r from the merchant in which he urged her to obtain the divorce."

"When did Collins intercept the letter?" quickly asked Britz.

"On the morning Mr. Whitmore disappeared."

Here was something tangible at last. Not direct evidence that Collins
was guilty, but circumstantial evidence of the highest importance. Not
only had he threatened to kill the merchant, but he had motive for the
crime, and a motive which could be established easily in a court of law.

"You say Collins will be at your house at eleven to-night?" inquired
Britz.

"Yes," she answered, an eager light in her eyes. "And if you care to be
there and will listen, you shall hear him confess the crime."

Her words and the tone of certainty in which she spoke almost dazed
Greig. Even Britz had to struggle hard against betraying his amazement.
The whole thing seemed incredible--yet the detectives had experienced
more incredible happenings in the course of their long service.

"You say he will confess?" Britz said mechanically.

"More than confess," she answered. "You'll hear him gloat over the
crime. He'll display his exultation before me, and I want you to be
there to listen."

"But why--why are you betraying him?" faltered the detective.

Her face clouded, while her lips parted slightly in an expression of
intense hatred. For an instant she rested her chin on her gloved hand,
staring fixedly before her. Then, with a rebellious toss of her head,
she declared:

"I am betraying him because he betrayed me."

Here was logic which the police could readily grasp. No inconsistency
about a woman betrayed executing vengeance on her betrayer! Nothing
obtuse, or puzzling, or improbable about that! It was not the first time
that Britz had encountered such a woman. Convince a woman that her lover
means to desert her and she will permit his head to rest unsuspectingly
against her cheek, his fingers to entwine themselves lovingly in hers,
his lips to linger caressingly on her lips, while her desecrated love is
setting the trap for his destruction.

Was this woman really about to spring a trap beneath Collins's feet? Was
Collins really the murderer or was she trying to fasten guilt on an
innocent man? Was she ready to really assist the police, or was she
trying to lead them into endless channels of error?

The questions remained unanswered in Britz's mind; must remain
unanswered until the woman herself, should, in some way, disclose the
impelling motive of her v