Deede Dawson,
who always locked up the house himself, never did so till past midnight.
Till the small hours, very often he was accustomed to sit up absorbed in
those chess problems, the composing and solving of which were his great
passion, so that, indeed, it is probable that under other circumstances
he might have passed a perfectly harmless and peaceful existence, known
to wide circles as an extraordinarily clever problemist and utterly
unknown elsewhere.

But the Fate that is, after all, but man's own character writ large,
had decreed otherwise. And the little, fat, smiling man bending over his
travelling chess board on which he moved delicately to and fro the tiny
red and white men of carved ivory, now and again removing a piece and
laying it aside, had done as much with as little concern to his fellow
creatures from the very beginning of his terrible career.

Outside, leaning on the gate where Deede Dawson had left him, Dunn was
deep in thought that was not always very comforting, for there was
very much in all this laid out for him to accomplish that he did not
understand and that disturbed him a good deal.

A careful, cautious "Hist!" broke in upon his thoughts, and in an
instant he stiffened to close attention, every nerve on the alert.

The sound was repeated, a faint and wary footstep sounded, and in the
darkness a form appeared and stole slowly nearer.

Dunn poised for a moment, ready for attack or retreat, and then all at
once his tense attitude relaxed.

"You, Walter," he exclaimed. "That's good! But how did you get here? And
how did you know where I was?"

The new-comer drew a little nearer and showed the tall, thin form of
Walter Dunsmore to whom Dunn had spoken at Wreste Abbey.

"I had to come," he murmured. "I couldn't rest without seeing you. You
upset me the other day, saying what you did. Isn't it very dangerous
your being here? Suppose Deede Dawson--"

"Oh, if he suspected, there would soon be an end of me," answered Dunn
grimly. "But I think I'm going to win--at least, I did till tonight."

"What's happened?" the other asked sharply and anxiously.

"He has been telling me his plans," answered Dunn. "He has told me
everything--he has put himself entirely in my power--he has done what I
have been waiting and hoping for ever since I came here. He has given
me his full confidence at last, and I never felt more uneasy or less
certain of success than I do at this moment."

"He has told yo