e sign, I went up to him, and in a few words
explained the whole fraud. But it was not until I had demonstrated the
trick in the oval gallery that he became convinced; then the relief on
his face was marvellous.

"You leave my house at once," he said to Bagwell; "go, sir, if you do
not wish to be in the hands of the police. Where is Helen? where is my
child?"

He had scarcely said the words, and Bagwell was just slinking off with a
white face like a whipped cur towards the door, when Helen appeared upon
the scene.

"What is it?" she cried. "Is anything the matter?"

The old man strode up to her; he took her in his arms.

"It is all right, Helen," he said, "all right. I can never explain; but,
take my word, it is all right. I was a fool, and worse--nay, I was
mad--but I am sane now. Mr. Bell, I can never express my obligations to
you. But now, will you do one thing more?"

"What is that? Be assured I will do anything in my power," I answered.

"Then return here to-night and destroy Siva. How I could have been
infatuated enough to believe in that senseless piece of wood is beyond
my power to understand. But destroy it, sir; take it away; let me never
lay eyes on it again."

Early on the following morning, when I was leaving the house, Bagwell,
who must have been waiting for the purpose, suddenly stepped across my
path.

"I have a word of explanation to give," he said. "You, Mr. Bell, have
won, and I have lost. I played a deep game and for a large cause. It did
not occur to me as possible that any one could discover the means by
which I made Siva speak. I am now about to leave England for ever, but
before I do so, it may interest you to know that the temptation offered
to me was a very peculiar and strong one. I had not been an hour at the
Hynde before I suddenly remembered having spent some months in the old
house when a boy. I recollected the oval gallery. Its peculiar acoustic
qualities had been pointed out to me by a scientist who happened to live
there at the time. The desire to win, not Helen, but my uncle's
property, was too strong to be resisted by a penniless man. My object
was to terrify Thesiger, whose brain was already nearly overbalanced,
into complete insanity, get him locked up, and marry Helen. How I
succeeded, and in the end failed, you know well!"

VI

TO PROVE AN ALIBI

I first met Arthur Cressley in the late spring of 1892. I had been
spending the winter in Egypt, and was returni