t was received with cries of joy by some, and howls of grief by one
or two women. Now the bodyguard drove the whole crowd, save the
prisoner, out of the apartment.

When the uproar of the noisy horde had died away in the narrow
passages, Saya Chone waved to the guards to bring Mr. Haydon forward.

"Look at this man, Thomas Haydon," said the half-caste in a low, hard
voice, pointing, as he spoke, to the native; "he has killed a
neighbour; he is a murderer. Very good. U Saw has sentenced him to
death. Now I tell you that if you do not give us the information we
want, you have as surely sentenced your son to death as U Saw has
sentenced this man."

He said no more: there was a far more dreadful threat in his quiet,
cool words than any violence could have shown. He waved his hand once
again, and Mr. Haydon was led away by the guards.

When he had disappeared, Saya Chone turned to Jack.

"You have heard what was said," he murmured. "Do not be so foolish as
to think it was spoken as a mere threat. Base all that you do or say
on that statement as a fact. There is no hope for you unless you get
your father to do as we wish."

He turned away, and the Strangler at once released Jack from the chair
and removed the gag from his mouth. Next Jack was led away by a couple
of guards and conducted once more through a labyrinth of narrow,
winding passages until they halted before a door, where the Malay
unlocked and took off Jack's fetters. The door was opened, and he was
thrust into the room, his limbs once more his own.

The room in which Jack now found himself was lighted by a small lamp,
and, as he entered, a figure sprang up from a low bench. "Father!"
cried Jack, and at the next moment their hands were clasped together.

"Jack, Jack," said Mr. Haydon, in a low voice which he strove to keep
steady; "where, where have you come from, and how do you come to be
here?"

Jack at once plunged into his story. They sat down together on the
bench, and now Mr. Haydon learned the whole history of Jack's
adventures.

"Your quest, Jack, was well and bravely undertaken," he said, when his
son had finished the story, "but these powerful and cunning rogues
have been one too many for us up to the present."

"But how were you seized, father?" cried Jack, and Mr. Haydon related
his story in turn. It was short and soon told. He had gone for a walk
along the shore near Brindisi, when, in a lonely spot, he had been
attacked from behind and f