old town on the
other side of the island, there came a gentle tap at the door, and
the worthy witness of her first marriage made his appearance a second
time.

'It took me hours to get to the bottom of the mystery--hours!' he said
with a gaze of deep confederacy which offended her pride very deeply.
'But thanks to a good intellect I've done it. Now, ma'am, I'm not a
man to tell tales, even when a tale would be so good as this. But I'm
going back to the mainland again, and a little assistance would be as
rain on thirsty ground.'

'I helped you two days ago,' began Baptista.

'Yes--but what was that, my good lady? Not enough to pay my passage
to Pen-zephyr. I came over on your account, for I thought there was a
mystery somewhere. Now I must go back on my own. Mind this--'twould
be very awkward for you if your old man were to know. He's a queer
temper, though he may be fond.'

She knew as well as her visitor how awkward it would be; and the
hush-money she paid was heavy that day. She had, however, the
satisfaction of watching the man to the steamer, and seeing him
diminish out of sight. But Baptista perceived that the system into
which she had been led of purchasing silence thus was one fatal to her
peace of mind, particularly if it had to be continued.

Hearing no more from the glazier she hoped the difficulty was past.
But another week only had gone by, when, as she was pacing the Giant's
Walk (the name given to the promenade), she met the same personage in
the company of a fat woman carrying a bundle.

'This is the lady, my dear,' he said to his companion. 'This, ma'am,
is my wife. We've come to settle in the town for a time, if so be we
can find room.'

'That you won't do,' said she. 'Nobody can live here who is not
privileged.'

'I am privileged,' said the glazier, 'by my trade.'

Baptista went on, but in the afternoon she received a visit from the
man's wife. This honest woman began to depict, in forcible colours,
the necessity for keeping up the concealment.

'I will intercede with my husband, ma'am,' she said. 'He's a true man
if rightly managed; and I'll beg him to consider your position. 'Tis a
very nice house you've got here,' she added, glancing round, 'and well
worth a little sacrifice to keep it.'

The unlucky Baptista staved off the danger on this third occasion as
she had done on the previous two. But she formed a resolve that,
if the attack were once more to be repeated she would face a
rev