ne between two hedgerows into a large pasture.

Before him, he saw standing together, on the brink of the river Nene,
two figures--a man and a woman.

The girl was dressed in blue serge, and wore a white woollen
tam-o'-shanter, while the man had on a dark grey overcoat with a brown
felt hat, and nearby, with his eye upon some sheep grazing some distance
away, stood a big collie.

Hamilton started, and drew back.

The pair were standing together in earnest conversation, the man facing
him, the girl with her back turned.

"What does this mean?" gasped Hamilton aloud. "What can this secret
meeting mean? Why--yes, I'm certainly not mistaken--it's Krail--Felix
Krail, by all that's amazing!"

CHAPTER XXXI

DESCRIBES A CURIOUS CIRCUMSTANCE

To Hamilton it was evident that the man Krail, now smartly dressed in
country tweeds, was telling the girl something which surprised her. He
was speaking quickly, making involuntary gestures which betrayed his
foreign birth, while she stood pale, surprised, and yet defiant. The
Baron's secretary was not near enough to overhear their words. Indeed,
he remained there in concealment in order to watch.

Why had Gabrielle met Felix Krail--of all men? She was beautiful. Yes,
there could be no two opinions upon that point, Edgar decided. And yet
how strange it all was, how very remarkable, how romantic!

The man was evidently endeavouring to impress upon the girl some plain
truths to which, at first, she refused to listen. She shrugged her
shoulders impatiently and swung her walking-stick before her in an
attempt to remain unconcerned. But from where Hamilton was standing he
could plainly detect her agitation. Whatever Krail had told her had
caused her much nervous anxiety. What could it be?

Across the meadows, beyond the river, could be seen the lantern-tower of
old Fotheringhay church, with the mound behind where once stood the
castle where ill-fated Mary met her doom.

And as the Baron's secretary watched, he saw that the foreigner's
attitude was gradually changing from persuasive to threatening. He was
speaking quickly, probably in French, making wild gestures with his
hands, while she had drawn back with an expression of alarm. She was
now, it seemed, frightened at the man, and to Edgar Hamilton this
increased the interest tenfold.

Through his mind there flashed the recollection of a previous occasion
when he had seen the man now before him. He was in different garb, and