ry mistake then!"

"Oh, no; I'm not asking for cash, seeing that you have practically none
of your own. As you refuse to consider yourself my wife, in future you
must also decline to take anything from me. Therefore those diamonds are
not your property. If you will hand them over to me, we will shake hands
and part for ever."

Beatrice drew a long deep breath of something like relief. It was good
to know that this man was going to rid her of his hateful presence for
ever, but this was too big a price to pay for her freedom.

"Let us quite understand one another," she said. "Your business is
ruined; there is nothing left. What about your creditors, the people who
trusted you?"

"Burn and blister my creditors," Richford burst out furiously. "What do
they matter? Of course the fools who trusted me with their money will
cry out. But they only trusted it with me, because they thought that I
was slaving and scheming to pay them big dividends. It will not be the
welfare of my creditors that keeps me awake at night."

"Always cold and callous and indifferent to the feelings of others,"
Beatrice said. "Not even one single thought for the poor people that you
have ruined. What are those diamonds worth?"

"Well, I gave L40,000 for them. I dare say I can get, say L30,000 for
them. But we are wasting time in idle discourse like this."

"Indeed, we are," Beatrice said coldly. "So you think that in the face
of what you have just told me, I am going to hand those stones over to
you! Nothing of the kind. I shall keep them in trust for your creditors.
When the right time comes I shall hand them over to the proper
authorities. Nothing will turn me from my decision."

A snarling oath burst from Richford's lips. He stretched out his hand as
if he would have fain taken Beatrice by the throat and strangled her.

"Don't fool with me," he said hoarsely; "don't play with me, or I may
forget myself. Give me those diamonds if you have any respect for your
skin."

But Beatrice made not the slightest attempt to move. Her face had grown
very pale, still she was quite resolute.

"If you think to frighten me by threats, you are merely wasting your
time," she said coldly. "The stones are in safe keeping, and there they
remain till I can give them to your trustees."

"But I am powerless," Richford said. "How am I to get away? In a few
hours all my resources will be exhausted, and I shall fall into the
hands of the police. And a nice thing t