oment, and so he had put off disposing of it until after his
famous rush across the Rio Grande had been safely accomplished. When he
returned and could get back to his own tent, his first thought must have
been of the document whose existence he meant to deny. To empty his
pocket and find the paper gone must have been a frightful blow, and
Sidney could hardly have known a peaceful moment until after the
court-martial, when all danger of the lost message coming to light
seemed to be past forever.

No wonder (as Tony had written, describing the trial) that the accuser
had been more worn and nerve-shattered than the accused. No wonder that,
even when he arrived in England, Sidney Vandyke had looked changed and
ill! No wonder he had taken to steadying his nerves with alcohol, and
had not tried to conquer the habit!

By this time he must have ceased to dread the reappearance of the
vanished document; but it had reappeared, and it was not too late to be
of use. The small scrap of paper in my hand was big enough to give me
all the power I had prayed for--the power to prove Captain March's
innocence and Major Vandyke's guilt.

"Eagle said to-night that if the time ever came when he could take
revenge without putting himself in the wrong, God help Vandyke!" I
remembered. "We little thought how soon it would come. But it's here!
It's here! The 'stone wall' has tumbled down, like the wall of Jericho,
and it's Sidney Vandyke's head, not Eagle's, that will be broken."

I was almost out of my wits with joy. I danced a war-dance of triumph,
swinging the khaki coat and waving the document over my head. Then, when
a wild whirl had satisfied my wish to celebrate, I refolded the bit of
paper, hung the coat over my arm, and dashed to the door. Downstairs I
plunged, passed Diana's room, and had reached the head of the stairs
leading to the ground floor when I actually bumped against Di coming up.
If I had not stepped hastily back I should have thrown her downstairs.
As it was, she caught at the banisters and barred the way against me.

The flashing glimpse I had caught of her face, before we almost
telescoped like two trains running into one another, had shown it pale
and depressed; but the surprise of our encounter brought light to her
eyes and colour to her cheeks. Her look changed from mere startled
annoyance to puzzled suspicion. "Good gracious!" she exclaimed. "One
would have thought the house was on fire! Another instant and you'd