SWORDS
XII.--AT THE CHATEAU
XIII.--DEEPENING WATERS
XIV.--THE PLANNING OF CAMPAIGN
XV.--THE SAILING OF THE _Empress_
XVI.--ON BOARD THE _Empress_
XVII.--THE LONELY FIGURE AGAIN
XVIII.--BULL STERNFORD'S VISION OF SUCCESS
XIX.--THE HOLD-UP
XX.--ON THE HOME TRAIL
XXI.--THE MAN IN THE TWILIGHT
XXII.--DAWN
XXIII.--NANCY
XXIV.--THE COMING OF SPRING
XXV.--NANCY'S DECISION
XXVI.--THE MESSAGE
XXVII.--LOST IN THE TWILIGHT

THE MAN IN THE TWILIGHT

PART I

CHAPTER I

THE CRISIS

They sat squarely gazing into each other's eyes. Bat Marker had only one
mood to express. It was a mood that suggested determination to fight to
a finish, to fight with the last ounce of strength, the last gasp of
breath. He was sitting at the desk, opposite his friend and employer,
Leslie Standing, and his small grey eyes were shining coldly under his
shaggy, black brows. His broad shoulders were squared aggressively.

There was far less display in the eyes of Leslie Standing. They were
wide with a deep pre-occupation. But then Standing was of very different
type. His pale face, his longish black hair, brushed straight back from
an abnormally high forehead, suggested the face of a student, even a
priest. Harker was something of the roused bull-dog, strong, rugged,
furious; a product of earth's rough places.

"Give us that last bit again."

Bat's tone matched his attitude. It was abrupt, forceful, and he thrust
out a hand pointing at the letter from which the other had been reading.

Standing's eyes lit with a shadow of a smile as he turned again to the
letter.

"There's just one thing more. It's less pleasant, so I've kept
it till the last. Hellbeam is in Quebec. So is his agent--the
man Idepski. My informant tells me he saw the latter leaving the
steam-packet office. It suggests things are on the move your way
again. However, my man is keeping tab. I'll get warning through
at the first sign of danger."

Standing looked up. His half smile had gone. There was doubt in his
eyes, and the hand grasping the letter was not quite steady. But when he
spoke his tone was a flat denial of the physical sign that Bat had been
quick to observe.

"Charlie Nisson's as keen as a needle," Standing said. "His whisper's a
sight more than another fellow's shout."

Bat regarded the letter. He watched the other lay it aside on a pile of
papers