person of no importance.

Next night with Lady Lydbrook's help I was, however, able to get into
the old woman's bedroom and carry out my contract for the preservation
of silence concerning the affair at Eastbourne.

I shall always recollect the moment when I slipped the pendant into
Lady Lydbrook's soft hand as she stood in _deshabille_ at the
half-opened door of her bedroom and her quick whispered words:

"I shall be away by the first train. Stay here to-morrow and cross to
London the next day. _Au revoir!_ Let us meet again soon!" And she
gripped my hand warmly in hers and closed her door noiselessly.

Ah! A week later I learned how, by Rayne's devilish cunning, I had
been tricked. When I knew the truth, I bit my lips to the blood.

The widow Rodanet had, it appeared, been staying at the Palais, in
Biarritz, when Duperre and I had been there. She had been marked down
by Rayne as a victim, for the Dent du Chat was a stone of enormous
value.

The planned robbery had, however, gone wrong and we had been compelled
to return to London. Then Rayne had conceived the sinister idea of
sending me to Lady Lydbrook--who was not Sir Owen's wife at all but
one of his agents like myself, and whose real name was Betty
Tressider--a girl-thief whose chief possession was a rope of imitation
pearls.

I, alas! dropped into the trap, whereupon she, on her part, compelled
me to steal old Madame Rodanet's wonderful ruby; and thus, though I
confess it to my shame, I became an actual thief and one of Rudolph
Rayne's active agents. What happened to me further I will now tell
you.

CHAPTER IX

LOLA IS AGAIN SUSPICIOUS

The devilish cunning of Rudolph Rayne was indeed well illustrated by
the clever trap which he had set for me by the instrumentality of that
pretty woman-thief, Betty Tressider, who called herself Lady Lydbrook.

I now realized by Rayne's overbearing attitude that he had, by a ruse,
succeeded in his object in compelling me to become an active
accomplice of the gang.

When back again once more in Yorkshire, I was delighted to find that
Lola had returned from her visit to Devonshire. She was just as sweet
and charming as ever, but just a trifle too inquisitive regarding my
visits to Eastbourne and Paris. I was much ashamed of the theft I had
been forced to commit in order to preserve secrecy regarding my first
downfall, hence rather awkwardly, I fear, I evaded all her questions.

Nevertheless, we were a great