must provide his asylum," said Mark. "His future is no
longer any question for his relations. The best that we can hope is
that he may soon be in a position of security, both for himself and
other people. You will do well to see him, give him succour, and
hear what he has to say. After that, Mr. Redmayne, if I may advise,
you will leave the rest to me."

Bendigo lost no time in writing the desired letter inviting Robert
Redmayne to meet him in secret at one o'clock during the coming
night and promising the fugitive, on oath, that he should be safe
and free to depart again when he desired to do so. But, none the
less, he expressed an earnest hope that his brother would stop at
"Crow's Nest," and be advised as to his future actions. Some
provisions were put into the launch and, with the letter in her
pocket, Jenny again set out. She was prepared to go alone, for she
could handle the boat as cleverly as Doria himself; but this her
uncle would not permit.

It was already growing dusk before she left and Giuseppe drove the
little vessel to its limit of speed.

Then Brendon was much surprised. He had been standing under the
flagstaff with the master of "Crow's Nest," watching the launch, and
when she had vanished westward into a grey, still evening, Bendigo
challenged the detective with a proposition altogether unexpected.

"See here," he said. "I've got a damned, uneasy feeling about
meeting my brother single-handed to-night. I can't tell you what it
is. I'm not a coward and never shirked duty yet; but frankly I don't
much like facing him for this reason. A madman's a madman, and we
can't expect a madman to be any too reasonable if we oppose him,
however tactfully. I should be powerless if he got off his head, or
resented the advice I should have to give him, or went for
me--powerless, I mean, to do anything but stop him with a bullet.
But if he's got to be stopped that way, I don't want to be the one
to do it.

"I've promised to meet him alone and I shan't be telling the poor
man a lie, because, if all's straight and he shows no violence, he
needn't know anybody else is there. But if I was put into danger, I
might tackle him mercifully with somebody to help, whereas if I was
alone and he threatened to do me harm, it would very likely mean
something I'd rather not think about."

Brendon saw the force of this observation.

"A very reasonable thing indeed," he answered, "and in a case like
this, you couldn't blame y