y in the wake of Neenah's electric lantern. She came to a
sudden stop.

"And pray, Mr. Chase," she said sharply, as if the thought occurred to
her for the first time, "why _didn't_ you stop them? You had the
advantage. You and Selim could have surprised them--you could have taken
them without a struggle!"

He laughed softly, deprecatingly, not a little impressed by the justice
of her criticism.

"No doubt you consider me a coward," he said ruefully.

"You know that I do not," she protested. "I--I can't understand your
motive, that is all."

"You forget that I am the representative of these very men. I am the
trusted agent of Sir John Brodney, who has refused to supplant me with
another. All this may sound ridiculous to you, when you take my
anomalous position into account. I can't very well represent Sir John
and at the same time make prisoners or corpses of his clients, even
though I am being shielded by their legal foes. I don't mean to say that
I condone the attempt Von Blitz is making to rob his fellow-workmen of
this hidden plate and the plunder in the bank. They are traitors to
their friends and I shall turn them over sooner or later to the people
they are looting. I'll not have Von Blitz saying, even to himself, that
I have not only stolen his wives but have also cast him into the hands
of his philistines. It may sound quixotic to you, but I think that Lord
Deppingham and Mr. Browne will understand my attitude."

"But Von Blitz has sworn to kill you," she expostulated with some heat.
"You are wasting your integrity, I must say, Mr. Chase."

"Would you have me shoot him from ambush?" he demanded.

"Not at all. You could have taken him captive and held him safe until
the time comes for you to leave the island."

"He would not have been my captive in any event. I could do no more than
deliver him into the hands of his enemies. Would that be fair?"

"But he is a thief!"

"No more so than Taswell Skaggs and John Wyckholme, who unquestionably
cheated the natives out of the very treasure we have seen carried away."

"Admitting all that, Mr. Chase, you still forget that he has stolen
property which now belongs quite as much to Lady Deppingham and Mr.
Browne as it does to the natives."

"Quite true. But I am not a constable nor a thief catcher. I am a
soldier of the defence, not an officer of the Crown at this stage of the
game. To-day I shall contrive to send word to Rasula that Von Blitz has
stolen the t