to his own niece. He confessed to
me that Jenny puzzled him and it seemed strange to Albert that she
had forgotten her first husband so easily. His tender sensibilities
could not admire such indifference; and no doubt he also remembered
that his niece's early record, in marrying Pendean against her
family's wishes, too much reminded him of her father's wilful ways
and headstrong passions.

"But they come on their dark business and are welcomed; and then--an
insensate act of folly! The weak spot in their remorseless plan!
Again Doria rouses Robert Redmayne from the grave; again he
challenges you! A thousand simple and safe ways had offered to
dispose of Albert Redmayne. The region in which he chose to live and
his own trusting and ingenuous character had alike made him the
easiest possible prey of any human hunter; but Michael's vanity has
grown by what it feeds on. He is an artist, and he desires to
complete his masterpiece with all due regard to form. It must be
fashioned to endure and take its place forever in the highest
categories of crime. His pride rebels against the line of least
resistance. All shall end on the same large pattern in which it was
originally conceived. He courts danger and creates difficulty that
his ultimate achievement may be the more august.

"So the forgery is trotted out once more; and it is not enough that
Jenny shall report to her uncle the advent of Robert Redmayne beside
Como. An independent witness is demanded and Assunta Marzelli sees
the big man with the red mustache, red hair and red waistcoat. She
also records the tremendous shock to her mistress that resulted from
this sudden apparition. Remember that Jenny's husband was still
supposed by Albert to be in Turin. Then the old game is played;
Doria presently arrives in person; they toy with their subject; they
enrich it with details; awaken the alarm of their unhappy victim and
send for you, designing to treat you in the same manner as before.

"Nor does Albert's appeal to me hasten their operations. Who is
Peter Ganns? A famous American bull. Good! They will have another
victim at their chariot wheels. It shall be an international
triumph. Albert Redmayne must be murdered before an audience worthy
of the occasion. The combined detective forces of the States, of
Italy, of England, shall seek Robert Redmayne and succour Albert;
but the one shall evade capture, the other perish under their eyes."
He turned to Brendon. "And they brou