taining the object which she had
in view to be silenced in that way. "I will help you directly," she
answered--then crossed the room and addressed herself to the officer,
whose name was Steventon.

"Can you spare me a few minutes?" she asked. "I have something to say to
you."

"I am entirely at your service, Miss Burnham."

Answering in those words, Steventon dismissed the two sailors. Mrs.
Crayford looked anxiously at her husband. Crayford whispered to her,
"Don't be alarmed about Steventon. I have cautioned him; his discretion
is to be depended on."

Clara beckoned to Crayford to return to her.

"I will not keep you long," she said. "I will promise not to distress
Mr. Steventon. Young as I am, you shall both find that I am capable
of self-control. I won't ask you to go back to the story of your past
sufferings; I only want to be sure that I am right about one thing--I
mean about what happened at the time when the exploring party was
dispatched in search of help. As I understand it, you cast lots among
yourselves who was to go with the party, and who was to remain behind.
Frank cast the lot to go." She paused, shuddering. "And Richard
Wardour," she went on, "cast the lot to remain behind. On your honor, as
officers and gentlemen, is this the truth?"

"On my honor," Crayford answered, "it is the truth."

"On my honor," Steventon repeated, "it is the truth."

She looked at them, carefully considering her next words, before she
spoke again.

"You both drew the lot to stay in the huts," she said, addressing
Crayford and Steventon. "And you are both here. Richard Wardour drew the
lot to stay, and Richard Wardour is not here. How does his name come to
be with Frank's on the list of the missing?"

The question was a dangerous one to answer. Steventon left it to
Crayford to reply. Once again he answered evasively.

"It doesn't follow, my dear," he said, "that the two men were missing
together because their names happen to come together on the list."

Clara instantly drew the inevitable conclusion from that ill-considered
reply.

"Frank is missing from the party of relief," she said. "Am I to
understand that Wardour is missing from the huts?"

Both Crayford and Steventon hesitated. Mrs. Crayford cast one indignant
look at them, and told the necessary lie, without a moment's hesitation!

"Yes!" she said. "Wardour is missing from the huts."

Quickly as she had spoken, she had still spoken too late. Clara had