killed him! I killed him! He's kicked me to death, an' I
killed him with Jim's knife. It was lyin' ther' wher' he'd left it
after he'd fixed them rags on his face. I killed him, I tell yer. An'
I'm glad. 'Cos I--I--hate him, an'--he's--killed--me."

The boy's voice had risen to a shriek, and then died suddenly away to
a whisper as he fell back into Peter's arms. It was the final effort,
which Peter had been unable to rouse him to, but which, to his own
chagrin, Smallbones had achieved.

The boy was dead. The one honest action of his life had been performed
with his last breath. Such was the overmastering cruelty of his nature
that, in comparative health, and with all his faculties alert, the one
spark of good, somewhere deep down in his heart, had had no power to
shine. The flesh had been too strong for him--and now, now perhaps he
had fulfilled his mission, and that one little step forward would
carry him beyond the jaws of evil which had been so tightly shut about
his poor, weakly spirit. Peter laid him gently upon the ground.

Then he stood up about to speak. There were tears in his eyes, and
without shame he dashed them away with the back of his hand. But Eve
stayed him with a gesture. She took a step forward. Her eyes were
shining as she glanced round upon the familiar faces. Her mind was
made up. There was no shrinking now at the disgrace she had in her
cowardice so feared before. Jim had shown her the way to a loyal
courage. She understood now why he had gone to his death shielding the
real murderer. He had done it to save her, he had done it as once
before he had sought to help her. She loved him, and no longer feared
to tread the path he had so willingly, so readily trodden for her
sake.

"I want to tell you all the things that I should have told you
long ago," she began, in clear ringing tones, "but I couldn't,
because--because he was my husband."

A startled sound went round the listeners. The doctor's eyes flashed
suddenly in Jim's direction. But before she could continue, the
latter suddenly urged her to silence.

"There's no need to speak of him, Eve," he cried. "Leave it to me, and
I'll tell them how Will came by his death--now."

But the doctor interfered. He signed to one of the men to release the
prisoner.

"We'll have Mrs. Henderson's story first," he said decidedly. "You'll
please get right ahead, ma'am."

There was just the briefest possible hesitation. For a second Eve's
eyes wandered o