A CONFIDENTIAL AGENT:

JAMES PAYN,

AUTHOR OF

"By Proxy," "Under One Roof,"

"Walter's Word," "High Spirits," Etc.

CHAPTER LI.

THE KEY TO THE KNIOMA.

Matthew Helston had been lying on his own bed in Caveudish Grove for many a day before he got his wits back, much less was able to give any account of his disappear ance. If a loss skilful man than Dr. Crcykc had been sent for by Mr Brail, or if there had been a few more hours' delay in finding the lost man, ho would have been found

dead,

As it was.the comforts which poor Sabey had provided in her hoping against hope for liis reception, "in case he should have met with some accident or have been taken ill," and which even Amy had looked upon with tender pity rather than * approval, were omiuontly useful. The hot bath to be prepared at a few minutes1 notice—and which was ready' by the time he was car tied over tho threshold—tho fire in his room, tho beef-tea (for so long had been his absti nence 'that no more solid food could be given to him) were all factors, and not unim portant ones, in the slowly worked out sum of. his recovery.

After the first day or two, however, the doctor pronounced the patient out of dan " It h now merely a question of time," he explained to Uncle Stephen, "or rather of constitution (which is gaining ground) vcrhti exposure, want, and cerebral excite ment (the effects of which are vanishing); it is tholast which will remain tho longest, and which i< the nioßt inexplicable." "Gad, I thinkit'soxplained easily enough," srvid Mr Durham. "To be locked up in defunco of the' Habeas Corpus' Act for three weeks in a cellar is enough to ' excite ' a saint."

"It i* not that, sir," said the doctor coolly (he had a very grey head and ."baggy white eyebrows, from which combined with his long standing in the profession, ho ob tained the sobriquet of 'Nestor Creyke,' and he treated all the world as bis grand children). "Ho has not been suffering from mental irritation, as you imagiuo; ho has not been thinking even of getting out of his place of confinement; his symp tons are the same with those I have obser ved in a patient of mine who has devoted lumsolf too exclusively Io weighing tho sun on an empty stomach."

Unco Stephen, who was by no means himself agaio, permitted himself a quiet smile, hut sai»l nothing. After what had occurred ho thought i* generally advisable to say very little. Most; gentlemen of his ago and reputation would have deeply rcson ted the complete and utter failure of his own forebodings, but for his own part lie was only ashamed of them. When Saboy came every morning to her half-opened door to give him a kiss—which win all ho saw of her, for sho never left her husband, day or night—he felt that he was obtaining it under false pretences. How would (the feel towards him, he won dered, when she came to hear from his own lips-for he was rcolvcd to tell her-that he had been a traitor to Matthew, not at heart, indeed, but in his tco logical mind? On the second day of Matthew's return, Mr Helston the elder, whohad injthe interim very thoughtfully absented himself, leaving the little household to take uninterrupted charge of its sick man, dropped into diuncr. Ho seemed to take it for granted that by gones were bygones—indeed, that he in fact seemed to do the person aggrieved— and that it was out of the question that he should be otherwise than welcome. After earnest inquiries as to tho health of his nephew he proceeded to unburden his mind •upon a mutter upon ■which it seemed to be much exercised.

" Who. may I ask," inquired he, "is Mr Frank Barlow?"

Poor Amy turned scarlet, but Uncle Stephen answered calmly, "A very kind and honest fellow, who lives next door to us."

"All, a friend of the family, I presume," said Mr llelston, " though I never heard of him. Will, that explains what I should otherwise consider a most infernal piece of impertinence. Wheu I left you yesterday I drove straight to Stork's, Q. C., who hud gone to spend the day at his club. Ilia clerk said it would be as good as his place was wortbjto send me there on business ; so I called this morning (when by-the bye, he apologised very politely, saying that as a family man he made a point of spending his Christmas-day in complete domesti city). "Well," said I, " there's no hurry in the matter I called about; only I wished for certain to secure your services in an action for libel, which will at once be instituted by a nephew of mine against one Lady Pargiter." " Now that's curious," he said, am retained in that case already." "What! for the defence? I3y that woman?"

"for I

"No. for th« prosecution. I got a tele gram from Paris last night, from your nephew's attorney, Mr Frank Barlow."

"■The'douce you have!" said I. "I ■didn't know he had an attorney. I thought I had been quick in securing Stork; and also, as Matthew's uncle, I think I might have heen trusted to do it."

" But Mr Barlow didn't know you were in town," observed Uncle Stephen conci liatingly;" nor even—dear me '. how should he ?"

" I see: you mean that there was no reason to trust me before yesterday,'1 re turned the old man drily. " Well, perhaps not. But this young fellow—Stork told me he was quite young-must bo a deuced sharp practitioner." " Mr Barlow Jis a very intelligent man," observed Uncle Stephen, taking care to avert his eyes from Amy, " and to his as tuteness and goodwill, as Mi Brail told me yesterday, it is solely owing that our nephew is still alive. He went over to Paris and discovered in twenty-four hours where poor Matthew was. Hoiv he got there we don't know even now,, but lie was starving. Brail's view is that the man who shut him up there, whoever he was, had become savage because he couldn't sell the diamonds, and had cut oft' his sup plies of food. It's one of the most abomin able cases that was ever heard of. How ever, the villain has been arrested for the murder of somebody else by the French police." ''Then they will bo sure to discover ex tenuating circumstances," put in Mr. Hels ton. " However," he added, rubbing his hands, "my Lady Pargiter, who called my nephew a thief, is, thank Heaven, in Eng land. We shall trounce her." i j"Oh,'.^r> Helston," cried Amy, " do not let us think of revenge and retribution now ; let us only be thankful. If you could but ■see poor Sabey, her heart has no room for

aught but gratitude to Hcaveu for having sent her back her Lo4 Ono, oven though ho looks so ill and pale and weak."

"My dear young lady," observed Mr. Helstoa coolly, "I hope he will look all that for some time to come, however rapid may be his recovery. His appearance in court under such circumstances will be worth an extra thousand pounds. One of the things to live for will hs to hear Stork's address to the Jury." There never was a warmer partisan than Roger Helston, nor one who took a greater delight in fighting. There was fighting now, although at pre sent of a desultory character, " all along the line," as regarded- the " Great Moor Street Mystery," as it iwas called. Although Mr. Barlow, on the instant of receiving news from tbc detective of Matthew's discovery, had taken action, as wo have seen, on his behalf, his innoceneo was by no means estab lished in other quarters. The conviction of it did not Ktriko even Mr. Signet with the force that it struck Mr. Barlow; while Lady Pargiter, still without her diamonds, was quite as ready to believe Helston had taken them as ever, It was true that he had been found imprisoned, and under circumstances of some discomfort, but that might have arisen from a quarrel between him and his confederates over the spoil. Not one jot did ehe abate of her confident virulence against botli him and his employer, which tho latter mot with defiance, indeed, but a little secret misgiving. For, even supposing llolston had no hand in abstracting tho jewels, if thoy had been taken from him by force after they had been handed to him by Lady Par giter, the jeweller would be equally respon i-ible ; if they were really proved to be in Pari", he felt that the mere absence of Matthew's receipt for them would not in validate her ladyship's claim.

As for Mr Brail, as became a man of hi.s prudence and profession, he "kept his mind open" until the following circumstance dropped into it and tilled up the aperture. On tho second night after the discovery of Matthew Helston a certain shamblin<' (inure might have been seen furtively makinritswaynp Moor Street till itreached No. 11, and io fact was seen by one who recognised it, a* with trembling fingers it was endeavouring to lit the latch-ke°y into the door of the empty house. Mr. Brown, who was still on duty (in case of this very contingency, impossible though it might have seemed), arrested It.

" Don't'cc, don't'oe," it pleaded pitoously; "I've only brought some bread and meat to cat upon the door step," 11 Uncommon nice place for a picnic," ob scrvod Mr. Brown drily. " You opened the door, I suppose.for ventilation ?" Solomon himself would have found it diffi ciWt to reply to this question satisfactorily. Mr. Hichard Dartmoor (for he it was) felt it to be unanswerable, and took refuge in physiological phenomena. "When a man has had ' the jumps ' fora day or two he don't know rightly where he live?, but goes about trying doora."

" I sen," said Mr. Brown, taking possos sion of the latch-key. " I shall have great pleasure in seeing you home." And he took him to the police-station, In saying that he hail been suffering from 1 too jumps' (an un»cientilic term for deli rium trcmens) Mr Dartmoor had for once told the truth; and, what was still more extraordinary, he had Wen caught in the commission of what was comparatively speaking) a good action ; though, in conse quence of his late malady and tho alarm consequent upon his apprehension, it was some days before be could explain matters. On his failuro to enlist John Ilutkcrford in Captain Langton's designs for carrying off the Pargitcr diamond!l, that gentleman had been compelled to turn his thoughts to some other scheme for Accomplishing his purposes. And this was the ingenious device the Captain had hit upon. No. 11 Moor Street was rather an ambi tious residence for a gentleman who lived upon his wits to take on hand, but never theless he did so ; though his delay in com pleting tho preliminaries was so consider able that, as wo have seen, it aroused tho suspicions of Messrs Carberry. He had no intention, however, of furnishing the mansion, which ho only required for temporary purposes. Its at traction for him—though not a sentimental one—lay in its being next door to Lady Pargiter's. Not once, nor twice, but ottcn, on bis return in early winter mornings from " the Frobisher " or other of his favourite haunts, had he mistaken—not through drunkenness, for ho never drank, but from fatigue, the darkness of the night, rain, snovt, and other causes—his own modest looking lodging house for another of the same pattern. The circumstances might have hapnoncd to any man, and might hap pen, ho lustly reasoned, again. Only to make it happen in this particular case he took somo extraordinary precautions. He furnished the hall of No. 11 exactly as the hall next door was furnished, of which he took care to mnke a personal observation. Besides Mr Dartmoor, ho had two other as sistants in his pay, and these he caused to bo attired in the selfsame livery—canary, trimmed with silver lace—worn by tho servants of Lady Pargiter. In this world, unhappily, no plan can bo devised that shall be totally independent of "happy chance" for its succcess; and more than once had all Captain Langton's preparations been made in vain. Twice had Mat thew Helston driven away in his cab with tho diamonds according to expectation; but on each occasion one or other of Lady Par giter's tall footmen had beea standing at the door watching the weather, or in rapt admiration of the stars, until tho cab had turned the corner of tho street, and the Captain's opportunity was lost. But the third time Fate relented and even played into his hands.

The night, as wo know, on -which Mat- Helston disappeared was an exceptionally tempestuous one. The sky was starless, the wind was roaring, and the snow falling heavily—a sort of night when inthe country it is said " one cannot see one's hand " and when in town the dickering .pas affords but untrustworthy guidance. No sooner had Matthew left the portico of No. 10 than the footman slammed the door behind him to keep out the sleet and snow. Then came the Captain's opportunity. John Rutherford had not driven twenty-yards when the same footman (to all appearance) appeared at his side, having been sent, ho said, by his mistress's orders to bring Mr Helston back again—something had been forgotten or at all events his presence was imperatively desired. Matthew was sur. prised, no doubt; but the cabman was only disgusted, With the wind and snow full in his face he drove back to the open door (as it seemed) he had just quitted; the lights and the liveries flashed on his daz zled eyes, and then the door closed upon his fare—who wa3 lying gagged aud bound behind it.

In a minute moro the footman appeared with that message from his mistress with which we are acquainted, and which in formed honest John that his employer had accepted Lady Pargiter's hospitality for the night. He drove oil', nothing loath to go straight homo instead of to Paulet Street, and in the full conviction that he had left Matthew Helston at No. 10.

It was by no means Captain Langton's object to kill his prisoner ; not that from any moral consideration he was one to " draw the line " at murder, but because he kuew that- the law, which is so marvellously

indifferent to other crimes against tho per son (as compared with those against pro perty), does draw the lino there. Nay, not withstanding what had been stated to Cap tain Langton's own disparagement in the way of nautical crime, the law docs take some sort of cognizance of mnrder, even at sea. About murder on land, it is still more punctilious, and the Captain prudently re trained from irritating its susceptibilities by shedding blood. His intention was to keep his man in close confinement, in a placc < where nobody would think of looking for him, till tho diamonds of which ho had been robbed should be disposed of, and this last enterprise he took into his ow n hands.

Within half an hour .after his victim was secured, the jewels were in the Captain's lodgings, nnd be had shown himself at "the irobisher," where many of tbe com pany, no doubt, thought he had been the whole evening. It would not have been difficult, in short, liad' circumstances re quired it, for him to hare established an alibi. Some people—and especially when it is an important matter—can only think of one thing at a time; but this was not the case with the Captain. It was his habit whenever it could bo accomplished (as at dumby whist) to kill two birds with one stone, and he had another object in his eye even when it was fixed on tho| Pargiter diamonds. When Phoebe Mayson parted company with Major Lovcll she fell low in deed, but never quite so low as, in her self-humiliation aud abasement, she had described herself to have done to Mr Bar low. After her chance meeting with Mat thew Helston she had striven to live a vir tuous life ; a difficult task, indeed, for one who has fallen and is without the means of livelihood, it was during this period of well nigh hopeless struggle that she had re sided in Bleak (Street and hud become ac quainted with Langton She made no secret of her past, nor of her good resolutions for the future, and he was certainly not the man to shako them. She had probably never cnteriained any fooling towards him warmer than indifference. That is the relation, however, io which many —and much more respcctablo young per sons find themselves with respect to their future husbands, and for her there was a great excuse; marriage in her case meant, or appeared to do so, salvation. Imagine what her life must have been as the debtor of that Bleak-street lodcing house keeper! As to Langton, he was a married man, though, to do him justice, had ho been a bachelor he would have sacrificed himself at the altar all the same rather than have been baulked of bis fancy. When he coveted anything he never put to himself the question, "Is it right ?" (lie would have considered that to have been a metaphysical absurdity) but " Can I bo punished for ac quiring it, and how much V" To one who had just robbed and kidnapped a fellow creature, bigamy seemed a venial offence— that is to say, it would entail no worse penalties than those he had already incurred. How lie went through the. form of marriage with the girl, and took her to Paris, and what camo of it, we know. What happened on the night of the murder we do not know; but it is probable that, from the vehemence of her accusations, he made a shrewd guess at the old relation be tween her and Matthew, and incensed in his turn, described Helston to her (to spite her) as_ being in even a worse plight than he imagined him to be. There was ne evidence that Langton meant to starve his victim. Mr Kichard Dartmoor had had, indeed, instructions to provide him nightly with a sufficiency of food and to telegraph the state of matters in Moor Street to his employer every morning. Only, having given way to the seductions of liquor, " the jumps " had seized him and caused an inter mittcDce io his vi«its to No. 11 that had been well-nigh fatal.

CHAPTER LII. GATHERED THREADS.

It was on New Year's Day that Matthew Hclston recovered speech and gladdened feabcy's heart with his first feeble utterance more than any bird in springtime gladdens his fond mate with a full tide of song. He had recognised her long before, but had been content to lie with his wasted band in bcrs and his eyes fixed upon the loving face tbat could never gaze enough upon him.

"Baby—Amy—Uncle Stephen—Frank," —she had had now mentioned every name that was dear to him by tarn, and she had assured liim all were well. Then ho mur mured something which even her quick ear could not catch; but it sounded like "Butterfly—Nut." This gave her a pang of terror, since it surely showed that his mind was still astray. Since he repeated it,, however, with fretful persistence, she sent for Amy. " It must be something mechanical," was her verdict. " A nut is tho head of a screw. Has it anything to do with Madge, Matthew ?" she whispered softly. To see the light leap up in his weary eyes was like beholding a resurrection. There was no doubt of its .having to do with Madge. So, with the doctor's permission, sho was brought upstairs and placed by the bedside of the patient. "When he saw how bright and clean she was, he looked np iv his wife's face with a erateful smilti tbat would have repaid a lifetime of oil and feather work.

"Of course I looked after Madge," she murmured simply, " when her master was away."

Having contrived to express to the two women that if the nut on a certain screw were shaped like a butterfly, motion would be imparted to the machine, Matthew insisted upon Uncle Stephen being sent for to hear the news of that great discovery.

" I am so happy, dear uncle," he said,

"You deserve to be so, my good boy," answered the old man with emotion, "if at least, there is any truth in the theory of compensation.1' Matthew shook his head.

"It is not the compensation-balance at all," he said; "the nut itself forms the fly-". ....

111 see," said Uncle Stephen, though he didn't.

"It was one thing (though sometimes the cellar was too full ot Hying Madges) that kept me up in my prison," murmured Matthew. " Whenever I thought of Saboy and the little one I sank gravewards." Then they understood how that, in the silence and solitude of his prison, he had thought out the problem of imparting motion to Madge, and thereby banished the despairing thoughts and longings which would otherwise have destroyed him. " To be once more with you all is Heaven itself," he whispered; " but next to. that " And again he murmured the name of his invention. " Oh, lam so happy and well content!"

Uncle Stephen's face tore the old grave and pitying smile that so well became it.

■'You think so, my toy, but you will never be content till you have found out three tilings—the square of the circle, the key of the Pyramid of Cheops, and the value of the Wo. 7."

" There is something in that," admitted Matthew, with an answering smile. Then he asked for Frank; and there was silence.

"He is not ill?" he continued with anxietjr. "You told me he was well; where is Frank, Amy ?"

Sabey answered for her. "He returns from Paris to-day, and will be here this evening."

It would have been no use for Amy to have said " No" when Matthew had asked for him. If he had asked for Mr Signet or for Lady Pargiter, Sabey would have said, " They shall be here," and got them somehow.

When Mr Barlow did come Sabey had the first hug of him in the parlour—for had he not sa»ed her husband's life ?—and Amy the second.

" Can you erer forgive me, Frank ?" she sobbed.

"It is I who need forgivoness," he said simply. "And I," put in Uncle Stephen so meekly and so softly that Sabey did not hear him. Amy cast such a look of earnest entreaty at him that his appeal was not repeated. He had satisfied his conscience by thus acknowledging his want of faith in Sabey'g presence and before witnesses: and, since she had taken no notice of it, so much the better. Ho had neither the will nor the courage to make confession a lecond time. Saboy never knew that either Uncle Stephen or Mr Barlow had ever lacked faith for & moment in Matthew's innocence ; which, 1 am inclined to thiok fortunate. Once, in alluding to their past miseries she admitted to Uncle Stephen that the recollection of them would, remain with her forever. "There are some things," she said, "which one can never forget." " Things are so different with me," re turned the old gentleman in his dry way : " / fo'get everythiug." But, notwithstanding his lightness of speech, ho had never congratulated himself more sincerely upon his reticence in a cer tain matter than on that occasion.

Matthew, on the other hand, was told "all about it"; and he at once allowed that, with the facts they had before them, no men could have come to any other con clusion than that wbich had been so un willingly arrived at by Mr Durham and Mi Barlow.

" Yet Sabey and Amy both believed in you, Matt," said Uncle Stephen remorse fully. " That's because they are women and without logical minds," explained Matthew cheerfully. "But we don't love them less upon that account, mind you." If Matthew Helston had been slow to put lance in rest in defence of the fair sex he would have been ingrate and recreant indeed. It is probable that, since Mahomet's time, no two women had ever shown more faith in one man than Sabey and Amy had done in his case; for though thoy were unaware until afterwards of that little episode which seemed to connect his absence with Phoebe Mayson, it is my opinion, if they had known it, it would not have made one pennyworth of difference in their view of matters. Facts may be stubborn things, but a woman's trust with love to back it is like iron with teak behind it.

It was not without some difficulty tbat Mr Barlow got away from Paris to eat his New Year's dinner in Cavendish Grove, since of course the police had need of him in connection with the murder of poor Phoebe. He had doubted in his own mind as to whether he should tell Major Lovell who it was that he had Been lying dead that Christmas morning in the foreign city which had not held for her one single friend; or whoso hand had done tho deed j nor wa3 it certainly with any view o£ arousing his remorse or of marring his butter fly pleasures that he did so; but, in his ignorance of the laws and customs of the country in which ho found himself, he feared that there should be some miscar riage of justice in the matter, and therefore appealed to the Major for advice. The manner in which that gentleman, receivad his news astonished him not a little. He had anticipated a gentlemanly expression of re gret at most; he had struck a match merely tolight,as it.were,an ornamental bougie —and found he had fired a powder magazine ! '■ Phoebe—murdered—and by that dam nable scoundrel!"

His languid manners were thrown off with his velretcoat at once ; and, what sur prised Mr Barlow more . than all, ho insisted on going to see tho murdered woman.

Ho came back greatly agitated, and for tho time (tho effect lasted a week perhaps) was quite a different man, "It was I wlio killed her, Mr Barlow," he exclaimed with bitter self-reproach, "though that villian struck the blow." His pa?sion against the criminal was terrible to witness. "If the law fails in its duty, as I am a living man I will not fail in mine." And, indeed, if Captain Langton had slipped through the fingers of Justice he would, without doubt, have found himself iv those of another avenger. "If money was wanted, MrT3ar low," added the Major simply, "there's two hundred pounds, which, thank Heaven, I won at the ecrele last night." Howcve^as it happened, though he saved his head— parce quc la paiivre nomine etait jaloux, it seemed—the Captain went to the galleys for life. The diamonds were found in his posses sion, and, whatwas very curious, andshowed the extreme audacity of the man, the very case iteelf ; indeed, he had only taken three of the jewels out of their setting. The £500 reward for their recovery Mr Signet paid without a murmur ; but the similar sum offered by Lady Pargiter for Matthew's apprehensionrwas, as Mr Brail described it, rather a ;tooth-drawer for that lady. He had only discovered, for her, a prosecutor in an action for libel.

The jewels, however, were of course handed over to her. Matthew acknow ledged that he had received them from her and had given her a receipt; the non production of which was peculiar. On the night of his disappearance Lady Pargiter, on her return from the ball, had found a note awaiting her from a high official per sonage which had given her great dissatis faction. It had been her desire to be invi ted to a certain entertainment given by Royally, itself, and for which she had intrigued and laboured with even more than her usual pertinacity. And the official personage had replied finally, though in the politest terms, in the negative. No wonder Matthew congratulated himself that night (little knowing to what he was doomed) that it was the last time he would stand in her ladyship's presence and listen to her harsh and insulting tones. After his departure, and a few minutes passed in snnrling at her maid, she" had in a gust of passion—or perhaps for fear her humiliation should become known— snatched up the official note from the dress ing table and flung it into the fire. Only, instead of the note, she burnt the receipt for the diamonds which lay by its side, Sho discovered her mistake in an instant., and despatched Patty Selwood to bid the footman run after the cab. If he bad been five minutes earlier he would have seen it coming back—with a facsimile of his canary, coloured self, running by its side—to deposit its occupant at No. 11. As it was, he only saw an empty street. The absence of the receipt, though it made her ladyship " fidgety," seemed of small consequence at the moment; but tho next morning, when the disappearance of Matthew became known, it of course assumed immense im portance. Thereupon ensued the course of duplicity upon Lady Pargitcr's part with ; which we are acquainted, and which justly ! exposed her to such grave suspicions; and,

on the other hand, her partial betrayal W Patty_ Sclwood, whom cunning ■ and! hate combined had taught exactly how mudfe to say. . i Nor did Lady Pargitcr's puni«liment'ea<i here. After Mr Brail had got his money Jaj thought it his duty to acquaint her with the fact tbat her family diamonds had been pronounced by the French experts to b& made of paste (and, indeed, it ivas for at tempting to dispose of them as real ones • that Captain Langton had got into trouble). Her incredulity, of course,-var* extreme, and was expressed with characte. ristic vehemence ; but the fact was as the detective had stated.

" For one table and the picture in it," oW served Uncle Stephen, in reference to the comparative value of the morocco case,/ '• Kins' Attalua gave Aristocles theTheban; a hundred talents in silver."

When convinced of her misfortune her , ladyship accused Mr Signet of having sub. stituted paste for her diamonds; butl am glad to say that that gentleman's innocence of any such fraud was fully established. The Pargiter parure had been composed of T genuine stones at one time, when Mr Ingot her ladyship's father, had endeavoured to dispose of them to the jeweller; and of course Mr Signet had taken for granted that they were the same he had already valued and approved, though he had refused to give Mr Ingot's price for them. That ■< worthy money-lender had disposed of them; however, before his death, and caused the ' counterfeits to be made. be con. eluded, that their genuineness would never be questioned; that they would remain an. heirloom in his family for ever ; and if (as actually happened) some jeweller, as indeed he had recommended, should be made re sponsible for them, and they should be stolen while in possession, what a good stioke of business it would be for his daughter and heirsss to receive £25,000 of compensation for the loss of' what was in reality worth about a hundred pounds t Unhappily, things turned out somewhat" contrary to this astute gentleman's expecta tions.

Could aught havo touchod him th«ro below It auoht of things that here bof all Could move him where ho was at all, I don't think the well-meaning old gentle man ■would have been pleased to hear what his daughter said of him when these circum stances came to light. Let us have done with, her, and rise from our tale with a sweeter taste in our mouth, than that of harshness, pride, and greed.

CHAPTER LIIL CONCLUSION.

Though Lady Pargiter was herself mercl. v- , less, she was the cause of mercy in others (which, perhaps may be the reason, other wise inexplicable, why such people are al lowed to exist). Taking into account what she had suffered, and how the sparkling pride of her life had, as in a fairy tale, been changed into a handful of worthless pebbles, ' Matthew Helston withdrew from the prose cation of her ladyship for malicious libel. So strongly, however, was Uncle Roger for going on with it that it would perhaps have been proceeded with but for Sabey's opposition. " Pray, pray.let us have peace," she said; "God has been bo good to us; let us not persecute any creature he has made." , , "Prosecute, prosecute," suggested Mr Barlow, in gentle defence of tbe methods of leeal proceeding; but Sabey had made \ no mistake in what she had meant to say, ■ and carried her point. There was nothing now, indeed, which, ' having once resolved upon, ehe failed to ' carry. She was the captain of the ship and Amy the most efficient of iirst lieutenants. Matthew, as we know, had never aspired to domestic rule; and Uncle Stephen and Mr Barlow had become her slavfs. They-felt, that they could never make her reparation , enough for a certain offence of the commis sion of which she remained ignorant to her dying day. ■ Uncle Kogcr, disenchanted of Cousin Dick, and earnestly desirous of a reconci liation with his only nephew, perceived that tbe shortest and surest way to it was through the good offices of his wife, aud ■ thus completed the sum of her subjects: iV He had counted on getting Matthew back to Latbnry as his partner, and flattered himself, indeed, that ho would have 'jumped at the offer.' He declined it, or rather Sabey did for him, with the most gracious thanks. "My husband is a man of genius," ; she said, "but it does not lie in the legal direction. He is the inventor of the Butter fly Nut." . , - 11 Confound that Mad?e," muttered Uncle Ro^er (we may be sure inandibly), and com plained most bitterly of his disappointment t» Mr Durham. "It would serve Matthew right," he Baid, "if.l left all my money to an hospital." " Very likely, my dear sir," replied Uncle W Stephen; "only nobody is served right In. v this world."

" But what if I mean to do it, sir?" retur ned the old man irascibly. '%

"Then it's quite certain not to happen," was the quiet reply. " Nothing does hap* pen—it is not my remark—except the Un expected. I used to think Matthew the most unlucky man in the world. He re minded one of Thomas Tusser, who spread his bread with all sorts of butter, and none of it would stick; yet sen what a fortune he is making out o! Madge after all." " But he was wrong about her; he can't make her move an inch."

"Of course not. If he did my theory would be established beyond all question. But though the Butterfly Nut failed there, the principle of the flying screw has beea established by it He could have ten thou sand pounds for the patent to-morrow. Look at the Pargitor diamonds—paste I Look at Charles Rutherford, supposed to have lied more than Charles the Ninth or the Duke of Gloucester, yet who stated the facts as he believed them."

" A nasty, poaching vagabond," urged Uncle Roger, "who, Mr Brail says, had meant to kill Matthew with a pistol, on his own account."

" That is another mistake, my dear sir. He bought the pistol to defend himself against tjie designs of Dartmoor. We have heard all about from the man's own lips."

" Then why didn't he tell us about Dart« moor's designs?"

" Well, that again is curious. Kutheri ford is a man of his word (another example of the unexpected in a cabman, by the way), and had promised not to betray them; and as he was quite certain in his own mind (and therefore wrong, of course) that he bad left Matthew at Lady Pargiter's and that consequently Dartmoor could have had no hand in his disappearance, he held his tongue. Then again,can anything—between ourselves—have been more unexpected than the conduct of our friend Mr Barlow ? I confess ttused to think bat little of him."

" A devilish sharp young fellow," put in Uncle Roger. Uncle Stephen shrugged his shoulders. " Possibly; sharp but narrow, like a needle —no head, as I thought. Well, see how nobly he nas come out of all this. But for him our Matthew would have been lost to us"

"True," answered Uncle Eoger; indebted Jo him for that."

"lam

"Notwithstanding the hospital," put in. the other slily. - .

STAR SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT, JUNE 24, 1883.