e was such a
liar that I never believed anything he said."

"Not even about the Powell money?"

"Oh, yes, I believed that. He was always swearing at some girl who stood
between him and the money. He mentioned her name once. I was with him in
England at the time, and set to work to find out. I learned all about
Miss Kent and her engagement to you, Mr. Ware."

"And you know all about the Powell money?"

"Yes. I got the truth out of Denham at last, but he never told Miss
Anne; nor did he ever mention Miss Kent's name in her presence; nor did
he ever say to me that Miss Anne was not his child. I never thought for
a moment she was Franklin's daughter. And for the matter of that," added
Dane carelessly, "I did not know if he was really Denham or Franklin
himself."

"But Miss Anne knew nothing of all this?" asked Giles.

"Absolutely nothing. After she went to the Milan convent, Denham would
not let her come back to him again. He was afraid lest she should learn
what he was and wished to preserve her good opinion. She went out as a
governess, and only rarely came home."

"And how did Denham earn his living?"

"Oh, he invented the Scarlet Cross Society. He bought a yacht, and
steamed to England from Genoa. For years we put in at different ports,
robbed houses and stowed the goods on board. Then we returned to Italy
and sold them."

"A clever dodge," murmured Steel. "So that is why the goods were never
traced."

"That is why," said Dane, with great coolness. "There was a Jew who took
a lot of what we brought. He sold them in the East. But it is too long a
story to tell at present. Denham sometimes went to England and sometimes
stopped in Florence. When he was away I stayed in his house as George
Franklin."

"I see. He wished to prove an _alibi_."

"That's it," said Dane. "He intended to get that money sometime, and
wished that when inquiries were made about George Franklin that it could
be proved he was in Florence all the time."

"And then when Powell did die?"

"Denham knew as soon as possible. He had a spy in Australia, and had a
cablegram sent to him. Then he arranged a pretended death to get rid of
Miss Anne. He did not want her to come into his new life. He treated her
well, however, for he left her money, and intended to give her an
income when he got the money. Another man was buried in place of Denham
and he went to England, where he reappeared as George Franklin to claim
the money."

"As Wilson, you