into the house
disguised as a lame old man. The question is not whether I should have
kept them, but whether I should not stay on here and have them all
arrested."

Reed's face changed. "Oh! I hope you won't do that, Mr. Crane," he said.

Burton saw his advantage. "I should not care," he answered, "to go
through life feeling I had been responsible for turning a dangerous gang
loose upon the countryside."

"They are not that, sir. I pledge my word they are not that."

"There is a good deal of evidence against that pledge."

"You doubt my word, sir?"

"I feel there is much more to be explained than you seem willing to
admit. For instance, how comes it that you are a--I will not say
welcome--but at least assured visitor in my kitchen?"

Reed felt himself coloring. "I do not feel called upon," he replied, "to
explain my conduct to any one."

"In that case," said Crane, getting to his feet, "this interview might
as well end. I shall leave to-morrow, and if you and your friends, the
Revellys, feel yourselves aggrieved, we can only take the matter into
court. If the record of these servants is as excellent as you seem to
think, they can have nothing to fear. If it isn't, the whole matter will
be cleared up."

This was the crisis of the conversation, for as Crane moved to the door,
Reed stopped him.

"Wait a moment, Mr. Crane," he said. "There are circumstances in this
connection that you do not know."

"Yes, I guessed that much."

"If you will sit down, I should like to tell you the whole story."

Crane yielded and sat down, without giving Reed the satisfaction of
knowing that his nervousness at the expected revelation was as extreme
as Reed's.

"The Revellys, Mr. Crane, are among the most respected of our Southern
gentry. They fought for the original liberties of this country, and in
the war of secession--"

Crane nodded. "I know my history, Mr. Reed."

"But, sir, their distinguished position and high abilities have not
saved them from financial reverses. The grandfather lost everything in
the war; and the present owner, Henry Patrick Revelly, has not been
completely successful. Last winter a breakdown in his health compelled
him to leave the country at short notice. His four children--"

"Four children, Mr. Reed? Two girls and two boys?"

"Four grown children, Mr. Crane. The eldest is twenty-six, the youngest
seventeen. They were left with a roof over their heads and a sum of
money--a small sum--to p