h other neither man was at
all likely to survive, for Rupert knew he would not miss and he did not
think Deede Dawson would either.

Above all, there was the one thing he wished to know, the one
consideration that weighed with him above all others--what had become of
Ella? And this time there had been in Deede Dawson's voice an accent
of twisted and malign sincerity that seemed to say he really would be
willing to tell the truth about her if Rupert would gratify his whim
about this sort of shooting-match that he was suggesting.

The purpose of it Rupert could not understand, but it did not seem to
him there would be any risk of harm in agreeing, for Deede Dawson
was standing so far away from his own weapon he could not well be
contemplating any immediate mischief or treachery.

It did occur to him that the pistol he held might be loaded in one
chamber only and that Deede Dawson might be scheming to induce him to
throw away his solitary cartridge.

But a glance reassured him on that point.

"Let me see how you can shoot," Deede Dawson repeated, leaning
carelessly with folded arms against the wall a little distance away.
"And I promise you I'll tell you where Ella is."

Rupert lifted his pistol and was indeed on the very point of firing when
he caught a glimpse of such evil triumph and delight in Deede Dawson's
cold eyes that he hesitated and lowered the weapon, and at the same
time, looking more closely, searching more intently for some indication
of Deede Dawson's hidden purpose, he noticed, caught in the crack of the
wardrobe door, a tiny shred of some blue material only just visible.

He remembered that sometimes of an afternoon Ella had been accustomed
to wear a frock made of a material exactly like that of which so tiny a
fragment showed now in the crack of the wardrobe door.

CHAPTER XXX. SOME EXPLANATIONS

He turned quickly towards Deede Dawson. Their eyes met, and in that
mutual glance Rupert Dunsmore read that his suspicions were correct and
Deede Dawson that his dreadful trap was discovered.

Neither spoke. For a brief moment they remained impassive, immobile,
their eyes meeting like blows, and then Deede Dawson made one spring to
seize again the revolver he had laid down in the hope of enticing Rupert
into the awful snare prepared for him.

But quick as he was, Rupert was quicker still, and as Deede Dawson
leaped he lifted his pistol and fired, though his aim was not at the
man, but at the r