to their husbands, you would probably have been
a guest of His Majesty some time ago."

Such fear as had at first drawn the color from Saton's cheeks, and
filled his eyes with terror, passed quickly away. He stood upright,
his head thrown back, a faint smile upon his lips. He had some
appearance, even, of manhood.

"Mr. Rochester," he said, "I deny your charges. I have no connection
with the fortune-telling establishments to which you have alluded. I
know nothing of the blackmailing transactions you speak of. You have
been my enemy, my hopeless and unforgiving enemy. I am not afraid of
you. If this is your great blow, strike. Let me be arrested. I will
answer everything. Afterwards, you and I will have our reckoning.
Lois," he added, turning to her, "you do not believe--say that you do
not believe these things."

"I--do--not--believe--them--Bertrand," she answered slowly.

"You will come with me?"

"I--will--come--with--you," she echoed.

"By God, sir, she shan't!" cried Vandermere. "Take your hands off her,
sir, or you shall learn how mountebanks like yourself should be
treated."

Saton struck him full in the face, so that losing for a moment his
balance upon the slippery floor, Vandermere nearly fell. In a moment
he recovered himself, however. There was a struggle which did not last
half-a-dozen seconds. He lifted Saton off his feet and shook him, till
it seemed as though his limbs were cracking. Then he threw him away.

Rochester stepped forward to interfere.

"Enough of this, Vandermere," he said sternly. "Remember that the
fellow's career is over. He may try to bluff it out, but he is done
for. I have proofs enough to send him to prison a dozen times over."

Saton rose slowly to his feet. Unconsciously his fingers straightened
his tie. He knew very well that life--or rather the things which life
meant for him--was over. He had only one desire--the desire of the
born _poseur_--to extricate himself from his present position with
something which might, at any rate, seem like dignity.

"Do I understand," he asked Rochester, "that my departure from this
house is forbidden?"

Rochester shook his head.

"No!" he answered. "For what you are, for the ignoble creature that
you have become, I accept a certain amount of responsibility. For that
reason, I bid you go. Go where you will, so long as your name or your
presence never trouble us again. Let this be the last time that any
one of us hears the name of B