lai, 
 accusing me of stealing the Rajah's state necklace. 
 That was at midday on the fifth day after you left, 
 Dick. And the mail steamer in which I was going 
 to sail for England timed to start the day after the 
 morrow ! 
 
 No I wasn't a bit frightened. I remembered 
 Tom Bobus, and I told Mr. La Touche all about him. 
 And then I remembered your pocket-book, Dick, 
 and I knew the contents of that would refute the 
 vile lying stories Baboo Hurry Lai was swearing to, 
 that although my Aunt was now really dead, she was 
 alive when you and I " eloped," and had actually 
 been killed by a sunstroke when she had gone out 
 with one of the parties in search of us ! 
 
 "Take me to Ramjugger," I said, " Mr. Tom 
 Bobus gave me the necklace ; he will explain my 
 possession of it. And there is a pocket-book of Mr. 
 Bolt's buried by the skeleton of a camel under a 
 very tall sand-hill in the desert, about due south of 
 the half-way well. If I can find that sand-hill I will 
 prove to you that my dear Aunt was dead poisoned 
 before Mr. Bolt and I left Ramjugger. And we shall 
 find out the truth about the Ranee Rosalie, who 
 this man says is alive." 
 
 The Baboo turned a ripe-pumpkin colour. " Too 
 long journey for pretty Mees. Let General Faloon 
 come make enquiry." 
 
 " General Faloon ! " exclaimed Mr. La Touche ; 
 " why, we have just had a telegram to say that he is 
 dead of the plague."
 
 LILY WILLY-NILLY 303 
 
 " De General dead ! " gasped the Baboo. " Oh, 
 poor pretty Mees, poor pretty Mees ! You in mourn- 
 ing now! No can trouble you with business. Never 
 mind necklace. I explain to Rajah. Rajah him 
 have fit when he hear General Faloon dead. Oh, 
 bad news, bad news ! But no matter necklace no 
 matter whatsomedever !" 
 
 " On the contrary," said Mr. La Touche, " it 
 matters a very great deal. I begin to see now that 
 probably murder has been committed." 
 
 "Good morning, Sir. Good morning, pretty 
 Mees. Me plenty hurry," cried the Baboo in an 
 agitated voice, as he tried to retire. 
 
 But Mr. La Touche would not let him go, and 
 sent for Captain Douglas, who on hearing my story 
 (which no one had hitherto believed) arrested Hurry 
 Lai and begged me to accompany him to Ramjugger 
 if I felt able to do so. He was most polite, and 
 apologised for not having acted on my information 
 sooner, but humbly begged to be allowed to make 
 amends for what he had done, and humbly hoped I 
 would help him to " pull off a big case against the 
 biggest scoundrel in Rajputana." 
 
 I consulted with Mr. La Touche, and found out 
 that by going home overland via Brindisi, I could 
 arrive at the same time as if I went by the sea route 
 in the steamer in which I had booked my passage. 
 So I consented to return to Ramjugger on the con- 
 dition that perfect arrangements should be made for 
 me to catch the next mail steamer. 
 
 It was a great journey. Mr. La Touche and 
 Dr. Slater came with us, and Baboo Hurry Lai was 
 taken along, a close prisoner. The poor man was 
 dripping perspiration the whole way, and every time 
 I passed near him he tumbled down and kissed my 
 feet ! It was really most uncomfortable having 
 one's feet kissed by a man whose natural habit was
 
 304 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 so exceedingly fat and pompous. He carried it to 
 extremities. 
 
 I see you are getting tired 
 (" No ! No ! " from everyone in chorus.) 
 Well, I am, and I must hurry on with my story. 
 We took Ramjugger by surprise, the Rajah was 
 arrested, and dear Aunt's and my dear sister's death 
 confirmed. That horrid, lean native doctor confessed 
 they had both been poisoned by order of the Rajah, 
 and that a reward of ten thousand rupees had been 
 offered to the man who assassinated my Dick, with- 
 out implicating the Rajah. And last of all there 
 was Tom Bobus confined in a dungeon, and doomed 
 to death. He was released, told of his interview 
 with the Ranee Dewali, she was questioned, and the 
 whole truth about the diamond and ruby necklace 
 and Rosalie's will came out. 
 
 They are all going to be tried for murder, Dick, 
 and Aunt and Rosalie will be avenged ! 
 
 All this occurred on the third day after leaving 
 Gungaram. That evening we were to start back for 
 the railway, but instead of going direct I begged 
 Mr. La Touche to try and let me find the sand-hill 
 under which your pocket-book was buried. Tom 
 Bobus came with us, and drove Bijli, on which I was 
 mounted (side saddle, Dick : a special one of 
 Rosalie's). I think Bijli must have remembered the 
 previous journey, for, so far as I could remember, he 
 went over the same course, and in the early morning 
 of the fourth day I recognised the sand-hill, which 
 was very familiar to me as I had impressed its 
 peculiar shape on my mind that morning I laboured 
 back to you, dragging Bijli after me. 
 
 " And now, Dick, dear," said Lily, drawing a little 
 package out of the bosom of her dress, " I make 
 restitution. There is your pocket-book only you've 
 got to send or take it back to Bombay, in case it is
 
 LILY WILLY-NILLY 305 
 
 wanted as evidence. But I'll speak to you about 
 that presently." 
 
 Meanwhile, let me briefly mention that we 
 reached and camped at the half-way well that day, 
 and were back at Gungaram the next morning, when 
 I had six hours' lovely rest (which I wanted ! 
 Oh, my poor spine and Bijli's rocky hump!) and I 
 caught the steamer splendidly. Mr. and Mrs. La 
 Touche came to see me off, and Mr. Tom Bobus too. 
 I have promised to lend Mr. Bobus five thousand 
 rupees when I come into my fortune, to start as a 
 horse-dealer in Bombay. Of course I shall give it 
 him, but he insists upon calling and considering it a 
 loan! 
 
 And now you know how I have come here 
 
 "Indeed I don't," declared Dick. " That you 
 should walk into this flat in the way you did is 
 nothing short of a miracle." 
 
 " Oh, I forgot."
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 CLEARS UP THE MYSTERY. 
 
 A SHOWER of rain, breaking up a pleasant 
 picnic at the end of the day and drenching 
 the guests, could not have a more disturbing 
 influence than Lily's concluding announcement that 
 she was returning to Bombay in (as it happened) 
 six days. The news fell with a shock upon Dick, 
 who felt a sudden fetter placed on his new-found 
 happiness, whilst in intuitive sympathy with him, 
 Edith and Robert looked at one another and did not 
 seek to hide their dismay. 
 
 " Lily," said Dick, " this is dreadful news your 
 going back to Bombay." 
 
 " Oh, but you will come with me, Dick won't 
 you ? Mrs. La Touche put me in charge of the dear 
 old Captain of the steamer coming home, and he 
 arranged everything escort and all, so comfortably. 
 But there is no one to put me in charge of anyone 
 for the return voyage, and I don't think, under the 
 circumstances, Dick, you would like me to sail 
 without you? " And she looked at him with a little 
 surprised anxiety in her blue, perplexed eyes. 
 
 Dick brightened visibly, then grew very red in 
 the face, and finally delivered himself of a 
 cough. 
 
 " Well, sir ? " demanded Lily, indicating dis- 
 approval of his tardiness in answering.
 
 CLEARS UP THE MYSTERY 307 
 
 " Why, of course ; certainly, darling," Dick 
 hastened to assure her. " You don't imagine, having 
 once got you into my arms, I am going to let you 
 slip away for a second. The only h'm question 
 is, in what capacity should I accompany jou ?" 
 
 " In the capacity of Dick this time," decided 
 Lily, not apprehending the ultimate reach of his 
 speculation. " However I am going to get out of 
 the way of calling you ' Robert,' I don't know. But 
 perhaps a long sea-voyage in your company will 
 cure me." 
 
 With such incorrigible innocence Dick felt 
 helpless. He looked at Edith, and then at Robert. 
 And, curiously enough, both of them blushed just as 
 guiltily as Dick himself but for a different reason. 
 
 And then his savoir-faire came suddenly back to 
 Dick, and he rose to the height of the occasion 
 and to his feet. And, standing by the side of 
 Robert's chair, he began to make a sort of speech, 
 that did not appear to have the remotest connection 
 with the subject perplexing them. 
 
 " Dear ones," he said, and looked at each of 
 them in turn, " I do think we four people are the 
 most unconventional in the world. If, for instance, 
 Mrs. Grundy entered the room at this moment, I 
 feel convinced that she would dash out again with 
 the celerity that might be actuated and accelerated 
 by such a fact as our burning cayenne pepper in the 
 apartment. Perhaps, however, you do not know that 
 the fumes of burning cayenne pepper are the most 
 unbearable in the world. I was speaking in the 
 language of metaphor, my desire being to illustrate 
 the intolerability of our hardened unconventionality. 
 In this respect it is my opening axiom that we are 
 ' abandoned.' >: 
 
 Edith, Lily, and Robert looked exceedingly 
 puzzled ; but such was the love of all three of them
 
 308 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 for Dick, and such their regard for his sagacity and 
 mental power, that they hesitated to ask him what 
 he was drivelling about. 
 
 Encouraged by their acquiescence in the 
 fundamental truth of his argument, Dick went on : 
 
 " It is hardly necessary for me to explain or 
 expatiate on the fact that we are two young women 
 under twenty-four (a good deal under, in one case) 
 and two young men under thirty. That we are 
 spinsters and bachelors, and that two of us are 
 longing to marry two others of us. The question is, 
 whether the two others of us are what shall I say ? 
 graciously willing to marry the two of us." 
 
 " Of course they are," said Lily. 
 
 "We lay another fundamental truth on the top 
 of the previous fundamental truth," went on Dick, 
 exegetically, " and the edifice begins to rear its head. 
 The next question is, ' Forthwith ?' " 
 
 Neither Edith nor Lily could quite make out 
 the bearings of that question, which was put in 
 rather an involved way. Their knitted brows 
 indicated this. 
 
 " I perceive," said Dick, after a little pause, and 
 in a tone tinged with disappointment, " that you do 
 not take me. Perhaps the fault is mine, for using 
 involved diction in the heat of oratory. So I will 
 repeat the question in a simpler and clearer form : 
 Are you, the other two, ready and willing to marry 
 us two forthwith ?" 
 
 Whereat Lily simply gave a shriek (of delight, 
 although she pretended it was dismay), and Edith 
 said, rather severely, that Dick ought to be ashamed 
 of himself for making light of such solemn matters. 
 
 "Oh, but I'm not," protested Dick, in a tone of 
 excessive exculpation. " I was never solemner or 
 seriouser in my life ! Let me square and fit the third 
 fundamental truth. I presume to take it as Q.E.D.
 
 CLEARS UP THE MYSTERY 309 
 
 that the other two of us are not opposed in principle 
 to marrying the two of us, and that the formal and 
 conventional equation is the only one that stands in 
 the way. But you have admitted or, at least, I 
 have admitted on your behalf that we are the most 
 unconventional four in the world, and that Mrs. 
 Grundy would flee from us as she would from the fiend. 
 Accursed murderers, accursed accessories to murder, 
 accursed thief of a diamond and ruby necklace, how 
 can we mingle in the honest world ? And living 
 together, as we have done for long periods, and met 
 here together without chaperon and without con- 
 vention, how can we dare to enter into select society 
 or expect its membersto come to our Wedding Feast?" 
 
 Dick paused, and looked triumphantly at his 
 audience. But no one had anything to say, except 
 in blushes. 
 
 " On the top of this," went on Dick, following 
 up his histrionic advantage, " there is one imperious 
 little lady here who insists upon going out to 
 Bombay next Friday, and upon my accompanying 
 her. But in what capacity she has omitted to 
 specify." 
 
 Lily began to see now, and she unconsciously 
 crept closer to Edith, and finally buried her blushing 
 face in her future sister's bosom. 
 
 " It will be convenient," said Dick, with a 
 twinkle of humour in his handsome grey eyes, " to 
 continue the argument under less complex circum- 
 stances. Robert, old fellow, will you stop in this 
 room and convince Edith of its cogency, whilst I 
 take Lily into the dining-room and strive to persuade 
 her to our ends." 
 
 " But what is the precise argument, Dick ?" 
 asked Robert. 
 
 " That, under the peculiar circumstances of our 
 unconventional association, it is advisable and,
 
 3io To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 indeed, unavoidable that we should all be married 
 next week ; so that I may escort Lily to Bombay, 
 and Edith may take you to Buxton to regain your 
 health." 
 
 " Oh !" cried Lily. 
 
 " Oh !" cried Edith. 
 
 But, all the same, the former made no objection 
 to Dick leading her into the next room, and Edith's 
 eyes invited Robert to take the vacant seat on the 
 
 sofa. 
 
 ***** 
 
 On Wednesday, Dick and Lily and Edith and 
 Robert were married. The witnesses to the ceremony 
 were Mrs. Pugh, Dr. Milsom, and Detective Lowe ! 
 The latter had happened to come in, just as they 
 were driving off to church, to " wish his very best to 
 Mr. Richard Fawcitt," and had forthwith been 
 requisitioned as a wedding-guest whom it would not 
 be necessary to illuminate as to the antecedents of 
 the principal actors in the function. 
 
 "You can witness both Robert and Richard 
 Fawcitt's signatures, can't you, Lowe ?" said Dick. 
 " You know them both well eh ?" 
 
 " Oh, get out with you, sir !" protested the 
 honest sergeant. " Won't you ever have done joking 
 me?" 
 
 The unconventional marriage of four unconven- 
 tional people does not give much scope to the story- 
 writer to describe dresses or emotions. As for the 
 former, they were distinctly unconventional ; but, 
 for the latter, I think they were as heartfelt as any 
 that ever accompanied those fatal words " Will 
 you ?" " I will !" Lily was, perhaps, the heroine 
 of the occasion, though Edith nearly ran her a dead 
 heat. Robert followed a very fair third, and Dick 
 distinguished himself by a distressing nervousness, 
 and came in a bad last.
 
 CLEARS UP THE MYSTERY 311 
 
 The wedding-breakfast took place at Dick's flat, 
 being supplied by a universal provider, who lamented 
 he had not been able to add a touch of perfection to 
 the recherche repast by decorating it with a dozen 
 hired guests. But Dick who paid the piper 
 absolutely refused such desperate bargains as " an 
 elderly gentleman to give the blessing, with ducal 
 features and guaranteed sound in his ' h's,' half-a- 
 guinea ;" " a benevolent aunt, in handsome mauve 
 silk dress, well-rehearsed in portraying the family 
 benefactress, from whom there are great expectations, 
 seven-and-sixpence, or, with real Brussels lace 
 flounces to dress, nine shillings ;" " young walking 
 gentlemen, look as though they had means, strictly 
 forbidden to borrow from genuine guests, six shillings 
 each, four for a guinea;" "bridesmaids, assorted, 
 five guineas a dozen extra fine, six pounds ten ;" 
 " street admirers (decently dressed), to say ' Oh-h-h ' 
 in fireworks-going-off 'tone' when the bride steps out 
 of her carriage to enter the church, or exclaim 
 ' sweetly pretty ' as she leaves home in her going- 
 away dress ; males, one shilling an hour each ; 
 females, 8fd. per hour ; reduction on a large 
 quantity." 
 
 " No," said Dick, with something of his old 
 determination ; " none of these pomps and vanities 
 for me. Not at any price." 
 
 So there were only Dr. Milsom and Lowe at 
 table (the latter highly honoured by Dick's con- 
 descension) ; and the former proposed the healths of 
 Edith and Robert and the latter the healths of Lily 
 and Dick, and Mrs. Pugh did the Greek chorus, with 
 young Pugh out in the passage and Mr. Armstrong 
 on the landing above arguing about the rights of 
 tenants to be convivial. 
 
 " Don't happen every day," was young Pugh's 
 excuse, as custodian of the flats for the landlord ;
 
 312 To DEFEAT THE ENDS OF JUSTICE 
 
 " and when you're married, sir, you shall have a 
 
 German band in, and no objections raised." 
 
 ***** 
 
 And so they are married and done for, and it 
 only remains for me to get them their cabs and start 
 them off to their respective railway stations. Dr. 
 Milsom, as Robert's best man, did the needful for 
 Mr. and Mrs. Robert Fawcitt, and Lowe was highly 
 honoured and gratified to stand holding the door 
 open to allow Mr. and Mrs. Richard Fawcitt to take 
 their seats en route to Paris. 
 
 " Half a mo', sir," he whispered to Dick, through 
 the open window, after he had closed the door; 
 "there's a little matter that keeps me awake o' nights 
 for worrying over it. That telegram from Algiers to 
 Scotland Yard, what put us on your track you said 
 you suspected who it was as sent it. I'd take it 
 kindly of you, sir, if you'd tell me." 
 
 And Dick looked at him and winked 
 sufficiently ! 
 
 FINIS.
 
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 Ill ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. 27 
 
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 In a Steamer C.air I A Woman luterrenes. 
 
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 r Way . 
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 Lady Kilpatrick. 
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 Blind Love. 
 
 Diana Harrington. 
 Proper Pride. 
 
 Family Likeness. 
 
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 Mr. Jervis. 
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 Seta's Brother's Wife. I The Lawton GirL 
 
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 Robin Gray. 
 Of High Degree, 
 The Golden Shaft. 
 
 By E. 
 
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 Fair Colonist 
 
 . 
 
 The Glden Rock. 
 
 A. GRACE. 
 
 Tales cf a Dying Race. 
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 A Florida Enchantmeut.
 
 28 
 
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 By GYP.-Cloclo. 
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 The Track of a Storm | Jetsam. 
 
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 Glamour of the Impossible ; and Through a Keyhole. 
 
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 Devil's Ford. 
 
 Crusade of ' Excelsior. 
 
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 Gabiiel Conroy. 
 
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 Beatrix Randolph. 
 David Poindexter's 
 
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 Garth. I Dust. 
 
 Ellice Quentm. 
 Sebastian Strome. 
 Fortune's Fool. 
 
 Love oi 
 
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 Rujub, the Juggler. | Colonel Thorndyke's Secret 
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 Lady from Nowhere. | The Millionaire Mystery. 
 
 By Mrs. HUNGERFORD. 
 
 Professor's Experiment. 
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 A Maiden all Forlorn 
 The Coming of Chloe. 
 Nora Creina. 
 An Anxious Moment. 
 April's Lady. 
 Peter's Wife. 
 
 Marvel. 
 
 Unsatisfactory Lover. 
 In Durance Vile. 
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 Lady Patty. 
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 The Three Graces. 
 
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 That Other Persom. | Mrs. Juliet. 
 
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 Madame Sans-Gene. 
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 Patricia Kemball. 
 Under which Lord ? 
 
 My Love 1 ' | lone. 
 Paston Carew. 
 Sowing the Wind 
 With a Silken Thread. 
 
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 Djlcie Everton. 
 Tne Rebel of the Family 
 An Octave of Friends. 
 The World Well Lost. 
 
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 B/ JUSTIN MCCARTHY. 
 
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 Linley Rochford. 
 Dear Lady Disdain. 
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 Waterdale Neighbours. 
 My Enemy's Daughter. 
 Miss Misanthi 
 
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 Maid of Athens. 
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 Red Diamonds. 
 The Riddle Ring. 
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 JUSTIN H. McCARTHY.-A London Legend 
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 Heather and Snow. 
 
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 Dr. Rumsey's Patient. 
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 Rosebury. 
 >y the Way. 
 
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 Luck of Gerard Ridgele 
 Th( - 
 
 Mrs. MOLESWORTH.-Hathercourt Rectory. 
 By J. E. MUDDOCK. 
 
 Maid Marian and Robin I Basile the Jester. 
 Hood. | Golden Idol. 
 
 Young Lochmvar. 
 By D. CHRISTIE MURRAY. 
 
 erard Ridgeley. | Renshaw Fanning's Quest, 
 nph of Hilary Blachland. | Haviland's Chuiiu 
 
 Bob Martin's Little Girt. 
 Time's Revenges. 
 A Wasted Crime. 
 In Direst Peril. 
 Mount Despair. 
 A Capful o' Nails. 
 Tales in Prose and Verse. 
 A Race for Millions. 
 This Little World. 
 His Own Ghost. 
 Church of Humanity. 
 Despair's Last Journey 
 
 A Life's Atonement. 
 
 Joseph's Coat. 
 
 Coals of Fire. 
 
 Old Blazer's Hero. 
 
 Val Strange. | Hearts. 
 
 A Model Father. 
 
 By the Gate of the Sea. 
 
 A Bit of Human Nature. 
 
 First Person Singular. 
 
 Cynic Fortune. 
 
 The Way of the World. 
 
 V.C. 
 
 By MURRAY and HERMAN. 
 The Bishops' Bible | Paul Jones's Alias. 
 
 One Traveller Returns. 
 By HUME NISBET. 'Bail Up!' 
 
 By W. E. NOKRIS. 
 Saint Ann's. | Billv Bellew. 
 
 Miss Wentworth's Idea. 
 
 By G. OHNET.-A Weird Gift. 
 
 Love's Depths. | The Woman of Mystery. 
 
 The Money-maker. 
 By Mrs. OLIPHANT. 
 Whiteladies. | The Sorceress. 
 
 By OUIDA. 
 
 Held in Bondage. 
 Strathmore. | Chandos. 
 Under Two Flags. 
 Cecil Castlemaine's Gage. 
 Tricotrin. | Puck. 
 Folle-Farine. 
 A Dog of Flanders. 
 Pascarel. I Signa. 
 Princess Napraxine. 
 Two Wooden Shoes. 
 In a Winter City. 
 The Massarenes. 
 
 ndship. I Idalia. 
 Moths. Ruffino. 
 
 Pipis'rello. | Ariadne. 
 A Village Commune. 
 Bimbi. I Wanda. 
 
 Frescoes. | Othinar. 
 In Maremma. 
 Syrlin. | Guilderoy. 
 
 Santa Barbara. 
 Two Offenders. 
 The Waters of Edera. 
 | A Rainy June. 
 
 By MARGARET A. PAUL. 
 
 Gentle and Simple. 
 
 By JAMES PAYN 
 
 Lost Sir Massingberd. 
 The Clyffards of Clyfle. 
 The Family Scapegrace. 
 ACounty Family. [Painted 
 ' 
 
 High Spirits. I Bv P 
 The Talk of the To 
 Holiday Tasks. 
 hor Cash Only. 
 
 t Million. 
 The Word and the Will. 
 Sunny Stories. 
 A Trying Patient. 
 Modern Dick Whittington 
 
 Less Black than We're 
 A Confidential Agent. 
 A Grape from a 1 horn. 
 In Peiil and Privation. 
 Mystery of Mirbridge. 
 
 By WILL PAYNE.-Jerry the Dreamer 
 
 By Mrs. CAMPBELL PRAED. 
 Outlaw and Lawmaker. I Mrs. Tregaskiss. 
 Christina Chard. | Nulma. | Madame Izan. 
 
 As a Watch in the Night.' 
 By E. C. PRICE. Valentina. 
 
 By RICHARD PRYCE. 
 Miss Maxwell's Affections. 
 
 By Mrs. J. H. RIDDELL. 
 Weird Stories. I A Rich Man's Daughter.
 
 Ill ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. 
 
 29 
 
 THE PICCADILLY (3/6) NOVELS continued, 
 
 By CHARLES READE. 
 
 Peg Wcrr.r.gton ; and Griffith Gaunt. 
 
 Christie Johnston*. ::',e. Love Long. 
 
 Hard L The Double Marriage. 
 
 Cloister and the Hearth. Foul Play. 
 Never Too Late to Mend. Put Yourself in His Place 
 The Course of True A Terrible Temptation. 
 Lore ; and Singleheart 
 and Doubleface. 
 Autobiography of a 
 Thief; jack of ail 
 Trades ; A Hero and 
 a Martyr ; and The 
 Wandering Heir. 
 
 By FRANK RICHARDSON. 
 Man Who Lost H.S Past. | The Bayswater Mystery. 
 
 By AMELJE RIVES. 
 Barbara Dering. | MerieL 
 
 By F. W. ROBINSON. 
 The Hands of Justice. | Woman in the Dark. 
 
 By ALBERT ROS8.-A Sugar Princess. 
 By i. RUNCIMAN.-Skippers and Shellbacks. 
 
 By W. CLARK RUSSELL. 
 Round the Galley Fire. My Shipmate Loui 
 
 A Simpleton. 
 A Woman-Hater. 
 The Jilt, & other Stories 
 & Good Stories of Man 
 A Perilous Secret. 
 Readiana ; and Bible 
 Characters. 
 
 In the Middle Watch. 
 On the Fo'k'sle Head. 
 A Voyage to the Cape. 
 Book for the Hammock. 
 Mystery of ' Ocean Star. 
 Jenny Harlowe. 
 An Ocean Tragedy. 
 A Tale of Two Tunnel! 
 
 Alone on Wide Wide Sea. 
 The Phantom Death. 
 Is He the Man t 
 Good Ship ' Mohock. 
 The Convict Ship. 
 Heart of Oak. 
 The Tale of the Ten. 
 The Last Entry. 
 The Death Ship. 
 By DORA RUSSELL.-Driftof Fate. 
 By HERBERT RUSSELL. True Blue. 
 By BA YLE ST. JOHN. A Levantrie Family. 
 
 By ADELINE SERGEANT. 
 
 Dr. Endicott'i Experiment ' Y.der False Pretences. 
 
 By WILLIAM SHARP. 
 
 Children of To-morrow. 
 By M. P. SHIEL The Purple Cloud. 
 
 By GEORGE R. SIMS. 
 Dagonet Abroad. Ir London's Heart. 
 
 Once uponChristmasTime. Mary Jane's Memoirs, 
 
 Library of Humour. 
 The Innocents Abroad. 
 Roughing It; and The 
 Innocents at Home. 
 A Tramp Abroad. 
 The American Claimant. 
 Adventures Tom Sawyer. 
 Tom Sawyer Abroad. 
 Tom Sawyer, Detective. 
 C. C. FRASER-TY1 
 By SARAH 
 What She Came Through. 
 Buried Diamonds. 
 The Blackball Ghosts. 
 The Macdonald Lass. 
 Witch Wife. | Sapph:ra. 
 
 The G;lded Age. 
 Prince and the Pauper. 
 Life on the Mississippi. 
 Huckleberry Finn. 
 A Yankee at Court. 
 Stolen White Elephant. 
 .i.ooo.oeo Bank-note. 
 A Double-barrelled Detec- 
 tive Story. 
 LER. Mistress Judith. 
 TYTLER. 
 Mrs. Carmichael's God- 
 desses. 
 Rachel Langton. 
 A Honeymoon's Eclipse. 
 A Young Dragon. 
 
 By H. L. STEYENSON.-The Suicide Club. 
 By FRANK STOCKTON. 
 
 The Voung Master or Hyson Hail- 
 By SUNDOWNER. Told by the TaffraiL 
 By SWEET and KNOX. 
 
 On a Mev 
 
 By ANNIE THOMAS.-The Siren's Web. 
 By BERTHA THOMAS. 
 
 In a Cohedral Ci-y. 
 By FRANCES E. TROLLOPS. 
 
 Like Ships L'pon Sea. | Anne Furne*s. 
 
 Mabel's Progress. 
 
 By ANTHONY TROLLOPE. 
 The Way we Live Now. I Marion Far. 
 Frau Frohmann. I Scarborough's Family. 
 
 The Land- Leaguers. 
 By MARK TWAIN. 
 Choice Works. Pudd'nhead Wilson. 
 
 ALLEN UPWARD The Queen against Owen. 
 By ALBERT D. YANDAM.-A Court Tragedy 
 
 By E. A. YIZETELLY. 
 The Scorpion. | The Lover s Process. 
 
 By LEW. WALLACE. -Ben Hur. 
 
 By FLORENCE WARDEN. 
 
 Joan, the Curate. | A Fight to a Finish. 
 
 By CY WARMAN Express Messenger. 
 
 By A. WERNER. Chapenga's White Man. 
 
 By WILLIAM WESTALL. 
 
 Without the Limelight. 
 Rogues and Vagabonds. 
 Biographs ol Babylon 
 
 .*<Mj JMM 3 mcmuil*. 
 
 Mary Jane Married. 
 The Small-part Lady. 
 A Blind Marriage. 
 
 For Honour and Li e 
 A Woman Tempted Hun. 
 Her Two Milliens. 
 Two Pinches of Snuff. 
 
 Red Ryvington. 
 Ralph Norbreck's Trust 
 Trust-money. 
 Sons of Belial. 
 
 By UPTON SINCLAIR.-PrinceHagen. 
 
 Nigel Fortescue. 
 
 Roy of Roy's Court. 
 
 By J. MOYR SMITH.-The Prince of Argolis. 
 By T. W. SPEIGHT. 
 
 Birch Dene. | Ben Clough. 
 The Phantom City. 
 
 With the Red Eagle. 
 A Red Bridal. 
 
 The Grey Monk. 
 
 As it was Written. 
 
 A Queer Race. 
 
 Strange Crimes. 
 
 :er of Trenance, 
 
 Her Ladyship. 
 
 The Old Factory. Her Ladyship's Secret. 
 
 The Web of Fate. 
 
 The Strange Experiences 
 
 As Luck would have it. 
 
 Secret of Wy vem Towers. 
 The Doc 
 
 of Mr. Verschoyle. 
 m of Siva. 
 
 By ATHA WESTBURY. 
 
 The Shadow of Hilton Fernbrook. 
 
 By ALAN i 
 A Fe'Jow of Trinity. 
 The Junior Dean. 
 Master of St. Benedict's. 
 To his Own Master. 
 
 IT. AUBYN. 
 
 The Tremlett Diamonds. 
 The Wooing of May. 
 A Tragic Honeymoon, 
 
 By FRED WHISHAW. 
 
 ATorbidden Name i Many Ways of Love 
 By C. J. WILLS.-An Easygoing Fellow. 
 By JOHN STRANGE WINTER. 
 
 Cavalry Lite : and Kegirr.enta! legends. 
 
 Gallantay Bower. 
 
 Fortune's Gate. 
 
 By LOUIS ZANG WILL. 
 
 In Face of the World. 
 Orchard Damerel 
 Mrs. Dunho 
 
 Bonnie Maggie Lauder. 
 Mary Unwm. 
 
 A rsineteenth Century Mirac e. 
 By EMILE ZOLA. 
 The Honour of the Army. His Masterpiece. 
 
 By JOHN STAFFORD.-Dorisandl. 
 
 Germinal. I The Dream. The Fat and the Thin. 
 Abbe Mouret's Trans- , Dr. Pascal 1 lov of Lifa 
 
 By R. STEPHENB.-The Cruciform Maik. 
 
 gression. | Money. 
 
 Fortune of the Kougons. 
 
 R. NEILSON STEPHENS.-PhilipWinwood. 
 
 The Conquest of Plassans. 
 Dram -Shop 1 Downfall. 
 
 Leurdes, FruitiuJness. 
 
 Rrme Work 
 
 By R. A. STERNDALE. The Afghan Knife. 
 
 His Excelfcncy. 
 
 Paris. Truth'. 
 
 CHEAP EDITIONS OF POPULAR NOYELS. 
 
 Post 8vo, illustrated boards, 2s. each. 
 By Mrs. ALEXANDER. By GRANT ALLEN. 
 
 Blird Fate. I A Life Interest, 
 
 Valerie's Fate. | Mono's Choice. 
 
 By Woman's Wit- 
 By E. LESTER ARNOLD. 
 
 Phra the Phoenician. 
 
 ARTEMUS WARD'S WORKS, Complete. 
 
 Philistfa. I Babylon. 
 
 Strange Stories. 
 
 For Ma-mie's Sake. 
 
 In all Shades. 
 
 The Beckoning Hand. 
 
 The Devil's Die. 
 
 The Tents of Sheen. 
 
 The Great Taboo, 
 
 Dumaresq's Daughter. 
 Duchess of Powsyland. 
 Blood Royal. 
 Ivan Greet s Masterpiece. 
 The Scallywag. 
 This Mortal CoiL 
 At Market Value. 
 Under Sealed Orders.
 
 CHATTO & WINDUS, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 TWO-SHILLING NOVELS continued. 
 
 By M. J. COLQUHOUN.-Every Inch a Soldier. 
 
 By Rev. 8. BARING-GOULD. 
 
 Red Spider. | Eve. 
 
 By C. EGBERT CRADDOCK. 
 
 The Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains. 
 
 By FRANK 
 
 Fettered for Life. 
 Little Lady Linton. 
 
 BARRETT. 
 
 A Prodigal's Progress. 
 Found O'jil.y. 
 
 By H. N. CRELLIN.-Ta!es of the Caliph. 
 MATT CRIM The Adventures of a Fair Rebe. 
 
 Between Life and Death. 
 
 A Recoiling Vengeance 
 
 By B. M. CROKER. 
 
 Sin of Olga Zassoulich. 
 
 For Live and Honour. 
 
 Pretty Miss Nevilie. 
 
 V ifege Tales and Jungle 
 
 Folly Morrison. 
 
 John Ford, &c. 
 
 Diana Barrini>ton. 
 
 Tragedies. | Mr. Jervis. 
 
 Lieut. Barnabas. 
 
 Woman of Iron Bracelets. 
 
 A Bird of Passage. 
 
 Two Masters. 
 
 Honest Davie. 
 
 The Harding Scandal. 
 
 Proper Pride. | To Let' 
 
 The Real Lady Hilda, 
 
 A Missing Witness. 
 
 A Family Likeness. 
 
 Married or Singlet 
 
 By Sir W. BESANT and J. RICE. 
 
 A Third Person, 
 
 Interference. 
 
 Ready-Money Mortiboy. 
 
 By Celia's Arbour. 
 
 By ALPHONSB DAUDET. 
 
 My Little Girl. 
 With Harp and Crown. 
 This Son of Vulcan. 
 
 Chaplain of the Fleet. 
 The Seamy Side. 
 The Case of Mr. Lucraft 
 
 The Evangelist ; or. Port Salvation. 
 By JAMES DE MILLE A Strange Manuscript 
 
 The Golden Butterfly. 
 The Monks of 1 he'.ema. 
 
 In Trafalgar's Bay. 
 The Ten Years' Tenant. 
 
 By DICK I 
 
 The Man-Hunter. 
 
 >ONOYAN. 
 
 Michael Danevltch. 
 
 By Sir WALTER BESANT. 
 
 All Sorts and Conditions. The Bell of St. Paul's. 
 
 Tracked and Taken. 
 
 Caught at Last ! 
 
 In the Grip of the Law. 
 From Information Re- 
 
 The Captains' Room. 
 All in a Garden Fair. 
 Dorothy Forster. 
 Uncle Jack. [Then. 
 The World Went Very Well 
 
 The Holy Rose. 
 Armorel of Lyonesse. 
 St. Katherine's by Tower. 
 Verbena Camellia Stepha- 
 The Ivory Gate. [notis. 
 
 Who Poisoned Hetty 
 Duncan? | Wanted! 
 Man from Manchester. 
 A Detective's Triumphs. 
 Mystery Jamaica Terrace. 
 
 ceived. 
 Tracked to Doom. 
 Link by Link. 
 Suspicion Aroused. 
 Riddles Read. 
 
 Children of Gibeon. 
 
 The Rebel Queen. 
 
 By Mrs. AMNIE EDWARDES. 
 
 Herr Paulus. 
 
 Beyond Dreams Avarice. 
 
 A Point of Honour. 1 Archie LovelL 
 
 For Faith and Freedom. 
 To Call Her Mine. 
 The Master Craftsman. . 
 AMBROSE BIERC1 
 
 The Revolt of Man. 
 In Deacon's Orders. 
 The City of Retuge. 
 3. In the Midst of Life. 
 
 By EDWARD EG 
 By G. MANV 
 
 The New Mistress. 
 Witness to the Deed. 
 
 GLESTON.-Roxy. 
 ILLS FENN. 
 
 The Tiger Lily. 
 The White Virgin. 
 
 By FREDERICK BOYLE. 
 
 By PERCY FITZGERALD. 
 
 Camp Notes. 
 
 Chronicles of No-man's 
 
 Bella Donna, | Fatal Zero. 
 
 Seventy - five Brooke 
 
 Savage Life. 
 
 Land. 
 
 Never Forgotten. | Polly. 
 
 Street. 
 
 By BRET HARTE. 
 
 Second Mrs. Tiilotsoa 
 
 The Lady of Brantome. 
 
 Califomian Stories. 
 Gabriel Conroy. 
 
 Flip. I Maruja. 
 A Phyllis of the Sierras. 
 
 By PERCY FITZGERALD and others. 
 
 Strange Secrets. 
 
 Luck f Roaring Camp. 
 An Heiress of Red Dog. 
 
 A Waif of the Plains. 
 Ward of Golden Gate. 
 
 By R. C. FRANCILLON. 
 
 Olympla. Kin;? or Knave f 
 
 By ROBERT BUCHANAN. 
 
 One by One. 
 
 Romances of the Law. 
 
 Shadow of the Sword. 
 
 The Martyrdom of Ma- 
 
 A Real Queen. 
 
 Ropes of Sand. 
 
 A Child of Nature. 
 
 deline. 
 
 Queen Cophetua. 
 
 A DM? and his Shadow. 
 
 God and the Man. 
 Love Me for Ever. 
 
 The New Abelard. 
 The Heir of Linne. 
 
 Woman and the Man. 
 
 By HAROLD FREDERIC. 
 
 Seth's Brother's Wife. | The Law ton Girl. 
 
 The Master of the Mine. 
 
 Rachel Dene. | Matt. 
 
 Prefaced by Sir BARTLE FRERB. 
 
 Annan Water. 
 
 Ladv Kiloatrick. 
 
 Pandurang Hari. 
 
 BUCHANAN and MURRAY. The Charlatan. 
 
 By CHARLES GIBBON. 
 
 Robin Gray. In Honour Bound. 
 
 By HALL CAINE. 
 
 Fancy Free. 
 
 Flower of the Forest. 
 
 A Son of Hagar. The Deemster 
 
 For Lack of Gold. 
 
 The 'Braes of Yarrow. 
 
 The Shadow of a Crime. 
 
 What iil the World Say ? 
 
 The Golden Shaft. 
 
 By Commander CAMERON. 
 The Cruise of the 'Black Prince. 1 
 
 In Love and War. 
 For the King. 
 
 Of High Degree. 
 By Mead and Stream. 
 
 By HARDEN CARRUTH. 
 
 In Pastures Green. 
 Queen of the Meadow. 
 
 Loving a Dream. 
 A Hard Knot. 
 
 
 A Heart's Problem. 
 
 Heart's Delight. 
 
 By AUSTIN CLARE.-For the Love of a Lass. 
 
 The Dead Heart. 
 
 Blood-Money. 
 
 By Mrs. ARCHER CLIYE. 
 
 Paul FerrolL | Why Paul Ferroll Killed his Wife. 
 By MACLAREN COBBAN. 
 
 By WILLIAM GILBERT.-Jamcs Duke, 
 By ERNEST GLANYILLE. 
 
 The Lost Heiress. | The Fossicker. 
 
 The Cure of Souls. The Red Sultan. 
 
 A Fair Colonist. 
 
 ByC. ALLSTONCOL 
 By IV1ORT. and FR 
 
 Sweet Anne Page. 
 Transmigration. 
 
 LINS.- The Bar Sinister. 
 ANCES COLLINS. 
 
 H-.veet and Twenty. 
 The Milage Comedy 
 
 ANDREW HALLIDAY.-Every day Papers. 
 By THOMAS HARDY. 
 
 Under the Greenwood Tree. 
 
 From Midnight to Mid- 
 
 You Play Me False. 
 
 By JULIAN HAWTHORNE. 
 
 night. 
 
 Blacksmith and Scholar. 
 
 Ellice Quentin. | Garth. 
 
 Love or a Name 
 
 A Fight with Fortune. Frances. 
 
 Fortune's Fool. 
 
 David Poindexter s Dis- 
 
 By WILKIE 
 
 Armadale. | After Dark. 
 
 COLLINS. 
 
 The Woman in White. 
 
 MissCadogna. | Dust. 
 Beatrix Randolph. 
 
 appearance. 
 The Spectre of the 
 
 No Name. | Antonina. 
 
 The Moonstone. 
 
 By Sir ARTHUR HELPS. Ivan de Biron. 
 
 Basil. | Hide and Seek. 
 The Dead Secret. 
 Queen of Hearts. 
 
 Man and Wife 
 Poor Miss Finch. 
 The Fallen Leaves. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. Rujub the Jupgler. 
 By HEADON HILL. -Zambra the Detective. 
 
 Miss or Mrs. V 
 
 Jezebel's Daughter. 
 
 By JOHN HILL. Treason-Felony. 
 
 The New Magdalen. 
 The Frozen Deep. 
 The Law and the Lady. 
 The Two Destinies. 
 The Haunted Hotel. 
 
 The Black Robe. 
 Heart and Science. 
 1 1 Say No !' 
 The Evil Genius. 
 Little Novels. 
 
 By Mrs. HU 
 
 A Maiden all Forlorn. 
 In Durance Vile. 
 Marvel. | Peter's Wife. 
 A Mental Struggle. 
 
 TGERFORD. 
 
 Lady Verner's Flight. 
 The Red-House Mystery. 
 The Three Graces. 
 Unsatisfactory Lover. 
 
 A Rogue's Life. 
 My Miscellanies. 
 
 Legacy of Cain, 
 Blind Love, 
 
 A Modern Circe. 
 April's Lady. 
 
 Lady Patty. | Nora Creina 
 l'ro:essor's Experiment,
 
 Ill ST. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C. 
 
 TWO-SHILLING NOVELS continued. 
 
 By Mrs. CASHEL HOEY.-The Lover's Creed. 
 
 Mrs. GEORGE HOOPER. The House of Raby. 
 
 By Mrs. ALFRED HUNT. 
 
 That Other P 
 
 . | The 
 
 Self-Condemned. 
 
 Casket. 
 
 By MARK KERSHAW. 
 
 Colonial Facts and Fictions. 
 
 By R. ASHE KINO. 
 A Drawn Game. [Green.' I Passion's Slave. 
 The Wearing- of the | Bell Barry. 
 
 By EDKOND LEPELLETIER. 
 Madame Sans-Gene. 
 
 By JOHN LEYS.-The Lindsays. 
 By E. LYNN LINTON 
 
 Patricia Kenl 
 
 The World Well Lost. 
 Under which Lord! 
 Paston Carew. 
 My Love!' | lone. 
 With a Silken Thread. 
 
 The Atonement of Lea 
 
 Rebel of the Family. 
 Sowing the Wind. 
 The One Too Many. 
 Dulcie Everton. 
 
 By KENRY W. LUCY.-Gidcon Fleyce. 
 
 By JUSTIN MCCARTHY. 
 
 By MARGARET AGKES PAUL. 
 
 Gentle and Simple. 
 
 By JAMES PS.YN. 
 
 Bentinck's Tutor. 
 
 Murphy's Master. 
 
 A County Family. 
 
 At Her Mercy. I Kit. 
 
 Cecil's Tryst. | Halves. 
 
 The Clyffards of Ci/fle. 
 
 """he Foster Brothers. 
 
 : ound Dead. 
 
 The Best of Husbands. 
 Walter's Word. 
 
 -alien Fortunes. 
 
 lumorous Stones. 
 200 Reward. 
 A Marine Residence. 
 
 dirk Abbey. | High Spirits 
 Under One Roof. 
 Carlyon's Year. 
 For Cash Only. 
 The Canon's Ward. 
 The Talk of the Town. 
 Holiday Tasks. 
 
 Dear Lady Disdain. 
 Waterdale Neighbours. 
 My Enemy's Daughter. 
 A Fair Saxon. | Camiola. 
 Linley Rochford. 
 Miss Misanthrope. 
 
 Donna Qi 
 
 Maid of Athens. 
 
 The Comet of a Season. 
 
 The Dictator. 
 
 Red Diamonds. 
 
 The Riddle Ring. 
 
 By HUGH MACCOLL. 
 
 Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet. 
 
 GEORGE MACDONALD. Heather and Snow. 
 
 By AGNES MACDONELL. Quaker Cousins. 
 
 By W. H. MALLOCK.-The New Republic. 
 
 By SRANDER MATTHEWS. 
 
 A Secret of the Sea. 
 By L. T. MEADE.-A Soldier of Fortune. 
 
 By LEONARD KEKRICK. 
 The Man who was Good. 
 
 Ey Mrs. EIOLESY/ORTH. 
 Hathercourt Rectory. 
 
 By J. E. HDDDOCK. 
 
 Dead Man's Secret. | From Bosom of the Deep 
 
 Stories Weird and Wonderful. 
 
 By D. CHRISTIE HURRAY.. 
 
 A Bit of Human Nature. 
 First Person Singular. 
 Bob Martin's Little GirL 
 Time's Revenges. 
 A Wasted Crime, 
 In Direst Peril. 
 Mount Despair. 
 , i 
 
 A Trying Patient. 
 
 By Mrs. CAMPBELL PRAED. 
 
 The Romance of a Station I Christina Chard. 
 Outlaw and Lawmaker. | Mrs. Tregaskiss 
 The Soul of Counttss Adrian. 
 
 By P.ICHARD PRYCE. 
 
 Miss Maxwell's Affections. 
 
 By CHARLES READE 
 
 A Model Father. 
 
 Joseph's Coat, 
 
 Coals of Fire. 
 
 Val Strange. | Hearts. 
 
 Old Blazer's Hero. 
 
 The Way of the World. 
 
 Cynic Fortune. 
 
 A Life's Atonement. A Capful o' Nails. 
 
 By the Gate of the Sea. 
 Sy HURRAY and HERMAN. 
 One Traveller Returns. | The Bishops' Bible. 
 
 Paul Jones's Alias. 
 
 Ey HUME WISEST. 
 
 Bail Up !' I Dr. Bernard St. Vincent. 
 
 By W. E. NORRIS. 
 Saint Ann's. | Billy Bellow. 
 
 By GEORGES OHNET. 
 
 Dr. Rameau. I A Weird Gilt. 
 
 A Last Love. 
 
 By Mrs. OLIPHANT. 
 
 Whiteladies. I The Greatest Heiress ir 
 
 The Primrose Path. 1 England. 
 
 By OCIDA. 
 
 Held in Bondage. I Two Little Wooden Shoes 
 
 Moths. | Bimbi. 
 
 Pipistrello. 
 A Village Commune. 
 V.'nnda. I Othmar. 
 Frescoes. I Guilder oy. 
 In Mareinma, 
 KuiV.no. I Syrlio. 
 Santa Barbara, 
 o Offenders. 
 
 athmore. I Chandos. 
 Idalia. I Tricotrin. 
 
 Under Two Flags. 
 Cecil CastleiiKune's Gage. 
 Puck. | Pascarel. 
 
 Folle-Farine. 
 A Dog of Flanders. 
 Sign, ' ' ' ' 
 
 Princess Napraxin 
 In a Winter City. 
 friendship. 
 
 Ouida's Wisdom, 
 and Pathos 
 
 Wit 
 
 What He Cost Her. 
 A Confidential Agent. 
 Glow-worm Tales. 
 The Burnt Million. 
 Sunny Stories. 
 Lost Sir Massingrberd. 
 A Weman's Vengeance. 
 The Family Scapegrace 
 Gwendoline's Harvest. 
 Like Father, Like Son. 
 Married Beneath Him. 
 Not Wooed, but Won. 
 Less Black than We're 
 
 Painted. | By Proxy. 
 Some Private Views. 
 A Grape from a Thorn. 
 The Mystery of Mir- 
 
 bridge. I From Kxile. 
 The Word and the Will. 
 A Prince of the Blood. 
 
 Fnul Play. | H.ird Cash. 
 The Wandering Heir. 
 Singleheart, Doubleface. 
 Good Stor.es of Man, &c. 
 Peg Woffington. 
 Griffith Gaunt. 
 A Per-lous Secret. 
 
 It Is Never Too Late 
 Mend. | The Jilt, 
 "hnstie Johr.stone. 
 1'he Douhie Marriage. 
 Put Yourself in His Place. 
 Love Little, Love Long. 
 Cloister and the Hearth. 
 Course of True Love. 
 Autobiography of a Thief. Readiana. 
 A Tenibie Temptation. I A Woman- Hater. 
 
 By Mrs. J H. RIDDSLL. 
 
 Weird Stories. I The Uninhabited House. 
 
 Fairy Water. The Mystery in Pilace 
 
 Her Mother's Darling. Gardens, 
 -he Prince of Wale 
 Garden Party. 
 
 By F. W. ROBINSON. 
 
 Women are Strange. I The Woman in the Dark. 
 
 The Hands of Justice. 
 
 By W. CLARK RUSSELL. 
 
 Round the Galley Fire. 
 On the Fo'k'sie Head. 
 In the Middle Watch 
 A Voyage to the- Cape. 
 
 Book fo 
 
 The Mystery 
 
 Ocean St 
 Romance 
 An Ocean 
 
 the Hammock. 
 
 Jenny Hnrlowe 
 Tragedy. 
 
 My Shipmate Louise. 
 Alone on Wide Wide Sea. 
 Good Ship 'Mohock. 1 
 The Phantom Death. 
 Is He the Man? 
 Heart of Oak. 
 The Convict Ship. 
 The Tale of the Ten. 
 The Last Entry. 
 
 By GEORGE AUGUSTUS SALA. 
 
 Gaslight and Daylight. 
 
 By GEORGE R. BIK3 
 
 The Ring o' Bells. 
 Mary Jane's Memoii 
 Mary Jane Married. 
 Tales of To-day. 
 Dramas of Life. 
 Tinkletop's Crime. 
 
 Zeph. | My Two Wives. 
 Memoirs of a Landlady. 
 Scenes from the Show 
 Ten Commandments. 
 Dagonet Abroad. 
 Rogues and Vagabonds. 
 
 ARTHUR SKETCHLEY. A Match in the Dark. 
 By n. A. STERHDALE.-The Afghan Knife. 
 
 By T. W. SPEIGHT. 
 
 The Mysteries of Heron I mck to Life. 
 
 D y ke | The Loudwater Tragedy, 
 
 The Golden Hoop. I Burgo's Romance. 
 
 Hoodwinked. Quittance in Full 
 
 By Devious Wy|. I A Husband from the S.
 
 A 000137807 4