of despair, her head downcast. She had turned
a little away from Macdougal. Her hands were outstretched. It was as
though she were expecting the handcuffs.

"You can let her alone," Sanford Quest said quietly. "A wife cannot give
evidence against her husband, and besides, I need her. She is going to
work for me."

Macdougal was already at the door, between the two detectives. He swung
around. His voice was calm, almost clear--calm with the concentration of
hatred.

"You are a wonderful man, Mr. Sanford Quest," he said. "Make the most of
your triumph. Your time is nearly up."

"Keep him for a moment," Sanford Quest ordered. "You have friends, then,
Macdougal, who will avenge you, eh?"

"I have no friends," Macdougal replied, "but there is one coming whose wit
and cunning, science and skill are all-conquering. He will brush you away,
Sanford Quest, like a fly. Wait a few weeks."

"You interest me," Quest murmured. "Tell me some more about this great
master?"

"I shall tell you nothing," Macdougal replied. "You will hear nothing, you
will know nothing. Suddenly you will find yourself opposed. You will
struggle--and then the end. It is certain."

They led him away. Only Lenora remained, sobbing. Quest went up to her,
laid his hand upon her shoulder.

"You've had a rough time, Lenora," he said, with strange gentleness.
"Perhaps the brighter days are coming."

[Illustration: LORD ASHLEIGH ACCUSES LENORA OF BEING IMPLICATED IN THE
CRIME, BUT QUEST DECIDES TO THE CONTRARY.]

[Illustration: IAN MACDOUGAL IS GIVEN A LIFE SENTENCE FOR THE MURDER OF
THE DAUGHTER OF LORD ASHLEIGH.]

CHAPTER III

THE HIDDEN HANDS

1.

Sanford Quest and Lenora stood side by side upon the steps of the
Courthouse, waiting for the automobile which had become momentarily
entangled in a string of vehicles. A little crowd of people were elbowing
their way out on to the sidewalk. The faces of most of them were still
shadowed by the three hours of tense drama from which they had just
emerged. Quest, who had lit a cigar, watched them curiously.

"No need to go into Court," he remarked. "I could have told you, from the
look of these people, that Macdougal had escaped the death sentence. They
have paid their money--or rather their time, and they have been cheated of
the one supreme thrill."

"Imprisonment for life seems terrible enough," Lenora whispered,
shuddering.

"Can't see the sense of keeping such a man alive myself," Que