,
the lawyer, had--had paid the money and settled everything? Oh, if I had
only known it when I went to Derrick; if the letter had only come
before, so that I could have told him there was no need for him to fear
any--any trouble! But you told him, Percy?"

"Yes, of course I told him," he said, staring at his boots; "but he had
made up his mind to go abroad; and--and, 'pon my soul, I think it's the
best thing he could do."

She looked down on him with a face still showing trouble and doubt.

"But--but, Percy, he hadn't any money; he admitted as much to me. And I
couldn't give him any."

"That's all right," he said, clearing his throat. "I--I saw to that. I
couldn't give him much, unfortunately; but I scraped together all I'd
got. It will leave us pretty short of coin for a bit, Miriam."

She went to him quickly, put her arm round his shoulder, and, bending,
kissed him. "You did! That was good of you; it was like you,
Percy--after all that he has done, and the trouble he might have got you
into. I'm glad you gave him all you'd got; and I don't mind running
short."

Her cheeks were wet and wetted his; he drew his hand across his face
with barely-concealed impatience and annoyance.

"That's all right," he said. "Of course, I had to do the best I could
for him, poor devil! for the sake of--of old times. I didn't forget that
you were once fond of him--well, rather taken with him; that you were
old friends. Look here, Miriam, we don't want to harp upon this affair;
it's a beastly bad business, and the sooner we forget it the better. For
Heaven's sake, let's drop it here and now. I shan't refer to it, shan't
mention Derrick Dene's name again; and don't you. Just push that tray
over, will you? I've had a deuced unpleasant scene with him, I can tell
you; and it's upset me deucedly. But there!" he added, with a jerk of
the head, as he mixed a stiff soda and whisky, "there's an end of him,
so far as we're concerned. What?"

CHAPTER V

Celia lay awake half the night, and was up and dressed early in the
morning, waiting for the cry of "Pipers! Daily Pipers!" and when the
newsboy came bounding up the steps she almost sprang out on him in her
eagerness and anxiety.

"Give me--which of the papers has the best police news?" she asked,
trying to speak casually.

"Oh, the _Wire_, o' course," replied the boy, promptly; "they don't let
nothing escape them, you bet, miss!"

She bought the halfpenny paper and eagerly s