woman."

She stopped screaming and lay there, her face twitching, and her eyes
bright with terror.

"Now listen," he said, in the same husky voice. "You incarnate fiend,
you asked me just now how I could keep you quiet. I will tell you; I
can keep you quiet by running this knife up to the hilt in your
throat," and once more he pricked her with its point. "It would be
murder," he went on, "but I do not care for that. You and others
between you have not made my life so pleasant for me that I am
especially anxious to preserve it. Now, listen. I will give you the
two hundred and fifty pounds that I have brought, and you shall have
the two hundred and fifty a year. But if you ever again attempt to
extort more, or if you molest me either by spreading stories against
my character or by means of legal prosecution, or in any other way, I
swear by the Almighty that I will murder you. I may have to kill
myself afterwards--I don't care if I do, provided I kill you first. Do
you understand me? you tiger, as you call yourself. If I have to hunt
you down, as they do tigers, I will come up with you at last and
/kill/ you. You have driven me to it, and, by heaven! I will! Come,
speak up, and tell me that you understand, or I may change my mind and
do it now," and once more he touched her with the knife.

She rolled off the sofa on to the floor and lay there, writhing in
abject terror, looking in the shadow of the table, where her long
lithe form was twisting about in its robe of yellow barred with black,
more like one of the great cats from which she took her name than a
human being. "Spare me," she gasped, "spare me, I don't want to die. I
swear that I will never meddle with you again."

"I don't want your oaths, woman," answered the stern form bending over
her with the knife. "A liar you have been from your youth up, and a
liar you will be to the end. Do you understand what I have said?"

"Yes, yes, I understand. Ah! put away that knife, I can't bear it! It
makes me sick."

"Very well then, get up."

She tried to rise, but her knees would not support her, so she sat
upon the floor.

"Now," said Mr. Quest, replacing the knife upon the mantelpiece, "here
is your money," and he flung a bag of notes and gold into her lap, at
which she clutched eagerly and almost automatically. "The two hundred
and fifty pounds will be paid on the 1st of January in each year, and
not one farthing more will you get from me. Remember what I tell yo