much to do," he
said pleasantly, adding, as he noted the restless irritation in Leslie's
face, "Your suspense will soon be over. It is growing dark already, and
by the time we have had some dinner it will be time for you to start for
the chine. There are no signs of anything to prevent your safe
departure."

"That girl, Louise Aubin--you let her out of the grotto, I hope?" said
Leslie. "I should be sorry if she was ill-treated on my behalf."

"Chivalrous as ever!" Nugent could not resist the sneer. "Oh, yes; she's
half-way to the Manor House by now, reduced to a proper sense of her
misdemeanour. A little palm-grease works wonders with a Frenchwoman."

Presently the silent Sinnett served dinner, and during the meal Nugent
unobtrusively continued to work the repentant vein he had developed
earlier in the day. He waxed eloquent on his own difficult position as a
man of birth and expensive tastes, thrown by force of adverse
circumstances into a social groove that was really beyond his means.

"I had not, perhaps, your excuse of abject misery, Chermside," he
remarked pathetically, "but the Maharajah's bribe was an enormous
temptation, and I yielded to his importunities the more readily as I had
incurred obligations to him. I shall look back upon our association with
shame to the end of my days."

The proper feeling shown by his former accomplice called forth Leslie's
sympathy. "I hope that Bhagwan Singh has no hold on you?" he said. "He
is a vengeful beast, and from my knowledge of him he is not likely to
overlook your aiding my escape in his yacht after throwing him over. He
has the long arm of boundless wealth."

"I am aware of that," Nugent replied gravely. "If he strikes at me, I
must pay the penalty. I must regard it as a just retribution."

At ten o'clock Nugent went to the window, opened it, and called softly
into the darkness of the summer night for Tuke.

"Have you got the flares?" he asked, when the mottled countenance of his
retainer appeared in the stream of lamplight. "That is well. Show the
blue first, remember, and then green. Now, Chermside--least said,
soonest mended. I am not going with you myself, but this man will see
you through. The captain of the _Cobra_ has orders as to your
destination. Good-bye, and may your next venture end in happier
fashion."

He held out his hand, and, conquered by his seeming mood, Leslie
returned the grasp. A moment later he was following his guide across the
lawn,