e
ground to mar the sport, the children returned home much pleased with
themselves and everybody else, despite the concluding scene.

Meanwhile Mrs Tipps invited her friends who had assembled there to take
tea in Eden Villa, and here Dr Noble was eagerly questioned as to his
knowledge of his late assailant, but he either could not or would not
throw light on the subject. Some of the guests left early and some
late, but to Mrs Tipps's surprise the doctor remained till the last of
them had said good-night, after which, to her still greater surprise, he
drew his chair close to the table, and, looking at her and Netta with
much earnestness, said--

"Probably you are surprised, ladies, that I, a stranger, have remained
so long to-night. The truth is, I had come here to have some
conversation on private and very important matters, but finding you so
lively, and, I must add, so pleasantly engaged, I deemed it expedient to
defer my conversation until you should be more at leisure."

He paused as if to collect his thoughts, and the ladies glanced at each
other uneasily, and in some surprise, but made no reply. In truth,
remembering the scene they had just witnessed, they began to suspect
that another style of madman had thought fit to pay them a visit.

He resumed, however, with every appearance of sanity--

"How the madman who assaulted me this evening found me out I know not.
I was not aware until this day that he had been tracking me, but,
judging from what he said, and from what I know about him, I now see
that he must have been doing so for some years. Here is the
explanation, and, let me add, it intimately concerns yourselves."

Mrs Tipps and Netta became more interested as Dr Noble proceeded.

"You must know," he said, "that when in India some years ago I made
several coasting voyages with a certain sea-captain as surgeon of his
ship, at periods when my health required recruiting. I received from
that gentleman every attention and kindness that the heart of a good man
could suggest. On one of these voyages we had a native prince on board.
He was voyaging, like myself, for the benefit of his health, but his
case was a bad one. He grew rapidly worse, and before the end of the
voyage he died. During his illness the captain nursed him as if he had
been his own child; all the more tenderly that he thought him to be one
of those unfortunate princes who, owing to political changes, had been
ruined, and had lost al