afterward. So he and the Spider
stole the false Rembrandt which Foster had substituted, believing it to
be the real one.

"Hawker and his companion went abroad, and when they tried to dispose of
their prize in Munich they learned that it was of little value. They
sold it, however, for a trifling sum, and the dealer who bought it
disposed of it as an original to Sir Lucius Chesney. On his return to
England, hearing for the first time of the robbery, Sir Lucius took the
painting to Lamb and Drummond and discovered how he had been tricked.
Meanwhile Hawker and his companion quarreled and separated. Both had
been under suspicion since a short time after the theft of the
Rembrandt, and when the Spider was arrested in Belgium, for a crime
committed in that country, he made some statements in regard to the Lamb
and Drummond affair. Hawker, coming back to London, fell into the hands
of the police. He had before this suspected Stephen Foster's crime, and
when he found how strong the case was against himself, he told all that
he knew. Scotland Yard took the matter up, and quickly discovered more
evidence, which warranted them in arresting Foster yesterday. They found
the original Rembrandt in his safe, and the unfortunate man, after
writing a complete confession, committed suicide. His fellow-criminal,
Victor Nevill, must have received timely warning. The police have not
succeeded in apprehending him, and it is believed that he crossed to the
Continent last night."

It was not until the middle of the day that the papers printed the
complete story. Sir Lucius and Jack had a long talk about that and
other matters, and in the afternoon they went together to the house at
Strand-on-the-Green, and left messages of sympathy for Miss Foster; she
was too prostrated to see any person, Mrs. Sedgewick informed them.
Three days later, after the burial of Stephen Foster, Jack returned
alone. He found the house closed, and a neighbor told him that Madge
and Mrs. Sedgewick had gone away and left no address.

It was a bitter disappointment, and it proved the last straw to the
burden of Jack's troubles. For a week he tried vainly to trace the girl,
and then, at the earnest request of Sir Lucius, he went down to Priory
Court. There fever gripped him, and he fell seriously ill.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

CONCLUSION.

For weeks Jack hovered between life and death, and when the crisis was
finally passed, and he found himself well on the road to