When Lionel Dering found himself safe inside Alder Cottage, with his wife\'s arms around his neck, the door locked behind him, and no sounds of pursuit in the distance, he broke down utterly, and, big, strong man though he was, he cried like a child.

For days afterwards he asked nothing more than to lie on the sofa in his wife\'s dressing-room, holding her hand in his, letting his eyes rest on her face, and feeling her soothing presence over and around him like rain on a desert land.

The bow that bad been bent so long was now unstrung; the terrible ordeal was at an end. The rebound was so immense, the change so sudden and wonderful, from the imminent prospect of a disgraceful and horrible death to comparative safety and the loving shelter of his wife\'s arms, that mind and body were alike shaken for a little while: and, for the first forty-eight hours after his escape, Lionel Dering was like a man just beginning to recover from some lingering and painful illness, and had to be waited upon and tended as though he were a veritable invalid.

But joy rarely kills; and basking in the warmth and sunlight of his wife\'s love, Lionel breathed an atmosphere of happiness beyond what words could tell, which, like ozone to a sick man, gave him back by degrees his health both of mind and body, and endowed him with strength and vigour to fight the stern battle still before him.

Every precaution against a surprise was taken by the inmates of Alder Cottage. All the lower windows had been fitted with screws, so as to render it impossible for them to be opened from the outside, and strong chains had been fixed to all the doors, so that they could be partially opened, and yet no one be able to gain admission without leave. Night and day the chains were kept fastened, and were only let down for a moment at a time to allow of the egress or ingress of the inmates, or of their sole visitor, Tom Bristow. The blinds were kept lowered as much as possible; and at nightfall, when the lamps were lighted, shutters and thick curtains effectually precluded any spying from the outside.

The wardrobe brought by Tom from London, as already stated, was fixed in a recess in Edith\'s dressing-room, and it was this room which Lionel chiefly occupied. Here Tom used to come and see him, and many were the long talks they had together over Lionel\'s future plans and prospects.

The first step was to get Lionel safely out of England. By the end of the first week after his escape, he began to chafe under the restraints imposed upon him by the necessities of the case. He became possessed by a longing, almost irresistible in its force, to go out of doors--to breathe the free air of heaven beyond the close walls of the cottage, if only for one short hour; and only by the earnest entreaties of his wife and Tom was he persuaded to keep within.

Mr. Drayton\'s spies had not been set to watch the cottage four-and-twenty hours before Tom knew of it, and it only made him all the more anxious to get Lionel away. But the question of whither he should go was beset with many difficulties. Many plans had been discussed by the two friends, but nothing had been decided upon when Mr. Drayton and his merry men set out for Alder Cottage, one windy afternoon, armed with the search-warrant issued by Colonel Chumley.

The superintendent\'s imperative summons at the front door echoed through the little house, blanching the cheeks of the two ladies, and causing Martha Vince to drop the plate she was carrying as though it were red hot. Edith sprang to the window and peered out between the venetians. "They are come--the police!" she said with a gasp. "Don\'t let them in, Martha, till I tell you that I\'m ready."

Then she flew upstairs. Lionel had been dozing over a novel on the sofa; but the summons had aroused him, and Edith found him standing against the door, waiting to hear her news. "What is it?" he asked.

"Oh, darling--the police!" And then her arms went round him as if in their white shelter he could find a protection from every danger.

"Let them come," said Lionel, as he stooped and kissed the upturned yearning face on his shoulder. "It is better so. When once they have searched and found nothing, we shall be left in peace--our suspense will be at an end. Let them come."

"But if----?" The terror in her eyes said the rest.

"Fear nothing, dearest. I have no fear myself. They will not find me. Be you but calm and resolute, and all will go well."

Again the superintendent\'s imperative summons sounded through the house.

Husband and wife kissed each other hurriedly; then Lionel disappeared into his hiding-place, and Edith, having made sure that no traces of his presence were visible in the room, glided downstairs, and motioned with her hand for Martha Vince to open the door.

Martha undid the bolts and chains, and flung open the door. Mr. Drayton entered brusquely, followed by two of his men. The remaining two were instructed to wait outside and see that no one quitted the premises without leave.

"Do you always keep your visitors waiting as long as you have kept me?" asked Mr. Drayton roughly, as he advanced into the passage.

Edith came forward out of the parlour, her embroidery in her hands "Before answering your question, sir," she said, "you will perhaps allow me to ask what your business here may be, or by what right you walk into my house without first obtaining permission to do so?"

"By the right, ma\'am, which the law has placed in my hands." He spoke with more, politeness this time, raising his hat as he did so. This was no servant whom he could bully and frighten at will, but a lady, as any one could see at the first glance, and one beneath whose calmly cold and slightly contemptuous scrutiny his own eyes fell abashed and self-confused.

"I fail to apprehend your meaning, sir."

"I am the unfortunate bearer of a warrant authorizing me to search the premises known as Alder Cottage."

"A warrant to search my house! Do you suspect us of being smugglers?--or what?"

"It is considered by those in authority that there is just a faint possibility that Mr. Lionel Dering, who lately escaped from prison, may be hidden somewhere about the place."

Edith\'s little musical burst of laughter was delicious. "Do you hear that, aunty?" she called out to Mrs. Garside, who was sitting at work in the parlour. "They positively suspect poor you and me of being two conspirators, and of having Mr. Dering hidden somewhere about us--in your work-basket, aunty, or up the chimney, or under the sofa. Is it not a charming idea?"

"My dear, I always told you that you were too much of a madcap," responded Mrs. Garside as she quietly proceeded to re-thread her needle. "You must remember that, although this is supposed to be a free country, you are not allowed to laugh at the police."

"But I do so enjoy being thought a conspirator. I wish we had poor Mr. Dering under our roof, don\'t you, aunty? I would give very much to know what has become of him." Then, turning to Martha, she added, "Martha, you will please conduct these gentlemen all over the house, from garret to cellar--there must be no room held sacred from them--not even our bedrooms. And be careful that you treat them with respect."

"With the deepest respect," chimed in Mrs. Garside, "or you may find yourself a prisoner before you are aware of it."

"And now, sir," said Edith, turning to Drayton, to whom this style of treatment was altogether new and puzzling, "you will perhaps oblige me by beginning your perquisition with this room," indicating the little parlour; "after which my servant will accompany you over the rest of the house."

"No perquisites allowed in the police, ma\'am," said Drayton, with the air of a man whose moral sense was shocked by the bare mention of the word.

"You misunderstand me," said Edith, with a smile. "What I meant was, that I wish you to search this room first of all, as I should not like my aunt to be disturbed more than is absolutely necessary."

"Don\'t trouble about me, my dear," said Mrs. Garside. "This good gentleman\'s visit is quite a godsend. We see so little company, and get so very mopey sometimes, that the incident of this afternoon comes quite as a pleasant change, and will serve us to talk about for many a day to come."

So Mr. Drayton, coughing deferentially behind his hand, did just take a cursory glance round the little chintz-furnished room. "Not such a fool as to expect to find him there," he said to himself as he bowed himself out again.

Then Edith made him a haughty little curtsey, and politely shut him out, as though she had done with him for ever and a day.

"I don\'t like that man\'s look," whispered Mrs. Garside as soon as the door was closed.

"Nor I," answered Edith. "I know by his eyes that he is brimful of suspicion; and yet I cannot believe that he is acting on any positive information." Her ass............