"Do you suppose I believe a man who has lied to Dad?" she cried.

"I don't ask you to, Eve. I shall let somebody else prove what I say.
I don't blame you for your attitude. God knows I don't blame Mike
Clinch. He stood up like a man to Henry Harrod. ... All I ask is to
undo some of the rotten things that my uncle did to you and yours. And
that is partly why I came here."

The girl said passionately: "Neither Dad nor I want anything from Harrod
Place or from you! Do you suppose you can come here after Dad is dead
and pretend you want to make amends for what your uncle did to us?"

"Eve," said Darragh gravely, "I've made some amends already. You don't
know it, but I have. ... You may not believe it, but I liked your
father. He was a real man. Had anybody done to me what Henry Harrod
did to your father I'd have behaved as your father behaved; I'd never
have budged from this spot; I'd have hunted where I chose; I'd have
borne an implacable hatred against Henry Harrod and Harrod Place, and
every soul in it!"

The girl, silenced, looked at him without belief.

He said: "I am not surprised that you distrust what I say. But the man
you are going to marry was a junior officer in my command. I have no
closer friend than Jack Stormont. Ask him whether I am to be believed."

Astounded, the girl turned a flushed, incredulous face to Stormont.

He said: "You may trust Darragh as you trust me. I don't know what he
has to say to you, dear. But whatever he says will be the truth."

Darragh said, gravely: "Through a misunderstanding your father came into
possession of stolen property, Eve. He did not know it had been stolen.
I did. But Mike Clinch would not have believed me if I told him that
the case of jewels in his possession had been stolen from a woman. ...
Quintana stole them. By accident they came into your father's
possession. I learned of this. I had promised this woman to recover
her jewels.

"I cam here for that purpose, Eve. And for two reasons: first, because
I learned that Quintana also was coming here to rob your father of these
gems; second, because, when I knew your father, and knew _you,_ I
concluded that it would be an outrage to call on the police. I would
mean prison for Clinch, misery and ruin for you, Eve. So -- I tried to
steal the jewels ... to save you both."

He looked at Stormont, who seemed astonished.

"To whom do these jewels belong, Jim?" demanded the trooper.

"To the you