mementoes of her which he had. For these reasons he might even have
lied truthfully, being self-persuaded that this Jervis Mordaunt was a
different girl.

Granger heartily hoped that his suspicions might be mistaken, but
. . . Whatever happened he must come up with him, and ask him that
question once again. Maybe last time he had not spoken plainly;
Strangeways had not grasped what he meant. He could not remember how
his question had been phrased, but this time it should be worded with
such brutal frankness that there could be no chance of error. He would
lay hold of him strongly, and clasp him about the knees so that he
could not escape. He would never release his hold till his doubts had
been set at rest. He would say to him quite clearly, "I loved a girl
in the Klondike who called herself Jervis Mordaunt; she passed for a
man, and was clothed in a Yukon placer-miner's dress. She did not know
that I loved her; so you need not grieve if this murdered girl whom
you loved, and the one whom I call Mordaunt, were one and the same. I
fled from the Shallows where we worked together, partly in order that
she might not know that. Now will you tell me, once and for all, was
this girl, whom Spurling murdered, called Mordaunt? If you love God,
tell me the truth and speak out. I can bear the truth, but I cannot
endure this suspense."

With the careful precision of a mind uncertain of its own sanity, he
repeated and re-balanced his phrases, distrusting his own exactness,
fearful lest he had not chosen such words as would make his meaning
plain. Ah, but by his gestures, if language failed him, he would cause
him to understand. For such news, even though it should be bad news,
he would pledge his honour to help Strangeways in his search for
Spurling. He would even volunteer to go single-handed and capture him
himself--bring him down to Murder Point by guile, where Strangeways
would be waiting to take him. The best and worst which he himself
could derive from such a promise would be only that he should meet
with death--but he should have thought of that offer earlier, and made
it while Strangeways was with him.

At that word _death_ the purpose of his present errand flared vividly
in his mind, and he hurried his pace.

Looking back across his shoulder through the darkness, for the moon
was under cloud, he could just make out where his store pinnacled the
mound at the Point; he had left the door open in the haste of his
departure