h he guesses that my ward will hand it over to him if he proves
his identity. I can only show him to be a liar."

"You seem pretty sure of that."

"I am myself; and I hope, for everybody's sake, that your nephew, if he
should turn up, will be a better credit to the name than this land-
shark."

"Well, sir, I don't thank you for dragging me into the business; but,
since I am here, I stay to see it out."

"I am relieved to hear you say so."

"Tell me now," said the Mayor, "what the story is; and what does our
young friend mean by his farewell threats?"

Thereupon Mr Armstrong gave his new ally a faithful account of the
family difficulty: of Captain Oliphant's embarrassing relations to the
claimant, of Miss Rosalind's dilemma, of Roger's quixotic determination
to find his lost brother, and of his own--the tutor's--conviction of the
hopelessness of the quest.

The visitor by no means shared the last conclusion.

"I rather calculate that lost young man ain't as dead as you think,"
said he. "By all accounts he wasn't born to be drowned, and he's not
hung yet. You bet, the young brother will come up with him before
time's called."

"Well, by the last accounts he seems to have a vague clue as to his
whereabouts fifteen years ago," said the tutor; "we shall hear what he
makes of it. To-morrow you must come up to Maxfield and see my co-
trustee."

The presence of this unexpected friend of the family, in the capacity of
impartial umpire, struck the tutor as particularly opportune at this
juncture. He had been a witness to Ratman's virtual admission to his
imposture, and his natural interest in the discovery of his own nephew
was not likely to warp his determination to see fair play for Roger.

Captain Oliphant, when he heard next morning of the new arrival, by no
means shared his co-trustee's satisfaction. The news, indeed, agitated
him to a remarkable degree, and he astonished the tutor by his ill-
concealed reluctance to meet him.

"It is important that you should see him," remarked the tutor. "As the
uncle of the lost elder brother he is entitled, I think, to our
confidence. I can imagine no reason why you should be afraid to see
him."

"Afraid! Who says I am afraid to see him?"

"I can think of no other explanation of your reluctance--"

"Please, sir, Mr Headland to see you," announced Raffles.

Captain Oliphant changed colour as he turned to greet the visitor.

"You'll pardon the early call," sa